Family Favorite Smoothie

Hey guys! I've missed you, but last year when my dad and I had the realization that we could probably get into trouble for putting these recipes online, we were too busy to find any creative ways to get around those legalities or whatever. So anyways, I decided to just give you guys a new post that I am pretty sure is rightfully ours. This family has been through a lot of smoothies. Seriously. From honey lavender to peanut butter apple, we know them all. A smoothie is what you make it. Without further ado, I present, the smoothie surprise!



(Whatever You) Fancy FRUIT SMOOTHIE

    It's simple. Pretty much take whatever fruit you have in the pantry, say 1 overripe banana, 2 ripe peaches, and, let's say, an apple. So your goal is just to break it all down so it can be processed in your blender. You'll have absolutely no trouble breaking the banana, so you can just put that in right away. and for the peach, slice it in half around the seed, much like you'd do with an avocado, and remove the seed. If you want the nutrition and are willing to risk a gross texture, go ahead and put the peach in just like that, if you want the taste and don't care about extra nutrition, peel the skin off the peach. If it is so ripe that it's like juicing as you touch it, hold it over the blender and just get off as much skin as you can. Don't  worry about destroying the peach. It's about to come to a much worse death anyways. And for the apple, you can peel it if you like, or just leave it. so cut out the core like you are normally cutting an apple, take out the core. Then cut it into cubes and drop those in the blender. So pretty much just use whatever food you want, just be sure to consider what it will be like when its in tiny smithereens.

   Now we talk preferences. Here's a quiz.

1. Do you like your smoothies cold?     Yes (Go to #2)        I don't mind if it's warm (Go to #3)

2. Are you going to drink it right away?   Yes (Go to answer A)      No (Go to answer C)

3.  Do you want your smoothie more...    Cold (Go to answer A)     Creamy (Go to answer B)



Answer A                                              Answer B                                Answer C
Your base is... Ice Cubes!                      Your base is... Milk!               It's up to you! Whatever sounds
drop about 5 ice cubes in, or more,        Pour in a few tablespoons       best or you think will go best
depending on how much smoothie        of milk.                                    with the ingredients you have. If
you are making.                                                                                     you want it chilled, just stick it in          
                                                                                                               the fridge.

Alright, so now you probably have your fruits and base decided. You can put them in your blender, and MAKE SURE THE LID IS SECURED. Seriously. Try the puree button. If that's to fast, you can just work downwards. Once it has turned all one color and flows smoothly without too much noise, it's done. Pour it into a glass and enjoy the fruits of your labor. Ha ha, get it? :)

Summer (soon to be) Fav: Melon Gelato!

We're pretty new at this whole gelato/ice cream/sorbet thing, but we know good flavor when we taste it. Tonight we are trying cantaloupe gelato. Bear with us on the ups and downs of fruity fun.

Ingredients:

1 cup minus 1 tablespoon superfine granulated sugar
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon bottled or filtered still water (not distilled)

1 cantaloupe (about 3 pounds)

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon lightly beaten egg white

Preparation

In a small heavy saucepan heat sugar and water, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Cool syrup. Cut rind from melon and discard seeds. Cut melon into chunks and in a food processor, purée enough to measure 2 cups. Move purée to a bowl and stir in lime juice and syrup. Chill melon mixture until cold and up to 1 day.

Stir in egg white and churn in an ice-cream maker. Serve gelato immediately or transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden no more than 3 hours.

Hope Springs Eternal

In the Pacific Northwest, a little sunshine can go a long way to making people do crazy things. Like, say, plant tomatoes before Memorial Day. The recent atmospheric phenomena has brainwashed the cynicism right out of me. Memories of last summer's incessantly rainy and cold June and July have given way to that sense that maybe, just maybe this will be the year. So I trot out the walls of water and dig and turn and rake and voila! before me is a fledgling little garden with big dreams.

Carrots and yellow wax beans are still slumbering under the soil; sweet onions lie dazed on the ground as if they just got hit by a sudden nor' easter; snap peas and sweet peas are just learning to climb the netting; the peppers are looking around asking, "where's the heat?" The garlic planted in October wants to know what happened to all the peace & quiet in the neighborhood.

Walla Walla Sweets trying to muster the
strength to stand up on their own.

A jalapeño settles into his tanning bed.

Getting these things to grow is one thing; Mother Nature will come through sooner or later--she always does. The bigger hurdle is getting the Daughter to consume that which has come from the earth. To borrow a sentiment from Chicago Cubs fans, this could be the year!

Author's note: This was drafted two weeks ago, and the greenery is starting to take hold as we head into the Memorial Day weekend. Beans have put up their first set of leaves, the carrots have grown to a towering 1/4-inch sprouts, and the tomatoes are fighting their way out of their winter blankets. As for the Daughter...well, she ate some lettuce tonight. It's a start.

Hamburger Fiesta!

The other night, while the FDW was away at soccer, we did a fun activity where we had a contest to see who could make that yummiest or prettiest burger. It was super fun (and is a really amusing way to entertain your kids and make them eat dinner. My sister made ketchup and honey, aiming for the yummiest, the FD made a Nutella banana one. Just make as many patties as there are people, and let them go by themselves one at a time to pick out their materials, and have them cover the plate with those things on it. Then each get into a separate space and start building! Have a vote afterwards.

Buns Buns Buns!

Patties!

In progress...

Contestant #3!

Contestant #1

Raw...

Contestant #2

Last Night: Dinner Party!

Last night my dad made a delicious Mac 'n Cheese. It was to die for, so I am sending you to a site (yes, I know it's Martha Stewart's), but it has the recipe. Click Here to see it.

Dad's Banana Bread

Here's a recipe for some banana bread that is really good. I occasionally find a piece or two of this in my lunch, and it makes my day every time. 

Ingredients

• 1 stick butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cups mashed bananas(3-5)
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2/3 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees fahrenheit. Cream butter. Add sugar and beat. Add eggs and beat. Add mashed bananas. Separately sift dry ingredients. Stir into wet indgredients. Add vanilla and nuts. Bake 90 minutes.

Enjoy!

Sables

Here is a recipe that I copied straight out of the Joy of Cooking Christmas Cookies cookbook, so FULL credit to them (I can still have the right to a lawyer, right?) I made these for christmas, and they are delicious!
Warning: Makes 4 dozen 2 1/4 inch cookies
Ingredients

• 1 cup (8 oz) unsalted butter, chilled and slightly firm, but not hard (cut into small dice)
• 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 3 large egg yolks
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 tbsp powdered sugar
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 3 drops almond extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. With a pastry blender, (or your fingers) cut butter into flour to form fine crumbs. 

In a separate bowl, mix egg yolks, sugars, salt, vanilla, and almond until well blended. Dump the egg mixture into the flour mixture and knead to form a smooth dough. Divide the dough in half. Place one half between sheets of wax paper. Roll each portion to 1/4 inch thick. Repeat with other half, and place rolled dough on a tray, and freeze about 15 minutes. 

Remove first portion and peel away and replace one sheet of wax paper. Flip over and remove second sheet of wax paper. Using a cookie cutter, cut out the cookies. Transfer cookies to lightly greased cookie sheet, placing them about 1 inch apart.

Roll any scraps between wax paper, cutting out cookies until all dough is used. Bake cookies one sheet at a time, 12-16 minutes, until slightly colored on the edges.

Allow cookies to cool 1-2 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Yum! Enjoy!