Kiwi Pineapple (Sweet Green) Smoothie

I have been wanting to make a smoothie with kiwi for a while now and apparently, for good reason - its tart and sweet and fabulous (just like a kiwi)!

Kiwi Pineapple Smoothie
Serves 3

6 kiwi, peeled
1 1/2 large handfuls, baby spinach
1/4 fresh pineapple
Coconut water from young coconut (about 2 cups)
1-2 Tbls. coconut nectar or honey
1 1/2 tsp. Spirulina Powder (optional)

Blend together...nom!

Pork Brine & Wilted Greens

Today we have a two-for-one! I like all the flavor profiles for my meals to compliment one another, especially because my husband likes to smash all the foods together on his plate - yuck. We had plans for the day so I did a bunch of prep work so dinner could come together quickly and easily. We got home way later than anticipated so we were all grateful that the work had been done earlier.

This is a super simple brine that had me licking my stirring spoon (before I added the raw meat, of course) and my family, after pretty much licking their plates at dinner, decide that it would be a good salad dressing, too.

I barely tweaked it from here - I just added some toasted sesame oil - she did an awesome job!

Pork Brine

Another awful image and my food was nearly gone.
We had been at the beach all day, gotten home around 8p
and rushed to get the prepped food on the table and in
out bellies! There is no image of the sauteed greens as we
devoured those, too! Imagine, it was THAT good!!!

Serves 8

• 2 Cups warm water
• 1 Cup Brown Sugar
• 2 Tbls. Kosher Salt
• 3 Cloves, Garlic (or 1 Tbls. Garlic Powder)
• 1 Inch Piece, Fresh Ginger, grated
• 2-3 tsp. Toasted Sesame Oil
• Pork of choice (steaks, tenderloin, medallions, etc.)

1. In a lidded container add the warm water, brown sugar and salt - stir until granules dissolve.
2. Add in the garlic, ginger and sesame oil and stir.
3. Add in pork and stir briefly.

If you're using this for a brine, submerge pork chops in liquid, if parts aren't able to be covered, add a little more water.

If you're using this for a salad dressing, add it to a carafe (this would be a wonderful addition to an Asian inspired salad with pork medallions).

You can also use this to wilt some greens (as I did to go along with the pork):

Wilted / Sauteed Greens

Serves 6

• 1/4 Cup Pork Brine
• 1 Tbls. Toasted Sesame Oil
• 2 Bunches Chopped Greens (Collard, Kale, Mustard, etc.)

1. Add a little toasted sesame oil to pan and heat.
2. Add chopped greens to pan and sprinkle with several tablespoons, up to 1/4 C of brine.
3. Lid pan and allow greens to saute, wilt and absorb flavors (2-5 minutes, depending on greens).
1. Kale can take longer to wilt than something more delicate like mustard greens.
2. Greens should be wilted but still bright green in color.

Sweet Potato Pasta with Sweet Cream Sauce

My daughter and I like to write recipes together. We get these ideas of flavor combinations and then work to create something that represents it. Sometimes it doesn't work out but other times, we really dig what we've created. Unfortunately, she wasn't around for the inception of this one (summer camp) but we talked through my ideas and we think we have a winner!

The original idea was to make a sweet potato ravioli, which I'm assuming isn't possible but I'm not really skilled in pasta making at all. Maybe we can still do this sometime. Anyway, I was going to fill the ravioli with a ricotta cheese mixture and then make a maple syrup cream sauce and crumble some italian sausage over it. It sounds wonderful, right?

What I found was that I could get a spiral vegetable slicer and use this to make thin and beautiful spiral sweet potato 'noodles'. They're fast and fabulous and such a great way to incorporate a healthy alternative to our menu.

Sweet Potato Pasta with Sweet Cream Sauce
Serves 6

• 3 Medium Sweet Potatoes, spiral cut 
• 1/2 C Butter or Ghee / 3-4 Tbls. Butter
• 1/2 C Flour
• 2-4 C Coconut Milk (depends on how thin you want your sauce)
• 1/4-1/2 C Maple Syrup
• Salt, to taste
• Coconut Oil
• Broccoli

• Spicy Italian Sausage, bulk or links

• 15 oz. Ricotta
• Salt, to taste
• Maple Syrup, 1 Tbls. / to taste 

1. Use spiral cutter to prepare Sweet Potatoes (this will fill a large bowl), set aside.
2. Make a roux with the butter and flour - when the flour is cooked off, add the coconut milk and mix until combined.
3. Add maple syrup and salt to taste (this mixture tastes like liquid caramel corn to me). Set aside.
4. Thaw and steam broccoli
5. Brown Italian sausage. Set aside.
6. In a small bowl, combine Ricotta with salt and maple syrup. Set aside.
7. Heat sweet potato noodles. 
1. In a large bowl or wok, heat a large pat of butter and coconut oil to liquid.
2. Working in batches, add in 1/3 to 1/4 of the sweet potato noodles (whatever will fit well). 
3. Toss them around right away so that the liquid coats as much as it can.
4. You want the noodles to stay a bit crunchy so don't let them sit too long. 
5. Remove and place in a large bowl and toss with a pinch of kosher salt.
6. Repeat with the remaining noodles.
1. Be aware that the sugars in the sweet potato will begin to adhere to the bottom of your pan a little so each batch you'll have to get a little faster moving with.
8. Plate noodles, top with a large dollop of ricotta cheese, sprinkle with broccoli and cream sauce and top with italian sausage.

Sweet Potato Pasta with Sweet Cream Sauce - I forgot to add the ricotta cheese but it was SO delicious!
Absolutely what I set out to create... 

Pineapple Watermelon & Lime Smoothie

When I'm creating smoothies, I really should think them out and plan them better but mostly, I just toss a bunch of stuff in the bender and hope for the best. After all, they all have a fruit base to them...

It's that time of year when we have a plethora of fresh fruits and veggies available to us and I am taking full advantage of that! This baby has a lot of vitamins in it and it tastes delicious! I am out of frozen spinach and we had some leftover broccoli last night so I threw that in, too. I don't really like to make my smoothies without some green veggies or sometimes purple cabbage - they add a little taste (not compared to all those fruits though) and a lot of healthy benefits. It's a great way to incorporate them into your diet a little more...

One more note, I add all sorts of supplements that add something if you've got them but aren't necessary. It adds more minerals and phytonutrients, I"m not in full comprehension on these other than that they are the concentrated good stuff in all the fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds. We know they're really good for us to incorporate but aren't always conscious of our intake or their effects. If you want more information, a simple explanation can be found here. Today, I've added Liquid Chlorophyll. I know it's best for your body to take in these supplements once or twice a week so I usually pick one and add it to a smoothie each day.

A much prettier picture than yesterday -
thank you, sun!
Pineapple Watermelon & Lime Smoothie

Pineapple Watermelon & Lime Smoothie
Serves 3

• 1/2 fresh Pineapple, chunks (and juice)
• 2 Cups fresh Watermelon, chunks
• 2 Pints / 2 Cups fresh Blueberries
• 1/2 Cup Frozen Cranberries
• Juice of 2 Limes
• 2 Cups Broccoli 
• 1 Tbls. Liquid Chlorophyll 

Add all ingredients into blender pitcher and blend until fully incorporated.