Smoothies redux

We enjoy a homemade smoothie and popcorn about once a week during the summer, and close to that during the cooler months.

We just use whatever is floating around the kitchen, and in July-September, there are lots of pickings from our backyard and communal-garden raised beds. For this particular one, we used celery, lettuce, peas, cilantro, garlic scapes, 100% pineapple juice, unsweetened homemade almond milk. Super tasty.

Was a bit pulpy, as we use a blender. (We don't own a juicer.) You can pour the juice through a strainer to remove the pulp. Or, if you don't want to remove the beneficial pulp, you can add ground chia seeds to make your smoothie more homogenized.

Homemade almond milk

Almond milk is a breeze to make. We haven't bought any for years. It's less expensive and less wasteful (less packaging). And there are fewer additives.

Simply soak about a 1 cup of almonds in a large jar (we use a large pickle jar), add about 4 cups of water, cover and soak for a few hours.

Pour the nuts and water into a blender and whir it around. Stop the whirring, let settle for a minute, then whir again. Pour back into the jar, add a bit of water to the blender and swish it around to pour out the remaining almond bits. (You might need to do this a couple of times to get all the almonds out.) You'll be adding about 2 extra cups of water when all told.

Cover the jar and store in the fridge.

When you want to use the milk, just give it a gentle swish and pour away.

You can use the almond pulp that remains on the bottom of the jar in a smoothie, in your cereal, in baking, etc.

Seville orange marmelade

When we were in Spain last year for our 25th wedding anniversary, I was captured by the orange trees in Seville. Being so excited, I convinced my husband to try some oranges that had fallen from a park's trees. Boy were they bitter! Yes, they were Seville oranges, made famous by their marmelade. Apparently a hybrid from a mandarin and a pomelo.

So when I was in Sobey's grocery store a few weeks ago, I was thrilled to find Hartle's MA MADE Seville oranges in a large tin! I make it using 1/4 of the suggested amount of sugar. Makes six pounds of delicious marmelade. Its tartness is a welcome addition to fresh or frozen yogurt, buttered toast and more.

Chocolate tri-nut cookie balls

Back in the land of the recipe-documentation living.

Here is my recipe for unbaked chocolate tri-nut cookie balls.

Ingredients

½ cup pitted dates (about 20 dates)

⅔ cup almonds

⅔ cup walnuts

¾ cup unsalted peanuts

2 cups oat flakes

¼ tsp cinnamon

dash salt (omit if using salted peanuts)

2 tsp pure vanilla

¼ cup date-soaking water

½ cup dark choc chips or dark choc chopped small

Steps

1. Pour boiling water over dates, just enough to cover them. Let sit while you do the next steps.
2. Process nuts about 2 min, until nuts break down into a butter-like texture.
3. Scrape down sides with a spatula.
4. Add dates and process another 1 minute.
5. Add oats, cinnamon, salt, vanilla and water. Process until it forms a ball (about 45 seconds).
6. Add choc chips and process for about 1 min, pausing to break up the ball as needed to homogenize.
7. Invert dough into medium-sized bowl.
8. Form into balls.

Store in fridge in air-tight containers with some wax paper between the layers.

Makes about 3 dozen 1” balls.

Homemade hummus

Sometimes you come across a recipe and you really don't need to change it at all. Or very little, to suit your (or your family's) tastes.

Found this hummus recipe and adjusted it very slightly — just added 1/4 tsp cayenne for a bit of kick.

The recipe explains the process very well, particularly the part about the order of processing ingredients so you get the desired texture.

Lovely as an appetizer or afternoon snack, served with organic and gluten-free Que Pasa tortilla chips.

Raw ginger cookie balls

Given the hot weather and general disinterest in the oven, my “raw” kick continues.

These cookie balls are based on my ginger cookies. I made several adjustments, including substituting dates for the brown sugar, to make them more nutrient-dense. 

The benefits of coconut oil are considerable, so you’ll see more of my recipes containing that from now on. These treats are also vegan, so perfectly animal-friendly.

Raw ginger cookie balls

Ingredients:

• ½ cup almonds
• 1 cup dates
• ¼ cup coconut oil
• ¼ cup blackstrap molasses
• 2 cups oats
• dash salt
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground cloves
• a few tablespoons of brown sugar (optional)

Directions:

1. Grind almonds and dates in a food processor.
2. Once the particles are reasonably small, add in other ingredients. Continue grinding until mixture forms a large ball.
3. Invert mixture into a medium-large bowl and hand-roll dough into balls.

Makes about thirty 1” balls.

We store them at room temperature. Given the consumption rate in our household (I did run today, right?!), this isn’t a problem.

Raw almond cookie balls

One of my lovely sisters is moving out of the country for a prolonged period. For those who know our family, my sisters are quite close. We will miss her greatly.

I wanted to make a little treat for her to take on her flight. She, like me, aims to eat healthy. As one of her favorite flavours is almond, I devised this little cookie accordingly. I’ve been on a raw-food rampage lately, as I flatly refuse to turn on the oven during this usually warm summer. 

Raw almond cookie balls

• 1 cup almonds
• ½ cup dates
• ¼ cup coconut oil
• ¼ cup plus 2 Tbsp raw macadamia nut butter
• ½ tsp pure almond extract
• dash salt
• 1½ cups organic oats

Grind almonds and dates in food processor. Add other ingredients and grind some more, until reasonably homogenous. Form dough into balls of desired size. Simple, eh?

You may roll your cookies perfectly round or leave 'em just a little wobbly, which is my preference.
 

I store these at room temperature, as we demolish them rather quickly.

For long-distance transport, you might wish to wrap each cookie in wax paper, so they won’t fuse.