Fruit Smoothies: Three Tips

My favorite weekend breakfast treat is a fruit smoothie. Over the years, I have discovered a few helpful techniques:

1. Not all frozen fruit has to come from the store. Last summer, the local strawberry harvest was so bountiful, I asked the farmers market vendor how to freeze them. Easy: cut off the tops; wash, slice if necessary; freeze on a metal tray; and pop them in a freezer bag til needed.
2. Use a good blender. I used a lovely old Vita Mix until recently. The Kitchen Aid blender we had in storage is much quieter and more powerful, getting chunks gone quickly and cleaning up easily.
3. Save some for later. My normal batch uses one whole fresh banana, with non-fat yogurt and two types of frozen fruit. It serves two generously, or three adequately. When I make a batch for just myself, I pour half into a sturdy glass cup that a rubber lid fits onto, and freeze it. About an hour before I want to eat the saved portion, I take it out to defrost, and stir just before drinking it. The frozen version does not make a good dessert, but will return to proper smoothie consistency.

My next trick? Learn to make my own yogurt.

West Seattle Farmer's Market

Americans abroad make a big deal of visiting the markets in European towns - they seem exotic to us, with their open-air stalls of fresh produce, artisanal products, and actual growers staffing them. After visiting dozens of farmer's markets in the States, I still sometimes feel like a traveller to the modern Old World. In Seattle this weekend, I experienced that sensation again.

The West Seattle Farmer's market may the most upscale one I have shopped to date, in any city. Geographically it is unassuming, filling a not-so-large parking lot. But the offerings - oh my! Perhaps not having a kitchen I planned to cook in made me overlook the gorgeous produce (except the fiddlehead ferns and the wild mushrooms). Or perhaps I am just not accustomed to seeing Mangalista pork, fresh pasta, jams from unheard of berries, artisanal cheeses, free range eggs from ducks as well as chickens, and so much more all in one small space. Not to mention the fresh organic breads, the fresh pastries, and the asparagus and goat cheese strata. It was like wandering the aisles of the best gourmet store ever.

Would I shop this market every weekend, as I do the one in my own neighborhood? Actually, no. My tastes run more to the pedestrian. I go to stock up on as much produce in as great a variety as I think I can creatively use without wasting any. And sometimes I'll add in a jar of local honey, or a pastry, or a small container of that amazing artichoke parmesan dip that mercifully bears no nutrition label. If I had so much bounty available in the meats and dairy and hand-crafted condiments, eventually I would splurge. It must be a testament to the food culture of West Seattle that so many recherchez goods can be sold week after week to the same core group from this neighborhood.

Popsicle Weather

86 degrees F indoors, with the ceiling fan on. Cats shedding in clumps. Soap melting in the shower stall. Who wants to eat, much less cook?

Popsicles!

Suddenly I carved them, icy and fruity. But not enough to run to the store for a box of sugar water on sticks.

I had a freezer, didn't I? Seems like we used to make our own popsicles, when I was a kid (pre-internet).

So I got onto the net, and searched for "homemade popsicles." My, how fancy they've become! So many nifty plastic molds to buy.

But I had cranberry lemonade, ice trays, and toothpicks at hand; so that's what I worked with. I filled the tray, laid the sticks in askew, and waited for them to freeze. Voila! Popsicles.

Make any Dish Healthier

My golden rules for healthier eating:
1. Add veggies
2. Share

Last night's supper reminded me how often and easily I apply these two rules.
It was hot, and I didn't want to bake or use the stovetop. So I threw together a salad, and then scrounged the fridge and pantry.
A box of Trader Joe's Satay Peanut Noodles called my name.
This dish is packaged as a to-go meal, with just noodles and sauce in a microwavable box. One person can scarf it down in a few minutes, for 600 calories, 6g saturated fat, and almost no fiber.
But I prepared it as I usually do, dumping it into a bowl and then stirring in whatever veggies I find in the crisper. Last night it was green beans, broccoli and zucchini. Then I heated it, split it into two big bowls, and shared.
Voila! We each had a little over 300 calories, 3g sat fat, and a decent amount of fiber and phyto-nutrients.

Peanut Butter and Pickle Sandwich

Don't say "eewwh" before you try it!
My friend Robert Swanson introduced me to this weird and wonderful combination when we were eight or nine years old. Til then, my favorite combo was peanut butter with chocolate chips (courtesy of my-friend-Alice). I was skeptical too; but I had eaten weirder stuff on a dare - and he seemed to genuinely like the sandwich he was happily munching away on.

To make:
Spread peanut butter on two slices of bread (something semi-good, like one of those multi-grains pretending to be healthy but really only a notch above the squishy white breads.)
Place slices of bread and butter pickles onto one slice of the bread, and top with the other.
Cut and eat.

Sweet and crunchy, the pickles aren't that different than apple slices. Try it yourself, and then have fun testing the adventurousness of your friends and relations.

Mother's Day Tea Party

A true garden tea party calls for floppy hats, sundresses, tiered serving trays, and fine china. But it is possible to feel just as finely treated without the elegance. This morning we decided to host the get-together in the afternoon, called a few friends and relations, looked in the fridge, and declared the planning done. I didn't even vacuum.

All the tea was appropriately luv-ly, from the chrysanthemum-blossom green tea to the Yunan Extra Fancy. The cups were an unmatched assortment, some little tasting cups (Japanese), some Russian or English china. We used 4 of the 5 pots we own, and one large glass jar (to watch the tied tea leaves unfurl into the chrysanthemum flower.

The nibbles were simple, based on odds and ends in the fridge and pantry. Crumpets with cream cheese and cucumber slices, of course. Tuna and avocado on thin-sliced bread with crusts removed. Olive bread toasted and topped by egg salad, and alternately with hummuss and bits of roasted red pepper. And doughnut holes. Traditional? Hardly. Yummy and fun? Spot on.

Sunset's Celebration Weekend

Sunset Magazine hosts a public event each year - quite an extravaganza, actually. In addition to getting to wander the bucolic grounds of the publication's headquarters, there are workshops, speakers, kids events, vendor booths, free samples of food and drink, and even live music. The entry fee is minimal, and frequent shuttles from nearby corporate parking lots are offered to cut down on driving hassles. Bike parking, with discounted entry, is also offered on-site.

Last year the weekend was held in early May. The weather was idyllic, the crowds moderate and good-humored, and the local event conflicts few. We stayed five or six of the eight hours (10 am to 6pm), and left tired but happy. This year Celebration Weekend happens June 7 and 8, from 10am to 5pm each day. Tickets have gone up to $12 ($10 seniors, and children under 12 free); but transit, bike and shuttle discounts still apply.

If you live within easy access to Menlo Park, it is a relaxing way to enjoy a one-day local vacation. Do take sunscreen, and easy to carry layered clothing.