Cherry Milkshake

OK so I lied. Not much of an experiment as it was some basic ingredients. Still, I love love love cherries and this was pretty thick and tasted close to a milkshake.  I didn't use ice in this because the cherries and berries were frozen.

2 cups of almond milk

1 scoop of protein powder 

1 banana

1/4 cup of raw hazelnuts

1/2 cup of black raspberries 

2+ cups of cherries

You know the drill. Throw everything but the cherries in and blend. Add the cherries a little at a time. 

Summer Berry Pie

I had lots of berries and tart cherries from my CSA pick-up and we weren't able to eat them fast enough so I decided to make a pie.  I didn't want to have to worry about processed sweetness to off-set the tart was of the cherries and berries so I used turbanado sugar.  I also had to make sure the crust was gluten and dairy free and not full of transfats.

CRUST: 

Makes enough dough for one 9" bottom crust and a floating top.

1 & 1/2 cups of gluten free flour

1/2 cup of solid coconut oil

1 teaspoon of sea salt

1 tablespoon of turbanado sugar

5-8 tablespoons of cold water

Mix the flour, sugar, and salt.  Cut in the coconut oil.  When combined. Add the water 1 tablespoon at a time.  Fork stir after each tablespoon until you have a soft ball of dough.  Wrap in Saran Wrap and refrigerate for about an hour.

FILLING:

6 cups of whole fresh berries.  You can use a single type of berry or a mixture.  

1/2 to 1 cup of turbanado sugar, based on your tastes

1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon 

1/4 cup of tapioca starch or arrowroot starch

Mix sugar, cinnamon, and starch.  Add to berries and mix carefully but well.

ASSEMBLY & BAKING:

Lightly oil a 9" glass pie plate with coconut oil.

Remove dough from fridge and roll out to 1/4-1/8 " thick.  Line bottom of pie plate with dough and press in.  Trim off the edges and set aside.

Pour filling into crust.  Roll out the remaining dough and lay it on the top of the pie.  Do not seal it.  It should look like its floating on top of the pie.

Bake at 375 for about an hour.

COCONUT CREME TOPPING:

Several hours prior, place a steel bowl and beaters in the freezer to chill.

1 can of full fat coconut milk refrigerated for several hours.  The longer in the fridge the better.  This will allow the cream to solidify and cone to the top.  You will use the cream for this topping.  Reserve the oil for another use.

1 tablespoon of turbanado sugar.

1 whole vanilla bean or 1 tablespoon of pure vanilla extract.

Carefully scoop out the white cream from the top of the coconut milk and put it in the chilled bowl. Add the sugar and vanilla.  Beat on high until a smooth creme forms.

CASHEW CREME TOPPING:

In a high-powered blender or food processor place:

1/2 cup of water

2 large handfuls of raw cashews

4 pitted medjool dates

1 tablespoon of pure vanilla

Blend on high until a smooth creme forms, adding more liquid if necessary.  You can use some of the left over coconut oil.

CHERRIES JUBILEE Succo-Frullato

I was making a Beetrice Potters Rabbit this morning and realized after I juiced the veggies that I didn't have any oranges.  After searching the freezer for someting sweet to add, this is what I got!

1 beet, including tops
1 large carrot
1/4 cup of blueberries
1/2 cup of cherries (pitted)

Juice the beet and carrot.
Put the juice in a blender and add the fruit.
Blend until smooth.

If you keep your fruit frozen, this will make a great smoothie.

PURPLE PLEASURE Smoothie **Green Monster**

You can just see the antioxidents swimming in this yummy smoothie! 

1 cup of water
1 heaping teaspoon of Spirulina
15 pitted cherries
1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 cup black raspberries or blackberries
1 banana

Put the water, spirulina, and banana in the blender and get it whirling.  If your fruit is frozen, add the rest of the fruit a little at a a time.  If it's all fresh, you can put everything in the blender at once and let 'er rip!

**The term Green Monster is a trademark of Oh She Glows

Fruit Prep

People ask me how I prep my fruit for smoothies.  I try to do as much prep as possible when I get my fruit so when it's time to make a smoothie, its quick and easy.  I shop at our local public market every Saturday.  I buy as much of my produce there as I can.  It's cheaper and most of it is local to the area and/or state.  I freeze most of it, much to my husband's dismay.  My freezer is jam packed! 

Below is listed how I prep my fruit for smoothies.  Some of it, like citrus, I leave on the counter.  Any fruit I use for the juicer, I keep fresh on my counter.  I usually go through it pretty quick but if something starts to get soft, then into the freezer it will go. 

Make sure you wash all of your produce well.  There are several products you can buy such as Veggie Wash, Vermont Soap Organics, Biokleen or you can make your own.  I typically use Veggie Wash but if I don't have any then I use fresh lemons.  I just throw one in my juicer and them pour the juice into a sink filled with cold water.  You can also use distilled or apple cider vinegar.  Use about 1/4 of a cup in a sinkful of cold water.  I soak my produce for about 10 minutes then rinse and dry.  The only produce I don't soak are berries.  They are too delicate.  I just rinse them briefly.

BERRIES
This includes blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, gooseberries, boysenberries, cranberries, and grapes.

Gently rinse your berries.  Use the pointed end of a veggie peeler to pluck out the green part of the strawberries and cut them in half.  All others, including grapes you can leave whole. Lay your berries flat on a cookie sheet and freeze.  Once they are frozen, put them in bags quickly and refreeze util needed.  Grapes, cranberries and gooseberries can be put directly into a bag and frozen. 

You can store your berries by kind or you can make a mix of several kinds.

POMAGRANATES
Remove the seeds from the fruit and store them in the freezer.  These will not work in your juicer so save them for the blender.

CHERRIES
De-stone them and bag them and freeze them.  If you don't have a cherry stoner, invest in one.

APPLES & PEARS, PEACHES & NECTARINES
Leave the skins on your apples, pears, peaches, & nectarines!  There is a lot of nutrients in those thin skins!  Chop them into 1" cubes and take the seeds out.  Lay on a cookie sheet in a single layer and freeze.  Store in freezer bags and store in the freezer.

BANANAS
Peel bananas and cut into 1" chunks.  Place on a cookie sheet in a single layer and freeze.  Store in freezer bags.

MANGOS, PAPAYA, PINEAPPLE, MELONS
Peel skins off, cut into 1" chunks, layer on cookie sheets and freeze.  Store in freezer bags.  A note on the papayas, you can eat the seeds!  Store them separately in the freezer.  Add some to your smoothies for a burst of protien.

CITRUS
I keep all my citrus on the counter.  Use a carrot peeler to gently peel the zest off of your citrus.  The white pithy part has a lot of vitamins in it so leave it on.  (Juicer note....you don't have to peel the zest off of lemons and limes when you juice them.)

THE VAMPIRE'S KISS Smoothie

1 cup of almond milk, hemp milk, or water
13 strawberries
13 cherries, pitted
1 cup of blueberries
1 blood orange
1 honey tangerine, seeded if necessary

Put everything in the blender and whiz until smooth.
This will make enough to share or you can save some for later.

CHOCOLATE CHERRY MADDNESS Smoothie

1 cup hemp milk or almond milk
1 banana
1 tsp spirulina powder
1 cup cherries
1 acai berry smoothie packet

The combination of cherries and the choco-berry flavor of acai makes this really yummy!

BERRY ACAI ANTIOXIDENT ARMY Smoothie

1 cup of hemp milk or almond milk
1 sambazon acai smoothy pack
1/4 cup each of cranberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and cherries
6 medjool dates pitted
5 apricots

Throw it an the blender and blend until smooth!

PLUM CHERRY SHABANG Smoothie

1 cup hemp milk or almond milk
1 large red plum quartered and pitted
2 handfuls of pitted fresh cherries
6 medjool dates pitted
1 handful of sliced raw almonds

Put the hemp milk in a blender on high-speed then add the rest of the ingredients in order one at a time while the blender is still going. Blend for about 3 minutes after you add the last ingredient.