Tuesday, August 20, 2013

An Indiana August

Hey Everyone! I hope you are having a great Tuesday!! August as we all know- well all of us in the midwest USA- know that it is usually blazing hot! This month has turned out to be surprisingly mild and sunny!! We have only had a couple days reach in the upper 80's! The great thing is that since it isn't topping out at 100 like last year my garden is flourishing!!! I have so many extra veggies that I am selling some of them and I am going to get some ball canning jars soon and make pasta sauce and salsa! Yummy!!





My husband and I went to the Indiana State Fair for the first time last Tuesday. I was really looking forward to seeing the Giant Popcorn Ball that weighed in at 2500 lbs! While large, it wasn't quite as large as I had imagined a 2500 lb popcorn ball would be- but it was still pretty big!





I also want to recommend- for those of you participating in or just reading on your own- a great book that I just finished reading for book club this month. It is called So Cold the River by Michael Koryta. It is REALLY good! It holds one's attention and has a slight creepy aspect to it! Perfect for the early fall late summer season!



I created a desert/meal that is filling, light, sweet and delicious!


Blueberry Lemonade Banana Ice Cream



Ice Cream
1 1/2 frozen bananas sliced (please freeze with out peel!)
2 pkts stevia1-2 tbsp agave1 heaping tsp protein powder (optional)handful of frozen blueberries (about 1/4 C)3-4 drops lemon extract or 1 tbsp lemon juicecoconut milk to blend

Chocolate sauce2 heaping teaspoonfuls cocoa powder
1 pkt stevia or squirt of agave
2-3 tbsp coconut oil melted
Mix together. Taa Da!


Place all of the above ingredients (for ice cream) in food processor in order listed and process until smooth.  In separate bowl place a handful of frozen blueberries and drizzle with coconut chocolate sauce. Scoop out ice cream on top of blueberries and drizzle with chocolate sauce and sprinkle with raw flaked coconut (optional). You can also top with raw nuts if you so desire- such as sliced almonds...mmmm sounds good!  Should have topped mine with sliced almonds!!

Friday, August 2, 2013

Make it a Kool Summer

I don't know how everyone else deals with the heat- but nothing beats a dip in a cool swimming pool or a scoop of ice cream. The past few days I have been creating "kool" dishes to help balance out the hot weather that incorporate the amazing summer bounty that my garden (and hopefully yours too!) has produced :D Yay for garden veggies!!!

I currently have a bowl full of tomatoes- mostly cherry- that have ripened so far- and I am going to have about a million more before August is over, so I figured I better come up with some really good tomato based dinners! So here is the amazingly delicious recipe that I came up with to keep it "kool" after a hot day!


Peach Tomato Gazpacho

1 C cherry tomatoes- halved
3/4 of 1 peach- set aside remaining quarter
1/2  of 1 lemon juiced- 1-2 tbsp
1 tbsp white miso
3/4 of a green onion- set aside remainder
3/4 C almond milk
1/4 tsp raw honey
1/8 tsp cardamom

Place all ingredients- except for the bits indicated to be set aside- into a blender and puree until smooth. Pour into bowl. Slice the remaining quarter of peach, fan it and place on the edge of the bowl. Place remaining green onion around fanned peach. Serve and enjoy!




Another super easy dish that is light and cool is a fruit salad topped with chocolate! YUM!!




Fruit Salad Delight

1 Peach chopped
1/2  of 1 banana- sliced
1/2 C blueberries
5-6 strawberries- hulled and quartered
sprinkle with organic shredded coconut
drizzle with chocolate sauce
top with slivered almonds- optional (tastes great! I did this after I had taken the pictures and eaten half!)


Chocolate sauce

1 tbsp cocoa powder
1 pkt stevia
2.5 tbsp coconut oil

Place these three ingredients into a small glass or plastic 1/2 C container. Fill a separate bowl with a little hot water and place small bowl inside it and mix together with a spoon until smooth. It doesn't take a lot of heat to melt coconut oil. You can do it this way or heat the oil to liquid under the hot water faucet.

Both of these dishes are full of simple sugars and nutrients to keep your body working. The miso adds a savory flavor to the soup- don't skip it! Especially because it helps your body to break down fat! The coconut oil in the fruit salad will help keep you full and burning stored fat as well! Who could ask for a better combination! Fat burning chocolate and a super easy garden fresh tomato soup!! I hope you enjoy both! Thanks for reading and have a great summer!