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Arugula and Farro Salad with Peaches Recipe

Mr. Picky is my third child, my 10-year-old son. He is a perfect child in every way, however he is rather picky when it comes to food. I know some people think that Mr. Picky is not at all picky because he eats things like lentils and beans and salmon. True. But he won’t eat an unbelievable amount of other, basic things, like eggs, cheese, and most cooked vegetables. Mr. Picky thinks the name I gave him is funny and doesn’t want me to refer to him as anything else on my blog. And since I am not worried that he is picky, the name can stay for now.

“Would Mr. Picky eat this?” That’s what many of my cooking class students will ask me when we are making something outside of the kid cuisine box, so to speak. Most people have a picky child and therefore struggle will meal planning and mealtime. I can get frustrated too, but in general I don’t sweat it because I truly believe that if I continue to provide a wide variety of nutritious whole foods on a regular basis, something will click one day and he will turn into a better eater. This is not a post about raising a healthful eater, but more to address how I make something like this delicious Arugula and Farro Salad with Peaches and get my son to eat it. It’s called “deconstruction.”

I know what Mr. Picky won’t eat, in the case of this salad that would be vinaigrette, arugula and cheese. No problem. First I ask him if this is the day he would like to try the salad with vinaigrette. 90% of the time he says, “I’m not ready yet.” No problem. So I deconstruct the salad and give him a scoop of plain farro (it’s like brown rice, I tell him), almonds and peaches. If I have some romaine lettuce in the fridge, I’ll give him some of that, too.

Arugula is a peppery, almost a little spicy, green. I love it, but I didn’t when I was 10. But I just can’t see only making recipes that are Mr. Picky-approved. That would be cooking to the lowest common denominator and that’s never a good idea.

I taught this salad last summer in my classes and just last week in Jenni Kayne’s Fourth of July class with The Chalkboard. This is the perfect salad for entertaining and I have even eaten a version of this for a lunch at home with my Everyday Salad Dressing #2. You don’t need the farro, but it does make the salad heartier which is helpful if you don’t want to eat the ribs or steak options at your BBQ. And if you are gluten-intolerant, unfortunately you can’t eat farro, but millet or quinoa would work well here. In any case, everything can be prepped in advance so all you have to do is assemble at mealtime. I have also done a version of this salad with pitted cherries and Pecorino. I think nectarines or blackberries would also be amazing. For that matter, any stone fruit or berry would be perfect. Yay summer!

5.0 from 1 reviews

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Arugula and Farro Salad with Peaches

Author: Pamela

Serves: 6

Ingredients

¾ cup farro*
pinch of kosher salt
6 ounces arugula
2 peaches, chopped
¼ cup chives, chopped
Dressing:
3 Tablespoons Champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons raw honey
½ teaspoon sea salt
a few grinds freshly ground black pepper
5 Tablespoons unrefined, cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil
a sprinkle of chopped or sliced nuts, such as almonds or walnuts (I used Marcona almonds here)
a sprinkle of cheese, such as feta, gorgonzola or shaved Manchego, Parmesan or Pecorino (I used shaved Manchego here)

Instructions

Place farro in a medium saucepan with water to cover by at least three inches and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer and cook until tender, about 25 minutes. Drain well. If using right away, rinse with cold water to cool down.
In a medium bowl or a glass jar with a fitted lid, combine all dressing ingredients.
Place the arugula, farro, chives, and peaches in a serving bowl and drizzle with enough dressing to lightly coat. Toss gently.
Add chopped nuts and/or crumbled cheese, if desired.

Notes

*about 2 ¼ cups cooked

In the Veggie Kitchen: Fourth of July with Jenni Kayne and a Yogurt and Blueberry Tart Recipe

I once again had the pleasure of teaching the always stylish and gracious Jenni Kayne and her lovely friends a July 4^th cooking class at her gorgeous home. Although I teach at Jenni’s home every month, this was a special class in which we also partnered with The Chalkboard, one of my very favorite sites. With Independence Day just around the corner, Jenni wanted to create the perfect holiday get-together that was festive, but relaxed. My job was to come up with the deliciousness!

If you have seen some of the classes I have done at Jenni’s before, you know that every detail is so beautiful and perfect, you want to go recreate the whole thing on your own. One of the best parts of Jenni’s Rip + Tan blog is that she generously provides sources for everything, from table linens to straws to jars. What I just loved about the décor is that it was in the spirit of the holiday, but still beautiful and understated, without going overboard. Please check out Rip + Tan for more photos and details about the decor.

This year, I made five recipes that I think are easy, seasonal, healthful and perfect for summer entertaining. We started with some delicious vegan beet and black bean burgers which I will be teaching in my classes this summer. I love salads at this time of year and especially for entertaining since most of the ingredients can be prepped in advance. At Jenni’s I whipped up a charred corn salad, a vegetarian antipasto chopped salad, and an arugula and farro salad with peaches. All so yummy and healthy and I will post them all before July 4th! For dessert, you will love this yogurt and blueberry tart in a graham cracker crust, which I am sharing today.

Have you ever tried straining Greek yogurt overnight? It comes out with a texture like cream cheese! No joke! I stirred in a little Grade A maple syrup and some vanilla beans (although you could definitely use vanilla extract) and the result is a super thick and creamy, spreadable yogurt for a delicious tart filling. This tart is lightly sweet, which I love, and I think it would equally welcome for brunch as it is for a dessert.

Since I am beyond crazy for the fresh blueberry sauce I posted last year, I poured that on top for the perfect finish. Of course you can do something more red, white and blue by topping the tart with fresh raspberries and blueberries. These berry tarts from Martha Stewart look darling and can give you some inspiration for using fresh fruit. Or you can use any type of fresh fruit sauce like peaches, cherries, or citrus in the winter. So many delicious ways to enjoy this!

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Yogurt and Blueberry Tart

Author: Pamela

Serves: makes one 9-inch tart which serves about 8 people

Ingredients

For the Graham Cracker Crust:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs*, about 14 standard crackers pulverized in the food processor (click here for my recipe for homemade graham crackers. The recipe is gluten-free adaptable.)
3 Tablespoons coconut sugar or cane sugar
⅛ teaspoon sea salt
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the Filling:
3 cups plain, unsweetened Greek-style full- fat yogurt, strained 4 hours or overnight*
2 Tablespoons pure maple syrup, raw honey or cane sugar
1 vanilla bean, scraped (use the pod to flavor sugar or discard)
1 pint fresh blueberries for garnish or blueberry sauce (recipe below)

Instructions

To make the crust, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Blend graham crackers, sugar and salt in a food processor until graham crackers are finely ground. Add butter and vanilla; process until moist crumbs form. Press crumb mixture onto bottom and sides of a 9-inch round tart pan, springform pan or pie plate. Bake crust until deep golden brown, about 12 minutes. Cool completely.
In a medium bowl, mix the strained yogurt with the maple syrup and the scraped beans from the vanilla bean. Spread the yogurt mixture in the crust and smooth the top. Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator for a few hours.
Garnish with fresh blueberries or pour blueberry sauce over the top. Store leftovers in the refrigerator, however crust will be soft the next day

Notes

I have tried this recipe with alternative yogurts, such as coconut, but they will not strain to the same thick, cream cheese-like consistency as the Greek yogurt.

*To strain yogurt: place a thin, clean tea towel/flour sack towel or a double layer of cheesecloth inside a colander. Place the yogurt in the tea towel and wrap up to cover the yogurt. Place the colander in a large bowl or on top of a plate to catch any drips and place in fridge overnight.

FRESH BLUEBERRY SAUCE

make 1 1/4 cups of sauce

1 ½ – 2 teaspoons arrowroot powder (depending on how thick you want it)

1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 pint blueberries

3 Tablespoons Grade A maple syrup

3 Tablespoons water

In a small bowl, whisk the arrowroot in the lemon juice until dissolved. Set aside.
Place the blueberries, maple syrup and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 4 minutes.
Add the arrowroot and lemon juice mixture and stir to combine. Simmer for another 3-4 minutes until blueberries are very soft and sauce has thickened.
Serve warm over pancakes or ice cream or refrigerate up to 5 days for later use.

blueberries butter graham crackers maple syrup yogurt

Italian Fried Rice Recipe and * VIDEO *

I ate an excessive amount of pasta growing up. My mom prepared it about three times per week and then we usually had it also on Sundays when we went to spend the day with my mom’s family or my dad’s. Pasta was part of our heritage, not just an easy dinner and not eaten plain with butter the way I know many kids prefer it. (Coincidentally, my father is visiting this week and on Day 2 he was already asking for a plate of spaghetti!)

Ironically I don’t make pasta much for my family, and not because we don’t like it. We do! And it’s not because pasta is a processed food, because it is and I try to limit those. But, I don’t eat much pasta because I can’t stop myself from overeating it! Did you know 1 serving of pasta is 1/2 cup? Basically, I try to keep my carbohydrates to 2 servings per meal to avoid blood sugar spikes and to attempt to maintain a healthful weight. Unfortunately, overeating pasta for me is very, very easy. I think I can consume 4 cups of pasta no problem. I know I can make a dish with mostly veggies and some pasta, but I always end up eating seconds. And thirds.

Whole grains like farro, barley and brown rice I don’t overeat as easily. A few years ago I ate a fried rice dish at Ammo in LA that was a game changer. I always assumed fried rice to be Asian-inspired, but this one wasn’t. And it’s not fried, by the way. Just sautéed. It just had lots of seasonal market vegetables and brown rice all sautéed in olive oil. It made me think about all the possibilities for fried rice and I have enjoyed making versions of that dish since then. My favorite combination I came up with is this one here, which has an Itailian twist. I am crazy for it because it makes me feel like I’m eating all the yummy flavors I would put in pasta and it feels more satisfying because the brown rice has so much more fiber than pasta.

But just like regular fried rice, this is a great way to use up bits of leftover veggies or any kind of grain, for that matter. And it is super quick (as in minutes) to throw together. I probably eat a version of this recipe for lunch more than anything else if I am working at home. Now that I think about it, I am going to make this for my parents this week!

5.0 from 1 reviews

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Italian Fried Rice

Author: Pamela

Serves: 4

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons unrefined, cold pressed extra-virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
a pinch of chili flakes (optional)
½ pint cherry tomatoes, halved
½ bunch asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 or 2 cups of shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, caps wiped clean with a damp paper towel and sliced thinly
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
a few leaves of fresh basil, thinly sliced
2-3 cups baby leafy greens like chard, kale and spinach or 6 stalks of kale, stemmed and leaves chopped or more
3-4 cups COOKED short grain brown rice
chicken stock, vegetable stock or water, if necessary
optional accompaniment ideas: grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino cheese, poached or fried egg, toasted, chopped nuts, hot sauce

Instructions

Warm a large skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil and when warm, add the garlic and chili flakes. Sauté until the garlic is just starting to turn golden on the edges, about 30-60 seconds.
Add the cherry tomatoes, asparagus, mushrooms and a pinch of salt and pepper and sauté until the tomatoes just start to lose their shape and the asparagus and mushrooms are tender, about 5-6 minutes. Add the fresh basil and sauté until wilted.
Add the cooked rice, the greens and another pinch of salt and pepper and sauté until the rice is warmed through and the greens are wilted. If the rice and vegetables are sticking to the pan, add a splash of water or stock. Serve immediately with or without suggested accompaniments.

Notes

Cooked quinoa, millet or lentils can be subbed for the rice. You can also use part grain/part chickpeas. Or omit the tomatoes and basil and use different quick-cooking vegetables like thinly sliced fennel, diced zucchini, shredded carrots, blanched cauliflower florets, peas, scallions. And use different ingredients to add in later, such as cooked beets, sliced oranges, avocado, olives and so on. There are unlimited combinations!

asparagus basil brown rice cherry tomatoes garlic spinach

Slow Roasted Wild Salmon with Mango-Cucumber Salsa Recipe

When I was about 10 years old, I decided I disliked beef and poultry enough that I would give them up for good. I was a pre-teen pescatarian, limiting my “animal” consumption to fish alone which created a bit of anxiety for my parents. The concern was that I wouldn’t get enough protein since I was still growing. Of course I was quite fine since I ate plenty of eggs, cheese, yogurt, legumes and nuts in addition to fish once a week. But I have always preferred seafood to animal protein, even to this day.

Then I met a cute boy in college who asked me out to dinner and I said yes and he took me to a…steak house. Hmmmmm……..A cute boy is a cute boy, so off I went. Ironically, the boy was a meat and poultry-eater, but not a fish eater. Opposites attract, I thought. Or hoped. That night I had my first bite of steak in many years and I actually thought it was delicious. Not delicious enough to turn me into a full-fledged carnivore, but I did continue to eat a little beef and chicken until very recently when I decided, once again, that I just don’t like beef at all and I only like chicken enough to have a bite. After all these years, I’m still a fish girl.

If you’ve hung around this blog long enough, you know that I married “the boy” and I’ve turned him on to almost all fish, except salmon. Once in a while he’ll have a bite to be nice, but he just can’t get into it. We tell the kids he’s “allergic.” But I absolutely love wild salmon and believe it or not, so does Mr. Picky! (“Love” might be a strong word, admittedly, but he always eats it.) We both think it’s delicious and since it’s so rich in important Omega-3 fats and a powerful antioxidant called astaxanthin, I like to find new ways to make it. (By the way, this is not the case with farm-raised salmon. Not healthy for you and bad for the environment.)

Slow roasting salmon is practically the only way I have cooked salmon in the last year. I just taught this method in my classes last month and everyone was so excited it. By cooking the salmon at a super low temperature (250 degrees) for a longer period of time, the fat just kind of melts into the fish and you don’t dry it out the way you might at 400 degrees which can cause the proteins to seize up a bit. I find wild fish to be a little tricky to get just right where it’s still moist and succulent, as opposed to tough and dry. Slow roasting is a dream and results in the most velvety salmon! Plus a bonus is that at such a low temp, you don’t damage the delicate Omega-3 fats. My son says he also likes this method because the house never smells like fish afterwards. It’s truly the perfect way to cook wild salmon!

Like I told my classes last month, this recipe is more about trying the technique of slow roasting and it’s not about the mango salsa here. I serve slow roasted salmon with lots of different salsas (try this one with corn and black beans), sauces ( I like this one with dill and cucumbers), dressings, or just a squeeze of citrus. Since it’s wild salmon season right now, I bet you can get your hands on some fantastic fish. I normally buy my wild salmon during the year from vitalchoice.com which ships it frozen on dry ice. It’s the best quality fish I can find. But starting in May, Grow in Manhattan Beach and Santa Monica Seafood have outstanding salmon and I haven’t been disappointed.

Needless to say, I will not be making salmon on Sunday for Father’s Day, but you certainly can. I guarantee, slow roasting is a game-changer!

5.0 from 1 reviews

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Slow Roasted Wild Salmon with Mango-Cucumber Salsa

Author: Pamela

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

For the salsa:
½ cup diced cucumber (If you use a variety like Persian or Hothouse, you can leave the seeds and skin on.)
1 mango, firm, but ripe, peeled and diced
½ jalapeno, minced, seeds removed for less heat
1 scallion, finely chopped or 3 Tablespoons finely diced red onion (this measurement is really according to taste)
1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice
¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped (tender stems are ok)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
24 ounce fillet of wild salmon*(leave out of refrigerator 20 minutes before roasting)
unrefined, cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the salmon on the baking sheet and drizzle with enough olive oil to coat the top of the fish lightly. You can use your hands to oil the fish. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper to taste.
Bake for 25-35 minutes or until center of salmon is rare and starting to flake when you poke it with a paring knife. The amount of time it takes to cook the salmon perfectly depends on the temperature of the fish when you place it in the oven and the thickness of the fish.
While the salmon cooks, prepare the salsa. Mix all the salsa ingredients in a medium nonreactive bowl and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve salmon warm, room temperature or cold with salsa.

Notes

*If you use individual fillets, adjust cook time accordingly. 6 ounce fillets will take approximately 20 minutes.

If you’re really not sure if the salmon is done, you can roast until the thickest part registers 125 degrees on an instant read thermometer.

cilantro cucumber mango salmon

Baked Cinnamon Cake Doughnuts Recipe (gluten-free adaptable!)

I love teaching people how to cook and I love working with food, but one business I don’t see myself in is the restaurant business. That just seems like waaaaaay too much work! But if I did open a restaurant, I would have a little casual breakfast and lunch place called “He Said, She Said.” The menu would be split down the middle with dude food on one side and lady food on the other.

I’ve seen plenty of women eat just as much as a man and I am one of them. BUT it’s the food choices that men and women make that I find so interesting, and different. My husband and I are the perfect example. We have been married for almost 19 years and I don’t think we’ve ever ordered the same thing in a restaurant. And I can usually predict what he will get!

I tend to graviate towards salads, vegetable-based dishes, lentils, beans, and ethnic foods and away from things that are fried, greasy and heavily sauced. He, on the other hand, will order anything with melted cheese and/or lots of tomato sauce plus a side of fries or onion rings. My husband is a meat-guy too, and doesn’t think about how he’s going to get his veggies at every meal.

Since I do all the cooking in our house, I tend to make what I like. However, when it’s my husband’s birthday or Father’s Day, I will think about his favorites and go that direction. Father’s Day is coming up, on Sunday, June 15th to be exact. And even though I would prefer a veggie frittata or a yogurt and homemade granola parfait, I know my husband would be THRILLED if I bought him doughnuts. But since doughnuts are probably one of the worst possible foods you can eat, there is no way in the world that I would ever give them to someone with whom I would like to grow old. I hate to be a party pooper, but doughnuts are completely non-nutritive, full of empty calories, high in simple carbohydrates which spike your blood sugar and are deep fried in the most damaged pro-inflammatory fat EVER. So not good.

I will, however, make baked doughnuts with some higher quality (but I didn’t say healthful) ingredients. They still taste delicious and won’t put anyone in a sugar coma afterwards! Yippee! I am giving you plenty of time to order this doughnut pan because unfortunately you can’t make doughnuts without a doughnut pan. I like this one the best because it is coated with silicone for a nonstick finish that doesn’t leach like toxic PFTE’s and PFOA’s. You can also scoop the batter with an mini ice cream scoop into mini muffin pans for doughnut holes.

I recommend making these the day you want to eat them and I am partial to serving these alongside a hearty, high fiber and high protein breakfast and not alone because even though they are significantly better for you than traditional doughnuts, they’re not health food! I kept these pretty simple with a cinnamon-sugar topping, but if you really wanted to throw in the towel, you could go for a glaze instead. Fun!

5.0 from 1 reviews

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Baked Cinnamon Cake Doughnuts

Author: Pamela, inspired by thefauxmartha.com

Serves: makes 6 doughnuts or 20 doughnut "holes"

Ingredients

⅓ cup whole milk or milk substitute, at room temperature
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
½ cup whole wheat pastry flour or whole spelt flour*
½ cup all-purpose flour or white spelt flour
1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg (do not omit – this is the secret ingredient of all cake doughnuts!)
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted + extra butter for greasing the pan
¼ cup cane sugar
2 Tablespoons honey
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Topping:
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 Tablespoons cane sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (or less cinnamon for a more “authentic” ratio)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease the wells of the doughnut pan with some butter.
In a glass measuring cup, mix together milk and vinegar and allow to sit at room temperature for at least 5 minutes to curdle.
In a large bowl whisk together flours, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
In a small bowl, whisk together melted butter, sugar, honey, egg, vanilla and curdled milk.
Whisk wet ingredients into dry ingredients, taking care not to overmix.
Spoon batter evenly into wells of the doughnut pan, filling only ⅔ full.* If filled too high, there won’t be any doughnut holes. Another way to fill the wells is by transferring the batter to a quart-size Ziploc bag and snipping one corner ½inch and piping the batter into the wells. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until doughnuts spring back when pressed lightly. Allow to cool 5 minutes before turning doughnuts onto a cooling rack.
While the doughnuts are still warm, combine the 2 Tablespoons cane sugar with the teaspoon of cinnamon in a shallow bowl. Brush the tops (or bottoms) of the doughnuts with melted butter and dip into the cinnamon–sugar mixture so that it sticks. Repeat with remaining doughnuts.

Notes

*Or substitute a total of 1 cup King Arthur Multi-purpose Gluten-free Flour and ½ teaspoon xanthan gum for the white and wheat flours

**Or bake in a greased mini-muffin pan for doughnut holes.

apple cider vinegar butter buttermilk cinnamon milk nutmeg whole wheat pastry flour

Miso-Glazed Black Cod Recipe

Am I the only one who reads cookbooks like novels? Sometimes it’s embarrassing when I am asked “what are you reading?” because my nightstand is stacked with cookbooks, nutrition books and cooking magazines. Of course it’s inspiring to look at new recipes and techniques, but more than that I find it relaxing. A cooking nerd I most definitely am.

I was super excited to dig into Laurie David’s new cookbook, “The Family Cooks.” I recently had the opportunity to meet Laurie at a party for the launch of her new book. I think she is such a powerhouse and I love her message about making time to cook from scratch and eating together as a family. I’m so on her wavelength. All her recipes look good, but since she urged me to make the miso-glazed cod first, I didn’t waste any time.

The first time I had miso cod was many years ago at a very fancy restaurant in LA called Nobu. The cod is so silky, it just melts in your mouth and has a little sweet-salty thing going on which is my favorite flavor combo. This recipe is very similar although I appreciate Laurie’s use of maple syrup over processed cane sugar. It is a very impressive dish, yet it only takes minutes to prepare and uses very few ingredients. I also love that you can marinate it for a whole day if you want and then all you have to do is broil it before din

I am always looking to expand our fish repertoire with good sustainable options. We tend to eat a lot of wild salmon, wild halibut and (when my husband is not home for dinner) wild shrimp. Whenever I want to know what the current status is for a particular fish, I go to seafoodwatch.org, an organization which helps consumers and businesses make choices for healthy oceans. Their recommendations indicate which seafood items are “Best Choices,” “Good Alternatives,” and which ones you should “Avoid.” Black cod, which is also known as sablefish, is considered to be a “best choice.” The whole family (except Daughter #2 who still doesn’t eat most fish and didn’t try this) loved it. Serve with a simple steamed rice or cauli-rice, and a green vegetable and you have an easy, delicious and healthful dinner. I made it recently with a kelp noodle salad and some sautéed beet greens!

There are a few ingredients that you may not normally have on hand, namely miso, a fermented soybean paste, and mirin, a sweet rice wine. Both are easy to find in many grocery stores and they have a very long shelf life so you have plenty of time to make this recipe again!

5.0 from 3 reviews

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Miso-Glazed Black Cod

Author: Pamela, adapted from "The Family Cooks" by Laurie David

Serves: 4

Ingredients

⅓ cup white miso, preferably organic
⅓ cup pure maple syrup or honey (I like maple syrup)
⅓ cup mirin
1 Tablespoon grated fresh peeled ginger
1 Tablespoon toasted unrefined sesame oil
4 pieces (6 ounces each) skinless black cod fillet, also known as sablefish

Instructions

In a bowl or glass pie plate just large enough to hold the fish, whisk together the miso, maple syrup, mirin, ginger and sesame oil. Place the fish in the bowl and spoon the marinade on top of the fish to cover it completely. Cover the bowl with a plate and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or overnight. The longer you can do this, the better the fish will taste.
Before cooking the fish, preheat the broiler and position your oven rack about 6 inches from the heat. I place the rack on the level the second from the top.
If you don’t have a stainless steel baking sheet, line a baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper.
Pull the fish from the bowl and shake off any excess marinade clinging to the fish. Place the fish on the baking sheet and broil until the glaze is dark and shiny and the fish flakes when you press on it, about 6-8 minutes.

ginger maple syrup mirin miso sesame oil

Strawberry-Cucumber Smoothie Recipe

Thank heavens for the smoothie. When one of my teenage daughters oversleeps and has “no time” for breakfast, I can throw in the blender an assortment of fruits, vegetables and things that don’t normally go with fruits and vegetables (like hemp seeds or almond butter) and we’ve got a balanced meal in seconds. The smoothie is something even a 10-year-old like Mr. Picky can make by himself, and he does almost daily. His favorite is a combination of frozen banana, strawberry, pineapple, yogurt, coconut water, coconut butter and a squirt of Barleans Mango Omega Swirl. He even makes smoothies for his friends when they come over. So cute.

I love making smoothies at home, because I can control what goes into them, especially the sweetener. I rarely order smoothies in restaurants because I find them to be too sweet. And I’m not falling for what Jamba Juice considers a smoothie. Anything blended with frozen yogurt or sherbet is basically a fruity milkshake and it is not breakfast material.

I saw this recipe on Joy the Baker a while back and it made me think of flavored waters which I like to have on hand in the summer. (Just take a pitcher of water and toss in some cucumber slices or strawberries or watermelon or even pineapple rinds. Mint is fun to add in, too.) I loved this smoothie instantly. It felt like something I would have at a spa, and I sure don’t go to spas often enough! There isn’t an overwhelming flavor of cucumber, it’s so subtle. The smoothie feels lightly sweet and super refreshing.

I prepare this several different ways. Almond milk makes it creamy, and coconut water keeps it light and fresh, more like spa water. I don’t usually add extra sweetener to mine, but the kids like it a tad sweeter. Honey or even pitted dates work beautifully. And if I have fresh ginger on hand, I love to add a little for an extra special kick. Ginger is incredibly anti-inflammatory and so great for digestion. Cucumber is one of the most alkalizing foods and terrific for the skin. And strawberries are rich in Vitamin C and other powerful phytonutrients. Total beauty smoothie here!

The only missing from this smoothie is protein, so I wouldn’t consider this a meal. But if you did want to include protein, I would throw in protein powder (keep in mind most are sweetened), hemp or chia seeds, or use yogurt instead of the almond milk. Yogurt is more tart than almond milk, so you might need to add a little sweetener to balance it out. If you’re tired of your same-old-same-old smoothie, give this one a try and get glowing!

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Strawberry-Cucumber Smoothie

Author: Pamela, adapted from Joy the Baker

Serves: 2, but if you are serving younger kids, you could get 4 smoothies out of this

Ingredients

1 cup cold coconut water or unsweetened almond milk (click here for how to make your own)
1 ½ cups frozen strawberries (click here for how to freeze fruit)
1 Persian cucumber, unpeeled, cut into large chunks or ½ an English (hothouse) cucumber, seeds removed, cut into large chunks
1 Tablespoon raw honey or sweetener of choice (optional)
1 teaspoon minced, peeled ginger (optional)

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a blender until smooth.
Add more almond milk as necessary, depending on your desired consistency.

Notes

Note: you can substitute frozen blueberries or blackberries and add ground flax meal, hemp seeds or protein powder.

almond milk coconut water cucumber ginger strawberries

How to Cook Whole Artichokes VIDEO

Watch this video to see how easy it is to prepare artichokes. The tomato-basil salad is optional, but very tasty and a lot more healthful than a traditional mayonnaise-based dipping sauce! I am excited to share more videos soon!