kelp noodles

these are raw noodles! at first i tried them cold in a salad wrap and i didn't care for the texture. they were rubbery, even crunchy, with a slightly weird taste. but i recently gave them another try in a warm miso soup. this softened them up and covered any taste. they are now much like bean thread "invisible" noodles.

one of my favorite new supermarket discoveries.

These brands of sprouts are so convenient. my experience sprouting at home has been..okay, but it's tough to get the tiny ones like clover and alfalfa to work. I do better with the bug mung beans and lentils.

anyway, these sprouts are grown in hawaii and the bags of clover sprouts are only 1.49. of course this is more than paying for the seeds and sprouting them yourself, but a much better deal than other brands that sell a little plastic box of them for 5.49. I also like the peas in the mixed bean bag. that bag was a dollar more i think, but it lasted me about a week because i would just add the beans as a colorful and crunchy topping to other meals. adding interesting stuff to salads encourages me to go through the work of arranging them.

Zucchini Bread Smoothie

I saw this recipe because i am a fan of Blendtec on facebook. and they posted a link to a blog with this recipe.

http://edibleperspective.com/2011/09/change-is-good-so-are-recipes/

(scroll down past the bunch of pics of this lady's haircut...)

i had most of the other ingredients so i got a zucchini to try. i didn't follow it exactly, but the general idea was there. i added a little dried coconut, used buckwheat instead of oats, and flax seed instead of chia. i think i through in some psyllium to so it was very thick even without any ice. i've made it twice now (i knew i'd better use up the rest of the zucchini right away or i may never do it) the second time i added a little thinly sliced fresh ginger and some cardamon, and a frozen banana because i wanted a little more volume. i really don't taste much zucchini, but that's alright.


i think it is possible to make this totally raw if you make your own nutmilk (or just use water or coconut water) and use a raw honey for the sweetner. so then it's just zucchini, nuts, seeds, and spices. pretty good.

i didn't use any vanilla or protein powder and i went with soymilk for the liquid and agave for the sweetner. It really did resemble the taste of zuchinni bread batter and was a good use of a vegetable in a smoothie. It's one of those drinks that is less fruity and more of a creamy, protein, cookie milkshake taste (yum!) and i'll probably make it again sometime

Ode to a watermelon.

We got a quart of a melon last month that was just tops. for some reason it was the best melon i've had in some time. and that's a little surprising for produce imported to the middle of the Pacific. Anyway, it was very sweet and full of flavor.

Stars!

well i've been a terrible blogger for quite some time, but i hope to remedy that.

When i saw bags of starfruit at the farmers market, i went for it. who can resist that awesome shape that looks so tropical.



i dont think i had ever had them before. I think i expected them to be somewhat tart, like a kiwi.
the real taste was blander than i expected. the thin skin is edible and the flesh has the texture and juiciness of a firm grape, but a taste like.. apples?



a few sliced stars of this was all i cared to eat. so i had an idea for the extra. I dont have a dehydrator anymore but i do have an oven. i put the stars on a baking sheet with tin foil on it. i turned the oven on low for a while, then turned it off, repeating this for a few days. i left it off at night and when nobody was home , of course. so there is low heat and a dry area. not really much air circulation, but at least if it is closed up the ants that patrol this house can't walk away with my fruit.

i do prefer the starfruit dried. it makes it sweeter, but it is still pretty mild and it's now mostly skin. i think there are much better things to dry, but at least i gave it a try.