Terrific Summer Smoothie

My daughter makes all the smoothies in the house, I cannot take credit for any of them (I only do credit for office furniture, yukyukyuk). I like her strawberry smoothies (yum!) but strawberries can be pretty expensive. Right now, it’s watermelon season! So she tried a watermelon smoothie, and OH MY WORD this is incredible. She never measures, but I asked her to give estimates as best she can. This is what it is:

Add enough chunks of watermelon and process int he blender until your blender is about halfway full.

Add about 3 cups of strawberries (fresh or frozen). Process.

Add one pack of Stevia sweetner (I like it without the sweetener)

If you want a very fresh treat, add crushed ice.

It is SO good. It’s way better than a milkshake, a Coolata, anything. The watermelon makes it very fresh, but it’s mild and just so yummy. Perfect for a hot summer day.

Terrific Strawberry/Green Smoothie

I can’t believe how expensive those “instant” smoothies are, in the freezer section. Holy cow. I think they are $3 a package?!

We got a blender, a very nice one, from a dear friend. My daughter has taken it upon herself to create smoothies (mostly because I have been busy reviewing electronics and renovating the kitchen). She’s been experimenting with all sorts of ingredients (almond milk, cucumbers, bananas, etc). I’m not very fond of smoothies in general (I prefer to either eat my food or drink my drink, not have something in between), but my daughter’s strawberry smoothies are superb. They are especially terrific when chilled or iced just a little. YUM. Here’s her recipe for strawberry smoothie.

TIP: You can use either frozen strawberries or fresh. We use frozen because the fresh are usually too expensive. Fresh is best tasting, though. She also sometimes adds rice milk or soy milk to the mix, which makes the smoothie something like a milkshake.

Strawberry Kale Smoofie*

About 5 cups or so of frozen or fresh strawberries, washed and stems removed
2 handfuls of fresh kale, washed and stems removed
Water or rice milk

• Fill the blender about 3/4 with strawberries
• Add water or rice milk up to about an inch from the top
• Press “stir” on the blender for a few seconds to get the frozen fruit moving around
• Switch to “beat” until the strawberries are about all chopped up
• Then switch to “blend” for about 30 seconds or so, till it has the consistency of thick applesauce, and flows easily through the blender
• Add two handfuls of kale, and go back through the “beat” and “blend” cycles
• Add a packet of stevia, or in my case, Sun Crystals
• Set to “liquefy” until it has the smooth consistency you want
• Ready to serve!

“Smoofie” is our endearing term for “smoothie.”

Eggshells in Coffee

Since I recently purchased a new coffeemaker, I’m back in the experimental mode of trying new things with my coffee. I have a sensitive stomach, and while I love coffee, the acidity in it makes my stomach curl. I’m quite touchy about how my coffee is perked, and I can only drink very fresh coffee, since the older coffee gets, the more bitter and acidic it gets.

Years ago, I used to try everything to moderate the coffee acidity: add sugar or salt to the grounds before perking, try shredded wild chicory, etc etc. The best thing I found was eggshells. Yep! Eggshells. It’s not done very much anymore; it’s considered an “old wives’ tale.” But it seemed to work for me! So I’m back to using eggshells for my coffee. You can try it and see if you sense a difference.

Note: I DO NOT recommend using raw eggshells from raw eggs. There’s the chance of salmonella poisoning, and that would defeat the purpose of making a yummy, stomach-friendly cup of coffee, wouldn’t it? You always have to keep safety (and use safety products) in mind when dealing with raw stuff. I save the eggshells from our boiled eggs. I store them, crunched up, in a baggie in the fridge. They will keep for a few days. And any eggshells you do not use, toss in the compost or in your potting soil– eggshells are marvelous for the soil.

Here’s what you do:
Add a tablespoon of crunched-up eggshells to your coffee grounds. It has been said that the calcium carbonate in the shells reduces the acids in the coffee. Plus, the calcium will cause any loose coffee grounds floating around in the coffee pot to sink to the bottom.

I taste a difference. My coffee is slightly milder and less acidity. You can experiment with the amount of eggshell in your coffee grounds– add less if you want a more robust drink. Try it and see!

Licorice Tea

I’m a coffee drinker. I used to be a tea drinker, but then I got married and had four children, 2 years apart, give or take 6 months. I NEEDED coffee. I had three kids under the age of 3 for a time. It’s a good thing I had them all when I was very young, I don’t think I could ever do something like that again.

Well, now that I am *cough* OLD, I am getting back to teas now and again. I still like the regular, plain old, orange pekoe tea that my mother and grandmother drank before me, but I’ve tinkered here and there with testing out herbal teas.

HANDS DOWN, the best herbal tea I have ever had is this: Stash Licorice Spice Tea. Wow, folks– Wow! I found it at my local Hannaford’s Supermarket (WalMart doesn’t carry it), and it’s a little pricey- $2.50 for a box of 20. But if you’re thrifty, one teabag can make two cups of tea.

The scent drives me wild. After making the tea, I frequently carry the empty package in my shirt pocket, to smell the licorice all day. It makes the house smell incredible. The tea requires no sugar- it’s really nice tea. Perfect for afternoons or as a dessert tea after dinner.