Smooth as Silk...Champagne Mangoes: prep and recipes!

Champagne Mangoes (aka Ataulfo mangoes) are here, guys! They are in from Mexico and I get them at my local Whole Foods.  They arrive in April and are only around for a few weeks, so go get some!  It's usually about $13 for a case (18) mangoes at WF.

Champagne mangoes have silky, smooth flesh and are not fibrous at all (like other types of mangoes).  They are sweet and rich in flavor making them perfect for eating.  They blend up as smooth as silk, too.  I prefer them as my "ice cubes" when I make blends (known to the rest of the world as "smoothies," *shudder*).

Here is a video tutorial on how to cut and clean your Champagne Mangoes. It was a one-take deal that I did this morning.

Freeze those babies!

I used them this morning in my green blend.
Here's the blend recipe:

The Wake, Bake and Blend, Blend!
(Thanks for the name, Jon!)

Makes about one serving:

1 pitted date, chopped
1 tsp. organic hemp seeds
(I used 1T per serving and it was a little too rich and nutty tasting for me)
About 1/2 cup frozen mango chunks
1 big handful of raw, organic spinach leaves
1 cup organic soy milk or other non-dairy milk 
juice of one fresh, organic orange

Put that in your blender (or Vitamix or Blendtech) and blend away.

Yum!

They also make a GREAT salsa!

Champagne Mango Salsa! 
(That link also has more info on the mangoes and on slicing, etc.)

Enjoy the weekend and this weather, everyone!

Summer Surprises: Snakes and Shakes!

Surprise!

Pa can still dive, he's seventy five! Go Pa!

What's that in the tree?

Surprise! It's Shady the Scare Snake protecting our figs from birds (it worked, at least for a while!).

Surprise! Our CSA farm was open for picking on Labor Day! Oh yes!

Those beans were delish! Aren't the purple ones pretty?

Hey, ever think those blog giveaways are rigged? I used to, until...

 Surprise! I won TWO giveaways this summer!  Nava's new book AND Dreena's new book, YES.

It was too hot to cook anything from the books, so...

 Spinach Mango Blend, inspired by Nava.  

 Strawberry Hemp Blend, inspired by Dreena! 

I learned that hemp seeds are great in blended drinks, they aren't "seedy" at all.

I'll get to some cookin' from those awesome books in the fall! Thanks, ladies for the wonderful giveaways!!

 CSA Week #13 (8/22/12): Three lovely eggplants, including a beautiful ghost eggplant! hmmm...

Surprise!

I love eggplant (I never really LOVED it before the CSA eggplant, it was AMAZING).  And, surprise! I didn't have to skin it, salt it or drain it, it was so sweet and yummy just sauteed right up in lemon, garlic, olive oil and salt.  SO GOOD.

Surprise!

 You thought I forgot to post these, right? Nope, here they are.  

CSA Week #14 (8/29/12): Lots of tomatoes!  

 CSA Week #15 (9/5/12):  Lots of greens, including kale (my favorite!), and all the tomatoes pictured below!

Lots of beautiful tomatoes two weeks in a row meant only one thing.  We had to learn to can!

 Surprise! My first canned tomatoes.  

And homemade raspberry jam (from local, organic raspberries!)

 Summer's almost over!!  Learn to put em' up, folks!  Don't forget to dry those herbs and freeze that pesto!  There's LOTS more awesome produce to be had for these last few days of summer and first crisp days of autumn.

Have you all had any surprises this summer?

Mommy, you forgot to make a blend!

People deal with having a sick loved one in a lot of different ways.  Some people talk about it, try to problem solve, get information, and prepare themselves and others for what is to come.  Others fall silent, get angry, or worse.  Everyone handles it differently.  And it's all OK.

Since my blood kills cancer, I consider myself a large, portable container full of chemotherapy.  Just pour my blood directly on your cancer cells, OK? Oh, no? Not a good idea?  Fine. Then, let me make you a drink.

Organic Blueberry Breakfast Shake 

With: organic wild (frozen) blueberries, organic, non-GMO soy protein powder, organic almond milk, and a frozen banana instead of ice.  

  Take that, cancer.

XOXO

P.S. This post was supposed to air on Tuesday, but I've been preoccupied with said loved one and it was tough earlier this week :-((