Ginger-Melon Hydrating Recovery Juice

A short post with another running-related recipe. This is a quick juice that you can make in a blender using cantaloupe (or another melon) and ginger. Melons have a higher glycemic index than other fruits and high water content, and ginger has anti-inflammatory properties, so they make a good post-running combination. Plus, the ginger is really refreshing. Use more or less ginger based on your preferences and enjoy! I think this could also be good mixed with some sparkling water for carbonation.

Ginger-Melon Hydrating Recovery Juice
From realbuzz.com

2 chilled melons, skinned and seeded
1-2 T skinned and chopped ginger
8 crushed ice cubes

Put all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Orange and Feta - end of winter Sunday night dinner, part 2

Although I write this with the windows open and after spending most of the weekend outside in the summer-like weather, I'm returning to my "end of winter" Sunday dinner theme, so that I can finally get to part II of the last post. This dish would actually work for almost any season, since it's so fresh tasting, so don't let the "winter" in the title scare you off.

To accompany the apple chicken curry, I roasted Brussels sprouts with balsamic vinegar, orange juice and zest, and melted in feta cheese at the end. Delicious. This is an incredibly simple dish, and I really like the roasting method, because it creates crispy leaves on the Brussels sprouts.

I think I used the adjective "earthy" at least once in the last post, but really, it's the best word for the combination of this dish with the apple chicken curry (and yogurt sauce if you make it). The citrus flavors in this dish work really well with the savoriness of the curry, and the whole thing is faintly fruity.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Orange and Feta

2 lbs Brussels sprouts
4 T olive oil
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1 T fresh orange zest
1 T plus 1 t balsamic vinegar
2 T orange juice
1/2 c crumbled feta cheese (could be omitted for vegan version)

1. Rinse Brussels sprouts and cut in half length-wise. Pre-heat over to 400 degrees F.
2. Mix Brussels sprouts with all other ingredients, except feta cheese, in medium bowl. Pour all into 9x13 baking pan.
3. Roast Brussels sprouts for 30-35 minutes, or until leaves of Brussels sprouts start to get brown and crispy.
4. Remove from oven and add feta cheese while still warm. Mix all together.

Lime Dulce de Leche Bars

I definitely always intended to make these as a winter dessert, but I ended up being off by one major holiday. After buying all of the ingredients around Christmas, but completely running out of time to make them, the cans of sweetened milk sitting in my cupboard kept reminding me that I wasn't going to be able to think of anything else to make with them. So I made them sort of for Valentine's Day last weekend, and they lasted all week, which was a nice.

At first glance they're not exactly a winter recipe; they're sort of tropical for this time of year. But I think that's why I like them. The citrus zest and the tropical-ness of the coconut kind of cut winter dreariness.

Eventually, I promise to work harder to move past posting lime/coconut/chocolate dessert recipes, but for now I think these confirmed my love of coconut-based desserts. Without the lime and chocolate they would be be way too sweet, but with those ingredients they're interesting. That said, I cut them pretty small because of how rich they are. Without any kind of crust, though, they're super easy to make and also keep really well in the refrigerator.

Lime Dulce de Leche Bars

Makes about 2 dozen small bars

2 14-ounce cans sweetened condensed milk
1/2 C light corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 t salt
14 ounce bag sweetened flaked coconut
5 ounce bag sliced almonds
zest of 1 lime (about 1.5 T)
1 C dark chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Line a 11x17 baking sheet (with raised edges if possible) with parchment paper.
3. In large mixing bowl, stir to combine the sweetened condensed milk, corn syrup, vanilla, and salt.
4. Dump in the coconut, almonds, and lime zest. Stir.
5. Spread mixture out evenly onto baking sheet.
6. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until golden brown around edges.
7. Let cool so that bars harden; refrigerate any leftovers.

Brined and Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

In honor of Halloween this weekend, an easy, salty and kind of sassy (thanks to Worcestershire sauce) recipe for roasted pumpkin seeds:



I tried something new with this recipe in that I first brined the seeds (boiled them in salty water) before roasting them in the oven, which I'd seen in a couple of recipes.





And after trying them, I think I'm into the brining. It seems it makes them a bit crispier because it kind of puffs them up before you bake them.

It's unfortunate that more seeds don't come in one pumpkin, because it's pretty easy to eat the whole batch yourself.

Brined and Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

seeds from 1 medium-sized pumpkin
1 T olive oil
1.5 T Worcestershire sauce
2 T salt
(amounts may chance depending on quantity of seeds in your pumpkin)

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Cut pumpkin open and scoop out the insides. Separate the seeds from the stringy parts, and rinse the seeds.

2. Measure the quantity of seeds that you have, and add 2 cups of water for every half-cup of seeds, and half a teaspoon of salt for every cup of water, to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and let simmer for about 10 minutes. Drain seeds.

3. Spread the seeds in a roasting pan. Add 1 T of olive oil and 1 T of Worcestershire sauce for every 1 cup of seeds. Mix all together, and spread seeds in pan so that seeds are in one layer.

4. Bake seeds for 20 minutes, until the seeds begin to brown. Watch carefully as they burn easily. Let cool.

Simple Noodles with Almond Butter

This is a recipe for a very specific type of evening: when you don't have much time to cook, or go to the grocery store, or are having a spur-of-the-moment desire for some really satisfying noodles made with the least effort possible.

I stole the basic idea for this from a co-worker, and it got me thinking about how it's interesting to learn what people who like to cook make when they're pressed for time/energy/money. You can still make some really interesting dishes, and sometimes it's nice to eat something very simple like this.

The ingredients for this dish are (relatively) inexpensive, especially after you make it the first time and have everything on hand. One of the things I'm going to try and write about from time to time are inexpensive recipes that still have a lot of interesting elements and are made out of natural/whole ingredients.

Crucial for its categorization as a last-minute simple dish, this is also a recipe that can be made from entirely non-perishable ingredients (if you use frozen vegetables), so I like to have these ingredients around so I can make it whenever I think of it.

Lastly, it's good either hot or cold!



Simple Noodles with Almond Butter

1/3 C almond butter
2 t soy sauce
8 ounces of soba noodles (whole wheat pasta would also work)
1/3 t chili powder
1/3 t ginger powder
2 C vegetables (I used frozen shelled edamame*, but peas or broccoli would also be good)

1. Boil water and cook the pasta per package instructions. Once tender, drain and set aside.

2. In a small bowl, mix the almond butter, soy sauce, chili powder, and ginger powder. You might have to mash the almond butter a little to get it all to mix together.

3. If using frozen vegetables, microwave or steam them so that they are warm.

4. Mix the noodles, vegetables, and almond butter mixture.

* sold at Whole Foods