Berry Chia Pudding

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Berry Chia Pudding

 

Let’s talk about chia. They’re seeds, kinda slimy and you once slathered them on a terra cotta little statue of a cat or Bart Simpson to make a chia pet. I get it. They’re weird.

They are also really good for you. Healthy omega-3 fats, fiber, calcium, protein, manganese, all sorts of things to make you feel super virtuous. I have been adding chia seeds to my oatmeal for a few years now and inspired by this chia parfait that looked great, I decided to see what else I could do with these little guys.

Chia Pudding: 2 cups cashew milk*, 1/2 cup chia seeds, 2 tablespoon unsweetened coconut shreds, 1 tablespoon maple syrup. Combine in bowl and stir vigorously. Cover and store in refrigerator for an hour.

Berry Topping: 1 cup strawberries, 1 cup frozen blueberries, 1 banana, 1/2 cup cashew milk*. Combine in a blender (I don’t have one so I used a bowl and a submersion blender).

*almond milk would work well too.

Chia Pudding

Chia Berry Pudding

The finished product: delicious and creamy, not at all reminiscent of a chia pet. With how easy it was to pull together, it would make a great staple to have on hand for when a healthy snack is needed mid-day. Easy, healthy and delicious: nothing could sum up my mid-week food needs more.

 

Heirloom Tomato Bloody Mary

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Like I said yesterday, I could not resist the stunners that were these yellow heirloom tomatoes at The Green City Market and thus, they became a Bloody Mary too. What can I say? When Williams-Sonoma asks what unique spin you can put on a Bloody Mary, you go for it. And going for it is always a good move, in life and in cocktails. The proof is in the glass in this case.

yellow tomatoes

yellow juicer

yellow juice

First thing’s first: juice these bad boys. I felt like the yellow tomatoes were special in their own right so I kept the recipe pretty traditional on this Bloody Mary with one exception: Old Bay. I have always loved Old Bay but my husband grew up in Chesapeake Bay country and is deeply devoted to this combination of spices. We put containers of Old Bay in our wedding gift bags and I keep small packets of it in a majority of my purses because God forbid we’re out for brunch and a restaurant doesn’t have it for his Bloody Mary.

Anyways.

As a result, I absolutely had to include it in this recipe and I am so glad I did- it adds so much more flavor than celery salt does. To get mixing, I added 2 tablespoons lemon juice, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce to taste, a Tablespoon of salt, pepper and at least that of Old Bay. I finished it off with Sriracha because I like a little heat at the end of each sip. As always, add, taste and repeat until the flavor is where you want it!

bacon

I kept the garnish simple with a single piece of bacon but it was sort of special bacon. I tossed the bacon (turkey, in this case) in a ziploc with dijon mustard, brown sugar and a little bit of maple syrup. Once evenly coated, I put them in the oven at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. The brown sugar mixture caramelized and I had a stick of sweet bacon to pop in the drink instead it being curled up the way it ends up when you cook it in a pan. I also think a skewer with shrimp, maybe wrapped in bacon or prosciutto, would be great with this Bloody Mary and the seafood would play off the Old Bay well. Ooohh, maybe top the Bloody Mary with fresh crab.

Almost as great as the fact that Bloody Mary’s can be made from entirely fresh ingredients? That the weekend is upon us and it’s time for brunch. I’ll have a Bloody Mary, please…

Gluten-Free Update

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I am 13 days into my month of being gluten-free. I have read blogs and books, learning about what isn’t entirely made out of wheat and tried a lot of new recipes, hitting veggies hard. And I’ve got to tell you, I am feeling so much better. Of course, it could be a combination of holiday cocktail’ing being over and not stuffing my face with copious amounts of carbs and sugar but I have absolutely noticed my stomach feeling better and having more energy in general.

My favorite discovery (aside from feeling better)? Spaghetti squash! It really, truly has the consistency of spaghetti and it was so good topped with sautéed veggies and cherry tomatoes. Polenta with homemade marinara sauce was a close second. Next up? Gluten-free baking. Stay tuned.

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