Peach and Banana Smoothie

I am not much of a smoothie-for-breakfast person. It always feels a bit more satisfying to chew on something. But that does not mean I do not like to have smoothies as part of an afternoon snack- especially when the weather is flower-wilting hot. This smoothie is a real cinch to make and perfect for taking advantage of those lovely peaches at the farmers' markets. Peaches and bananas provide a fruity, summery sweetness while the cashews literally smooth the smoothie out. They make it lusciously creamy without the cream. They also provide some healthy fat and protein that prevent the sugar rush that you can get with fruit-only beverages. Just be sure to soak your cashews for a few hours in water (and then drain) to help them blend more easily.

They key to making this cold without the ice is to use frozen bananas. If you use frozen bananas and frozen peaches, your blender will most likely throw a fit and refuse to blend unless you add a little water. If you only have frozen peaches, add about a tablespoon of water at a time while the blender is running until you get the consistency you want.

I garnished mine with a bit of chopped pistachios because I love the pop of color they give. And a teensy pinch of flaky sea salt on the top will surely give your tastebuds a little surprise.

Peach and Banana Smoothie

1/4 cup raw cashews, soaked for at least 2 hours in room temperature water and drained
1 peach, washed and pitted
1 medium to large banana, frozen in 1-inch pieces
1-2 teaspoons local honey or agave syrup, if vegan (this depends on the sweetness of your peaches)
chopped pistachios and pinch of flaky sea salt, for garnishing (optional)

Place everything in a blender and blend until smooth. If smoothie is a bit thick to your liking, add a little water to thin it out until desired consistency is reached. Top with chopped pistachios and a pinch of flaky sea salt if you would like. Serves 1-2.

Yogurt and Honey Filled Raspberries with Mango

Berries are not the hardiest of fruits, so it is a bit tricky trying to eat them before they get overripe and then turn furry. A nifty trick that I read about and recently tried was plunging my berries in a mix of white vinegar and water. The logic is that the vinegar kills any bacteria or mold spores that linger on the berries' surface. I was skeptical at first, thinking my berries would take on a vinegary taste, but not only do they just taste of sweet summer, they are still mold free after now what is 6 days in the refrigerator. In my mind, the little extra time is worth having berries for days in the fridge, so it will be something I continue to do. Ideally, I would be able to get fresh berries every few days and consume them in time, but that is just not my reality. So for berries that last:

• Fill a bowl with a mixture of 1 part white vinegar to 3 parts cold water
• Plunge whole berries in bowl (if using strawberries, hull first)
• Carefully mix berries around and allow to sit in the mixture for 10 minutes
• Rinse berries with cold water
• Carefully drain berries and spin in a salad spinner basket lined with a paper towel, and spin gently. If you do not have a salad spinner, try to allow berries to dry as much as possible with a paper towel.
• Place berries in a single layer in a paper-towel lined container. You can stack the berries, placing a paper towel layer in between, but be mindful of how much weight is on the bottom layer.
• Store in the fridge and enjoy for days!

This is a bright little fruit plate that hits sweet, tart, creamy, and a little nutty notes. Hardly a recipe, however, I thought it was worth sharing because it is a beautiful and simple take on a fruit salad. It is sunshine in a bowl. I filled the raspberries with a mix of honey and Greek yogurt, but whipped cream, whipped coconut cream (if vegan), or even a mascarpone or ricotta mix would be delicious. I also love how the green pistachios contrast with the reds and yellows, but almost any nut would do. Vegan and do not use honey? Use maple syrup or agave instead as your sweetener!

To fill the raspberries, I use a plastic sandwich bag and snip the corner off just a bit. Nothing fancy, and it is more than enough to get the job done. If you are making this for a get-together, this step can be done a few hours in advance and the raspberries stored carefully in the refrigerator.

Yogurt and Honey Filled Raspberries with Mango

1 cup of fresh raspberries, washed and dried
1/2 fresh ripe mango, peeled and cut into thin slivers
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (or coconut yogurt, whipped cream, or mascarpone/ ricotta mixture)
2 teaspoons local honey (or maple syrup or agave if vegan)
2 tablespoons roughly chopped shelled pistachios

Mix the yogurt and honey in a small bowl until thoroughly combined. Fill a plastic sandwich bag with yogurt or other filling of choice. Squeeze the yogurt towards one corner. Snip the corner off. Pipe the filling into the raspberries until just beyond the top. You may have leftover filling depending on how large your raspberries are. Arrange the mango slices and raspberries on a plate. Sprinkle raspberries with pistachios and serve. Makes one plate, enough for 1 or 2 people.

Mango and Goat Cheese Quesadilla

Are you tired of mangoes yet? Good, me neither. I still have a few more mangoes to use up from the giant box we received last week, so we are all in luck.

Mangoes are a pretty awesome fruit, but as much as I love to source as close to home as possible and support local farms, mangoes certainly are not local. This box of mangoes happened to be from Mexico, but sometimes, they are not even from the same continent. Then again, neither are the bananas I eat, the cinnamon sticks I use, the many forms of coconut I consume, and the numerous types of nuts and chocolate that make their way into my diet nearly every day. My goal is to strive to eat the foods grown and produced in this region when I can, but to also appreciate and celebrate the wonderful, more exotic foods from time to time. They bring joy, flavor, spice, and transport us to faraway places.

Eating locally to me means modifying my diet with the seasons, consuming more of the foods that grow in my region during each season. I buy local strawberries, tomatoes, cucumbers, melons, and peaches and in the summer. Come fall, I buy my apples and pears from the farmers' market because we are lucky here in Pennsylvania to have the prefect climate for those crops. You will rarely find me cooking with butternut squash in the summer just as you will rarely find me serving a tomato and mozzarella salad in the winter. I think it is important to be aware of what is grown in the region in which we live and to source from there when we can so as to minimize our impact on the environment and reduce our ecological footprint. And frankly, certain foods taste better when they are in season. They reach their peak potential in color, flavor, and texture, and who would not want to take advantage of that?

All of this said, we received a box of mangoes as a gift and are more than happy to put these mangoes to work in the kitchen. This quesadilla is a bit of a different take on the traditional cheese-laden tortilla you often find in Mexican restaurants. It is light with the goat cheese and herbs, floral and sweet with the mango, and a little spicy with the bits of jalapeño. The first time I thought of putting fruit in a quesadilla was when I came across Sara's Strawberry and Leek Quesadillas on her blog, Sprouted Kitchen. The combination was unexpected but like everything Sara makes, it worked.

I save a few steps here without sauteeing leeks as I simply toss fresh scallions and basil from our porch pots and a bit of raw jalapeño atop slivers of mango. Sharp cheddar helps glue everything together and lends a saltiness and richness that pairs well with the lighter, more tangy goat cheese. This comes together in a snap. I thought of adding avocado slices or maybe a handful of black beans to the quesadilla, but I wanted to keep things simple. If you try it with either of those additions, however, let me know how you like it.

Mango and Goat Cheese Quesadilla

2 whole wheat tortillas
2 teaspoons coconut or olive oil, divided
1/3 cup fresh soft goat cheese
1/3 cup grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese
1/3 to 1/2 mango, peeled and thinly sliced
1/3 to 1/2 jalapeño pepper, seeds removed and diced (use more or less depending on spice level desired)
2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil
2 tablespoons thinly sliced scallions

Prepare all of your ingredients as the process will go fairly quickly once the tortillas are in the pan. Heat a large skillet or flat-top griddle pan over medium heat. Add the teaspoon oil and swirl to coat. Add one tortilla to the pan. Top with goat cheese (either spread if cheese is the spreadable type or crumble evenly over). Arrange slices of mango on top. Sprinkle evenly with jalapeno pieces, basil, and scallions. Sprinkle cheddar cheese evenly over top, add second tortilla and gently press down to begin to seal top to bottom. Smear top with coconut oil or drizzle with teaspoon of olive oil.

Peak at the underside of the bottom tortilla and when golden, use a large spatula to carefully flip the quesadilla over. Press gently and continue to cook until bottom tortilla begins to brown and the cheddar has melted. Remove quesadilla from heat and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes before cutting to allow cheese to set. Cut into slices and serve. Enjoy! Serves 1-2.

Mango and Coconut Rice Salad

Yotam Ottolenghi does some magical things with food. He celebrates herbs, spices, vegetables, grains and has a way with making dishes almost too beautiful to eat. Almost. That is because after once bite, you are hooked and going in for another spoonful, forkful, what have you. When we were in London a few summers ago, I made it a mission to visit his eponymous cafe and was blown away with everything that I tasted. It exceeded expectations, and I told my boyfriend that it would be okay if he traveled to Paris, Antwerp, and Amsterdam alone while I parked myself at Ottolenghi for the rest of the vacation. We also got a chance to try Nopi, another one of his resturants that we just so happened to stumble upon during one of wanderings, and only had the most complex Shakshuka I had ever tasted. I dream about living steps away from his cafe.

Until then, cooking from his cookbooks will just have to do. I have more recipes in Plenty marked to try at some point than unmarked. And my sister "borrowed" my Plenty More several months ago. She keeps raving about all of the recipes she has made from it, forgetting that one day, she will have to give it back, or just hoping that I will forget that it was mine to begin with. The recipes in Plenty are heavy with vegetables and herbs. He has recipes for all seasons.

Since we have loads of mangoes to eat, I decided to try out Ottolenghi's Mango and Coconut Rice Salad, or at least a close approximation of it. You can find the original recipe in Plenty or here. I made several modifications, but the essence is the same. Two types of rice for texture and flavor, herbs, mango, citrus, coconut, and peanuts. I made the changes based on what I had on hand and my preferences, and we could not be happier with the results. I used brown basmati rice and Lundberg's Black Japonica Rice for its nutty flavor, but if you substitute other rice or grain types, I would be sure to use about 5 cups cooked rice or 5 cups cooked grain in total. This would make a fabulous salad for a make-ahead lunch or an outdoor gathering. It is a real stunner.

Mango and Coconut Rice Salad

2/3 cup brown basmati rice
scant 1 1/3 cup water
pinch of salt
1 cup loosely packed fresh basil, divided
1 cup Black Japonica rice
scant 2 cups water
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/4 cup mint leaves, roughly chopped
2/3 cup cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1/2 fresh serrano chile, seeded and finely chopped
grated zest of 1 lime
juice of 2 limes
1/2 cup roasted salted peanuts, roughly chopped
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, toasted
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt, to taste
1 large mango, cut into 1-2 cm dice

Cook the two types of rice. In a small saucepan, combine the brown basmati rice, scant 1 1/3 cup water, and 1/2 cup a basil leaves. Sprinkle with salt, bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat to a simmer, and allow to cook for 40 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to sit, covered, for 10 minutes. Remove basil leaves and discard.

For the black rice, combine the black rice, the scant 2 cups of water, and sprinkle of salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to a simmer, and allow to cook for 40 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to sit, covered, for 10 minutes. Allow both rice types to cool at least to room temperature before proceeding so as not to wilt the herbs.

Meanwhile, prepare the rest of the ingredients. Add the pepper, herbs, scallions, chile, lime zest and juice to a bowl. Add the cooled rice, the peanuts, and olive oil. Stir to combine and adjust salt to taste. Sprinkle in the toasted coconut, and carefully add in the mango and toss gently so as not to mush the pieces of mango. Enjoy! Serves 4.    

Coconut Mango Oatmeal

So here begins a series of mango posts. Last weekend, my boyfriend's parents gifted us a beautiful box of the most fragrant Champagne mangoes. This happens nearly every spring, and despite our attempts to share them with friends and family, we are still not able to finish them all before they begin to turn. So, I peel them, cut them in blender-friendly chunks, and freeze them to toss into smoothies for refreshing summer treats.

While I love mangoes as they are, it is fun to experiment with all of their culinary possibilities in the kitchen. They add a bright, almost floral flavor to any dish. One of my favorite ways to enjoy them is with coconut. I cannot help but think of the Thai mango and sticky rice dessert that comes with a generous spoonful of coconut cream, and if you are lucky, toasted coconut flakes. So simple, yet so beautiful.

It has been a bit of a chilly week here in Philadelphia for the start of June, and a warm bowl of oatmeal seemed to be just what I had been craving. I use coconut three ways in this oatmeal: coconut milk, coconut butter, and toasted coconut flakes. I top it off with fresh mango and lightly toasted cashews. One bite and you are transported to that tropical island you've been dreaming of. And it takes no time to make.

This recipe can easily be doubled, tripled, or quadrupled. I make my own coconut milk using this recipe, but you can use store-bought if that is more convenient. As far as the coconut butter goes, I love the Artisana brand although one of these days I am going to make my own because my coconut butter habit is getting rather pricey.

Coconut Mango Oatmeal

1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk
1/2 cup water
pinch salt
1/2 teaspoon honey (or agave if vegan)
1/2 cup diced fresh ripe mango (I used Champagne mango)
1 tablespoon coconut butter
1 tablespoon unsweetened shredded coconut, toasted
1 tablespoon chopped unsalted cashews, lightly toasted (I used raw cashews that I lightly toasted in a skillet)

Add the oats, coconut milk, and water to a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring often. Cook until oats have softened and desired consistency is reached. Remove oats from the heat, sprinkle in the pinch of salt. Stir in the 1/2 teaspoon of honey and tablespoon of coconut butter. Pour into a bowl and top with mango, coconut flakes, and cashews. Enjoy! Serves 1.