Cactus Pineapple Smoothie (for Nick) | Fear the Walking Dead

Welcome to the September edition of In the kitchen with Zombie Fiction! My intentions were to share a recipe inspired by Fear the Walking Dead with you last weekend to go along with the mid-season premiere, but time just kicked my butt and I never made anything. However, I'm kind of glad that I didn't, because watching that episode (S2:E8 "Grotesque") made me change my mind about what I was making and inspired today's recipe.

If you're not familiar with this spin-off of The Walking Dead. It's a prequel that takes us back to the beginning of the zombie outbreak, with different characters, set in a different part of the US. Our crew started out in Los Angeles, but have made their way into Mexico and were split up in several different directions at the mid-season finale.

Sunshine Smoothie

Do you need a recipe to make a smoothie? Probably not. Am I going to give you one anyway? You betcha!

Most of my smoothies are the result of needing to use up some fruits, veggies, yogurt, tofu...you get my drift...that might otherwise go bad. No real measuring, just piling everything into the blender and adjusting until I have a good consistency. My guess is that a lot of people probably do the same. Every once in a while, I come across a perfect combination, and promptly scold myself for not measuring what I put in.

What I'm trying to say is that it amazes me when people create brilliant smoothie recipes. On purpose.

Pumpkin Power Smoothie {12 Weeks of Winter Squash}

So, it seems that 2014 is not about to slow down and give me any time to catch my breath. It's been less than a week and I already need to pick up my pace. So, while I said (okay, implied) that I was done copping out and using pumpkin in my 12 Weeks of Winter Squash posts...I'm doing it one last time.

But fortunately, this is a POWER smoothie. So, you know, now I have the energy to power through a few tasks that need doing. Case in point: I actually already have my dish for next week done. And there isn't a can of pumpkin anywhere in sight.

Of course, there are only two...TWO!...weeks left of our 12 week journey. But hey, every week counts. I'm hoping that I get my bootie in gear and bust into that Blue Hubbard that I mentioned weeks (months?) ago for our final week.

Maple Walnut Coffee Smoothie + BLEND E-Book Release

photo by Faith Gorsky, reprinted with permission

What do you do when you find out that two of your food blogging friends are releasing not just one, but TWO E-Books? You join in the fun, that's what! In this case, those friends are Alyssa from Everyday Maven and Faith from An Edible Mosaic. They've teamed up to create two gorgeous E-Books focusing on Artisanal Smoothies (and I have the sneaking suspicion that there are more to come).

Now, I am a smoothie-lover. Especially during the hot months, but also for those mornings when I just don't have the time or the motivation to make much else. I grew up with that motto. You know the one. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. And I still believe that. Sometimes, you've just gotta take that breakfast in a power-packed liquid form.

I know that some people think smoothies are boring - but they don't have to be. Alyssa and Faith demonstrate that beyond a doubt. BLEND has been a labor of love for Faith and Alyssa. Being smoothie-obsessed themselves, they had a common interest in artisanal smoothies, and the desire to take smoothie-making to the next level - elevate it, if you will. They've been up countless nights for the last year and a half developing, photographing, and refining recipes and flavors until they were just right.

Fruit & Oat Power Smoothie {she made, ella hace}

Uuuuummmmm....was I complaining about how cold it still was around here one month ago?  I think that I was.  I mean, I do love to complain about mother nature skimping out on Spring and Autumn.  Because of course I would get the shaft when it comes to my favorite seasons.  The ones that allow me to breathe.  To relax.  To gear up for the bitter cold or the sweltering heat, whatever the case may be.  So allow me to complain about the ridiculous heat we've been having lately.  You know, just to prove my point.  Snow one month ago.  Temps in the nineties today.  I miss you Spring.

What's my point?  I know you're beginning to wonder.  Well, as you can see, it's she made, ella hace time today - the time when I get together with Leslie and we both make our own versions of a dish...or take a theme and roll with it.  Leslie suggested that we do "breakfast" as our theme this month, and I whole-heartedly agreed.  I mean, I'm constantly craving my favorite breakfast, which is Chilaquiles.  I figured it would be the perfect time to share another variation with you.

Then the month got crazy.  And it got hot.  And I loathed turning on any source of heat unless it was absolutely necessary.  I guess the short of it is, that I basically got lazy.  I didn't feel like making Chilaquiles...and actually measuring out ingredients and writing them down.  I mean, whip up some salsa, fry up some chips, pour the salsa over the chips and stir, top with queso, maybe an egg, probably some crema and avocado.  Lazy, I say.

So, the day before yesterday, I told Leslie how much I sucked and she suggested we do a breakfast drink.  That lady is brilliant.  Just one reason I like her so much.  Cold drinks to start off a hot day are just right.  Today, it's smoothies, to be precise.

These smoothies are packed with fruit, oats, wheat germ, and chia seeds to start the day off right.  Not only are they refreshing and delicious, they're such a healthy way to start off the day.  And, as often happens, Leslie and I were thinking along the same lines.  Just head over and check out her Strawberry Oat Smoothie.  You'll see.

Fruit & Oat Power Smoothies

by Heather Schmitt-Gonzalez

Prep Time: 5-10 minutes

Cook Time: n/a

Keywords: blender beverage breakfast vegetarian oats papaya cherries strawberries American summer

Ingredients (serves 2)

• 1 cup milk (almond, rice, soy, dairy)
• 1/4 cup uncooked rolled oats
• 2-2 1/2 cups chopped fruit (whatever you like)
• ~2 tablespoons brown rice syrup
• 1 tablespoons wheat germ
• 1 teaspoon chia seeds

Instructions

Place everything in the jar of a blender and puree until thick and smooth. Serve immediately.

other options:

It's a smoothie, switch up, remove, substitute - the possibilities are endless. (pictured) Cherry-Berry (Cherries, Raspberries, Strawberries) and Papaya-Cherry. Use fresh or frozen fruit.

Brown rice syrup is slightly less sweet than honey, maple syrup, or agave nectar, so you will want to adjust to taste.

Try adding a couple of pinches of spice if it goes with your ingredients: ginger, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg. Or if the fruits fit, try adding a bit of fresh mint or even basil.

Add a scoop of nut butter.

Add a handful of greens to the mix (spinach and kale both work well).

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What happens when two American girls who are both married to Mexican guys find out that although one of them lives in the U.S. and one of them lives in Mexico, they both love eating the same food?  Well, naturally they decide to get "together" the only way they can and cook up the same dishes.  Or perhaps take the same ingredients and talking about them in their own voice or using them in their own way. 

Leslie and I have teamed up to occasionally cook/bake/make a our own versions of the same food.  We want to see how similar (or how different) they turn out.  Other times we will pick an ingredient and use it however we choose...or maybe just talk about it.  Good food knows no borders and we hope to share the food we love with you.  It's not a competition, it's a showcase.  We will post on the same day as each other and would love to hear your thoughts on what we've made and how you make it. 

Join me (here at girlichef) and Leslie in her kitchen (at La Cocina de Leslie) for some delicious food.

Pumpkiny Things... Pumpkin Apple Nut Bread and Pumpkin Banana Smoothies

I always get a little giddy when pumpkin time arrives.  Not that glorious canned pumpkin isn't available year-round, it's just that there's something in the air and the earth that screams squash once the air is cool and crisp and the leaves start changing colors and falling from the trees.  I even have an accidental pumpkin plant this year!  "Accidental" because it stems from last years pumpkin display ...and my laziness.  Do you ever do that?  Lay out a harvest or Autumn display in your yard somewhere.  Pumpkins, squash, gourds, Indian corn, dried corn stalks, mums...maybe a broom or a witch or a scarecrow...'tis the season, you know?  Well, I try to leave it up as long as possible.  This usually means until it starts to snow.  I've brought in any "reuseable" decorations, but left the "natural" ones outside.  They get covered in snow.  I usually have the drive to hang the corn in a small stump w/ branches that we have in the yard for the squirrels...and other random animals.  Occasionally I'll even get the rotting squash into the compost bin.  But not often.  The jack-o-lanterns all end up with day-glow speckled insides and eventually get lost under the snow with a few of the smaller squash.  They then make their own separate compost pile.  Which, come the following summer, will occasionally sprout a no-effort squash plant. Nice.

Pumpkin Apple Nut Bread

from the kitchen of girlichef

yield: 1 loaf

 ½ c. sugar

 ½ c. marigold honey (or regular)

 ½ c. oil

1 c. cooked pumpkin purée (or canned)

2 large eggs

1/3 c. water

 1 c. whole wheat flour

1 c. ap flour

1 tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. ground cinnamon

½ tsp. ground allspice

good grating fresh nutmeg

¼ tsp. ground cloves

½ c. dried apples, chopped

¼ c. walnuts, chopped

¼ c. pecans

Preheat oven to 300° F.  In a large bowl, mix together sugar, honey, oil, pumpkin, eggs and water.  In a separate bowl combine remaining ingredients, tossing the fruit and nuts well so they get coated with flour.  Mix dry ingredients gently into wet ingredients until just combined.  Spray a bundt pan or small-ish loaf pan with pan spray and pour in batter.  Bake for one hour, or until bread passes the toothpick test.

This bread is very moist and very easy to eat!  I like it best a little bit warm, but it's great at room temperature, too.  Share with drop-in guests...

Sometimes, when you're using canned pumpkin purée, you have a little bit left in the bottom of the can after using what you need in a recipe.  My favorite thing to do with that last bit of pumpkin is to throw it into a blender with some other good stuff and make a powerhouse smoothie for breakfast!

Pumpkin-Banana Smoothie
from the kitchen of girlichef
yield: ~2 large glasses

½ c. cooked pumpkin purée
½ c. yogurt (heaping)
1 large frozen banana
1¾ c. whole milk
honey, to taste
1 Tbs. Pumpkin Seeds + extra
1 tsp. wheat germ
1 tsp. ground flax seed
freshly grated nutmeg

Place everything in the blender and blend until smooth.  Pour into a glass and garnish w/ some extra pumpkin seeds and grated nutmeg.

It's about time for me to start my potential lazy garden for next year.  Hmmm...what would I like to be surprised with....

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