Tangerine Dream Smoothie

Our local grocery store (Alfalfa’s) has a smoothie bar and every once in a while they’ll set out samples. Recently they had not one but three flavors to sample, and I debated which brightly-colored mini cup to take. I finally landed on tangerine, even though orange is not typically my favorite flavor. Immediately, I was reminded of a story about Orange Julius I post to this blog years ago. It was creamy, with citrus punch and a touch of vanilla. It was a throw-back, a reminder of orange cream soda and orange creamsicles and childhood. It was nostalgia. But, flavor-wise, even better, because it was made with tangerines at peak citrus season. So, I took that inspiration and ran with it, adding a little coin of ginger because I couldn’t help myself.

Tangerine Dream Smoothie

Published February 20, 2020 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Serves: 1-2   |    Active Time: 10 minutes

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Ingredients:

2 tangerines, 2 minneola tangelos, or 1 sumo citrus, peeled

1/2 cup plain yogurt or vanilla yogurt

1/4 cup milk of choice

1 banana, peeled and roughly chopped

5-6 ice cubes

1 nickle-sized slice of ginger

Optional: 1 scoop plain, unsweetened collagen or whey protein powder

Optional: 2 tablespoons unsweetened desiccated coconut

Optional: Small drop vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients in the blender and secure lid on blender jar. Puree until completely smooth.
2. Pour into serving glasses and enjoy cold. 

Pear Harvest Salad with Hazelnuts & Brie

If you want a fail-proof salad formula, with no recipe, just take a bed of greens and add a fruit, a nut, and a cheese. Drizzle with vinaigrette. This salad is a perfect proof point for that formula (which really never fails).

Happen to be planning your Thanksgiving menu? With pears, brie, and hazelnuts this dish fits right in. Looking for more of a salad-for-lunch kind of situation? Add cooked farro, which will add some heft.

Pear Harvest Salad with Hazelnuts & Brie

Published November 13, 2019 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Serves: 2-4   |    Active Time: 20 minutes

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Ingredients:

3-4 cups baby arugula

1 ripe bosc pear

1/4 cup raw hazelnuts

1/4 cup brie, sliced into bite-sized pieces

1/4 tablespoons dried cranberries

1/4 cup cooked and cooled farro, wheat berries or brown quinoa

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1/4 teaspoon dijon mustard

Generous pinch salt

Several cracks of black pepper, plus more for topping

Directions:

1. Preheat an oven to 300°F and spread hazelnuts on a baking sheet. Place pan in oven, and toast nuts for 10-15 minutes, checking frequently. The nut should be golden brown (the papery skin will be dark, and begin to blister). Remove nuts from oven, and place in a cloth kitchen towel. Rub nuts in the towel to remove the papery skins (some won’t come off, but it’s fine). Set aside to cool completely.
2. While the hazelnuts toast, place arugula in a serving bowl.
3. Slice the pear in half. Cut off the stem, and remove the seedy center. Slice pear into 1/4-inch thick pieces. Arrange pears over top of the arugula.
4. Top with dried cranberries, farro, and pieces of brie.
5. When hazelnuts are cooled, scatter over the salad.
6. Add balsamic vinegar, olive oil, dijon mustard, a pinch of salt, and a few cracks of pepper to a jar/container with a lid. Place lid on jar, and shake to combine.
7. When ready to serve, drizzle vinaigrette over salad.

Raspberry Popsicles with Dark Chocolate Drizzle

Poison ivy and raspberry bushes—when I was a kid, these were the two plants my dad always pointed out to me on camping trips. This summer, as we hiked through Big Elk Meadows (which is not a meadow and there were no elk), the wild raspberries were copious. The dry creek was spotted with small bushes, each of them ripe with red gems. Those wild berries were far better than the ones growing in my own backyard, and not just because we were eating them outside. They were juicier and sweeter. We ate the ripest ones and left the others for the birds.

These popsicles are an end of summer hoorah! A sweet-tart cool down for mid-afternoon.

Raspberry Popsicles with Dark Chocolate Drizzle

Published September 10, 2019 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Serves: 6   |    Active Time: 20 active minutes

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Ingredients:

12 ounces fresh raspberries

1/4 teaspoon lemon or lime juice

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips

Optional: 1-2 tablespoons raw sugar or coconut sugar

Equipment: Popsicle molds and popsicle sticks

Directions:

1. Place raspberries in a blender and purée.
2. Place a fine-mesh sieve over a sauce pan, and pour raspberry puree through sieve in order to remove seeds. All of the juice should go through the sieve (into the pot), and you should be left with just seeds in the sieve. Discard of seeds.
3. Place raspberry purée on stove over low heat and stir in lemon juice. Bring to a slow simmer, and add sugar to taste. Stir until sugar is completely dissolved. Allow mixture to cool, about 10 minutes.
4. Pour raspberry mixture into popsicle molds with popsicle sticks and freeze for 8 hours, until frozen solid.
5. When popsicles are frozen, prep the chocolate: melt chocolate in microwave (at 30 second increments, stirring in between each until smooth), or in a double boiler.
6. Remove popsicles from molds, and drizzle with chocolate. Allow chocolate to set. Serve immediately, or store in air-tight container until ready to eat.