Recipe: Green Smoothie

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Todays green smoothie brought by:

Outstanding orange
Super strawberries
Powerful pear
Bold banana
Rockin’ raspberries
Strong spinach
Cool collard greens.

Topped off with a splash of peppy pomegranate juice and sexy soy milk. Throw in six handfuls of ice, blend, and enjoy!

Recipe: Eat To Live: Black Forest Cream of Mushroom Soup

This soup is AMAZING. We will undoubtedly make this recipe again. The Eat To Live recipes leave us full, satisfied and the soups last for at least a week in the fridge. That’s if we don’t eat it all immediately!

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS:
2 tablespoons water
2 pounds mixed fresh mushrooms (button, shiitake, cremini), sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 teaspoons herbes de Provence [we used Italian seasonings]
5 cups carrot juice
3 cups unsweetened soy, hemp, or almond mild
2 carrots, coarsely chopped
2 medium onions, chopped
3/4 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels [we used 1-15 ounce can corn]
1 cup chopped celery
3 leeks, cut into 1/2-inch thick rounds
1/4 cup Dr. Fuhrman’s VegiZest or other no-salt seasoning
1/4 cup raw cashews
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme [we used dried]
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary [we used dried]
2 (15-ounce) cans no-salt-added or low-sodium white beans (northern, navy, cannellini), drained and rinsed [we used northern]
5 ounces baby spinach
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, for garnish (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Heat the water in a large saute’ pan. Saute’ the mushrooms, garlic, and herbes de Provence for about 5 minutes, or until tender, adding more water if necessary to prevent from sticking. Set aside.

In a large soup pot, bring the carrot juice, 2 1/2 cups of the milk, the carrots, onion, corn, celery, leeks, and VegiZest to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.

In a food processor or high-powered blender, purée the cashews and remaining 1/2 cup milk. Add half of the soup liquid and vegetables, the lemon juice, thyme and rosemary. Blend until smooth and creamy.

Return the pureed soup mixture to the pot. Add the beans, spinach and sautéed mushrooms. Heat until the spinach is wilted. Garnish with parsley, if desired.

Additional cooking notes:

We cooked the soup and let it rest for a couple of hours on the stove. When we were ready to eat, the blending of the soup was easy because it was room temperature and much cooler to handle. Then, we reheated the soup, added the beans and spinach. We didn’t add the mushrooms to the final cooking because Jen doesn’t like mushrooms. Instead, Klint put mushrooms on the bottom of the bowl and added the soup to the top – he loved it! Jen loved it without the mushrooms!

Recipe: Eat To Live: Tomato Bisque Soup

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We really enjoyed this Eat To Live soup recipe and will definitely have again!

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS
3 cups carrot juice
1 1/2 pounds tomatoes, chopped, or 1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, no-salt-added or low-sodium (San Marzano variety is best; lower acid and sweeter)
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped (omitted)
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 leek, chopped (omitted)
1 large shallot, chopped (we used green onion)
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small bay leaf
Pinch saffron
1 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled
2 tablespoons Dr. Fuhrman’s MatoZest or other no-salt seasoning
1/2 cup raw cashews
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (1 tablespoon dried basil)
5 ounces baby spinach

DIRECTIONS:

In a large saucepan, combine all the ingredients except the cashews, basil, and spinach. Simmer for 30 minutes. Discard the bay leaf. Remove 2 cups of the vegetables with a slotted spoon and set aside. Puree the remaining soup and cashews in a food processor or high-powered blender until smooth. Return the reserved vegetables to the pot. Stir in the basil and spinach and let the spinach wilt.

Recipe: Eat To Live: Brussels sprouts and spinach

We’re trying recipes from the Eat To Live book by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. This is our second recipe and it’s really good! Wasn’t too hard to make. I bet the left overs will be great too!

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:
1 pound Brussels sprouts, cut into fourths
14 ounces baby spinach
1/4 cup water
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 small onion, chopped
1 (14.5-ounce) can no- or low-sodium chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon Dr. Fuhrman’s VegiZest or other no-salt seasoning

DIRECTIONS:
Steam the Brussels sprouts and spinach for 8 minutes, or until the Brussels sprouts are almost tender. Meanwhile, heat the water in a large spot and sauté the garlic and onion until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Add the Brussels sprouts and spinach, chopped tomatoes, and seasoning. Simmer for 10 minutes. Serve warm

Restaurant Review: Crepe De France – Seattle

crepe1If you want to knock your socks off, head over to Crepe De France in Pikes Market, Seattle. The most amazing crepes!

Jen had a savory Crepe du Jour with mozzarella, ham, and spinach. A dollop of dijon mustard for dipping –  perfection!

Naturally, Klint is interested in the sweeter crepes, so he went for the Crepe Aux Peaches. Filled with vanilla cream and fresh Washington peaches. Topped off with piles of whipped cream. Stop the press! This baby is ah-maze-ing.

Eating in their restaurant is cramped and noisy with many patrons coming and going. We opted to step outside and eat downstairs in a public seating space.

crepe2The wait is a little long, but totally worth it. Go hungry – bon appétit!

Overall: 4/5
Food: 4.5/5
Service: 3/5 Don’t expect them to chit-chat. Busy kitchen and these guys have a groove to their work that doesn’t include entertaining a long line of tourists.
Price: About $13 per crêpe. Totally worth the steep price.