Blackberry Lemonade for 2

Wow. It really feels like feast or famine over here on the blog with regard to recipes. One week, I'm writing about ridiculous diet claims or giving a detailed food diary, the next I'm all about making + eating food. I've just felt particularly inspired this week to make different dishes, desserts, and other tasty treats.

I am also having a blog identity crisis. But more on that another time. In the summer, I love lemonade, but I never want to make/drink an entire pitcher. This recipe isn't rocket science, but I figure if I didn't think to make a small batch until now . . . maybe it's new to you as well.

Hm?

BLACKBERRY LEMONADE for 2

What you'll need . . .

• Juice from 3 large lemons 
• 3 cups cold water
• 1+ tablespoons raw honey*
• Handful frozen blackberries**
• Ice, lots of it

* Feel free to experiment with using agave, maple syrup, or even pure cane sugar -- whatever floats your boat and customizes the sweetness to your liking.
** Would also work great with frozen raspberries, chopped strawberries, etc.


Method . . .

1. Put the lemon juice, water, and honey in a large glass and stir until raw honey is completely dissolved.
2. Put in however much ice you'd like and then toss in the frozen fruit. Shake or stir around a bit until the fruit releases some of its juices into the drink. It will happen fast.
3. Drink ASAP -- the ice melts fast. Enjoy the thawed fruit at the end of your drinking.
4. (And feel free to add a splash of your favorite booze. Or even just add tonic water for some sparkle.)

What's your favorite hot weather drink? Share your recipe in the comments! I'm thinking of posting a roundup on one of the upcoming Weekend Things posts.

Psst: Today we're mixing up batch 2 of our frozen yogurt (batch 1 was the chocolate + coconut, which is almost gone -- I can't believe it!). This time, it's going to be delightfully tart! I can't wait to share.

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Food for Runners: B-E-R-R-I-E-S

The produce aisle at the grocery store and stands at the local farmers market are teeming with plump fresh berries -- blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, etc. -- this time of year. And what are berries rich in? Antioxidants!

Who are antioxidants good for? Runners (and everyone else)!

So, we're continuing our Food for Runners series with berries, specifically those that are in season, which I'll get to in a moment. If you're catching up, we've covered bananas, garlic, quinoa, and kale -- and included our favorite recipes from across the web.

Simply put: "Running and other intense exercise is known to increase free radicals." (Source)

Also simply put: "Fruits, especially berries, are full of antioxidants" (which combat free radicals!) (Source)

I was interested to learn that "because we metabolize large amounts of oxygen while running, and antioxidant levels tend to quickly run low in our body, free radical damage is commonplace in runners. Research shows that hard training endurance athletes often have low levels of antioxidants circulating in their bodies." (Source)

And if those snipets of information aren't enough Running Times magazine has some more scientific evidence for your to pour over.


Here are some of our favorite recipes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner:

Holly, Annie, and Chelsea's Green Raspberry-Mint Lemonade
Alina's Buckwheat Blueberry Pancakes
Julie's Cherry Morning Rolls
Meeta's Poached Plums and Blueberry Granola
Christina's Raspberry Plumb Breakfast Bars
Jaimem's Strawberry Salad with Candied Almonds
Angry Asian's Chocolate Cherry Panini
Maria & Josh's Blueberry, Strawberry, and Jicama Salsa
Sala's Mango Blueberry Quinoa Salad
Branny's Strawberry Pizza w/ Goat Cheese (original recipe uses bacon, omit for vegetarian)
Mary's Blackberry, Wild Rice, and Barley Salad
Lisa's Rye Crust Blackberry Tartlets
Our Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
Simply Life's Whole Wheat Cherry Zucchini Bread
Our Vegan Chocolate Cherry Cake


Many of Our Smoothies feature berries -- of all sorts of varieties -- as the main ingredient
. Nothing easier than plopping them into a blender! Ashley has me hooked on using frozen coconut milk cubes.

Be sure to check out this handy chart with information on which berries and in season and when.


What's your favorite way to use berries?

Don't forget to read up on these other healthy ingredients:

Food for Runners: B-A-N-A-N-A-S
Food for Runners: G-A-R-L-I-C
Food for Runners: Q-U-I-N-O-A
Food for Runners: K-A-L-E

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Tuesday Quick Tips

#1: Want a tasty, filling breakfast? Eat cottage cheese!

I am obsessed lately with fruit (in this case: nectarines and blackberries) and my favorite 1% small curds. A nice change from Greek yogurt and green smoothies. A piece of whole grain toast or two goes great, too.

#2: Too hot to run? It has been here . . .


Rather than skip my workout, I did this awesome and super challenging (for me, at least!) Squat Challenge followed by a mile jog. Then I returned home, drank a glass of water and sprayed myself with our hose.


I did another mile jog. Drank water, got the hose again (Silence of the Lambs?!). Then did another round of the Squat Challenge. Seriously, those squats had me in tears the second time around. Overall, half an hour well spent!

#3: Need a snack? Make kale chips!


We've already talked about all the health benefits of kale. If you missed how to make the chips, it takes a mere 10 minutes -- instructions are in this post. This afternoon we mixed our kale with some napa. Made 'em extra "cheesy" with a hefty dose of nutritional yeast.

#4: Need a laugh? Put your cat in a t-shirt!


OK. This "tip" is quite ridiculous and not a tip at all. Instead, it's an excuse for me to share that I bought what I thought was an infant t-shirt at the Salvation Army yesterday. I discovered after washing it that it was -- indeed -- a cat/dog t-shirt. With a cupcake on it. Seriously.

#5: Want to achieve something? Stop whining and start doing something about it!


This tip is sort of written specifically for me. I want to start strength training (again). I've been complaining about my loss of definition in my arms/back since pregnancy. I took a long, hard look around and realized it's been 8 months since I had Ada. There are no excuses. If I want to achieve my fitness goals, I need to start doing something.

So, after a long break from push-ups, hand weights, and discipline -- like you see with the 2010-me, above -- I'm going to start working toward my goal.

Have any quick tips to share with us? Anything fun you've learned lately to help with fitness, make for snacks, etc.? We'd love to hear 'em! Just leave a comment or email us at neverhomemaker [at] gmail [dot] com.


Today on Writing Chapter Three we're celebrating Ada's 8-month birthday. Check this post for an update on what she's eating, how she's sleeping, and how she's moving around these days.

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Funky Black Magic Cookies

Almost sounds like a title Richard would give such a treat. But, no. This quick, vegan recipe is all mine. And it's another favorite from the METHOD archives. What you may not know just from looking at them is that they're extremely healthy cookies -- full of oats, blackberries, walnuts. So healthy, in fact, you may just need to make 'em twice.

(Yes. It looks like a lot of ingredients. But suck it up! Here's to your health!)

What you'll need . . .

• 1/2 cup Earth Balance (or other butter sub.)
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 1-1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1 cup wheat pastry flour
• 3 tablespoons dark cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1/3 cup crushed walnuts
• 1/3 cup frozen blackberries

Method . . .

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together Earth Balance (or other butter sub.) and brown sugar until fluffy.
3. Add applesauce, ginger powder, and orange juice -- beat until well combined.
4. In another bowl, whisk together the wheat pastry flour, cocoa powder, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
5. Add dry ingredients to wet -- mix until well combined.
6. Add oats 1/2 cup at a time while mixing on low speed.
7. Mix in crushed walnuts and frozen blackberries. You may wish to run the blackberries through a food processor to make the pieces a bit smaller (or not).
8. On a baking sheet (preferably prepared with a piece of wax paper) drop heaping tablespoons of dough 2 inches apart.
9. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes -- rotating pan halfway through.
10. Cool and enjoy!

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Strawberry & Blackberry Cobbler

From the METHOD archives: I suppose Alton Brown is, yet again, responsible for one of my baking creations. Last week on Good Eats, Brown featured cobbler -- made all sorts of ways, using all sorts of ingredients (including lard -- YUCK!).

I became completely obsessed.

Now, I'm not much of a fan of fruit for dessert . . . just doesn't seem decadent enough. My apple crisps, etc. are usually served as side dishes or snacks. So, I made this cobbler for breakfast one day. And then my friends Lindsey & John came over and we all ate it as an afternoon snack.

This particular recipe is modified from a Blueberry Cobbler that appears in the Moosewood Restaurant Book of Desserts cookbook:

"Slump, cobbler, buckle, betty, pandowdy, and grunt are all terms used to
describe baked desserts replete with fruit and covered with a topping that is
usually, but not always, more like biscuit than a cake. Although there seems to
be no consistent definition for any of these names, there may be regional
differences or preferences for certain terminology. Whatever you choose to call
your dessert [or snack], this recipe guarantees any cook a delicious use of
berries. And the addition of preserves intensifies the berry flavor."

(p. 26)

STRAWBERRY & BLACKBERRY COBBLER
(feel free to substitute blueberries -- the main ingredient in the original recipe -- for all the fruit & preserves)

What you'll need . . .

(fruit layer)

• 2 cups blackberries (I used frozen)
• 1 cup strawberries (again, frozen -- and I used whole instead of sliced)
• 1/3 cup triple berry jam (or any other kind of preserves/jam you have around)
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon peel
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons coconut flour (or unbleached white flour)

(topping -- kicked up a notch)

• 1/2 cup unbleached flour
• 1/2 cup wheat pastry flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg (or replacement for 1 egg using Ener-G egg replacer)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted (or Earth Balance)
• 2/3 cup soy nog (or regular milk, soy milk, etc.)

Method . . .

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F & butter the baking pan. I used our Le Creuset eggplant dish, but you may use an 8-inch square baking pan.
2. In a bowl, combine the berries, jam, sugar, lemon peel, lemon juice, and flour. Stir gently until mixed.
3. Spoon evenly into the prepared baking dish and set aside while you prepare the topping.
4. In another bowl, whisk together (or sift) the flour, baking powder, cloves, and sugar.
5. In a separate bowl, lightly beat the egg (or replacer) and combine it with the lemon peel, melted butter, soy nog (or milk), and vanilla.
6. Make a depression in the dry ingredients, add the liquids, and stir with a rubber spatula until just combined.
7. Spread topping evenly over the berry mixture.
   

TO BAKE: Line the bottom oven rack with some tin foil (to avoid messy fruit spillage -- and, as you can see below, there WILL be spillage). Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the top is golden brown, firm to the touch, and the fruit is bubbly.

Cool for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

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