Strawberry Tomato Gazpacho

Cold summer soups are delightful, especially when it is sizzling hot outside. We need more heat and less rain in Duluth.  Gazpacho is a tomato-based, vegetable soup traditionally served cold, originating in Spain and Portugal. It is mostly consumed during the summer months, because of its refreshing qualities and cold serving temperature.  I have savored the traditional tomato/cucumber/celery type of gazpacho and have posted that recipe for Easiest Ever Gazpacho on this blog previously.  So when I saw this recipe in the Whole Foods Co-op for a unique twist on an old favorite I was eager to try it.  Once again, the Whole Foods Co-Op did not disappoint me. I never would have imagined strawberries and tomatoes making a compatible friendship in a gazpacho. But after I made this soup and enjoyed it on the deck yesterday, I would now consider them close companions.  


When I made it, I made just a half-batch because I didn't know yet if I would like it or not.  Now I wish I had made a whole batch.  I used a small jalepeno pepper, and you might want to adjust the amount based on your tolerance or desire for spicy food.  

Enjoy -- and hope for more sunshine than rain.   

Ingredients:
1 lb. strawberries, washed, hulled & coarsely chopped
1 lb. tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 cup chopped green bell pepper

1 cup chopped cucumber (peeled and seeded)              
1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
1 clove fresh garlic, minced
1 small fresh jalapeno pepper, seeds & removed                          
Zest of 1 lime
4 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 1/2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Optional garnish:  freshly snipped chives or cilantro

Preparation:
Blend all of the ingredients together in a blender or VitaMix.  Stir well and adjust for salt, if desired.


Nutrition:
Servings per recipe: 6
Serving Size: 1 cup
Calories: 51
Total Fat: 0 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 229 mg
Total Carbs: 11 g
Dietary Fiber: 3 g
Protein: 2 g

Strawberry Pineapple Smoothie

Smoothies are high on my list of summer breakfast treats. Refreshing, quick and delicious! And most enjoyable with a fresh peony from my garden. That was before the Duluth monsoons arrived on Tuesday night.  It has been a dramatic few days in Duluth which received 10 inches of rain in 24 hours. 


Ingredients:
1/2 cup sliced fresh strawberries
1/2 cup pineapple chunks
1/2 cup plain low-fat kefir
4 -5 mint leaves, chopped
1 Tablespoon ground flax
1/2 Tablespoon unsweetened shredded coconut

Preparation:
Process all ingredients
 in blender.  


Nutrition:
Servings per recipe: 1
Serving Size: 11/2 cup
Calories: 168
Total Fat: 5  g
Cholesterol: 5 mg                                              
Sodium: 68 mg
Total Carbs: 27 g
Dietary Fiber: 6
Protein: 32 g

Blueberry Basil Smoothie

I like to kick-start my mornings with a waft of the herbs on my deck. A few days ago, I realized the basil had exploded!  Acting purely on impulse and a sense of what sounded good, I put some chopped basil, thawed blueberries and kefir into the blender and made an awesome smoothie.  I discovered that blueberries and basil make a remarkably great combination of flavors. After I sipped my smoothie on the deck, I did an on-line search to see if there were other recipes using this combination of flavors and found that yes, blueberries and basil were paired for salsa, vinegars, and a variety of other options.  Oooooh, I love it when my culinary instincts are affirmed.  This refreshing smoothie was made even better with the knowledge of how healthy it was.  The glory of blueberries is that not only are they delicious, they contain more disease-fighting antioxidants than practically any other fruit or vegetable.  And adding ground flax offers a healthful boost of omega 3s, fiber, and protein.   The probiotics in kefir are helpful for the immune system and the digestive system. Truly a summer delight!  




Ingredients:   

Potted basil on the deck

1/2 cup plain low-fat kefir
1/3 cup thawed blueberries    
4 -5 fresh basil leaves
1 Tablespoon ground flax


Note: For additional protein, Fage yogurt could be used in place of or in addition to the kefir. Or protein powder could be added. The nutritional analysis used kefir.


Preparation:
Process all ingredients together in a blender or VitaMix to desired consistency.  

Ready to puree basil, blueberries and kefir

Nutrition:
Servings per recipe: 1
Serving Size: 1 cup (approximately)
Calories:  113
Total Fat: 3 g
Cholesterol:  5 mg                                                    
Sodium: 65 mg
Total Carbs: 15 g
Dietary Fiber: 3
Protein: 7

TeamHope

Wow!  What an amazing weekend!  TeamHope is an outreach of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCan) for individuals to participate in marathons across the country to raise funds and awareness for pancreatic cancer.  On Saturday , there was a group of 50 TeamHope runners that participated in Duluth's famous Grandma's Marathon.  They raised more than $26,000!   I had helped plan the event in a small way and my husband, Tom, and I helped staff our TeamHope water station at mile marker 22, cheering on TeamHope runners.  Tom's enthusiasm and good humor were appreciated by both runners and volunteers, while I often rested in a chair on the sidelines, amazed at how this event had all come together so well.   

Tom does everything with gusto!  Runners could easily grab a cup of ice from his unwavering, strong arm!

Marathon Goddess

There were many inspiring stories of  runners who have been affected by pancreatic cancer and have turned their anguish into a determination to advance funding for pancreatic cancer.  One of the runners, Julie Weiss, is a self-declared Marathon Goddess, who lost her father to pancreatic cancer last year.  She is slated to run 52 marathons in 2012, and Grandma's Marathon was her 10th one this year.  She has already raised over $100,000 for pancreatic cancer research. Amazing!!!


See her website at: http://marathongoddess.com/










Another such story is Sara Peterson, whose father is on the board of directors for Grandma's Marathon and is now battling pancreatic cancer.  See this link for an inspiring article about their journey.  http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/article/id/234254/publisher_ID/36/

Pancreatic Cancer:  Know it. Fight it. End it.

Join the Effort!

Contributions for Grandma's Marathon TeamHope will be accepted online  until December 31.     http://teamhope.kintera.org/faf/search/searchTeamPart.asp?ievent=1011589&team=4953312 

You can donate to any individual listed there, or make a general team contribution. 

Runners gratefully

grabbed cups of ice from 

our volunteers.  

Savory Lentil Rhubarb Stew

Rhubarb is another one of the hallmarks of spring.  But it requires so much sugar to make it tasty that I don't use much of it anymore.  So my rhubarb plant has been burgeoning with the stuff.   Then I remembered that a few years ago the local Rhubarb Festival (yea, yea, I know -you are wondering what a Rhubarb Fest is all about) printed some of their best recipes in the newspaper and had included a savory rhubarb lentil  dish of some kind. Where did I put that red folder of rhubarb recipes? And why do I remember a funky recipe when I can't remember what I went downstairs for two minutes ago?  Yep, there was the red rhubarb recipe folder next to my stack of cookbooks.  And there was that recipe for combining rhubarb and lentils. Looking more carefully at the recipe from the June 22, 2005 issue of Duluth News Tribune, I realized this recipe of international intrigue wasn't submitted by a local cook, rather it was by the great culinary guru Mark Bittman.  Definitely worth trying if this renown chef said it was good. An added enticement for me was the use of East Indian spices, which I love.  Mark Bittman made the point that rhubarb is really a vegetable, so it is well suited to a savory dish rather than only pie.   So I gave it a try, and wowza.  Easy and tasty!  And I was lucky enough to have some cilantro growing in pots on the deck, thanks to my husband, Tom.  I might even share this healthy version of rhubarb with him.  Maybe.   


Ingredients:
3 - 4 stalks rhubarb, strings removed
      (about 2 cups chopped)
1 cup uncooked orange lentils, well-washed
2 tablespoons minced ginger                              
1 tablespoon minced garlic
4 cardamom pods
1 tablespoon mustard seed
2 cloves
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1 dried ancho or other mild chile, optional
salt to taste  (about 1/4 tsp)
chopped cilantro leaves (at least 1 tablespoon)

Preparation:
In a saucepan, combine all ingredients, except salt and cilantro and add water to cover by about 1 inch.  Cook at a steady simmer until the lentils and rhubarb are quite soft, 20 - 30 minutes.  Remove cloves and cardamom pods.  Add salt, then taste and adjust seasoning.  Add cilantro.  Puree if you want a smoother texture, but the wonder of orange lentils is that they are remarkably soft and cook quickly.  

Nutrition:
Servings per recipe: 4

Serving Size: 1 cup                                  
Calories: 206
Total Fat: 1 g
Cholesterol:  0 mg
Sodium: 8 mg
Total Carbs: 35 g
Dietary Fiber: 17 g
Protein: 14

Strawberry Surprise

Sunny days on the deck are a thing of the past in Duluth - at least during the last seven days of torrential rains. So it was fun to see these photos I had taken earlier this month of a delightful pureed strawberry surprise.  I had enjoyed sliced strawberries with balsamic vinegar prior to my need for pureed food, so when I recently heard of adding black pepper to that already delightful combination of flavors, I was fascinated to try it with pureed strawberries.  Definite Pzazz!  Be daring...be surprised....be bold with your life and flavors.  


Ingredients:
1 cup sliced strawberries
2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar (high quality)
   (add a bit more if desired)
freshly ground pepper


Preparation:
Puree  the strawberries, sugar, and balsamic vinegar in the blender.  Add freshly ground pepper to desired taste.  Don't be timid.  It really is delicious!


Nutrition:
Servings per recipe: 2                              
Serving Size: 1/4  cup                        
Calories: 42
Total Fat: 0 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 1  mg
Total Carbs: 10 g
Dietary Fiber:  4 g
Protein: 0

Mango Coconut Dessert

Have you heard of an ataulfo mango?  My friend, Christal, shared one with me a few weeks ago and I was delightfully surprised by the lack of fibrous texture in this delicate golden yellow mango that is about half the size of the typical mango.   The texture was smooth and almost buttery.  So I purchased one a few days ago and looking at it this afternoon, I realized it needed to be used..... promptly.  I love how a mango turns frothy when pureed.  I also love the white violets blooming in the wooded part of my yard this morning.  

Ataulfo mango 

Ingredients:
1 ataulfo mango                                                        
1/4 cup plain non-fat Fage yogurt
2 teaspoons unsweetened finely shredded coconut          






Preparation:  

Peel and slice the mango.  You should have about 3/4 cup slices.

Peeled ataulfo mango

Puree it with the Fage yogurt and coconut in the blender.  

Nutrition:
Servings per recipe: 1
Serving Size: About 1 cup
Calories: 140
Total Fat: 3 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 25 mg
Total Carbs:  24 g

Peeled and sliced ataulfo mango
                                       

Dietary Fiber: 3 g
Protein: 7