Banana Mango OJ Smoothie

The kids prefer a fruitier smoothie so here’s my second smoothie concoction. It seemed a bit thick to everyone so I added water and it was just right. Might do the same with other smoothie recipes.

Ingredients

1 banana
1 cup frozen mangoes
1 cup orange juice
1 cup water

Directions

1. Chop the bananas
2. Insert ingredients one at a time into a blender
3. For each ingredient, grind or blend till smooth, then add the next
4. Blend all till very smooth

Makes: 2 smoothies

Green Smoothie: Celery, Cucumber, Mangoes

My first smoothie! I ignored them forever but today I thought, what a great idea. I’m finding most fruit juices too sweet these days, so why not mix fruit and vegetables. I never get through my celery before it wilts so here’s another good use for it.

Ingredients

2 ribs of celery
About two inches of cucumber
A cup of frozen mangoes
1/3 cup of water

Directions

1. Chop the ingredients
2. Insert ingredients one at a time into a blender
3. For each ingredient, grind or blend till smooth, then add the next
4. Blend all till very smooth

Makes: 2 smoothies

Insane Happiness: An Old Friend Finally Getting Married

My first blog was called “Insane Happiness” with short posts on things that make me insanely happy. I co-authored it with an old friend who just told me that he and his partner of fifteen years are getting married this summer. That makes me insanely happy. I think I will spice up this food blog with occasional bursts of insane happiness, just for fun. Maybe he will join me again as co-author.

Vegetarian Burritos

Beans. Corn. What’s not to love!

Ingredients

1 can black beans or kidney beans
2 tablespoons oil (I use olive oil for everything)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup onions, chopped
1 medium green peppers, chopped
1/4 tablespoons ground cumin
dash cayenne
1/4 tablespoon ground coriander
1/4 cup corn
few black olives, chopped
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, grated
salt
4 whole wheat tortillas

Toppings: 1/4 cup grated cheddar, 1/4 cup sour cream

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°F.

1. Drain and rise the beans.
2. Saute the garlic and onions in oil for several minutes until onions are translucent.
3. Add the peppers and all of the spices and continue to saute until peppers are tender.
4. Cover the vegetables, remove from heat, and set aside.
5. Mash the beans with a potato masher adding water to reach the consistency of mashed potatoes.
6. Mix the mashed beans, vegetables, corn, olives, and cheese. Salt to taste.
7. Place each tortilla flat on the counter.
8. Spoon about 1/2 – 3/4 cup bean mixture onto the tortilla half closest to you.
9. Roll the tortillas from the bottom up, putting pressure on the filling so that it will be evenly distributed and will reach the open edges of the rolled tortilla.
10. Place the burritos, rolled edge down in an oiled baking pan.
11. Brush will oil, covered with foil for 30 minutes.
12. Uncover the pan, sprinkle with additional grated cheese and bake 5 more minutes.
13. Serve the burritos topped with sour cream.

Preparation Time: 45 minutes
Makes: 4 burritos (1 per person with salad is plenty for my family)

Spicy Whole Wheat Ginger Molasses Cookies

I discovered ginger molasses cookies at Tim Horton’s earlier this year. Also served at Starbucks. Mmm. After two fails, I found a recipe for making them at home. Make sure your batter is thick.

Ingredients

1 cup molasses
1 egg
1/4 cup dark brown sugar

2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp sea salt
Sugar for sprinkling

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

1. Mix molasses, egg, and brown sugar.
2. In a separate bowl, sift together the remainder of the ingredients.
3. Add the dry ingredients gradually to the wet ingredients and stir to combine completely.
4. Make each cookie with about 1 Tbsp of dough, rolled into a ball. Place the balls about 2 inches apart on a greased baking sheet.

Bake at 350 for 11 minutes. Immediately after removing cookies from the oven, sprinkle the tops with a bit of sugar. Cool for 5 minutes.

Makes about 25 cookies.

Whole Wheat Raisin Muffins

I have a weakness for whole wheat and raisins. I make these muffins for a low fat work snack quite often.

Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup water or milk

1/2 cup raisins

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

1. Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Combine wet ingredients in another bowl.
3. Mix wet well with dry.
4. Add raisins.
5. Pour into prepared muffins pan.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Makes: half dozen muffins (that’s all I like to make at a time; double ingredients for 12)