Strawberry Banana Spinach Smootie

It's one of those days when goat milk is about to expire. Why do I always have this "about to expire" dilemma? With frozen strawberries and bananas, I asked my kids, "You guys want strawberry banana smoothie?" SURE!!!

My friend, Krissy, told me many times to add spinach to smoothie since they don't have any taste while they are healthy. So I added a few leaves into their smoothie. I asked my kids if they could guess the secret ingredients.

My kids couldn't tell. Camden drank half of his smoothie then sauntered into the kitchen to ask me what the secret ingredient was. After I told him it was spinach, he said he felt sick from the smoothie and could not finish it because of the spinach. I pointed out that he already drank half of it.

The point is... some kids (even grown ups) have some sort of psychological issue when it comes to food. I bet Camden would finish his smoothie if he didn't realize spinach leaves were added in. But I honestly tell my kids what they are eating. Why not. They need to know what they eat. If they like or dislike what they eat, then they can decide if they want them again next time.

Strawberry Banana Smoothie
serve 2-3

1 cups organic strawberries, frozen
1 medium banana, frozen
5-7 organic baby spinach leaves, stemmed
goat milk
agave to taste

1. Add strawberries and banana into blender.
2. Turn the blender on low while adding milk to the preference consistency.
3. Add agave to taste.
4. Serve with more frozen sliced strawberries. Enjoy!!!

Allergy Info: This smoothie is free from dairy (not goat), egg, corn, wheat, legumes (peanuts and soy), and fish. Look for frozen fruits without added additives like citric acid. For bananas, peel and cut into big chunks and free them for future smoothie.

Scrambled Eggs

Apparently, I didn't know how to scramble eggs. Yeah, seriously!!!

Last week, I watched The Kitchen on Foods Network. Chef Zakarian taught a lesson on how to properly scramble some eggs. He showed a bowl of "incorrectly" scrambled eggs and... hmmm... that could have been my scrambled eggs.

His basic tip was low heat and slow. He added a lot of dairy (butter and sour cream). Two ingredients that I don't often have at home because... well, we don't eat cow's products. I didn't even bother to find substitutes for them though. I mean, scrambled eggs should just be scrambled eggs, right?

I tested Chef Zakarian's proper scrambled eggs technique, using a wok instead of a pot. The thing is... all of my nonstick pans are no longer nonstick, so I have been using a wok for pretty much everything. So use whatever you can get your hands on... a pot or a pan. Just make sure it is big enough to accommodate the amount of eggs you want to scramble.

So I thought the proper scrambled eggs' texture was rather creamy... reminded me of a thick pastry cream. Brek didn't like it. He preferred firm texture. But Camden luved it. So you see... there is no such thing as THE proper scramble eggs. However, I do like the low heat and slow cooking method. For some reasons, the eggs didn't turn out gamey. Since Brek prefers firm texture, I cook the eggs a little longer. Easy peasy for my two food critics.

Even though I suggested sea salt, ground black pepper, and fine chopped herbs to taste, I don't add sea salt to my scrambled eggs. Just because we eat so much salt else where, especially snacking on sea salt chips. Mine usually has ground black pepper and herbs to my scrambled eggs. Brek has his scrambled eggs with only ground black peppers, and Camden prefers them naked. Still easy peasy!!!

Scrambled Eggs
make as many as you like
inspired by Chef Zakarian's The Proper Scrambled Eggs

as many eggs as you like
1/2 Tablespoon cooking oil
sea salt, ground black pepper, and/or finely chopped herbs to serve (optional)

1. Heat a pan, a pot, or a wok in a very low heat.
2. Drizzle a little bit of oil, about 1/2 tablespoon.
3. In a bowl, whisk the eggs until smooth, about 30 to 60 seconds.
4. Add the eggs into the pan. If the pan sizzles, turn down the heat.
5. If using a whisk, continuously whisk the egg mixture until creamy. If using a spatula, continuously bring the partially cooked eggs from the edge to the center then turn once.
6. Plate the scrambled eggs then add salt, ground black pepper, and/or herbs to taste. Serve them next to your fabulous breakfast options such as a slice of sour dough bread, hash brown, and BACONS!!!

Allergy Info: Scrambled eggs are free from everything except eggs. If you cannot have chicken eggs, see if you can tolerant duck or quail eggs. They both are available at the Asian groceries.

Nut Milk

If you're like me, you would want to purchase certain thing prepackaged. Save time to do other activities. Like almond milk.

For the life of me, I thought nut milk was difficult to make. After searching on line and reading variety of cookbooks, the recipes were pretty much the same. Nuts and water. Yeah, no kidding.

The idea is to soak the nuts until they get pretty soft. Then whirring the soft nuts with water in a blender. That's pretty much it. And the best thing about making my own nut milk is what I add in the blender is what I get.

Check out the prepackaged nut milk where a lot of other ingredients are added, like oil. I have no idea why would oil needed in milk. I mean, do you add oil to a bowl of cereal? I certainly don't want it in mine.






Nut Milk
makes as much milk as you like

1 part preferred nuts, such as hazel, cashew, or almonds
3 parts filtered water

For example, 1 cup of cashew to 3 cups of water would make 3 cups of cashew milk.

1. In a large container, soak the nuts in the water.
   NOTE: Rinsing the nuts before soaking them is optional.
2. Put the container in a fridge overnight.
   NOTE: There is no need to cover the container.
3. The next day, add nuts and its water into the blender.
4. Blend the nuts until creamy white, about 2-3 minutes.
5. Put the strainer over a large container.
6. Pour the nut milk over the strainer.
7. Using the back of a spoon, press out the nut milk, scrapping the bottom of the strainer to get the nut cream.
8. Nut milk is ready to enjoy as is. Add a little sweetener, such as agave or honey, is optional.

STORING: Keep nut milk in a container in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Allergy Info: This nut milk recipe is free from dairy, egg, corn, wheat, legumes (peanuts and soy), and fish. When buying nuts, be sure to read the label carefully as some packaging will have a fine print of "manufactured in a facility that processes... (dairy, wheat, eggs, etc.).