Summer Peach Breakfast Smoothie

If you're like me and OD'ed on carbs this weekend, this post is for you! This summer I (re)discovered the smoothie. Particularly the breakfast smoothie. Until about June my attempt to eat better breakfasts had been by way of granola, eggs, and oatmeal. But waking up on hot summer mornings, nothing sounded more disgusting to me than warm breakfast. Even the idea of food grossed me out. But smoothies - sweet, cool, and refreshing? Now you're talking. So I started exploring the art of the green smoothie. I realized you can pack in a ton of spinach in and so long as you match it with a little bit of fruit it will taste fantastic. 

As summer began to wind-down, and I started buying peaches like a crazy person, this became my go-to smoothie. It's sweet and creamy, and leaves me full for hours and hours. 

Let me preface this by saying, despite making these sweet treats almost everyday this summer, I do not own a Vitamix. In fact, the blender I've used every morning we recently saw on sale at Target for $15. That's right, hold your laughter please. I survived daily summer smoothies with my husband's old $15 blender from college. #firstworldproblems? And though it wasn't without frustration, if I can do it anyone can. I believe you shouldn't let fancy gadgets hold you back from cooking your little heart out, because I sure as hell don't. 

That being said, can I say, I am currently OBSESSING over Vitamixes online. I never thought I could justify spending $600 on a blender, despite the rave reviews. But then I discovered that they sell certified-reconditioned machines, which are apparently, "almost" like new, and literally cost half the price! So my finger is on the trigger, and with a summer's worth of blender-frustration, I just might pull it.

So Vitamix users, I want your input, is it worth the splurge? Will it really change my life, homemade almond milk and all? 

Summer Peach Breakfast Smoothie 
Makes 1 quart 

1 banana 
1 peach
3 large handfuls baby spinach
1/3 cup frozen mango chunks
1/4 cup greek yogurt (optional)
1 1/4 cup almond milk
2 tbsp ground flax seed

Place all ingredients in blender, and blend until smooth. 

Notes: I find if you have a lower-quality blender, like me, placing the ingredients in your blender in the order listed, hugely improves blending ease. 

Peach Bourbon Pecan Cobbler Ice Cream

Happy Friday! We've survived the week. We deserve something special. Luck for you, I've got just the thing. I've been wanting to share a peach recipe as well an ice cream recipe before it starts cooling down and peaches leave us for the season. Then I had the brilliant idea to combine the two. And guys, the final product is everything I dreamed and more. This ice cream is the sweet, sweet, love child of peach bourbon pecan cobbler and vanilla bean ice cream. Oh, and it's dairy free and probably the best thing I've ever created. 

I hope I didn't offend anyone when I said "dairy-free", and if I did, give me a moment to defend myself. You see, my husband is a bit of an ice-cream snob. It's one of the few things he makes in this house, it's sort of his "job" to make the ice cream. He also happens to hate coconut and is highly skeptical of healthy, particularly vegan, adaptations of classics (one time I made him vegan mac and cheese and he practically divorced me, let's just say that's never happening again).  So I knew I had my work cut out for me. And let me tell you, you let this ice cream soften on the counter a bit, and I swear to you, you cannot tell it's dairy-free. It is so creamy and smooth. The secret is 1. the egg yolk custard (sorry vegans) and 2. using coconut cream. It's also got lots of brown sugar, a touch of maple syrup, a homemade crumble, and perfect summer peaches cooked in bourbon, coconut oil, and more brown sugar and maple syrup. Oh and the ice cream has those perfect little beads of vanilla caviar that add that extra touch. Like I said, it may be the best thing I've ever made. 

And as for the husband, he happily served himself not one, not two, but three giant scoops of the stuff with a huge grin on his face while he insisted that it wasn't that good. Yeah, right. Actions speak louder than words, my friends. 

Peach Bourbon Pecan Cobbler Ice Cream {dairy-free} 
Adapted from Sprouted Kitchen 
Makes 1 overflowing quart 

For the custard: 
2 egg yolks, room temperature 
1/4 cup cane sugar 
1/4 cup brown sugar 
3 tbsp maple syrup
1 13.5oz can full-fat coconut milk 
1 13.5oz can coconut cream
1 vanilla bean 
pinch of sea salt 

For the peaches: 
3 ripe yellow peaches 
1 tsp coconut oil 
1 tbsp brown sugar 
1 tbsp maple syrup 
1 tbsp bourbon (optional) 
pinch of sea salt 

For the crumble: 
1/2 cup Earth Balance (or butter)
1/2 heaping cup of all purpose flour 
1/3 cup cane sugar 
1/4 cup pecan pieces 
pinch of sea salt 

1. Make the custard. In a double broil over, whisk egg yolks, sugars, and maple syrup together over medium heat until mixture becomes smooth and sugar has melted. Slowly whisk in coconut milk, followed by coconut cream. Slice open vanilla bean and using the backside of a knife scrape the beans out of the pod, add the vanilla "caviar" to the custard along with the vanilla pod. Add pinch of salt and whisk for 2-3 minutes until completely smooth and incorporated. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes. Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve, and discard vanilla pod. Refrigerate mixture for 1-2 hours.

2. Make the crumble. Cut earth balance (or butter) into small chunks and freeze for 15-30 minutes (this makes the crumble extra crumbling and keeps it from caking - it's worth it, trust me). Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. And line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Combine flour and salt in a medium bowl, add cold butter and using your hands, work the butter into the flour until it becomes the consistency of very chunky (delicious) sand. Add the sugar and pecans. Bake for 25-30 minutes until slightly brown, removing from oven at about about 20 minutes to break the crumble into chunks, giving it a good toss so it cooks evenly. Once finished remove from heat and let cool completely. 

3. Make the peaches. Thinly slice peaches, leaving the skins on. Heat coconut oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add in peaches, sugar, maple syrup, salt, and bourbon and stir for about 5 minutes until mixture becomes extremely fragrant and peaches soften. Let cool. Then add mixture to a food processor and pulse until desired chunks are achieved. Refrigerate mixture. 

4. Make the ice cream. Follow the instructions on your ice cream making. Pour cold custard into maker, when the ice cream is about 75% done, add in peaches and about two thirds of the crumble (reserving the final third to sprinkle on top of the ice cream). Transfer to a container, top with more crumble, and freeze. 

5. Serve. This ice cream does best after sitting at room temperature 20-30 minutes. Because of the low sugar content and lack of actual dairy, it does have a tendency to get icy. Letting it rest until it just begins to melt around the edges is the way to go. To serve top with even more crumble and enjoy!

Recipe Notes: 

I've made regular ice cream enough times to know, there is no reason you couldn't do this same recipe using a combination of heavy cream and milk instead of coconut cream/milk. At some point, I will do this and post an update on here. 

Crispy Coconut Eggplant with Avocado Mango Salsa

If you're like me and the rest of the world, the week after a long weekend can be rough. Especially when said long weekend marks the end of summer and the beginning of fall and all the get-it-togetherness that fall seems to call for. You see, I'm applying to grad school for next fall and application deadlines are now suddenly approaching. And I don't know why but just admitting it to the world seems so terrifying. Sometimes I wish I was the person I was 5 years ago, she was braver, less worried about money and consequences and failure, less realistic, but oh so bold and fearless. She wouldn't have been afraid. So in channeling my former self, I admit I'm applying to grad school. MSW and PsyD. programs to pursue a career that allows me to work in mental health, and more specifically which allows me to incorporate the yoga, breath, and meditation practices, which so dramatically heal me over and over again, with that population. 

But despite this ever-present goal, the fear of failing, of not getting in, of getting in and then changing my mind, of choosing the wrong program, of not being able to get a job, or of accruing an unmanageable amount debt seem to cloud my enthusiasm. And don't even get me started on the GRE, or I'm going to go into the other room and seek refuse in child's pose. Deep breaths. 

So for now, I hide in crispy coconut eggplant with homemade avocado mango salsa. I can handle that. And somehow the smell of freshly grated parmesan and earthy almond meal sizzling amongst a warm bed of coconut oil seems to ease all my worries. I've made this recipe a dozen times, and that smell get me every time. This dish is like eggplant parm's healthy tropical sister. Much lighter than the classic, with no carbs if you're into that sort of thing, and plenty of protein thanks to the almond meal. And the salsa is fresh and tastes like Hawaii meets Italy. It makes the perfect appetizer or light dinner. 

Crispy Coconut Eggplant with Avocado Mango Salsa 

Adapted from A Tasty Love Story
Serves 4-6 as an appetizer or 2 as a main 

1 large eggplant
1/2 cup almond meal
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
1 garlic clove, minced
1 egg
1/2 cup coconut oil

For the salsa:
3-4 shallots
1 roma tomato
1 ripe mango
1 large avocado
1/4 teaspoon salt
1.5 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
small handful of basil 

Remove the skin of the eggplant with a vegetable peeler. Using a mandoline or very sharp knife, cut the eggplant into 1/4 inch slices. Lay the eggplant over paper towels and cover both sides with a think layer of salt. Let sit for 1 hour. 

Meanwhile, make the salsa. Dice shallots, tomato (seeds removed), and mango and combine in a bowl. Add salt, lemon juice, and olive oil, and mix. Dice avocado, and gently (as not to make guacamole), fold into the salsa. 

Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Run eggplant slices over water to remove salt and pat dry with a towel. Set aside. Combine almond meal, parmesan, and garlic in a deep dish. In a separate dish whisk egg with a large pinch of salt. Coat each eggplant slice with egg, allowing excess to run off, followed by the almond meal mixture. Depending on the size of your eggplant, if/when you run out of egg or almond meal mixture just replace with more. Spoon 1-2 tablespoons of coconut oil into hot skillet, just enough to thinly coat the bottom of your skillet, and cook eggplant slices 2-3 minutes per side, or until lightly browned and crispy. When finished cooking, allow eggplants to rest over paper towels to absorb excess oil. 

To serve, place a large spoonful of salsa atop one eggplant slice, followed by another eggplant slice and more salsa. Top with thinly sliced basil leaves. 

Notes:

• You can salt and dry your eggplant slices and store in the fridge between sheets of paper towels for 3-5 days, if you're into planning ahead, or only making a few at a time. 
• These reheat well best in the oven (or toaster oven). Don't reheat in the microwave. 
• The salsa stays fresh, and the avocado green for 3-5 days thanks to the lemon juice. If you have extra it's great with chips or on quesadillas.