Cucumber Mint Lemonade

Few things in life feel more appropriate for summer than this lemonade. It is crisp, cool, and insanely refreshing without being overly sweet. The mint adds subtle sophistication, and the fresh cucumber juice is packed with cooling health benefits perfect for hot days. We are just obsessed. 

Cucumber Mint Lemonade
Makes about 8 cups 

2 cups fresh lemon juice ~ 18-20 lemons worth
large bunch fresh mint ~ 1 oz  
2-3 large cucumbers, peeled + chopped ~ 2 pounds
3/4 cups sweetener of choice, or more
4 cups water 

Combine mint, cucumbers, sweetener and 3/4 cup of water in a blender. If it doesn't fit, feel free to do it in two batches. Blend on high until completely pureed. Pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer. You can use a spatula to help it through. Discard the solids. Mix the cucumber juice mixture with the lemon juice and add remaining 3 1/4 cups water. It's not a very sweet lemonade, but feel free to adjust to taste adding extra water or sugar. Keeps fresh for about 2 days. 

Notes:

• Though totally not a problem, if you don't peel the cucumbers completely the lemonade will be slightly green in color. 
• Feel free to play with the amount of mint. I've made this lemonade with a small handful of mint leaves, a giant bunch (1.5 oz) and a medium bunch (.75 oz). I think the strong minty flavor is super refreshing and love the giant bunch, but for something subtler go for less. 
• What about a juicer? I wanted this recipe to be accessible to non-juicer owners so I experimented first with the blender/sieve technique then the juicer. Both work, and I could be crazy, though I found the blender method actually produced better minty flavor.
• I've tried this lemonade with coconut sugar, cane sugar, and agave. All work great. 

Watermelon Cucumber Coolers

I fell in love with the science of Ayurveda, the sister science to yoga, a couple years ago after reading Vasad Lad's Complete Book of Ayurvedic Home Remedies, then Eat, Taste, Heal which applies ayurvedic principles solely to nutrition. What I love most about Ayurveda is that it approaches health from a completely holistic perspective. It acknowledges that every body is different. What is good for one, may not be good for another, and knowing your own body's unique constitution and eating food which supports it creates optimal health. 

There are three doshic types, Pitta, Kapha, and Vata. In Ayurveda, Summer is Pitta season. And for people with pitta as their primary dosha, summers can be particularly difficult. My husband is the perfect pitta-stereotype: driven, hard-working, hot-headed, and completely intolerant of heat. I swear it could be snowing and he'd still be sweating. This translates to rough summers, with a serious need for heat management. Enter, watermelon cucumber coolers. 

According to Ayurveda, cucumber and watermelon are some of the most cooling, pitta-pacifying foods out there. So we juice them, and drink them over ice, when hot valley summers feel too much to bear. I recently added coconut water, another shockingly cooling beverage, and the result is summer-perfection. Refreshing, cooling, hydrating and pitta-pacifying. 

Watermelon Cucumber Coolers 
makes about 8 cups 

3.5 pound small watermelon 
2.5 pounds cucumbers ~ 3 large 
1 cup coconut water 

Juice watermelon and cucumbers. You will have to do this in batches and they both produce a lot of liquid. Transfer the juice to a large pitcher and stir in coconut water. Adjust to taste - for a sweeter beverage add more watermelon. 

Alternatively, if you don't have a juicer, you could blend the watermelon and cucumbers until smooth, then pour through a fine mesh strainer or cheese cloth. 

Best if consumed within 24 hours. 

Blueberry Pie Milkshakes {Dairy-Free + Vegan}

We went to Chicago three weeks ago to find a place to live next month. No big deal. While we were there we got to check out Chicago's "Restaurant Row" on Randolph street. It's filled with fancy, world-renowned restaurants, most of which cost a pretty penny. I had to keep reminding myself "we are moving here, there will be plenty of opportunities to eat over the next 5 years". I want wanted to eat everything. So after almost two hours of waiting, we got into The Little Goat, the casual more affordable diner version of the very famous Girl and the Goat. Going there was a decision both our stomachs and wallets appreciated.

Staying true to the diner vibe we split a blueberry pie milkshake. It tasted exactly how it sounds: like some brilliant person had baked up a sweet and gooey blueberry pie with flakey buttery crust and then blended it up inside a milkshake with thick creamy vanilla ice cream. I wasn't even halfway through my first sip before vowing to re-create it at home. And so over 4th of July weekend I did just that - but my version is dairy free. Remember that vanilla bean ice cream when made last week? This is the perfect way to put it to good use. Of course, you could totally sub in real butter, milk and ice cream, but either way the result is creamy, decadent, and tastes just like someone smashed a delicious gooey blueberry pie into a creamy cold milkshake. 

Blueberry Pie Milkshakes {vegan}
Serves 2

For the pie crust: 
4 tablespoons vegan butter (such as Earth Balance), cubed + frozen for 20 minutes  
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoon all purpose flour 
1 teaspoon sugar 
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons ice water 

1 1/2 cups blueberries 
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch 
1 teaspoon vanilla 
1 tablespoon brown sugar 
1 tablespoon bourbon (optional) 
pinch of salt 

6 scoops Dairy-Free Vanilla Bean Ice Cream (or store-bought) 
1 - 1 1/2 cups plant-based milk of your choice 

Make the crust. Whisk together flour, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Using your hands, cut the butter into the flour until the butter chunks are roughly the size of peas. Pour in 1 tablespoon water, mix, pour in the second tablespoon and toss until the dough is shaggy and damp. Squeeze a handful of dough in your hand - if it doesn't form together in a cohesive ball add another teaspoon of water. Bring the dough together into a disc (it will be messy, that's OK), cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. On a floured piece of parchment paper, roll the dough out until it's the thickness of pie crust, keeping the dough on the parchment, transfer it to a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes until just lightly browned around the edges. Remove from the oven and let cool. 

Meanwhile, heat the blueberries, cornstarch, vanilla, brown sugar, bourbon and salt over medium in a small saucepan. Stir as it cooks for 5-7 minutes until thick and bubbly. Remove from heat. Let cool. You can pop it in the fridge to speed up the process. 

Once the crust has cooled, break it into chunks with a fork. Toss blueberry mixture, ice cream, milk, and a little over half the crust into a blender and blend until smooth. Divide among two glasses and top with remaining pie crust and serve. 

Notes: Feel free to sub butter in the pie crust, milk, and regular store-bought vanilla ice cream.