“You don’t have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces – just good food from fresh ingredients.”    Julia Child

I left early for my walk this morning, though not as early as I should have.  I departed at 7:30, but the sun felt sizzling hot, just like it did yesterday, although today there was a nice cloud that stole the sizzle every now and then; I like that on a hot day.  The difference from yesterday’s walk is I left 3 hours earlier today, and yesterday’s walk ended up at the community swimming pool, while today’s walk ended up in the kitchen. For me, both are excellent destinations.  Following is a run-down of my kitchen adventures with recipes.

Upon returning from my 3.4 mile walk, I made some freezy Banana Mocha Frozen Yogurt with Crunchy Walnuts, satisfying & scrumptious.  Did I mention that it’s hot today?  This little snack really hit the spot & helped me to cool off.  It’s not super frozen, but more of a soft serve that tastes enough like ice cream to satisfy me.  You can put it in the freezer if you want it firmer.  If you leave it in the freezer until it freezes solid, you can bring it back to creaminess by whizzing it in the food processor again.  I find it easier to just make it and eat it right away, or within an hour or two.  My recipe is an adaptation of a tasty vegan Banana Soft Serve; find that recipe here.  After you look at the Banana Soft Serve recipe, take a spin around the Choosing Raw blog; Gena has lots of fabulous recipes.  You do not need to be vegan or vegetarian to enjoy her site.

Banana Mocha Frozen Yogurt with Crunchy Walnuts
¾ cup plain, unsweetened yogurt {We use Nancy’s Plain Yogurt in the 64 ounce container.  Our yogurt is nonfat or low fat, whichever one has the latest pull date.}
1 ½ frozen bananas cut into small pieces {When our bananas are getting too ripe, we peel them, cut them in half and freeze them on a cookie sheet.  Pop them into a freezer bag, and they are ready for banana bread, banana muffins, smoothies, “frozen yogurt” and whatever else you might fancy.}
1 tsp cocoa powder {like Hershey’s}
¼ tsp espresso powder
Grind or pinch of sea salt {brings out the flavor}
20 chocolate chips {preferably dark chocolate, because it’s healthier}

Put the yogurt, cocoa powder, espresso powder and salt in a food processor or high speed blender.  I have a little Cuisinart mini food processor that works great.  Pulse a few times to mix. Add chocolate chips and ½ a banana and pulse to get things going.  Once the first banana is blended in, you can add the rest of the banana pieces and process until smooth.  Top with crunchy walnuts or your nut of choice and enjoy.

I do not put any sweetener in this recipe, because the bananas are sweet enough for our tastes.  We have been eating plain yogurt for a long time, and find the sweetened stuff way too sweet.  If you need sweetening, try a little maple syrup or honey.

The cilantro is washed & happy in its jar, which was formerly the home of kalamata olives.

Dandelion greens {a new favorite of ours} have been cleaned and are ready for salad with mustard vinaigrette.  This is my gateway recipe for mustard vinaigrette, from A Homemade Life, by Molly Wizenberg. I love this book, and her blog Orangette.  I highly recommend that you stop by when you have a minute; you will be happy you did.  She tells great stories and her recipes are wonderful.

Mustard Vinaigrette {from A Homemade Life}
In a small bowl, whisk together 2 tbsp Dijon mustard and 1 tbsp + 2tsp red wine vinegar.  Add 3 tbsp olive oil & whisk well to emulsify {thicken}.

I actually just wing making mustard vinaigrette now; I start with a big plop of Dijon {smooth or grainy}, minced shallot, garlic {mashed to a paste with a little kosher salt} & vinegar of choice {I use Bragg’s apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar, and occasionally I will use balsamic with a squeeze of lemon.}.  Whisk together to combine and then whisk in olive oil until it is the consistency you like.  If it is too sharp for your taste, add a little honey.

I steamed some asparagus, which we enjoyed with a dollop of freshly made mayonnaise, freshly ground salt & pepper.

Mayonnaise {adapted from The Best Recipe by Cook’s Illustrated}
1 egg {pasteurized if you are worried about eating raw egg}
2 tsp white wine vinegar
5 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice {original recipe is 3 tsp}
about 2 tsp Dijon mustard {I don’t measure, but just put in a nice plop; original recipe is ½ tsp}
½ tsp salt
1 ½ cups neutral oil {I use canola}

Put egg, vinegar, lemon juice and salt in bowl of food processor.  Pulse a few times to mix.  Turn on the processor and drizzle in oil, until all of it has been added.  My Cuisinart’s feed tube has a hole in it, so I just fill it with oil until it’s all in, and then turn off the processor.  I don’t like the mayonnaise to be super stiff, so I turn off the processor as soon as all the oil is in.

There was a bit of broccoli, not your “regular” broccoli, but something like broccoli rabe, leftover in the refrigerator, so we ate it in the same way as the asparagus.  Delicious!

The beets are tender now, from their time in the steamer.  Not sure if I will get to it today, but I am going to make Beet Namasu.  This is our new favorite way to enjoy pickled beets.

P.S. I did not get to making Beet Namasu.  We went out for pizza & beer at Flatbread Pizza Company in Paia.  Oh well, tomorrow is another day.

This is the reason I weigh close to 20 pounds; I lounge about most of the day!