Top:

Tasty Bite!
An edible fall flower, Hollyhock, with stamen removed and filled with: Saffron Risotto, Butternut Squash, topped with Sprouted Black Lentils and Micro Leeks

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Lucky Living Green and Gold Seed Crackers: Magically Delicious!


What makes them green?
Special Spirulina!
What so special about spirulina? It's great for vegans and vegetarians and everybody because it is a natural organic whole food that is high in the very nutrients that are hard to come by in modern cement-land, including: potassium, all of the B vitamins, magnesium, zinc and iron, 18 vital amino acids, beta carotene and lutein. It's has a rich "meaty" flavor.

Limited quantities can be purchased from Val for $1.50 per ounce (4 oz. minimum). First-come-first serve. I'm taking orders for "Magically Delicious Lucky Green and Gold Crackers" to be delivered the week of St. Patrick's Day. Call 816-364-6922.

Or
See the "basic cracker recipe" posted to make your own! Just add spirulina to 1/2 the batch prior to dehydrating. You will need to be a "seed sprouter" and have a dehydrater with a temp setting at 105 degrees.

We will have organic spirulina available for purchase at our next Trader St. Joe's distribution nite. I'l keep you posted!


Lucky Green Crackers - Magically Delicious!

Layered Aronia Berry Parfait



Ultra-Healthy, Super Antioxidant Packed Delicious Desserts
What's so special about Aronia berries? Aronia Melanocarpa, the black version of aronia berries, is PACKED with antioxidants, and best of all for those of us living in the United States, they're very plentiful... In fact, the aronia berries I used to make this parfait were grown less than 20 miles from here by Steve Blazer on his 12-organic-acres near St. Joseph. Aronia's extremely high antioxidant levels make it one of the eight “true” superfruits in the world, and it's the only one of the eight that is native to the United States. Why go to Brazil or China to get your fill of antioxidants when you can buy them fresh or frozen from local organic farmers in the US?
Recipe:
You will need a Vitamix or high speed blender.
Ingredients: For each serving, add the following:
  • 1 frozen banana, peeled
  • 1/2 fresh or frozen pear, cubed and cored
  • 1/2 cup frozen or thawed whole aronia berries (plus a few extra for garnish)
  • 1 TBS of raw clover honey
Use the auger to push fruit into the blade to create an ice-cream consistency. (If your blender will not smooth out the frozen fruit without liquid, add a little coconut water until it starts turning freely.) Blend until smooth, pour into glass dishes, place in the freezer for 15 minutes to an hour. Do not wash out the blender. You will be making the topping in the same pitcher. The "left-over" dark purple sorbet that is still in the blender will create a beautiful violet hue for the topping.

Topping:

  • 1/2 cup soaked, hulled, raw sunflower seeds
  • 1/2 whole vanilla bean
  • 1/2 cup frozen coconut mylk
  • 1 to 2 TBS of Raw White Honey or Clear Agave Nectar (to taste)

Blend until smooth, pour over the aronia berry sorbet, return to the freezer until firm. Top with thawed aronia berries.

(I created a marble effect in the topping using some of the juice from the frozen berries)

This will be amazing with fresh mint when it starts to peek through the snow any day now!

We will be featuring Steve's local aronia berries at our next distribution night. I'll keep you posted.

They are also great salad toppers! A teaspoon of these lovely dark tart berries is the antioxidant nutritional equivalent to a shot of Monovie (which retails for $35 a bottle!) Yikes.

If you like, sign up to "be a follower" of this blog and you will be automatically up-dated when I post more recipes about aronia berries. I'm having a blast experimenting with them. Here are a few tips I can share: If you are using in smoothies, add a little raw honey to bring out the rich tannins! Mixed well with pears, apricots, apples, bananas, cherries, and blueberries. Goat yogurt, if you partake, is a wonderful base for frozen aronia custard. Just mix a whole vanilla bean, 1/2 cup of aronia berries, (frozen or thawed ) a little clean-source water and ice in the Vitamix. Blend until smooth. Add plain organic goat yogurt to taste. I like it tart, so I add lemon. If you like it sweet, add honey or agave. You can "drink" it or set it in the freezer until it firms into a spoon-able ice-mylk consistency. YUM! [Photos TK. My family woofed it down before I could get picture! I love them!]