1) Mochi.
Mochi is a rice cake, but not the normal bland puffy type that springs to mind when you hear "rice cake". Sticky rice is cooked and then pounded down and made into a block. You buy it as a block, which when packaged looks like won-ton wrappers. But instead of being thin pieces stacked, its just one thick stack. To make it, you cut it into 1-2 in squares and bake for a few minutes. It puffs up and gets all gooey and delicious. We got the cinnamon raisin flavor. The ingredients are organic sweet brown rice, filtered water, raisins, cinnamon and sea salt. All real food! I served it for breakfast with jam inside but next time I'll make some yogurt cheese. Delicious!
It's a little bit more expensive than most of our other breakfasts. One block costs $3.75 from our coop or a little bit more than that from Whole Foods, but it really isn't too bad for a special breakfast. It lasted the three of us (yes, Lucy ate her fair share!) two breakfasts but would have lasted three meals except I didn't believe the package serving size. But believe them, this stuff is very filling. One or two small squares, along with a piece or two of fruit, was a big enough breakfast for even Craig.
2) Chia seeds
I can't believe I'm just now discovering Chia seeds can do more than grow hair on a dog.
Unlike flax, Chia are pretty easy to digest and don't need to be ground up first so it is easy to throw them into a smoothie, sprinkle it on a salad or yogurt or even add it to a granola bar recipe.They don't have any flavor to speak of so its easy to sneak them in here and there without husbands noticing.
But my friend told me about how Chia seeds also have a cool property - when expose to liquid, they become gelatinous. I'll be honest, I happen to think the texture is cool, like tapioca (but without the pain of having to heat them up) but Craig isn't a fan. He is picky about textures, he doesn't like bubble tea either - weirdo :-)
I made a Chia pudding with 1 cup of milk, a little bit of cinammon and vanilla and a couple tablespoons of Chia. Just mix and sit for a couple hours to overnight and it will thicken up. If it isn't thick enough, add a bit more of the Chia seeds and let it sit longer. You really can't mess it up. I served it with blueberries and mango. I meant to add honey too and forgot but even so, Lucy and I ate a whole big bowl just the two of us.
As I was making the pudding, I got thinking how cool it would be to make a lemonade pudding or a lemonade slushy type drink. But then I looked around and found out my idea wasn't so new. Chia fresca is a popular drink in Mexico that has been stolen by hippy runners and is now considered one of the best raw energy drinks around. Since homemade lemonade is one of my favorite summertime treats and I'm always in need of energy, I'm going to be giving that a try.
3) Lacto-fermented Salsa
It is well documented on this blog that my previous attemps over the past few years have not been entirely productive - until now!
I made a batch of Lacto-fermented Salsa using this recipe and it turned out great. The tomatoes I started with were not the best in terms of flavor but I used what I had and it was still tasty and just a tad bubbly, I can't wait to try again with out homegrown tomatoes. And it gave me the confidence I needed to try lacto-fermented pickles again. I've got a jar brewing as we speak!
So what have you been eating lately?
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