Romaine Apple Ginger Juice

Our dear friends gave me some delicious Romaine lettuce grown in their garden. It was so flavorful, I had to try it in a juice. I like to juice in the summer because it’s such a great source of nutrients and electrolytes. It helps our skin and liver recover from hours in the sun and heat.

As always, I suggest using organic fruits and vegetables to decrease the risk of getting a concentrated dose of pesticides. If they are grown in an organic garden, even better!

This can be made with any green from the garden or grocery. I paired the lettuce with apple and ginger to give it a little sweetness with a kick!

GreenMedInfo reports that ginger can help with a number of ailments, from nausea and arthritis to knee pain, migraines and allergies. Read more about the wondrous benefits of ginger here:

https://greenmedinfo.com/blog/eight-unexpected-health-benefits-ginger

Ingredients

• a bunch of Romaine lettuce or other green leafy vegetable

• 2-3 apples to taste

• 1-2 inch thumb of ginger

Run the ingredients through your juicer, following the lettuce with an apple or ginger so it doesn’t get stuck. I leave my ginger and apples unpeeled, but if you like a more delicate taste, they can be peeled.If you’re new tousing ginger in your juice, start small.

Enjoy in the backyard or on a deck, soaking up some sun!

The Classic

As the weather warms, it’s a good time to add fresh juices to your day. Drinking the juice fresh from fruits and vegetables brings with it a number of health benefits. Not only are juices naturally alkaline, they can also help with digestion and detoxifying. If there’s one juice I recommend for people new to juicing, it’s The Classic - carrot, apple, ginger. Sweet, spicy and delicious.

• 2 apples (any type will do - peels on, seeded)

• 2-3 carrots (peels on, removing tops and bottoms)

• 1/4 – 1/2 inch of fresh ginger root (depending on your taste for ginger as it can be spicy - no need to peel)

  Run these through your juicer and reap the benefits. After a few days drinking this juice, you may experience less inflammation, smooth skin and more energy. A great addition to your juicing repertoire!

Tibetan Potato Soup

I’m not sure where I acquired this recipe, but I have great gratitude for whoever wrote it down. This is the most healing soup you will ever encounter…(Take a seat, Chicken Noodle). The capsaicin in the chili power and curcumin in the turmeric are anti-viral and super anti-inflammatory.

You can make it as spicy as you like and it traditionally uses ghee rather than coconut oil, but I feel the monolaurin in the coconut oil is important in boosting the immune potency of this soup.

You may wonder why I have so many soup recipes… to me, soup is spleen food. When you’re recovering from an illness like EBV or a degenerative condition like hyperthyroidism, you need to feed your spleen to heal. Cooking the soup helps break down the nutrients so your body has less work to do, allowing your spleen to build blood for your body.

Makes about 8 cups.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup coconut oil

• 1 tablespoon minced gingerroot

• 1 tablespoon minced garlic

• 1 cup diced onion

• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric

• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder

• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala

• 3 cups mashed potatoes

• 4 cups spring water or veggie broth

• 1 cup chopped carrots

• 1 cup spinach or chard leaves, chopped

• 1 -1/2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

• Dulse seaweed flakes to taste (red seaweeds help clean the body of heavy metals)

• 2 teaspoons Kosher and/or Sea salt

• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

• 2 tablespoons chopped green onions or chives

• parsley

Directions

1. Melt oil in large saucepan over medium heat.

2. Add ginger, garlic, onion and carrots and stir-fry over medium to medium-high. Heat for 5 minutes.

3. Add turmeric, chili powder and masala. Stir-fry 1/2 minute longer.

4. Add potato and mix. Cook and stir 3 minutes. (If you like a smooth soup, add water or broth, 1 cup at a time, stirring constantly with wire whisk to prevent lumps from forming.)

5. Stir and add spinach.

6. Mix well and bring to boil. Add vinegar, dulse, salt and pepper.

7. Simmer 5 minutes. If soup is too thick, add water.

8. Add green onions or parsely and mix well.

9. Let rest before serving.

PUMPKIN SLAB PIE

From the recipes: Grain Free Pumpkin Slab Pie from MI Gluten-Free Gal and Gluten  Free Vegan Pumpkin Pie from Sarah Bakes Gluten Free

For the crust:

1 pkg Chebe Cinnamon Roll Mix (1-1/4 cups)

2 tbsp oil

1 egg

4 tbsp cold butter, cut into chunks

4 tbsp ice cold water

For the Filling:

2 1/4 cups pure pumpkin purée

3/4 cup full-fat coconut milk

1/2 cup cane sugar

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

1/4 cup cornstarch or tapioca starch

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger or 1 teaspoon ginger juice

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

non-dairy whipped topping for serving (optional)

In a large bowl, combine ingredients for the filling and whisk until completely combined. Cover bowl with saran wrap and refrigerate for one to two hours.

Meanwhile, prepare the crust. Add the Chebe Cinnamon Roll mix to a food processor, along with the oil and egg. To that, add the cold butter. Pulse until a dry sand texture develops.

Slowly add the ice cold water to the processor, one tablespoon at a time. Process until a ball of dough forms. Lightly flour a work surface with grain free flour or tapioca starch. Roll the large portion of dough into a large rectangle, approximately 11 by 15 inches.

Transfer crust to an un-greased quarter sheet pan. Use your fingers to press into place, making sure dough forms up the sides of the pan. Place pan in refrigerator for 15-20 minutes for crust to chill. Doing so prevents the crust from shrinking as it bakes.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Once oven is preheated, removed crust and filling from the refrigerator. Pour approximately half of the pie filling into the prepared crust. Bake the pie at 425 for 10 minutes. Then, immediately turn the temperature down to 350, and continue to bake for another 20-60 minutes. Check every 20 minutes. Bake until the outer edges of the slab pie are set, and the center is ever so slightly jiggly.

Chill in the refrigerator or set on the counter to cool.

GINGER CRANBERRY SAUCE

This year we are trying one from Pond Hill Farm.

Makes about 2 1/2 cups, serves 6

¼ cup grape seed or coconut oil

1 cup orange juice

1/2 cup coconut sugar, coconut nectar or date syrup

1/8 cup fresh ginger (peeled and minced) or 1 teaspoon ground ginger or 1 tablespoon ginger juice

2 ounces fresh or frozen and thawed cranberries

1 cup crystallized (candied) ginger, finely chopped, divided

1 tablespoon orange zest

a pinch of sea salt

dash of lemon and orange zest

Simmer ginger briefly in oil with salt. Pour juice and sugar into a medium saucepan and  heat over medium heat, stirring often, until sugar has dissolved. Add cranberries and  bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until liquid thickens.

Add a third of the crystallized ginger and simmer, stirring often, until cranberries have  popped and sauce is thickened to desired consistency, about 10 minutes more…

Remove from heat, stir in orange zest and all but a few pieces of the remaining crystallized ginger. Set aside to let cool to room temperature. Garnish with reserved crystallized ginger and lemon zest.