Black Bean and Corn Salsa / Stawberry Basil Smoothie

Yesterday was a productive day.  I was up at 7, so not an extremely early start, but by 2:00 pm I had several things accomplished.  I started by making 8 pts of

Black Bean and Corn Salsa.

8 cups tomatoes, peeled, chopped and drained (I use canned diced tomatoes)
2 1/2 cups onions, chopped (I use sweet onions)
1 1/2 cups green peppers
1 cup jalapeno pepper, chopped
1 cubanelle pepper, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon Corriander
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 cup canning salt (if you don't have canning salt, you can use sea salt)
1/3 cup vinegar

4 T Sugar

17 oz  tomato paste
2 cup cooked black beans
2 cups frozen corn or canned or fresh

2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes

 

1. Slip skin of tomatoes

2. pulse in a food processor

3. De-seed and remove membranes all pepper and pulse / dice in a food processor

4. Dice onions in a food processor

5. Add all ingredients except corn, beans, chopped fresh tomatoes, and tomato puree. Simmer with the lid off for 1.5 hrs.

6. Add the corn, beans, fresh tomatoes, and tomato puree. Cook for 10 min, until corn is mostly cooked. Watch so tomato puree doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan.

7. Can in prepared hot jars and process via water bath or steam for 10 mins, 5 additional minutes for every 1000 ft above sea level.

After all that I picked 2 gallons of green beans and made 3 pts of pickled green beans.  I also gave a couple bags of green beans to the neighbors.

We enjoyed an afternoon as a family at the Pioneer Heritage Days.

After supper we went to a friends and picked 2 bags of apples.  I am processing them for applesauce today. Also picked a large bag of basil.

I made pesto to freeze last night. I also made basil mush to freeze and use to throw into a soup pot for flavor. 

Because I picked basil last night I thought I would try a unique smoothie

Strawberry Basil Smoothie

Found a recipe for that here.  I didn't add as much sugar. I also didn't make enough for my husband. He would not appreciate this one. It is pretty good, but not a regular smoothie.

Stone Fruit Smoothie

Stone fruit are in season! I love a good peach.  So I blended a couple together for this delicious smoothie. I have also come across a new addition to the smoothie. Hemp seed.  Hemp seed is nutty (think sunflower seed) in taste and a health benefit in many ways. Check it out here. There is also another smoothie recipe there.

Stone Fruit Smoothie

1 black plum (pitted, the skin came of easy on this one)

1 Prunacot (hybrid plum / apricot yum. Also pitted, left the skin on)

1/2 a large peach (pitted skin off)

1 banana

1Tground flax

1 T wheat germ

2 T raw quick oats

1 T raw hemp seed

Blend with enough almond milk to make 4 cups. This doesn't have a thick consistency to the smoothie, but still yummy!

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Creamy, yummy and a great way to get a vegetable into a smoothie.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

2 cups pureed pumpkin (homemade from last years jack-o-lanterns, mine is runnier than the stuff you get in a can)

1/2 cup honey greek yogurt

1 banana

2 T oatmeal

1T ground flax

1 T Wheat Germ

dash of cinnamon and nutmeg

 Enough milk to make the 4 cup mark.

Add the main ingredients and blend.  Then add the milk and pulse a couple times.

I should note that any of my smoothies could be made with any type of milk.  Depending on what I bought that week, almond or soy, will depend on what I make my smoothie with. Cows milk would work just fine as well.

Zucchini Pesto

Two posts in one day! This is a surprise recipe from making supper tonight.  I am trying to use all my garden produce. But sauteed Zucchini gets old. We are having pasta tonight and I wanted to add Zucchini. I knew if I put it in coins, the boys would eat around them. I decided to try a pesto.
I think this is a really tasty pesto or a dip for crackers. I have been snacking on it as I cook the rest of the meal! Please note, I cook a lot by taste so there isn't a lot of exact measurements:)

Zucchini Pesto

1 m size zucchini

handful of basil

3 cloves of garlic

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (the stuff from the green can)

handful of pine nuts

olive oil

salt and pepper

Blend the Zucchini in a food processor.

Add the basil, garlic,pine nuts and Parmesan cheese. Blend until paste consistency.

While blender is running, drizzle Olive Oil until it looks like pesto. (How else do I describe this?).

Add salt to taste and 5 or 6 grinds of a pepper mill to the pesto. Pulse to mix.

Serve over warm pasta or with crackers/ chips.

I am also going to add some halved cherry tomatoes.  I have lots of those right now so I am also trying to find creative ways to use those.

Cucumber Mint Mango

 I have a good resource of materials of some of the best quality food right in my back yard. My garden is producing, and I want to find a way to use some of the garden produce in smoothies.  I am sure I will have some that fail, but today's smoothie was a success. Right now I have many Long English Cucumbers hanging on the vine. I wanted to make a smoothie using these, partially to find another way to use them! Very refreshing smoothie! Modifications for next time would be to add more mango.

Cucumber Mint Mango

1 banana

1/2 long English cucumber, peeled

2 sprigs of mint, just the leaves

1/2 cup frozen mango chunks

1/2 cup honey Greek yogurt

 1 T ground flax seed

1T wheat germ

2T raw quick oatmeal

Soy milk- enough to make 4 cups of smoothie

Antioxidant booster Smoothie

Not really sure what to name this smoothie, but all the main ingredients are high in antioxidants.   I rediscovered my goji berry and bee pollen in my fridge yesterday. That inspired me to think ahead to create today's smoothie. Goji berries are an Asian food high in antioxidants to learn more about Goji berries and health benefits here.
I have dried Goji berries and I like to soak them for a smoothie. I blended them dried once, and it was okay, but I hand flecks of hard bits in my smoothie. I soak my Goji berries in a small dish of water overnight and add the water and berries to the smoothie in the morning.
The bee pollen you can learn more about here.

Antioxidant Booster Smoothie

1 T goji berries soaked overnight (use the liquid as well)

1/2 T bee pollen

1 T Wheat Germ

1 T ground flax seed

2 T quick oatmeal

1 T honey

1 banana

1 C blueberries (mine are frozen but fresh work)

1 6 oz blueberry yogurt cup

3/4 c Green tea (I used an Acai berry melon blend)

Soy milk to make the 4 cup mark

Blend and enjoy. Every now and again a sip will yield a bit of bee pollen that packs a extra honey flavored kick. YUM.

Creamy Strawberry Banana

I was feeling up for something classic this morning.  Nothing fancy or using a interesting ingredient.

Classic Creamy Strawberry Banana Smoothie

1 banana

1/2 cup honey greek yogurt

large handful of frozen sliced strawberries

1 T wheat germ

1T ground flax seed

1 T raw quick cook oatmeal

soymilk

Add soy milk and blend until you get the consistency you want. I ended up with about 3 cups worth of smoothie.  This would also be an easy smoothie to make green with a handful of spinach.