Chilled Papaya Bisque

I'm baaaack! :)

Finally, after days of cloudy, windy, rainy weather, we have some sun! WOO! So, I decided to grill for dinner. We had a giant papaya and pineapple laying in the fruit bowl, so I threw together this wonderful chilled fruit soup to go with the grilled entree. And, since we ended up with a ton of alcohol after the wedding, I thought I'd add some rum into the mix to give it a little kick. Cuz I'm like that. ;) By substituting cashew cream for dairy, this soup gives you all the creamy goodness while avoiding the unhealthy fats.

This recipe was so fun to throw together. I had friends over for dinner and they were amazed at how quickly it turned into yummy goodness! I love entertaining. :D

Chilled Papaya Bisque

4 cups papaya, blended
1/4 cup papaya, diced small
2 Tbsp. papaya seeds
4 cups pineapple, blended
1/2 cup cashew cream (see recipe below)
1/2 cup Orange-Mango juice
2 shots dark rum (optional)

Stir all ingredients together in a large bowl and serve garnished with a swirl of cashew cream.

How to make cashew cream:
1 cup raw cashews
3/4 cup water
Blend until smooth!

Ruby Apple Juice

Up until Wednesday of this week I was doing a cleanse.

It was a simple, non-invasive herbal formula you're supposed to drink three times a day with apple juice. Your diet can be the same as before, but my room mate and I decided to take it a step up and go mostly raw. This was great for us, since the days are getting warmer, because we could eat raw food without needing to keep warm during the day. Our meals consisted mostly of juices, salads with fresh, local greens and sprouted beans (chickpeas mostly, mmm,) and seed pate, usually with steamed or roasted veggies for dinner. I've got some fun recipes from that that I'll be posting soon, but for now, I'd like to start with talking about juice!

Fruit and Vegetable juices for breakfast is something I'm definitely adopting long-term. It gets assimilated quickly (which is needed for morning exercise and garden play), and it's quick, fun to make, and very easily transportable. It makes me feel great! :) I'm not a fan of huge breakfasts anyway, because I'm always left feeling weighed down all day as a result.

If you don't have a juicer but would love to make some fresh juice, you can probably throw it all in the food processor and squeeze the juice out through cheesecloth. I'd recommend investing in a juicer, however, which comes in a wide range of prices. I'm currently saving up for a Champion Juicer*, which not only juices, but makes nut butters, fruit sorbets, etc. and is the only juicer of its kind that's still made in the United States.

This is a simple, flavourful juice that's made with things that most of us have on hand to begin with. The hint of ginger gives it a nice little kick. I could totally drink this every day. :)

Ruby Apple Juice

4 medium apples (I used two galas and two pink ladies)
2 large carrots
1 small beet
1 inch fresh ginger root

Run all ingredients into the juicer, and serve! Makes about 2 cups.

*Want to help me get a Champion Juicer sooner? Donate to the cause! :)

Ginger Beet Juice

I love beets.

When I say I love beets, I mean I really love beets. I'm one of those people who loves to take them straight from the garden, rub the dirt off, and bite into 'em. I never understood why people peeled them, either, as I've come to understand that much of the nutrients in vegetables come from the skins. So, why, in our modern age, do we always peel our veggies and then cook the crap out of them? The world may never know. ;)

I, on the other hand, like peels. And raw veggies. This morning, I knew I would be making soup later, but needed a quick something to drink that would give me some energy and fight off the cold that I feel coming on, so I pulled out the ol’ juicer and made some beet juice.

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Ginger Beet Juice

3 large beets, quartered, tops removed (or can be added, but I ate ‘em earlier)

3 decent sized garlic cloves*

2 inch chunk of ginger, with skin

2 good splashes of lemon juice (or juice from 2 lemons)

Juice beets, ginger, and garlic. (I put the ginger and garlic in between the chunks of beets, to avoid clogs) Add lemon juice to juicer, to rinse it out a bit. Optional: grab a hunk of the pulp^ and throw it in, for texture. :)

Enjoy!

Makes about 3 cups, but will vary by the size of the beets.

*Jeremy, my fiance, said it had too much garlic, so feel free to lessen the amount, or leave them out completely. I love garlic, and they’re fantastic raw if you’re not feeling well.

^If you want to use the pulp for something, it can be put straight into soups, salads, or dehydrated for crackers. Ooh! I wonder if it’d make good mashed “potatoes”! I’ll try that tonight.

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Have a wonderful afternoon!

~Lyra