Monday, January 09, 2017

Raspberry-Cardamom Smoothie! Yay clean eating! Sigh.


I would post fewer dull, earnestclean recipes in January and more luscious, yummy recipes in December, except the December recipes are really just “Put out some wonderful cheese and open a bottle of red wine” or “Get the leftover ham out of the fridge and let everyone saw at it with steak knives” or “Get your son to make you a maple-bourbon old-fashioned, then order a pizza.” Sigh. Those were the days!
Michael is very funny with his leftovers labeling. Thanks, hon! Michael is actually cooking some for himself and the kids, which is another terrific silver lining.
Now it’s all very almond milk and kale and soaked cashews. We went to our favorite taqueria last night, and I heroically ate not one single tortilla chip, even though they were hot and I could see the salt glittering on them, could hear and smell their corny wonderfulness as my family crunched around me. I made everyone congratulate me on my discipline and stoicism. “Tortilla chips!” I said. “My second favorite food after cheese!” They were sympathetic, but also, I think, a little bit like, “So eat some.” Fair enough.

More from the annals of my personal heroism: I made pecan sticky buns for a houseful of teenagers and guess how many I ate? You guessed it. I made everyone describe how good they were, though. It was like a bad creative writing exercise. (This is Smitten's recipe, and it seemed like they came out really great! Sigh.)
But I am eating well, too—I mean, deliciously—and I was just realizing that it’s because, while the content of the meals is abstemious (no alcohol, caffeine, dairy, gluten, meat, sugar), the form is incredibly decadent: I am cooking for myself, my own tastes. And I kind of love the freedom. So I can make my little dish of curried vegetables, and put tons of weird-tasting turmeric in it, which I love, and worry not at all about anyone else’s preferences and pet peeves and general dietary feelings. It’s kind of great.

This style of curry, shown here with Dominion cards and medium-boiled egg, is my new favorite thing to eat: celery, mushrooms (not in the this one), kale, and chickpeas (or other veggies), sauteed in coconut oil, with spices, including curry powder and extra turmeric, coriander, garlic powder, and cumin, added at the end, then a few spoonfuls coconut cream, a dab of tomato paste, and salt. A little hot sauce over the egg. So delicious.
Another favorite thing: I ask the fish folks at Whole Foods to sell me a $3 piece of center-cut salmon (it's about an inch of fish), with the skin cut off. Then I eat it raw, with avocado. Given that you'd pay $15 for this meal at a sushi place, and given that it's my favorite, it feels like an outrageous steal.
This smoothie is a new one for me this year, and I love it’s bright berry flavor backed by the deep and almost incense-y aromatic cardamom. It’s a variation on the Strawberry, Coconut, and Cardamom Smoothie in AnnaJones’s lovely book A Modern Way to Cook, which, if you live here and are waiting for it at the library, I’m sorry about having for so long. She uses strawberries and agave. I use raspberries and dates. I also add vanilla, and I skip her addition of dried coconut because I feel like it adds more grit than flavor. You can do whatever you like! It’s just a smoothie!

Fancy smoothie mise-en-scene
Note: I’ve stopped putting greens in my smoothie because I really like salad and I really like fruit smoothies, so why not just go ahead and keep them separate? Just my thought for the day, given that I’m not, like, in outer space with only the one smoothie to get all my nutrients from. Although I will say that on the very first morning of 2017, I made my first clean meal by opening the fridge, spying a week-old dressed salad in a Tupperware, and putting it in the blender. Thereby setting the bar so low that every meal since has felt like a small triumph.

Real-life smoothie mise-en-scene
I hope your back-to-everything week went okay, and that you are gearing up for the revolution and feeling great about all the money we donated. "Another year that we're not building a mudroom?" Ben asked, watching over my shoulder as I happily donated all the money. Exactly! No peace, no mudroom! I should paint it on the protest sign. That I'm bringing to the MARCH IN WASHINGTON D.C. Join me there if you can! xo

This happened to us! His name is Snapper. More soon.
Raspberry-Cardamom Smoothie
If you’re not trying to make a meal of this, please feel free to skip the almonds.

1 – 1 ½ cups coconut milk (the put-on-your-cereal kind) or another milk of your choosing, such as actual milk
2 tablespoons whole almonds, soaked overnight
½ cup fresh or frozen raspberries
1 teaspoon vanilla
The seeds from 1 green cardamom pod (or a large pinch ground cardamom)
2 small dates or 1 large dates or 1 cup of white sugar (Kidding! Not about the dates!)

Whir everything together until smooth and frothy, adding an ice cube or two if you want it slushier, or if your berries aren’t frozen. Enjoy your own blooming health and energy. 

32 comments:

  1. I just said to my mom yesterday "I'll bet Catherine Newman is going to the march" (we were talking about recipes... if that helps this sound less creepy). So yay! I will be there with my mother (who is PISSED and ready to burn some sh*t down) and my husband and my 9-year-old daughter. I hope that's a good call. See you there!

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    1. Yay you, and yay your pissed mom! xo

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  2. Anonymous11:17 AM

    I live in DC and will definitely be at the march! I'm looking for ideas of what to put on a sign, though. Do share if you are inclined!

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    1. Check out jointheuproar.com for ideas. (Found via @fortydaysofcalm - also worth checking out for lots of acts of resistance!)

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    2. Birdy made a sign for one protest that said, simply, "United Against Hate," and I love it so much. Thank you for the link, Requelita. I'm going to check it out.

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  3. gah, I'm the worst feminist ever. I live in DC, and am intentionally leaving town for the inauguration, and won't be back until later in the day on the 21st (effectively missing the march, too). But, I'll think of you while enjoying the sunshine of Orlando :)

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    1. I also need to change my blogspot profile pic, because that baby there? He turned 7 yesterday.

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  4. I just love you and your week old salad in the blender, making me giggle hysterically. And if you would put something about your mudroom on your protest sign, I think that would be pretty great.

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  5. Also! We have a mudroom. And in my imagination, it was so great. And in practice, it is a BIGGER place for children to fail to hang things on hooks and/or fail to put things where they belong. It constantly needs cleaning/tidying. It constantly looks messy---and it is THE FIRST THING SEEN BY ANYONE ENTERING OUR HOME. I wish I could return it, and donate the money.

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    1. I love you, Swistle, I really do. Thank you for that. : )

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  6. Anonymous9:32 PM

    You're coming to DC!! So excited you'll finally be near my "stomping grounds." Any chance you'll be promoting the new book while here? I had so wanted to see you in NY recently but couldn't make it work out schedule-wise (I'm another one of those lurkers who's followed you since the pre-Birdy days and whose own now large-ish children have grown up along with yours!) :) I will be at the rally for sure, but hope you'll keep us DC-based fans posted if we'll have any chance to see you outside of the masses and masses we hope will be rallying...

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    1. Yes! Meet-up on Sunday before you go back? :)

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    2. Aw, you guys are the best! I will be too busy screaming and yelling my fucking head off. But NEXT TIME! I would love to come back to DC to read. I have the fondest memories of reading there when the Birdy book came out. xo

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  7. Wish I could go- just got back from a quick trip to D.C. We had to take our children while our beloved Obamas are still there! Will miss them so 😢 I'll be marching in solidarity in Lexington, KY! We are a big BLUE dot in a really read state!

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  8. I really want the lowdown on that scrumptious kitty.

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  9. Snapper! he looks so snuggly with those adorable ears. But about the march--has anyone made you a pussy hat yet? https://www.pussyhatproject.com/ Super quick & easy; I made one for my friend who is going. There's also this one: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/resist-hat , which is a bit more of a project. Keep warm & represent us!

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    1. I am knitting them up in bulky yarn on HUGE needles and it is so fun! Checking out that ravelry pattern, but I am a very, highly, insanely inexpert knitter. . .

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  10. My sister will be at the March in Washington with you (as will some other of my favorite authors Elizabeth Gilbert and Brene Brown) and my daughter and I are marching in Austin, TX. Wave to my sis, okay?

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  11. Hoping to see you there!! Will you take a selfie with us?

    Melinda

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    1. That would be so fun! Look for me! I'll have a pink hat on. Oh, wait. . . xo

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  12. I will be marching on Madison, WI, freezing my yoni off... 😉

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    1. Knit a little pink sweater for your yoni! xo

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  13. Yay! To clean eating, protests and smoothies!
    On a less cheerful note, have you ever experienced any withdrawal symptoms when giving up foods? I recently gave up dairy and gluten cold turkey and have been having headaches....

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    1. Headaches from giving up dairy and gluten. . . Hm. I believe it. I'm more likely to get them from giving up caffeine. But I think any dietary changes can be hard to adjust to.

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  14. Also....have any of you found a gluten/dairy-free cookbook that you like?

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    1. I am ashamed to say that I kind of love Gwyneth Paltrow's first cookbook. Let me think about my other favorites. . .

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  15. Anonymous10:52 PM

    Ginger and turmeric in clean eating morning smoothies, the best! My 15 year old daughter and I will be marching in solidarity in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Our signs will either say " Love above all else" or "Fuck the System". I feel deeply about both sentiments. :-)

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