Strawberry Mango Spring Delight

Spring is in the air!  I can actually smell it.

It’s that time of year here…where there isn’t a patch of snow left on brown lawns, and we don’t know what weather to expect from day to day.

Is it going to be sunny, warm and gorgeous?  Is it going to be grey, damp and drizzly? Or will it be absolutely blustery, like today, with the sun playing hide and seek behind the clouds?

Either way, a strawberry mango smoothie is in order.   Maybe if we act like it’s spring; all floral, pale pink, pretty and warm, it will manifest itself quicker!  Sounds like an idea…

It’s simple, sweet, and makes me think of the warm weather soon to come.  The tangy/sweet/creamy combo might just make this a new favourite.

Strawberry Mango Smoothie

• 1 ripe banana
• 1 mango (fresh or frozen)
• 1 cup strawberries (fresh or frozen)
• 1 cup almond milk (or less, if you like it thicker)
• 1 spoonful raw honey or other sweetener
• 1 tbsp bee pollen (optional)

Blend all ingredients in your blender.  Garnish with pale pink flowers or a straw.  Sit with drink in hand, summer dress and flip flops optional.  Sip away and enjoy!  Simple.

You’re not throwing out all those broccoli stems?

Recently I’ve been thinking about my compost.  Hmm…an enlightening topic, I know.

It’s lovely when you have your own compost bin that you dump into your garden or backyard.  But most of us just have a municipal “green bin” and there’s been talk that much compost just goes to landfills, not to be used for anything productive.

So just like I’m aware of the size of my garbage, I’m now trying to cut back on the size of my compost, until the summertime when I know that my own compost is going to enrich my own soil out back.

I’m inspired by my frugal Russian grandmother.  In her kitchen, every tiny piece of every vegetable, fruit and scrap it used in the cooking.  In her tiny kitchen, a little container of compost sits on a shelf, with tiny stems, seeds, bones – the real inedible stuff…

It inspires a serious respect and gratitude towards the vegetable or food that you are eating, when you utilize all parts.  Gratitude, I’ve discovered, is a little vital something that’s missing from much of modern day food consumption.

So if you’ve been hoarding all those broccoli stems, like me, here is a delicious slaw-soup.  Once you carefully cut off the coarse parts, you will be delighted to see the fresh

It looked so rustic I could only photograph it on a pile of wood

and juicy insides of the stem.  It is crunchy, yes, but it is also full of nutrients that are an essential part of the whole broccoli.

Broccoli Slaw Soup

• 3-4 broccoli stems, rough parts carefully removed
• 4-5 kale stems (optional)
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp olive or flaxseed oil
• 1/3 cup milk or substitute (I used almond milk)
• Himalayan rock salt to taste

Process everything in a food processor.  Add more milk until it’s the consistency that you want.  This raw soup can be warmed, or it can be eaten as a chunkier slaw with some crackers or last weeks onion bread.