Cucumber Agua Fresca

photo courtesy of www.caroactually.com 


If you've never had the pleasure of sipping an agua fresca on a hot Summer day then you may be missing out. With the abundance of cucumbers in our garden we are always looking for ways to enjoy them so this is one I made today. I did not write down the recipe but here is a link to a recipe you could use. I made a couple of modifications:

1. Instead of water I used coconut water because I had some on hand and coconut water is far better at helping you rehydrate after strenuous work than plain water or worse, a sports drink.

2. Across the board and with few exceptions my top two sweeteners of choice are local raw honey and grade B maple syrup. So with this recipe I used raw honey instead of agave syrup.

Another thing to remember with agua fresca is that since you use the entire fruit it will separate a few minutes after being poured into the glass so drink up!

Hope you are able to enjoy Summer's abundance. Thanks for visiting our digs.

-C

Peanut Butter Banana Chia Pudding-Super Fast and Easy

If you follow my holistic health coaching page on Facebook you may remember my feature a while back on the Paleo Parents website. We're big fans of chia seeds in pretty much any form around our house. So when I was craving a snack today I whipped up some peanut butter banana chia pudding. Most of the time I forget to take pictures of what I'm doing but not today, so here it is!

I started with these ingredients: organic crunchy peanut butter (if you are Paleo or have an allergy, substitute almond or sunflower seed butter), chia seeds, a frozen banana (the thing in the white bowl that looks like bacon), and coconut milk. Soak the chia seeds in water for ten minutes, stirring every couple of minutes.

Then add everything else to the soaked chia seeds and stir, mashing the banana.

I tasted it and decided to add cinnamon and vanilla. Then I measured out a 1/2 cup so I didn't inhale the whole thing.

Delicious!

Here's a recipe:

Peanut Butter Banana Chia Pudding

2 T chia seeds soaked in 6 T water

1/4 cup coconut milk (we use Native Forest because the cans are BPA-free)

1 frozen banana, or 1 fresh banana if that's all you have

1 T peanut, almond, or sunflower butter

2 dashes ground cinnamon

1 dash of vanilla extract or paste

Soak the chia in the water in a bowl for 10 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes.

Add the coconut milk, banana, nut butter, cinnamon, and vanilla. Stir until combined.

Eat.

Well, split it up then eat.

I like it better cold.

Health Benefits of Chia Seeds

-full of omega-3 fatty acids (anti-inflammatory)

-high in fiber (anti-inflammatory, helps you poop, this recipe has 10g of fiber)

-lots of antioxidants (these fight aging and cancer)

-very filling (better than eating a bag of Doritos and still not feeling full)

-convenient (do not need to be ground like flax seeds)

-help regulate blood sugar (by regulating insulin)

-high in protein (in case you're tired of bacon)

Thanks for visiting our digs.

-C

Cape May: A Visit To Beach Plum Farm

I grew up going to Cape May, New Jersey every Summer with my family. Cape May is a lovely beach town full of old Victorian homes and eclectic culture. It has yet to be overcome by throngs of people like other local beaches and it is even more beautiful in the off-season. Eventually my parents bought a home there that they rent out over the Summer. Our trips up to Cape May usually happen in the off season but recently the house became available so we went up for a few days. Last Fall we discovered a beautiful farm where we went on a hay ride and decorated pumpkins with our children. So it was definitely on our list to visit again this time.

Beach Plum Farm is a sustainable farm in West Cape New Jersey that is owned by Cape Resorts Group and supplies produce, flowers, eggs, meat, and honey to its restaurants. The farm is also open to the public and has a beautiful farm stand. Visitors may tour the farm for free or choose an in-depth guided tour for $3 a person for adults, $2 for children. Here are some pictures from our visit a couple of weeks ago.

Here is a beautiful hand drawn map of the farm.

An example of planting and growing crops amongst native weeds like clover that act as a ground cover and mulch for the plants.

Rows and rows of horseradish for Bloody Mary's!

Chamomile and hydrangeas. 

I even spotted some purslane growing amongst the plants. I'll write a whole post on that later.

More hydrangeas. Such a beautiful throwback flower.

This our tour guide Erisa Ann telling us about the bean pole teepees they have.

The chicken run. They produce about 250-300 eggs a day!

The farm sits on a wetlands area that has been preserved. Amelie found a muskrat hiding in the water.

Berkshire pigs for the restaurants. They are purposely not named.

A number of these beautiful ferns have come back around the wetlands after all the care that has been put into the farm.

All of the fallen or cleared wood is chopped and used for firewood in the fireplaces of the group's hotels and restaurants.

Horse manure is collected from the Cape May Carriage Company and used as fertilizer.

This large greenhouse allows them to extend the growing season to grow produce throughout the year.

One of a few stops to remove rocks from the shoes:)

Cabbage growing in the back fields. Oh the sauerkraut you could make with this!

Harper counts the quarts of blueberries as they are picked.

A spot to rest.

Sunflowers for the restaurants and hotels and beyond that honey bees!

Harper waits to buy honey at the farm stand.

Freshly picked greens being washed for the restaurants.

Italian and purple basil.

Piglets!

Feeding the piglets.

Tour lasts a little over an hour (maybe more with little ones) so do plan on bringing lots of water and wear hats if it's a sunny day. What a wonderful farm that manages to truly execute its mission. We certainly learned a great deal that day.

Oh, and we were so hot we delayed lunch and went straight to Bliss for homemade ice cream. Harper chose lemon-basil-mint sorbet, Tom got vegan coconut, Amelie chose honey, and I ordered this masterpiece:

An avogatto. God's gift to the hot and tired. One shot of espresso over creamy homemade vanilla ice cream. Pure heaven.

Bliss has locations in both Cape May and West Cape May and they sell at the West Cape May Farmer's Market on Tuesdays after June 26.

Thanks for checking out our home away from home. See you back at the digs soon!

-C

More info on Beach Plum Farm.

Cape Resorts Group

The Blue Pig Tavern (where we had dinner that night)

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Waiting for Blackberries

Wishing to be friends is quick work, but friendship is a slow ripening fruit.

-Aristotle

Our blackberries as of July 2, 2013. We can't wait to go Blackberry Picking.

Cucumber Salad for Dinner

I love the smell of cucumbers. That unmistakable subtle and yet heady scent when you walk into a room as someone is slicing them. Right now we are leaving the leafy salad-a-day stage with the garden because the weather has gotten really hot and the lettuces are bolting, going to seed. We will leave a few heads in the garden and collect the seeds for replanting in the cooler weather. Play your cards right and could never have to buy some seeds ever again!

So now it's the cucumber salad-a-day stage. Yum.

Here is the larger of two cucumber patches we have. You'll see that we have put down some boxes on one side to keep weeds at bay. Until our mulch delivery arrives we use boxes as a quick and easy weed deterrent.

Here's what we found after three days away in Cape May.

Ingredients for last night's salad: cucumbers, radishes, dill, and julienned lemon sorrel from the garden. Tossed with thinly sliced red onion, fresh lime juice, and sea salt.

Delicious.

 We can tell by the numbers at the bottom of the page that lots of you are visiting so thank you! Please leave a comment if you can!

Thanks for visiting our digs.

-C