Recipe of the week: Gazpacho

Last week I made this and my husband posted about it on Facebook saying how much he loved it but he called it martian salsa....silly.  I don't like cucumbers but after every one raved about it, I had to try some, it was actually pretty good.  I blended most of it, then chopped another cucumber and more tomatoes to give it some texture.  Let me know what you think.  A Votre Sante!

Gazpacho

2 large cucumbers, peeled
1 jalapeno
1/2 bunch of cilantro
1 red onion
6 tomatoes
3 stalks of kale, woodsy part removed
2 limes
kosher salt
fresh ground black pepper


Cut one cucumber and 3 of the tomatoes, jalapeno, kale,  and red onion into chunks, and 1/2 of the cilantro (stems removed) put them in the blender and blend on the chop setting  Pour into a large bowl.  Chop the other cucumber and remaining tomatoes and add to blended mixture.  Add the juice of the limes, the rest of the cilantro leaves.  Salt and pepper to tasted (I used about 1 tsp of salt 1/2 tsp of fresh ground pepper).  Let sit for about an hour, serve with chips and avocado if you want or just eat it plain.  The longer it sits the spicier it seemed to get.  (Remove some of the jalapeno seeds if you don't like a lot of spice)  Enjoy.

You are what you eat

I'm a big believe in you are what you eat, but you already know that.  I saw this earlier and I really liked it.  Let me know what you think.  

Until next time.  

Ciao.

Blackberry kale salsa

I get emails from Whole Foods and last week there was one saying they were having a berry recipe contest. Last fall I tried to enter one and there seemed to be a glitch on their end because mine didn't post, which was sad because it was a good one you can see it here.  So, with the berry contest they said no refined sugar and only 7 ingredients, not including things like oil or salt & pepper.  Seven ingredients isn't a lot, especially if you're baking, so I decided to remake my kale salsa but with berries.  I decided blackberries would hold up the best to the peppers and onions, I had it with grilled salmon and vegetables and it was delicious.  Let me know what you think.  A Votre Sante!

                                                               My 7 ingredients


6 oz fresh blackberries
4 kale leaves, chopped (removed the middle woodsie piece)
4 green onions chopped, both green and white parts
3 tomatoes diced
juice of 2 limes
1 jalapeno finely chopped (1/2 the seeds removed)
1/4 bunch cilantro, stems removed
kosher salt to taste
fresh ground pepper to taste

Chop your onions, tomatoes, kale, and jalapenos.  I halved some of the large blackberries.  Mix in a medium bowl.   Add the lime juice, blackberries and cilantro.  Season with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.   Let sit for a few minutes and serve.  Enjoy.

My current workout play list....

So once again tonight I've been working on my workout playlist and I'm excited to go workout in the morning.  A few people have asked me to share what I've been listening to so I transferred this from Itunes.  It came out in reverse order alphabetically and I'm not sure how to fix it, so oh well on that one.  I've said my taste in music is pretty eclectic so don't judge...it's all about the mood you're in....and sometimes I skip through till I find something I'm feeling.  


So there you have it...enjoy.  I hope you find some beauty in this =)  Ciao.


Headstrong Trapt

Eye of the Tiger                 Survivor

All Summer Long A Salute to Kid Rock

Only Girl (In the World) Rihanna

I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) The Proclaimers

Move, Shake, Drop              Pitbull

Youth Of The Nation           P.O.D

Moves like Jagger Maroon 5

Sweet Home Alabama         Lynyrd Skynyrd

In the End Linkin Park

Can't Fight the Moonlight LeAnn Rimes

Bad Romance Lady GaGa

Poker Face Lady GaGa

We Owned The Night Lady Antebellum

Because of You                  Kelly Clarkson

Behind These Hazel Eyes     Kelly Clarkson

Stronger                            Kelly Clarkson

California Gurls                   Katy Perry

On The Floor (feat. Pitbull)   Jennifer Lopez

Hollaback Girl Gwen Stefani

Losing My Religion              Glee Cast Version)

How To Save A Life             The Fray

Over My Head (Cable Car)    The Fray

Dog Days are Over              Florence and the Machine

Big Girls Don't Cry               Fergie

Bring Me to Life   Evanescence

Paradise Coldplay

Viva la Vida                        Coldplay

Fallin' For You Colbie Caillat

Lady Marmalade Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mya & Pink

Before He Cheats                Carrie Underwood

My Prerogative                    Britney Spears

Circus                                Britney Spears

Livin' on a Prayer Bon Jovi

Let's Get It Started              Black Eyed Peas

Just Can't Get Enough          Black Eyed Peas

Single Ladies                      Beyoncé

If I Die Young The Band Perry

Wunderkind Alanis Morissette

Black Roses Red                 Alana Grace

Set Fire To The Rain            Adele

Rolling In The Deep Adele

Recipe of the week: Super foods smoothie

Most people are trying to find away to eat more vegetables, even Jamba Juice is now adding veggies to smoothies.  The darker the color of fruit and vegetables the better for you and we all know the benefits of dark chocolate.  Chia seeds and maca powder are nutritional power houses, if you want more information you can google them....you can always make it without them if you don't have any.  This ends up tasting like a chocolate covered cherry.  A Votre Sante!

1 cup unsweetened almond or coconut milk
1/2 cup frozen cherries, berries or a combination of both
1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 scoop chocolate protein powder (optional)
1 Tbsp maca powder
1 scoop chia seeds
1/2 beet sliced


Blend in the blender until smooth.  Enjoy!

Erasing Tattoos on the Heart

I've been subscribing to a daily email from Ravi Zacharias for a long time, most days I skim through them, yesterday I read this one and was very touched, enough that I wanted to share it. I've known about Father Greg Boyle and Homeboy Industries now for a couple of years, ever since my daughter was at LMU and his book 'Tattoos on the Heart' was required reading for a class of hers. I read the book (even started a book review, which is still in my draft folder but I never finished it) and was incredibly inspired, it's one of those that makes you laugh, cry, and inspires you to live differently and love more. This is the email, I hope you love it as much as I did.  


Until next time, Ciao!

Erased

Father Greg Boyle is in the business of erasing the past. A Jesuit priest who is 
the founder and director of "Homeboy Industries" in East Los Angeles, Father 
Boyle has put together a team of physicians trained in the laser technology of 
tattoo removal. The team is part of a program that takes the tattoos of ex-gang 
members and wipes the slate clean. For many, it is as crucial a service as it is 
merciful. 

Gang-related tattoos prevent many former gang members from getting jobs or 
advancing in work. For others, the markings critically impinge on mental health 
or put them in serious danger on the streets. There is no fee or community 
service required to receive the tattoo removal offered by Homeboy Industries. It 
is strictly a gift—a gift that is perhaps a modern look at Christ washing the 
feet of his friends. Currently, there is a waiting list of over a thousand 
names.  

For those involved, the spiritual imagery is often compelling. The seeming
permanence of a gang tattoo fosters the attitude that the gang's claim is also 
permanent. It is a mark of ownership as much as identity. The emotional 
consequence is that it seems a part of you that can never be shaken. I suspect 
some of us have felt like this with past mistakes, actions whose mark we cannot 
shake off, decisions embedded into our existence like permanent tattoos on 
bodies longing to forget.

 It's not hard to see how profound the erasing of such marks could be in the life 
of a former gang member. The life marked by Christ is similarly altered. Like 
former gang members who have had the marks of a former life removed, so our sins 
are blotted out by Christ. They are remembered no longer.

To those holding on to the scarred markings of former sin God would say: "I, 
even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers 
your sins no more" (Isaiah 43:25). Though your sins are as scarlet, they shall 
be white as snow. Like the unmarked
 ex-gang members among us, we are made into something new.

One of the curious things about the growing list of people interested in laser 
tattoo removal is that Father Boyle is straightforward about the procedure. The 
process of tattoo removal is extremely painful. Patients describe the laser 
procedure as feeling like hot grease on their skin. And yet the list grows, each 
name representing a life that longs to be free and is willing to endure the pain 
to seize it. 

 Followers of the Christian faith have described God's work in our lives as the 
"refiner's fire." Removing the impurities we have embedded into our lives is at 
times quite uncomfortable. But like a child that trusts her mother enough to 
endure the pain of having a splinter removed or the young man who undergoes the 
burning process of removing a gang tattoo, we are freed by skillful hands. The 
Great Physician is sometimes a surgeon. But when we look at God through the 
refining fires of God's presence, we know that it was well worth putting our 
name on the list (whether it was our doing or God's in the first place). "For as high 
as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; 
as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from 
us." At his table, we are made new.

 Jill Carattini is managing editor of A Slice of Infinity with Ravi Zacharias 
International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.

Recipe of the week: Kale Salsa

I'm a big fan of using what you have for dinner or any other meal.  We were out of salsa and I was too lazy to go to the store to get some so this is what I came up with....basically cleaning out my frig.  Let me know what you think.  A Votre Sante!


3-4 kale leaves, chopped
small handful of fresh basil leaves cut into small pieces or strips (Chiffonade)
3-4 green onions chopped, both green and white parts
2-3 tomatoes diced
1/2 cup fresh pineapple diced
juice of one lime
1 tsp olive oil
3-4 slices of pickled jalapenos (I had some in the frig)
1 tsp of pickled jalapeno juice
dash of cumin
dash of cayenne pepper
salt to taste
pepper to taste

Chop your vegetables, fruit, and jalapenos.  Mix in a medium bowl or larger if your doubling or tripling this...you might want to based on my families response!  Add the lime juice, spices, and jalapeno juice.  Let sit for a few minutes and serve.  Enjoy.

Just like in chess....