Kitchen Ranch

Citrus Sangria

Delicious! This recipe is surprisingly great served alcoholic or non-alcoholic...

Citrus Sangria

• 1 Bottle of Red Wine or Grape Juice
• Juice of 2 Lemons & Limes
• Juice of 4 Oranges
• Chopped Apple and Sliced Orange

Serve with ice.... 

Strawberry Lemonade

Strawberry Lemonade

• A double pint box of ripe strawberries (that you will need to juice through a fancy pants juicer that separates the juice and mushy rest-I suppose you could blend the strawberries and send them through a sieve)
• 1 Cup of sugar (or more if you have a sweet tooth)
• 8-10 lemons squeezed

Mix to enjoy the superb and frothy strawberry lemonade!

What insanity we have recently faced. Just today the husband and I were able to move back into our offices after the sewer mess... What a lot of construction. Although really, the end result of the space reveals itself as quite welcoming. 

So alas, the computer fast of sorts comes to an end. I am now hoping to settle in and officially invite a routine to present itself...tomorrow. For now, I am going to sit back and sip my wine and admire the freshly renovated office with its sea blue walls, appropriately named 'Tropical Holiday'.

Green Smoothies

Truth be told, there is normally a big chunk of kale or chard left over from my weekly co-op box that becomes compost. While I can enjoy a dark leafy green sauteed with olive oil and salt as a side dish-it is just not a side I want to eat every day.

Although there are many benefits to drinking green smoothies I never had much enthusiasm in regards to making one for myself. Then, a little over a month ago I made a green smoothie for breakfast. It was so delicious and energizing that I have been consistently drinking a green smoothie for breakfast each day.

Here is the routine: on Sundays (that is when I pick up the co-op box and do most of the shopping) I wash all my greens for the week and place them in a huge container in the refrigerator. This makes it easy on me-I can simply reach in and grab a handful for the blender. My weekly supply of greens which consists of some variety of kale, some variety of chard, dandelion and beet greens costs me about $5-7.

Although there are a billion recipes out there for green smoothies I like to keep it quick and simple:

• Two Handfuls of Greens
• A Banana
• Orange Juice

Modifications on the basic green smoothie:

Fruit (kiwi, blueberry, strawberry etc...)
Carrot juice instead of orange juice is very nice!
Coconut water instead of orange juice is a popular mix.
Be creative, whatever you like and whatever is on hand.

When was the last time you nourished your body with two handfuls of dark and leafy greens in one setting?

Fresh Squeezed Lemonade with Blueberries

Here is how to make homemade lemonade:

1 Cup of Lemon juice
3 Cups of Cold water
1/2 Cup of sugar (I prefer a tart lemonade to a sweet one. If you like it sweet, add more sugar)
Handfuls of Blueberries

And for the grown ups, feel free to spike this delicious lemonade with a bit of whiskey to taste

Cantaloupe Juice

I live in Southern California and we are experiencing a heat wave at the moment. This is how we chill out when the thermometer reaches 90 degrees:

• Slice your cantaloupe and remove the seeds
• Chop into bite sized chunks
• Now juice your cantaloupe-any juicer or blender will do
• Add a few squeezes of lime to taste 

You will be delighted at how refreshing and invigorating cantaloupe juice is.