Smoothie Saturday #6 - Celery 'n Applesauce

Smoothie Saturday #6 - Celery 'n Applesauce

A while ago I bought - The "NutriBullet". Since then I have been creating many smoothie creations.

Today is the sixth "Smoothie Saturday" where I will share one of my smoothie experimentation.

In this recipe two of the main ingredients are Celery & Applesauce.

Celery - high in vitamin B6 & C, potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron and many amino acids.  The fiber part of celery aids in digestion.  It is said to help lower blood pressure, could help prevent cancer and may lower cholesterol. (again - I'm not a doctor - please see my "disclaimer" at the bottom of this post).

Applesauce - I know that the whole point of a "Smoothie" is to have fresh fruits & vegetables but I noticed that because of the drought that we had last summer -  apples are sparse &/or extremely expensive!  That is why we are using Applesauce instead of fresh apples.  You may not know this but both fresh apples & applesauce contain good amounts of fiber and vitamin C. (again - I'm not a doctor - please see my "disclaimer" at the bottom of this post).

Click here to Learn how to make your own Applesauce

1/2 orange (peeled and slices separated)

1/3 banana (peeled)

1/4 cup applesauce (I used my home canned cinnamon applesauce)

1 celery stalk (washed & cut into large chunks)

1 tablespoons pecans

1 teaspoon flax seeds

1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder

1/4 cup kefir (or yogurt)

1/4 cup water (if it is too thick)

extra cinnamon (optional)

Begin with the smaller "NutriBullet" container and use the "nut & seed" blade to blend & chop the pecans & flax seeds. Now place the remaining ingredients (including the processed seeds & nuts from the first step) into the larger "NutriBullet" container and use the "smoothie" blade. Blend for about 30 seconds (or until fully blended).

ENJOY!!

IMPORTANT: All of my smoothie recipes on this blog are measured for the "NutriBullet" and are a single serving - if you have a different kind of blender that has a larger capacity then you may increase the amount of ingredients according to your desired smoothie needs. The ingredients in this recipe measure close to the max line of the NutriBullet.

 

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Egg Basics - POACHED

Egg Basics - POACHED

On this blog I have reserved Thursdays for "Beginners."  For the next few months (on Thursdays) we will be concentrating on the Basics of Eggs.  (I know that many of my readers are experienced cooks but there are just as many readers that are new in the kitchen and might desire some simple instruction on the basics).

Eggs are wonderful and so versatile! - - - They can be boiled, fried, poached, scrambled, deviled..........etc.   My favorite way to prepare an egg is poached.  There are 2 ways to "poach" an egg:  traditionally a poached egg is simmered in liquid, but the other way is to "steam poach" an egg in an "Egg Poacher" (this is my preferred poaching method & the method that we will be talking about today). 

There is a controversy over the egg yolk - many people only eat egg whites and believe that the yolk is too fatty.  I am from the opposite school of thought - I believe that the yolk is the healthiest part of the egg.  The Yolk contains all of the fat-soluble vitamins like A, E & K & the yolk is one of the few foods that naturally contains vitamin D,  the yolk also has lutein (good for the eyes), and is a good source of lecithin. (again - I'm not a doctor - please see my "disclaimer" at the bottom of this post).

I have gone through many "egg poachers" in my day but the "Egg Poacher" from "Calphalon" is by far superior to any other egg poacher that I have used in the past. (see picture above or click on the link below) 
Egg Poacher from Calphalon

Step 1:  Remove the egg cups (this is the round egg holders as seen above - there are usually 4 per poacher) from the "egg poacher"

Step 2:  Place water in the bottom of the egg poacher, cover & bring to boil over medium heat

Step 3:  Butter (or spray) each egg cup (the Calphalon Egg Poacher is non-stick but I still lightly spray)

Step 4:  Crack each egg into an egg cup (1 egg per cup)
Step 5:  Place each egg filled cup into the egg poacher with the water already boiling (see picture above) & place the cover onto the poacher.

Step 6:  Decide how you want your yolk to be cooked - runny, soft or hard (see pictures & timing below) and cook until done to your likeness.

Step7:  Remove each egg from the cup & flip flat side down (see picture below) - I use tongs to remove the hot cup (see picture above) (you may remove all 4 egg cups at once by using the knob in the middle - again see picture above).

Step 8:  Serve immediately and ENJOY!!

IMPORTANT!! - Each Egg Poacher will have different timing due to the thickness & type of metal that it is made of.  My old Egg Poacher was thin aluminum & the timing was different - to test your egg simply lightly press a butter knife onto the egg & you will be able to feel if the yolk is soft or hard (see the very first picture at the top).  Cook until your desired "doneness" is achieved.  The Timing Chart below is perfect for this Calphalon Poacher.

YOLK TIMING CHART

Runny - 5 minutes & 40 seconds
Soft - 6 minutes
Hard - 7 to 8 minutes

Runny yolk poached for 5 minutes & 40 seconds

Soft yolk poached for 6 minutes.

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See also:
Egg Basics - SOFT BOILED
Egg Basics - HARD BOILED

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January GREAT BLOG TRAIN Results

 

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The first GREAT BLOG TRAIN has safely reached it's destination.  It was a wonderful trip with 59 boxcars!!  I'd like to thank all of you for travelling with us and I hope that you all had a blast! 

Since there are 3 Hostesses & 3 Rules I decided that I will "Pin" my 3 favorite boxcars from each Blog Train every month. 
Visit my "Great Blog Train" Pinterest Board to see if your boxcar is one of my top 3 picks!!

The next "Great Blog Train" will be departing from your local digital train station on February 6th 2013 - I hope that you will join us!  And don't forget - next month the January "Caboose" will be featured on all 3 of the Hostesses blogs!

 

 

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Three Unique Tomato Varieties

Three Unique Tomato Varieties

The seed catalogs are pouring in and it's almost time to order seeds for your 2013 garden!

Tomatoes are one of the most important vegetables in my garden because after preserving (canning) them then during the winter I create many of our meals with canned tomatoes as the base (click to see 5 Different Dishes from Home-Canned Tomato Sauce)

There are some seed varieties that I stick with each growing season but every year I  plant a few new varieties to test out.  In 2012 I planted 3 unique Tomato Varieties.  There is a KEEPER, a LOOKER and a THROWER.

1.  Valencia - the top orange variety is the KEEPER (see picture above).  The taste is so sweet with very few seeds and many tomatoes per plant.  The Valencia has become my new favorite tomato variety - it is a Keeper and I will be growing this tomato again this year.  This is also an Heirloom variety (click to see the difference between Heirloom & Hybrid).

2.  Speckled Roma - the bottom bright red tomato with streaks of orange is the LOOKER (see picture above).  This was an absolute beauty!!  Even before it was ripe when it was green the glorious detail was shining through the skin (see picture below).  The taste & texture was very good - meaty like a Roma should be but the problem with this variety was the amount.  Each bush had a very sparse amount of tomatoes.  It was nice to look at but with so few per vine I decided NOT to grow the Speckled Roma this year. 

3. Black Russian Krim - the middle dark red tomato is the THROWER (see the second picture above). This tomato was terrible!! The taste was bland and it was very seedy - many times I didn't know if it was rotten or ripe since the "ripe" color is supposed to be dark red/almost black. The only thing that this tomato was good for was throwing at nasty neighbors, young children and the feeble elderly (Just making sure that you were reading!!! - don't worry - I don't throw tomatoes at people.......well, except at my husband.......no not even at him). I will never grow this tomato variety again - it was a waste of garden space!

ENJOY!!




 

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Old Fashioned Sunday Hymn Sing #4

I miss the old hymns that I remember from my childhood - there were no drums, no electric guitar and no mind numbing beat. It was just voices and maybe a piano or an organ. The choir led the congregation in singing - and the words of these hymns are poetic. I realize that there is a need for the modern "seeker oriented" worship music - but it is also necessary to have deeper songs (no offense intended to anyone who prefers the newer church songs).

I decided to have an "Old Fashion Sunday Hymn Sing" once a month on this blog.
I personally do NOT have a great singing voice - I used to play the guitar & piano but my voice is NOT an instrument. That's the great thing about this digital hymn sing you can warble along without being embarrassed or without offending anyone else.

The hymns that we will be studying are taken from an old hymnal from a Baptist church that is no longer in existence - "The North American Hymnal" published in 1956 by "THE ROGER WILLIAMS PRESS"

I will also try to find a version of the featured hymn on "YouTube" to share with you each month.

Today's feature song is "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" by hymnist Thomas O. Chisholm (1866-1960) and composed by William M. Runyan, (1870-1957).  Mr. Chisholm wrote this as a poem in 1923 and then Mr. Runyan from "Moodie Bible Institute" set that poem to music later that year.

Please listen to the "YouTube" video below.

Turn with me to number 69 in your hymnals and let's sing:

Great Is Thy Faithfulness

by Thomas O. Chisholm (1866-1960)          composed by William M. Runyan (1870-1957)

1.  "Great is Thy faithfulness," O God my Father, There is no shadow of turning with Thee;  Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;  As Thou hast been Thou for ever wilt be.

CHORUS

2.  Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest, Sun , moon and stars in their courses above, Join with all nature in manifold witness To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

CHORUS

3.  Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth, Thy own dear presence to cheer and to guide;  Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow, Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

CHORUS

Chorus

"Great is Thy faithfulness!  Great is Thy faithfulness!"  Morning by morning new mercies I see;  All I have needed Thy hand hath provided - "Great is Thy faithfulness," Lord, unto me!



A special thanks to "Dutchforward" for posting this on YouTube.

Other Hymns on this blog:

In The Garden

It Is Well With My Soul

Count Your Blessings

I Love To Tell The Story
Crown Him With Many Crowns
He Lives
At The Cross
Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus

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Frank's Flowers - "Peach Feather" Rose

Photo by Angie Ouellette-Tower






Photo by Angie Ouellette-Tower

Photo by Angie Ouellette-Tower

Frank's Flowers - "Peach Feather" Rose

Click here to learn how to Prune & Trim Roses

Today's Flower Feature is The "Peach Feather" Rose.

This is a mostly white rose with the most delicate peach tint.  When it is fully open it becomes creamy in color.  In a couple of the bud pictures you will notice a little bug living inside who just happens to be the unfortunate muncher of the petals.  This rose was a volunteer that came up on it's own as a result of cross-pollination - it has a medium strength floral scent.

Please ENJOY these freshly cut digital "pics/picks" of the "Peach Feather" Rose!

Photo by Angie Ouellette-Tower

Photo by Angie Ouellette-Tower

Photo by Angie Ouellette-Tower

Photo by Angie Ouellette-Tower

Other Roses on this blog:

The Rolly Rose

The Eiffel Tower Rose

The Black Cherry Rose

The Sunset Rose

The Mauve Miracle

Reddy Rosie

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The Great Blog Train #1

All Aboard!!!

The Great Blog Train

A monthly blog hop departing from your online train station on the first Wednesday of every month!

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The railway and trains helped build North America and brought people together.  We also want this blog hop to bring people together and we designed it so that nobody will be left out. 
Don’t worry if you are late boarding this train.  Even the caboose will be chugging down the tracks to new relationships because the very last entry will receive a feature next month! 
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RULES

1.   In order to link up to the “The Great Blog Train” you must first connect to the Locomotive.  Please follow all 3 of the hosts by at least one of the following options: GFC, Twitter, Pinterest, Bloglovin, Linky, Networked Blogs or Facebook.  Then leave us a comment telling us how you followed so that we can come back & visit you!  The 3 hostesses are:

Angie

Marci

Helen

 2.  Now link up your family friendly blog to the train (please only use your homepage – not a specific post)

3.   And last but not least connect to the boxcar in front of you (the person who entered before you). Stop by that person’s blog, have a look around and leave a comment letting them know that you stopped in!

 

Now you have your ticket and are ready to board the rest of the train! – If you want to visit other boxcars you may do so now! 

Enjoy your travels!

 

OPTIONAL:  You may grab our “Great Blog Train” button and post it on your sidebar or link page. 
Also, feel free to spread the word – the more the merrier!

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