Mining the Archives

#everydayinspiration

“The ripening grape shall hang on every thorn.”

Incultisque ruhens pendebit sentibus uva.Virg. Ecl. iv. 29. Virgil

To make British Port Wine.[31]—”Take of British grape wine, or good cyder, 4 gallons; of the juice of red beet root two quarts; brandy, two quarts; logwood 4 ounces; rhatany root, bruised, half a pound: first infuse the logwood and rhatany root in brandy, and a gallon of grape wine or cyder for one week; then strain off the liquor, and mix it with the other ingredients; keep it in a cask for a month, when it will be fit to bottle.”
Taken from A Treatise on Adulterations of Food, and Culinary Poisons, Frederick Accum, 1820

The small wooden barrel has three inches of dust on top.  The paper had been yellowed.  It’s letters the purple of poke berries still sharp.  The receipe on port wine was centuries old.  But why was it here?  The keg plug hammered in place well before a machine could make it.  Oil lamps burned back when it was sealed.  The two foot tall relic stood as a shadow off to the side.  If not for a chance passing, would it have ever been noticed.

“Uncle, uncle, uncle what treasures did you bury here?” A voice tears into the dim room.

The barrel moves easy.  Most of its contents given as the angel’s share.  The slushing inside announce a presence.  A mild berry smell beckons from the past.  The dark wood and cooper rings have aged in impeccable condition. Grabbing the top edge, he rolls it on edge, out across a deep shelf.

“Joshua, you don’t want to try that.”  Uncle’s voice rattles him to the core.  The hair on the neck are stood up.  Goosebumps run through the arms, like a jolt of electricity.

Joshua stops moving the barrel.  The keg plug stares at him.  The voice echoes.  The lack of body for that voice is a problem.  After another minute he pushes the barrel back.  Gathering his thoughts, it seems a good time for lunch.

Cherry Citrus Smoothie

We have stumbled on new flavors!   Literally, I visited the marked down produce section.  Ugly fruit makes good smoothies!  

Today’s surprise was cherries.  Which are just starting to come into the stores at the price of silver instead of gold.  The was the when is an orange not an orange find (when it’s a blood orange) as well.  But that said, there’s a quick shout out to a new friend, Harshita (https://hersheysworld.wordpress.com) for the rememberence that everyone needs a little flax seed in their lives. 

That said here’s the Mad Scientist List:

Two handful Spring Mix

Twelve ounces (350ml) Almond Milk

One medium Lemon

One Blood Orange

One medium Orange

Half Cup of Blueberries 

Twenty of the Ugliest Cherries (pitted)

Two Tablespoons of Flax Seed Powder

Two Teaspoons Cherry Limeade Powder (optional)

The Spring Mix should be blended smooth with the almond milk and Flax seed powder.  The silky green will be best continued if you add the citrus pieces one at a time.  Segment them and peel off as much of the zest and fiber as possible.  The more left on the chunkier it will be  and more bitter it will taste. The blueberries and cherries come last.  The cherries will not blend completely smooth but they are for flavor.

REBLOG Interesting article from Science Daily : Fructose alters hundreds of brain genes, which can lead to a wide range of diseases

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/04/160422091900.htm

High Fructose Corn Syrup alters the genes in the Brian.  Well, these people seen to think so.   But the US government subsidiaries help fund our destruction health.  Yeah that’s it!

Pear Pineapple Smoothie

 
 
New flavor combo!  New colors!  Pears make great smoothies. Of course, coconut water and pineapple mixes well with oranges.   This green color is probably due to spinach, but the flavor is well hidden.
The mad scientist list:

Two handfuls of Spinach

Two small Pears

Two small Oranges

One cup cubed Pineapple

1/2 liter Coconut Water

Two tablespoons Flaxseed Powder

Pink Lemonade PreWorkout Powder

For best texture, blend spinach and coconut water smooth first.  I added orange and pineapple, then finished with pear and powders.  This made 1.75 liters or about 58 ounces.  If you are drinking them the next day you will want to add an extra half cup water.

Avocado Orange Smoothie

On some bizarre planet, the word diet precedes vacation.   Here it leads into vacation and haunts you afterwards.  That being said, my smoothie journey continues.  We have reached the “it sounds like a good idea” stage.   This is where someone else says “the avocado is going bad” and “can’t you make something with it”.

So praying to the saint of lost causes for guidence.  St Francis, I hope. It’s been a long time since I had a Catholic woman in my life to tell me which saint was appropriate for which occasion.

Caution to the wind. Avocado being halved and skin.

The mad scientist list:

Two handfuls of greens
1/2 Avocado  (peeled, seeded, & sliced)
Two Oranges  (peeled & sectioned)
One cup Grapes
One cup Strawberries
One Banana
1 1/2 cups Almond Milk
Two tablespoons Flaxseed Powder
Tablespoon Pink Lemonade powder

OK its green!   Really green!  This made 54 ounces or about 1.75 liters.  Is came out fairly thick, you may wish to add 1/2 more water or green tea.

As usual. Blend greens and liquid smooth before adding fruit.   I used frozen strawberries and added them at end with powdered ingredients.   Different taste due to avocado.  Which is lost in the citrus part.   Very filling stuff here.

Pear Berry Smoothie

  
After a short break, the smoothies return.  Going back to good old blueberry and Almond milk.  Lighter tasting, a little thinner texture here.  Plenty of banana flavor but it was a very ripe banana included here.  As usual, blend greens and the almond milk into a perfectly smooth green liquid.  Then add the fruit to that mixture.  Less coarse and seems to produce Luther colored smoothies!
The mad scientist list:
One Frozen Banana

One Pear (quartered and cored)

One cup of Mixed Berries

Two handfuls of mixed Greens

One and a half cups Almond Milk

Two Tablespoons Flaxseed Powder

Blueberry Lemon Orange Smoothie – Best Yet

  
We are going back to the drawing board on the first week of smoothie making.  What have we learned?  They need more fluid than you think, unless you drink them right away.   The protein is a necessity for keep you full, but there’s a little adjustment in the tummy.  But lemons and blueberries are back for Day 8!

The mad scientist list:

One Orange

Two Lemons

Two cups of frozen Blueberries (Berry Mix)

Two handfuls of Mixed Greens

Two tablespoons Flaxseed or Protein Powder.

One cup Green Tea

The Mixed Greens and Green Tea should be blended until smooth.  The orange and lemons are peeled and sectioned.  Add the fruit together and blend smooth.  Add the protein powder and blend a third time.  This receipe made 52 ounces (1.6liters).  This is best thing to come out of my blender!!

Pineapple Strawberries Smoothie – Day 7

  
Day seven and the when will it end phase has hit the dieting world.  While visions of toasted brown chipotle cheese stuffed poblano peppers run wild in my head.  I look at the dwindling food stock for the next luscious smoothie.  What the hell goes with pineapple, strawberries and coconut milk?

The mad scientist list:

One medium Apple (I used Pink Lady, tart flavor)

1 1/2 Cups of Pineapple chunks

Eight Strawberries (quartered without crowns)

Two handfuls Mix Greens

6 ounces (200 ml). Coconut lite milk

One Cup of Water

Two Tablespoons Flaxseed (any protein) powder

For best results, add green to the liquid and let it go for about two minutes.  This will give completely smooth start for the fruit.  I added the apple (quartered and cored) and strawberries.  Blended this smooth before finishing with the pineapple and protein powder.  The texture was still a little coarse after two minutes at a liquefy setting.  It still looks green but has lost the green taste.  It’s not my cheese stuffed pepper, but nothing else is.

Banana Berry Almond Smoothie – Day 6

   
   

We are running at full speed in Smoothie Land!  The receipes are getting easier because I can understand what the product will look like now.  The process is explained differently in each book or post.  First thing learned after one week of use, blend greens with liquid.  Once the green liquid is smooth add protein or powder supplement.  We now have good looking smoothies!  Well, it helps!
Today’s Mad Scientist List:

One cup Blueberries

One Frozen Banana

One cup Red Grapes

Eight Strawberries (quartered)

Two handful greens (Spinach and Spring Mix)

One and half cups Almond Milk

One Tablespoon Flaxseed Powder

One Tablespoon Chia Seeds ground

First step, take greens and Almond milk and blend smooth.  Add the proteins and blend thirty seconds.  The fruit comes next!  For best look, cut grapes in half.  I’m ok with a little bits in smoothie. As in picture above, strawberries and banana are in chunks.  This all blends in under a minute to a fairly smooth apparence.  This receipe will produce about 35 ounces (1.1 liters).
 

After several smoothies, I have the following advice.  If you don’t like an ingredient, say Mango.  The Mango Lime Smoothie won’t taste good.  As much as I like to think you can dress up a smoothie to mask things.  Think lipstick on a pig!  It might look slightly better but it’s still the same.  My heartfelt recommendation for first week are Banana Orange, Pineapple Orange, and Banana Coconut.  I can’t rate today’s receipe.  I drink these the next day.  It may change overnight.  They do tend to thicken up in the fridge.  

As far as weight loss, I’m not thinking much has changed.  The pants are a little loose but not much.  We are trying.

Smoothie Day 5 – Mango Lime

  
Today’s smoothie flavor is Mango Lime.  This is more green than last ones but not as coarse.  This is the smallest yet producing 30 ounces (.9 liters).

The mad scientist list:

One Orange (baseball sized)

One Lime (Palm size)

Two Thirds Cup Mango Chunks

Two handfuls of Spinach/Kale mix (remove stems)

One 11.5 ounce can Coconut Water

1/2 cup Water 

Two tablespoon Flaxseed Powder

One Teaspoon Protein Supplement

One serving Stevia

This is a little different in production.  First off, the secret to making smoothies smooth blend the spinach or greens and water/liquid first.  Blend the greens until they are completely liquified.  Then we add fruit.  The orange and lime peeled and seeded.  The powdered protein next.  You can substitute any protein powder for flaxseed.  If you are drinking it right away, use eight ice cubes instead of extra water.