Holiday Brunch Fruit Salad

This colorful and zesty fruit salad is simply delicious; quick and easy to prepare and marinate ahead the night before your brunch. Serves 12-16.

Ingredients 

2 cups green Grapes, halved

2 cups Strawberries, sliced

2 cups Peach, sliced or chunked

2 cups Orange (Mandarin Oranges), segments

1 cup Kiwi, peeled and sliced or diced

2 Bananas, sliced

1 cup, Blueberries, fresh or frozen

1/2 cup Orange Juice

1/2-cup orange-flavored Liqueur (Cointreau®)

2 tablespoons white Sugar

Directions

1. If using canned fruit, drain before adding.
2. Add the prepared fruits, except the bananas and blueberries, to a large bowl.
3. Whisk the Orange Juice, Cointreau, and sugar (until dissolved)
4. Gently stir the orange mixture in with the fruit medley until coated.
5. Cover the bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve.
6. Before serving, gently stir in the freshly sliced bananas and blueberries, tossing with the orange dressing to coat.

There's More Than One Way to Deseed a Pomegranate

My mother would hand-pick the largest, least-flawed pomegranates at the market and artistically arrange them on a platter or bowl during the holidays. Sometimes she would spray paint them silver and gold, and dust them with glitter. Elegant. Occasionally, she would let us eat one, when they were no longer needed for her centerpiece. To eat a pomegranate was to get messy with the likelihood of irreparably staining our clothes.

Had my mother known that there is more than one way to deseed a pomegranate, we would have had enjoyed the pleasure of eating them over and over again through the years, and I would have passed that delight on to my children. Learned behavior is fascinating. When I was raising my girls, I too set pomegranates in a bowl on our table, and gave them one to share between them at Christmas time. I remember briskly scrubbing their fingers with a nail brush to remove the stains and furiously scrubbing stains on their clothes with spot-remover... just like my mother.

How wonderful to be enlightened that there is indeed a faster, easier way to deseed a pomegranate with the least amount of mess!

Elegant! The Globtrotter Diaries shares a slight various on this technique.

Pomegranate.org provides a menu of recipes that will expand your experience beyond popping those little seeds one by one in your mouth to tempt your taste buds:

Pomegranate Grenadine

3 cups pomegranate juice

Take 3 cups pomegranate juice and boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally and skim the froth, until the juice is reduced to 1 cup. Cool, bottle and store in the refrigerator. Can be added to soups, sauces, and marinades for a rich, tart flavor.

In our family, we use the grenadine syrup to drizzle over half a grapefruit per person, and place them under the broiler in the oven until heated through for a delicious side of fruit with our breakfast. A pat of butter and brown sugar are other options for an even sweeter, buttery flavor. Serve in bowls with serrated grapefruit spoons. Enjoy!

Green Drinks

This past year, we rented then bought a copy of "Crazy Sexy Cancer" DVD by Kris Carr, which I highly recommend if you are on a journey toward optimal health and wellness. At the tail end of the documentary, Kris shares how she makes her green drinks either using a Brevel juicer or Vita Mix blender.

Here are examples of what I put into my green drinks using my Vita Mix blender or Brevel juicer. As Kris clarifies, the only difference between the juicer and blender is the pulp - the Brevel juicer removes the skins of fruits and vegetables creating a liquid. The Vita Mix will make a smoothie.

Cheers! Here's to Your Health!
Green Drink Smoothies made with my Vita Mix blender.

Try a Variety of Ingredients:

Sweat Pea Sprouts
Mung Bean Sprouts
Romaine Lettuce
Cucumber (peel, if not organic)
Avocado
Celery (Brevel)
Broccoli Stems (Brevel)
Thai Coconut (1/4-1/2 cup milk)
Spinach
Kale
Parsley
Apple
Carrot
Protein Powder
Ginger
Cinnamon
Stevia (optional for added sweetness to taste)
Ice Cubes - 3 to 5
Option - shredded coconut topping

Directions

Add some of the fruits and veggies of choice and portion to serve one or two. Tamp down and stir with the Vita Mix push-tool. Add more ingredients, tamp down and stir with the push-tool, and then add ice cubes if you wish to chill your drink. Top with shredded coconut for a treat. My Green Smoothie is so thick and creamy I eat it with a spoon. Yum!

More about Kris Carr and Kris' Vlogs.

Blueberry Smoothie

If you missed picking fresh blueberries this season and freezing a year's supply, many of the blueberry farms offer frozen blueberries for less than you will pay retail for them at your local grocers. If you add fresh blueberries to your smoothie, drop a few ice cubes into the blender to chill your beverage.

Making yourself a blueberry smoothie is a delicious and nutritious way to start your day!

Ingredients

1 cup plain or vanilla yogurt (or 1/2 cup soft tofu)
1 cup plain or vanilla almond milk (or rice or low-fat milk)
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 cups frozen blueberries (or fresh + ice cubes)

Optional ingredients: a variety of berries, banana or apple (use less blueberries), freshly grated ginger, flax seed, protein powder....

Directions

In a blender, combine all ingredients. Blend until smooth.

Serves 2

Medlar Pie

Last month, at our raw foods potluck, I ate Durian for the firs time. It stunk to high heaven, but had the consistency of a creamy pudding or custard and had a mild, sweet taste. Last Sunday, we hosted a holiday raw foods potluck and party here at Le Roost Lorane. I thought it would be fun to introduce another food that most of us have never tasted. Medlar. It was the first time for all of us. Tastes a bit muddy and feels a bit gritty. You pop it open, suck out the fleshy part and spit out the cluster of small seeds inside. Since no one helped themselves to seconds, I made a medlar pie this afternoon with the rest, and for the remainder of the two cups I needed I added Leroux Creek organic apricot applesauce.

Don't know what to do with Medlar once you find it at the market? Join me and experiment. Make yourself a Medlar Pie:

Filling:

2 cups medlar pulp, skin and seeds removed* (I used 1 cup medlar** and 1 cup applesauce)

12 oz. (1/2 cup) evaporated milk

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 eggs, beaten

*If you don't have a full 2 cups of medlar pulp, you can use unsweetened applesauce to make up the difference.

**I swished the innards out by hand; quite messy.

Place everything but the eggs in a saucepan and simmer over low heat until slightly thick. Don't let it boil, or the milk will curdle. If needed, run the mix through a food mill or sieve to remove seeds and lumps. Let it cool slightly, then whisk in the eggs. Pour into an unbaked pie shell (I use a gluten-free shell) and bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees, then at 350 degrees until done (for me, it was 30 minutes more in a convention oven).

Yummers!

Wine-Curried Fruit for the Holidays

An elegant casserole to serve dinner guests. I baked this fruit medley to take as a buffet side dish for a holiday party we attended and for the day-after-thanksgiving feast this year. It was a big hit both times!

Ingredients:

2 Bananas
1- 29 oz. can of Peaches, halved
1 - 26 oz. can of Pears, halved
1 - 20 oz. can of Pineapple, chunks
2 - 6.5 oz. cans of Mandarin Oranges
1 - 8 oz. jar of Maraschino Cherries
1/2 cup Butter (1 stick), softened
1/2 Brown Sugar
1 tablespoon Cornstarch
1/2 cup Dry White Wine
1 teaspoon Curry Powder
Pecans, chopped or halved (optional)

Use as many organic ingredients as you can, when making this recipe. Check with your local natural foods market for their selection of organic canned products.

Directions: 

1. Diagonally slice the bananas in 1-1/2 inch chunks.
2. Drain the juice from all the other fruit and arrange all in a 2-1/2 quart baking dish.
3. In a sauce pan, combine the sugar, softened butter, cornstarch, wine and curry powder and cook, stirring continually, until it begins to thicken.
4. Pour the sauce over the fruit.
5. Bake uncovered in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for 15-20 minutes.
   
6. Serve hot.

Serves 12-14

Knox Blocks aka Jello Jigglers

I'm making my granddaughter Knox Blocks tonight, so I can take them with me when I go to visit tomorrow. When her mama Effie Ana and her older sister Skye Rianna were little girls, we loved to make Knox Blocks, also known as Jello Jigglers. We also made them for their summertime birthday parties, because Jigglers could sit out all afternoon as playful finger-food without melting.

Photo Update: Seph shares Knox Blocks with her cousin Max.

Curious to see what the world looks like through a Jiggler.

Try reading Fox in Socks by Dr. Seuss to your kids with your cheeks stuffed with Knox Blocks. This excerpt will get you started:

Fox
Socks
Box
Knox

Knox in box.
Fox in socks.

Knox on fox in socks in box.

Socks on Knox and Knox in box.

Fox in socks on box on Knox....

The Knox Blocks recipes I found on Cooks.com offer some variations.

FUN IN THE SUN - KNOX BLOCKS
4 envelopes Knox unflavored gelatin 3 pkg. 3 oz. flavored gelatin 4 cups boiling water Combine Knox, gelatin, water and chill in refrigerator until set. May cut in squares or use cookie cutters to have more fun! Double Decker: Add 3 cups water, 1 cup cream. Fruity Blocks: Add 2 packages flavored gelatin, 1 cup (17 ounce) fruit cocktail, undrained.

Prefer to make sugar-free Knox Blocks?

SUGAR FREE FRUIT BLOCKS
4 envelopes Knox unflavored gelatin 1 cup cold fruit juice 3 cups fruit juice, heated to boiling In a bowl, sprinkle gelatin over cold juice; let stand 1 minute. Add hot juice and stir until gelatin is completely dissolved. Pour into 9 x 13 inch pan. Chill until firm. Cut into 1-inch squares.

How about this recipe. I never thought of making Chocolate Knox Blocks. How fun!

CHOCOLATE KNOX BLOCKS

4 envelopes Knox unflavored gelatin 1 1/2 c. cold water 1/2 c. sugar 1 (12 oz.) pkg. chocolate chips In medium saucepan, mix gelatin with sugar; blend in water. Let stand 1 minute. Stir over low heat until gelatin is completely dissolved; about 5 minutes. Add chocolate and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until chocolate is melted. With wire whip or rotary beater, beat mixture until chocolate is blended. Pour into an 8" or 9" pan. Chill until firm. Cut into 1" squares. Yield: about 6 dozen blocks.