Raspberry Kale Lemonade Slushie

A refreshingly icy raspberry lemonade boosted with kale and pomegranate juice. This is a great way to get your greens in--after blending, the color of kale disappears into the drink. You might even say it's magic. Magically delicious, that is.

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My happiness upon seeing kale in the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share box is not feigned. I like kale--curly kale, lacinato kale, Red Russian kale . . . it doesn't seem to matter which variety. I like them all. This transformation from dreading kale to anticipating kale came in part because of my Vitamix.

Let's clear one thing up right now--I bought my Vitamix around 2001-02 and started this website a decade later, so there is no relationship to disclose when I mention the brand name of the machine. I'm just sharing what gives me excellent results every time. Just not with pizza dough--too difficult to get all of the dough out of the machine.

Using my Vitamix to turn kale into a beverage revolutionized the way I see kale. Because kale is a cool season crop, it arrives in the farm share box along with many other greens. I'm more interested in cooking the cabbage, the chard, my beloved beet greens, or spinach. I'd rather make a salad with the lettuces that are invariably included in the same box as kale. This leaves kale the odd green out, but this refreshing recipe turns kale into a summer sipper the whole family enjoys.

Black Raspberry, Brown Sugar and Oatmeal Muffins #MuffinMonday

Black raspberries and brown sugar sweeten this oatmeal muffin recipe. A summer treat when berries are in season, or use frozen berries to enjoy summer flavor year round.

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I grew up in a household that produced some of the food we ate, and that is a value I've carried with me into adulthood. Because we move around, in some homes the food production has been small--a few pots of basil and rosemary by the kitchen window, or mint in the ground next to the air conditioner (condensation means I hardly needed to water).

Currently my backyard garden, my Edible Foodscape, is the largest it's ever been--and that's probably small by most folks' standards, but I've got a postage stamp size yard and am making much with it. I've got 5 raised beds, each about 2 feet by 5 feet, made by my spouse from an upcycled cedar privacy fence. In these beds are garlic, tomatoes, tomatillos, peppers, spinach, cucumbers, basil, peas, dill, and the volunteer squash for the season. I've got a perennial herb area interplanted with perennial flowers, a small strawberry area, peach trees and an ever-expanding raspberry patch.

Kohlrabi Dill Pickles

Kohlrabi spears cured in a dill brine. Like a kosher dill pickle, but using kohlrabi instead of cucumber. Do try this one at home!

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Conventional wisdom says that the more repeated exposures children have to new foods, the more they are likely to grow to like the new foods. I think that's also true for adults, based on my own personal experience with kohlrabi. At first I only liked it in sushi, where I used it as a cucumber substitute--like my Egg, Carrot, and Kohlrabi Sushi or my Spam Musubi Chirashi Sushi. Then I thought of other ways I use cucumbers, and made my Spicy Asian Style Kohlrabi Pickles (which are simply yummy).

Taste is subjective, however. No matter how many exposures you have to it, if cilantro tastes like soap to you, you're not going to come around. I think the level of spiciness in a dish is a similar concern. If you don't care for a spicy pickle, you just don't care for a spicy pickle! [Me, I'm not a fan of bread & butter pickles. They're just . . . wrong. But you do you.] That's why I'm sharing this recipe for a kosher style dill pickle made with kohlrabi spears instead of pickling cucumbers.