Epicurean Narrative

A gluten-free journey

Brunch

Watermelon with Chile, Lime and Salt

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Happy Watermelon Day! My favorite fruit is hands down watermelon with chile, salt, and lime.

Thanks to my rich and beautiful Mexican heritage sprinkling chile powder, salt, and a squeeze of lime on my watermelon comes second nature to me and it’s really fun to share this special way of eating watermelon with my hubby and son. And yes, I have passed down the watermelon loving gene to my little pre-schooler. Watermelon is on the menu at least once a week.

When I sink my mouth into watermelon a flood of sweet memories surge through my soul. I flash to eating watermelon spears with chile and salt served in tall clear cups (sold on street carts everywhere in Mexico) while visiting my family in Ensenada during the heat of summer.  I also remember when I was a little girl I asked my Grandma Nonie for Agua Melon. Her eyes smiled and she said, “es sandia mija,” not agua (water) melon (melon). Watermelon translates to “sandia” in Spanish. She would sprinkle chile, salt, and lime on my watermelon and it was truly sensational. I love and miss my Grandma Nonie. She was such a good person.

Here is your free Spanish lesson: Watermelon translates to “sandia” in Spanish (not agua melon).

As we say in Spanish, disfruta (enjoy)!

 

Watermelon

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Watermelon with Chile, Salt and a lime
Author: 
Recipe type: Fruit
Cuisine: Mexican
Prep time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 6
 
Enjoy
Ingredients
  • 1 large Watermelon
  • Chile (Tajin or Chile Powder)
  • Lime
  • Salt
Instructions
  1. Slice your watermelon up in cubes or triangles. Sprinkle the Chile, Salt and then squeeze lime all over the watermelon.
  2. Serve in a bowl or platter.
  3. Disfruta (enjoy)!

 

Superfood Breakfast Smoothie

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There’s nothing like having a nourishing and refreshing Superfood Breakfast Smoothie on a hot summer day. A week ago my hubby wanted to take us out for breakfast which normally I am all about especially on a Saturday morning. But after having a record high of 100 degrees in Santa Barbara we decided to keep our breakfast choice healthy & cool. So we stayed inside!

So here is my concoction I created last week from what I foraged in our kitchen. This lovely Superfood Breakfast Smoothie is made with all organic ingredients including blueberries, bananas, raspberries, coconut milk, strawberries, chia seeds, and maca powder. And a whole lot-a-love! I added the chia seeds to add extra protein to the smoothie to help sustain my little son and my hubby at least ’til snack time.

It was so delicious that we are now making this Superfood Breakfast Smoothie a new family favorite.


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Superfood Breakfast Smoothie
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Prep time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4
 
This is a delicious Superfood Breakfast Smoothie that will cool you down on a hot summer day!
Ingredients
  • 2 cups of blueberries (fresh or frozen)
  • 1 banana (I prefer frozen bananas)
  • 1 cup of raspberries
  • 1 cup of blackberries
  • 1 cup of strawberries
  • 2 tsp. of chia seeds
  • 1 tsp. of maca powder
  • 3 cups of coconut milk
Instructions
  1. Combine all the ingredients in a blender
  2. Blend all the ingredients until frothy
  3. Serve immediately

 

Naturally Dyed Eggs

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With Easter literally around the corner, it’s time for one of my favorite Spring traditions, dyeing Easter eggs. I love the whole process and especially the end result with all of the pretty colored eggs displayed in a bowl or an egg carton.

I have been really into using natural dyes for anything that requires food coloring, for quite some time now ever since I have read the research on food color dyes, not being so healthy to ingest.

I made these natural dyes from purple cabbage, beets, coffee, and turmeric. For the coffee I used cooled freshly brewed coffee. And for the vegetables, I simply boiled each of the vegetables (in separate pots) for about 30 minutes and then strained the tea into separate pots.  Once the “tea” was completely cooled down, I gently placed my perfectly hard boiled eggs in 4 different mason jars and then poured a different tea in each jar and let them to soak over night (about 12 hours).  And voila! Some beautiful naturally dyed eggs using non-toxic home-made natural dyes. For a more vibrant pink I would suggest adding more beets to the tea. And well as far as the coffee colored eggs, I still love the way they turned out even if they look just like a regular brown egg, which is what my very smart three year old son pointed out! Watch out for my future recipe, deviled eggs.


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Naturally Dyed Eggs
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 6 eggs
 
Naturally Dyed Eggs
Ingredients
  • 2 beets, quartered
  • 4 cups of water
  • 1 tsp. of apple cider vinegar
Instructions
  1. In a medium sized pot, boil the water, and add the beets and bring it down to a simmer
  2. Simmer for 30 minutes
  3. Cool the "Tea"
  4. Place hardboiled eggs into a cup.
  5. Add the cup

Breakfast Fruit Smoothie

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Smoothies. When you just want a quick, healthy, and tasty breakfast. This Breakfast Fruit Smoothie is a perfect breakfast in a cup. Every time I eat or in this case, drink something I love I want to make it part of my daily or weekly ritual. So today, in true form, I am declaring that I am going to make a weekly smoothie from now on. Why? Because I love smoothies so much and I can drink them everyday! This smoothie has orange juice, raspberries, strawberries, frozen mangos, and blueberries. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did! It will truly wake up your senses. Who needs coffee when you have these fine ingredients surging through your cells! Breakfast Fruit Smoothie  
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Breakfast Fruit Smoothie
Prep time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4
 
Ingredients
  • 2 cups of orange juice
  • ½ cup of frozen mangos
  • ½ cup of strawberries
  • ¼ cup of rasberries
  • ¼ cup of blueberries
Instructions
  1. In a blender, add the mangos.
  2. Rinse the strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries.
  3. Cut off the stem of the strawberries.
  4. Add all of the fruit to the blender with the orange juice and blend for 30 seconds on high or until smooth.
  5. Pour and enjoy!

 

Blueberry Orange Juice Smoothie

Clafoutis

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Clafoutis is one of my favorite french desserts and it can be eaten for breakfast, brunch, or dessert. It has a sweet bread pudding like consistency and it’s super delicious. Clafoutis is a sweet french dessert from Limousin region in France. It is made with dark cherries and it is very much like a crepe and flan. Original Clafoutis is made with cherries but any stone fruit can be used for this recipe.

Clafoutis

I was introduced to this recipe about a decade ago, by a dear friend, who is French. She hosted a beautiful dinner soiree and invited all of her good friends to enjoy a beautiful meal, some good wine, and great conversations. I was helping in the kitchen with some of the preparation and helped make clafoutis with plums. I learned how to make this dish eventually, but have since adapted the original recipe to make it more heart healthy for my little toddler, Sky Bear.

ClafoutisAs with most recipes, I attempted to make a healthy version of cherry clafoutis. I substituted unbleached flour with whole wheat flour, making it a little bit denser than the original but it still had that moist pudding like texture and it is still very delicious. Bon apetit!

Ingredients:
2 1⁄2 cups of milk
6 eggs
1 tsp. of vanilla
1⁄4 tsp. Of salt
1 cup of whole wheat
3 cups of cherries, pitted and halved
Powdered sugar for garnish

Oven at 350 degrees.
Mix ingredients and blend in a mixer for 1 minute.
It will have a consistency of watery pancakes.
Pour into a buttered skillet
Bake for 45 minutes or until done.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar
Serves 6-8 for dessert or brunch