Rise and shine smoothie | Home-made deodorant

Did you wake up on the funky side of the bed? Feeling a little blah or queasy? Not as voracious an appetite as usual? Maybe you need a dose of rise and shine smoothie to get you back on track. It worked for me. :)

Rise and shine smoothie

• 1 to 3 teaspoons fresh ginger root, washed, scraped, chopped (I used two teaspoons.)
• 1-1/2 heaping cups frozen mango pieces (mine were from Trader Joe's)
• 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (optional but good)
• almond milk (about 1-1/2 cups)
• water (about 1/2 cup)

1. Add the ginger root and mango to a VitaMix or other high-speed blender. 
2. Add enough almond milk to process, and thin to your preferred consistency with additional milk or water. (I used about 1-1/2 cups of milk and 1/2 cup of water, but your blender may want less or more. You may prefer your smoothie thicker or thinner.) Blend until creamy-smooth. 
3. You can add a few drops of liquid stevia or other sweetener of your choice if you prefer a sweeter smoothie, but I found it plenty sweet as is.

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Home-made deodorant

I was reading a blog post about DIY deodorant and thinking I'd like to make some. Who wouldn't, right? It only had four ingredients, and the most expensive one I already had. If you already have everything on hand, it would be very economical to make, but if you have to buy everything, not so much. But I wasn't making it to be economical, I was making it because I was looking for a more  'natural' deodorant with a minimum of ingredients. Honestly, it works better than the natural deodorant I was buying, and has better ingredients. It contains only coconut oil, corn starch (or arrowroot), essential oil, and baking soda.

One recipe makes enough for several months. The deodorant stays hard when the room temperature is cool, but softens a bit as it gets warmer. In hot weather you could keep it in the refrigerator. I now have mine in four 2-ounce amber glass jars, three of which are in the refrigerator. (I made a bit more than the recipe provides.)

I had no problems with clothing stains while the deodorant was hard, but when it softened, I may have used too much, and I found oil stains on my favorite tee. This only happened with a light-colored tee. (They came out with a LOT of washing.) The stuff smells fantastic, and I really love it so I'm going to give it another shot and pay more attention to how much I apply. It only takes a little to do the trick.

The recipe is based on one I found on the blog, In Sonnet's Kitchen, which, sorry to say, is no longer available.

Homemade deodorant (based on a recipe from In Sonnet's Kitchen)

• ¼ cup coconut oil
• 2 Tablespoons arrowroot powder (or corn starch)
• 5 teaspoons baking soda
• 10 drops lavender essential oil
• 10 drops tea tree oil

1. Melt the coconut oil in a small pot over a low flame, or in a glass measuring cup in the microwave. If you use the microwave, set for 20 seconds at a time until liquified. (mine took two 20-second cycles)
2. Add the corn starch and baking soda to the liquefied oil, and combine. 
3. Add the essential oils. Mix together thoroughly to remove any lumps.
4. Transfer to a glass container or two small glass jars.
5. The deodorant will solidify just fine on the counter top if the room is cool. To speed it up, or if the room is too warm, you can cool it in the refrigerator until solid, stirring every 20 minutes or so. 
6. I let it harden in the refrigerator, and kept taking it out to stir it while it cooled, because the ingredients tend to separate if you don't.

I like using the deodorant best when it's solid. I just scoop a little on the back of my fingernail and spread it on. If it gets too warm, and the deodorant melts, you can store it in the refrigerator. In Seattle's climate, I keep it in the bathroom cupboard year round. Note that some people have a reaction to baking soda in a deodorant, and get a rash. If you have sensitive skin, this may not be for you.


Update: Although I had no problems using the deodorant for nearly a year, I now find that it irritates my skin. At first, reducing the baking soda helped, but not anymore. 

Having a great time, wish you were here! Grilling, chocolate caramel sauce, smoothies! | Tandoor Chef

After reading about our friends Claire and Alan's adventures assembling their fancy gas grill and grilling fabulous summer meals, I couldn't wait to be invited out for a summer feast. Believe me, we weren't disappointed — Claire outdid herself with amazing food. We started with a wonderful version of guacamole made from a recipe Claire got from her daughter. It was so full of flavor I couldn't stop eating it. I love avocados, and this was the best guacamole I've had in a long time.

Guacamole ingredients (personal preference decides quantities)

• ripe avocados
• finely chopped onions
• chopped red bell pepper
• chopped cilantro
• lime juice
• salt, pepper cayenne
• chopped tomato

Mash avocados and mix in all remaining ingredients except tomatoes. Add tomatoes last. Claire burried a pit to the bowl to keep the avocado from turning brown.

On the grill, Claire cooked slabs of lightly oiled eggplant until they were perfectly charred, then served them covered with an amazing olive-garlic sauce, on a bed of home-grown lettuce.

The grilled eggplant with black olive dressing came from "Fresh and Fast" by Amanda Grant. The dressing contained capers, garlic, black olives, cilantro, parsley and olive oil, and was incredible. Here's another recipe, from the blog archives, for spiced olives, that would probably also be wonderful with grilled eggplant.

Zaytun Musabbeh (Spiced olives from Lebanon) by Sureyya Gokeri (serves 6 to 8)

• 1 lb. pitted green olives or marinated olives
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
• 3/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons pomegranate juice (or more to taste)
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 2 firm tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 cup fresh red or green pepper, chopped

1. Place olives in a bowl (rinsing the brine is optional) and chop into small pieces.
2. Add the dried spices to olive oil and then rub into the olives by hand.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients except for the tomatoes and peppers.
4. Add the tomatoes and peppers just before serving.

There were also grilled zucchini and portabella mushrooms.

And a spicy carrot and cabbage slaw.

This is what my plate looked like.

For dessert Claire baked a plum tart from an old family recipe.

And I brought two versions of chocolate caramel sauce plus fresh fruit to spoon over vanilla ice cream.

I really wanted to make this, but am unlikely to stand over a hot stove for three hours in the summer heat. I might possibly be too lazy to do it in the winter, too, so I was forced to come up with a ridiculously easy (but extremely delicious) version of fake caramel sauce.
Chocolate caramel sauce #1

• 1/4 cup brown rice syrup
• 1/4 cup vegan dark chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup plain soy yogurt (I used Silk)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (I used TJ's bourbon vanilla)

1. Warm the syrup over low-medium heat in a small pot. After a minute or less, when bubbles start to form at the edges, turn the heat to simmer and stir in the chocolate chips. It will take less than a minute for the chips to melt. Stir until combined and creamy.
2. Have ready, 1/4 cup yogurt in a small bowl or 8 oz. glass measuring cup. Add a large spoonful of the chocolate mixture to the yogurt, and stir to combine. Add this back into the pot and stir until smooth and uniform in color. Remove from heat.
3. Add 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract and stir to combine.
4. Use as is or refrigerate. It will thicken as it cools but will still be gooey and spoon-able when cold.

Chocolate caramel sauce #2

• 1/4 cup brown rice syrup
• 1/4 cup vegan dark chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup light coconut milk (I used TJ's)
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (I used TJ's bourbon vanilla)

1. Warm the syrup over low-medium heat in a small pot. After a minute or less, when bubbles start to form at the edges, turn the heat to simmer and stir in the chocolate chips. It will take less than a minute for the chips to melt. Stir until combined and creamy.
2. Add 1/4 cup coconut milk, and stir to combine. Stir until smooth and uniform in color. Remove from heat.
3. Add 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract and stir to combine.
4. Use as is or refrigerate. It will thicken as it cools but will not be as thick as version #1. It will be more like a thick syrup.

Two of us preferred the yogurt version, and two preferred the coconut version, but we all liked both!

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Mango mango mango

Lately I've been blending up a sunshine-colored breakfast smoothie that's worth waking up for. It's not green, and I feel slightly guilty about that, but it's my favorite shade of orange, and it tastes great.

Mango-orange-yogurt smoothie
1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup plain non-dairy yogurt (I used silk)
1 cup frozen mango chunks (more or less for thicker or thinner smoothie)
Put everything in a blender and blend until smooth. Sometimes the consistency is so so thick I can eat it with a spoon, like soft serve, and sometimes it's like a thin shake.

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More Tandoor Chef samples

We tried two more of the Tandoor Chef frozen food samples I received from Deep Foods. The first was Channa Masala, a delicious chickpea stew. Once again we were impressed with great flavor that reminded us of the kind of food we might expect at an good Indian restaurant. The package contained two five-ounce servings which was just the right amount for us when served with rice, kale and raw veggies. Each serving contains: 160 calories, 7 grams total fat (.5 grams saturated fat), 250 mg sodium, 20 grams total carbs, 5 grams fiber, 4 grams sugars, 6 grams protein.

Next we tried Vegetable Masala Burgers. These didn't work as well for us as the other products we sampled. My husband cooked them , following the directions on the box, and they fell apart when removed from the pan. They tasted good — mostly of potato — but were kind of high in fat for their size, while low in fiber and protein. We served them alongside pasta with fresh tomato sauce and raw veggies. The box holds four burgers, and each one contains: 120 calories, 8 grams total fat (1 gram saturated fat), 360mg sodium, 12 grams total carbs, 1 gram fiber, 1 gram sugar, 2 grams protein.

I Scream Ice Cream: mango-banana-ginger-chocolate chips

©Andrea's easy vegan cooking

I've been seeing lots of ice cream posts lately, so naturally, I wanted ice cream, too. The post that finally sent me over the edge was this one at eat'n veg'n. After I saw it all I could think about (other than gardening) was making ice cream. It's also been at the back of my mind that Wheeler's Black Label Vegan Ice Cream is releasing an ice cream cookbook ("Vegan Scoop") in June and is going to do a virtual book tour on lots of blogs. The blog you are reading right now will be hosting Wheeler's virtual tour on July 7, and they've sent me an exclusive recipe to try out and share. But this isn't the recipe. I thought I'd wait until closer to the date of the tour before I posted that recipe. You're probably wondering how a virtual book tour works, and so am I. Guess we'll find out together.

The ice cream I saw on Diann's blog was made with cashews and fruit, and although I've made cashew ice cream before, I've never done it quite this way. She made hers with peaches and strawberries but mine is made with banana and mango. I used frozen mango so I could eliminate the "chill in the refrigerator for several hours" part because I am impatient that way. And I happened to have a bag of frozen mango from Trader Joe's that I've been adding to smoothies. And I wouldn't have to touch the mango skin.

©Andrea's easy vegan cooking

I used to love mangoes, especially the champagne mangoes I used to find three for $2 at Whole Foods. They were fabulous, and I ate them whenever I could. Then one day I must have gotten a little too enthusiastic and was kind of gnawing the inside of the mango skin to get every last drop of fruit. The next thing I knew my lips and the whole area around my mouth were red and swollen and covered in nasty, itchy, burning bumps and welts. I was horrified because for one thing it was ghastly looking and extremely painful, and for another, I did not want to be allergic to mangoes! I didn't eat mangoes for about two years.

My friend Lorraine said I was likely just allergic to the mango skin, but that I could probably still eat the fruit if I didn't touch the skin. She wears rubber gloves to peel the fruit and never touches the mango skin with her bare skin or she gets that horrible rash. I was too afraid to try until recently, when I was missing mangoes so much I bought the bag of frozen fruit. I added a few pieces to a smoothie and told my family that if I stopped breathing they should call 911. So far so good. I've consumed almost the entire bag without incident. However, from what I've learned about mango allergy, you can be allergic just to the skin, or to the whole fruit. So if this has happened to you, make sure you have access to medical help before you experiment with eating the fruit! Allergic reactions can be fatal.

©Andrea's easy vegan cooking

• 1 cup raw cashews
• 1 cup rice milk (or other non-dairy milk like coconut or soy)
• 1 banana (at least 1 cup of slices)
• 2 cups frozen mango chunks
• 2 large strawberries
• 1 to 2 teaspoons grated fresh gingerroot
• 1/2 cup agave syrup
• 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional but highly recommended because the bitter chocolate contrasts beautifully with the sweet mango flavor)

1. In a blender, grind the cashews to a powder. Scrape down the sides to make sure all is ground.
2. Add the rice milk and blend on high speed until very creamy. Check to make sure all graininess is gone.
3. Add banana, agave and ginger, and blend.
4. Add mango and strawberries and blend until mango is puréed.
5. Freeze in an ice cream freezer. When almost frozen, add the chocolate chips, if using.

This was the creamiest and best ice cream I've ever made. It was fabulous. In fact, it was better than any of the commercial non-dairy ice creams we've bought. For my taste, it was a little too sweet (my husband didn't think so) and I'll reduce the sweetener next time. I used 1 teaspoon of gingerroot and will probably use 2 next time because I love ginger.

Read more about ice cream makers here. There's also a recipe for chocolate ice cream.

©Andrea's easy vegan cooking