Hot Summer Night Soup

Well with the Fourth of July just around the corner its safe to say summer is finally here, and in full swing. The weather here is finally cooperating and this heat makes me quite happy.  But when it's this hot outside forget turning on the oven! Luckily summer time means fresh fruit mania, sweet juicy treats just waiting to perk up those taste buds and rehydrate our bodies. I have been finding the most perfect cantaloupes lately for very good prices so i decided to whip up a raw cantaloupe soup. Cold soups are popular all year round but I think they are just perfect for those hot nights when you're exhausted from the heat and you just want something cold and now!  There are so many wonderful flavor combinations to choose from that you really cant go wrong.  I have some perfectly ripe peaches in the fridge right now from our CSA that would be great in a soup. Don't be scared because the worst that can happen is you accidentally make a great fruit smoothie!
Any way this is the soup I made give it a try and see what you think!

1/2 Cantaloupe
1/3 cup coconut water
1/2 tsp lime juice
1/4 tsp lime zest
1/2 tsp cardamom.....after i finished eating this I thought ERRR WHY DIDN'T I USE CORIANDER!? try that if you'd like.  I find it has a fruitier taste that would be perfect for this soup. But i have such a love affair with cardamom <3
1 tsp fresh ginger
pinch of sea salt
bigger pinch of sugar
Berries to garnish
a few mint leaves from the garden
and I think cinnamon sticks are beautiful!

Throw this all in your food processor or a blender until smooth and enjoy!

Elder

Sambucus Nigra...better know as Elder is in full bloom right now!  These beautiful tiny white flowers are found in large clusters on Elder trees all over.  The Elder is literally the gift of medicine from the earth. Elderberries are amazing immune strengthers and they taste wonderful. They are loaded with natural vitamin C and you will most likely find them because of all the birds swarming the scene.  They are sweet little vitamin berries!  But now I am getting ahaed of myself because long before those beautiful little safire berries come out Elder flowers take center stage.  Unlike Elderberries Elder flowers have almost no taste at all but dont let that fool you, these little beauties are just as healthing as their counter parts.  They are fantastic for fevers and flus, they build up your respitory system to help fight off the ever present pollin and allergens that come with the season. They are also great for improving circulation and have anti-imflamitory components.  Steep them into a tea with some local honey and get to know them.  It is a good idea to dry them out first.  Just spread out your tiny snowflake flowers on a napkin and let them dry for a few days. They will shrink atleast a third, if not more, and they will turn an off white almost yellow color.  If you are suffering from bad alleries right about know then I recomend combining the elder flowers with some dried Stinging Nettle in a tea.  Not only with the Elder treat the flu like symptoms associated with allergies but the Nettle with clear your head in no time and help your body feel back to normal.  Start to look for all the goodies in your back yard that can bring you health and happiness.  It amazing all we can learn if we just observe.

Rising Appalachia

This evening we went to hear an amazing band called Rising Appalachia. Big thank you to the Lilypad in Cambridge for hosting such a wonderful event! 1353 Cambridge Street, Cambridge MA.

  They are two sisters who are the most riotous, bright, and smart people I've ever had the luck of meeting. Please take a few minutes to check them out.  They are a great blend of many different musical genres.  Their parents were both musicians and they are self professed musical song collectors.  The way their voices blend is honestly both haunting and mesmerizing. Through there music they are spreading wisdom and love. They are revolutionaries! One album is called "Scale Down" come on now it's that something we should all try to do in some small way everyday? And did i mention they are BEAUTIFUL!! I got a great picture of JB with them and his smile is hysterical! Cute boy blushing in the presence of such beauty!  Thank you girls for such a fantastic show it was so refreshing. 

http://risingappalachia.com/

Please take a good listen!

Before we went to the show we stopped for a quick bite to eat and I came to the realization that no guacamole is better than my own, I know this sounds super cocky but its true! Give it a try...

1 avocado

1 1/2 table spoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon garlic granules

1/2 teaspoon "salt" I use sea shakes which are essentially sea weed granules

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 small shallot. A shallot is a sort of cross between an onion and garlic but its purple and has a beautiful onion taste with not such a bite

1 teaspoon olive oil

5 cherry tomatoes

YUMMY!!!



Local Farms

I have been a large advocate for supporting local business for a while now.  I have worked at my towns local farmers market for the last 3 years or so.  This year my boyfriend and I bought a share at a local CSA organic farm and we LOVE it! So much in fact we tell everyone we talk to, which has had quite a positive result. My father also joined a CSA! I'm so proud! Anyway I feel it is very important to support local farmers in anyway you can because it has such great effects on a community and is so green I'm talking zero emissions people!  It's also really nice to enjoy the foods that grow in your area exactly when mother nature intended you to.  I got to stand in the sun today and pick warm sweet strawberries this afternoon in a field with two beehives, a flock of sheep, and listened to the bull frogs croak in the close by pond. AMAZING! So thankful I had that opportunity today. So what did I do with all my strawberries you may ask? Well I made Strawberry Kombucha of coarse! Yep I took all the ripest berries cut them up and put them in a mason jar full of freshly brewed boooch...DELISH!  I also made some raw chocolate sauce to dip them in, I am addicted to this new sauce I discovered. Here's the recipe, I hope you try it.
1 part raw cacao powder

1 part raw agave nectar

1/2 part water

That's all! I know it will not disappoint you. 

Enjoy your day and be gracious for every second of it!

In case you are interested in the organic farm check it out!

http://www.gmfarm.com/