blueberry zucchini bread

two summer gems baked into one moist and delicious treat!

blueberry zucchini bread
adapted from allrecipes

ingredients

3 C flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 T cinnamon
3 pastured eggs
1/2 C coconut oil
1/2 C applesauce (unsweetened)
1 C sugar
1 C brown sugar
1 T vanilla extract
2-3 C grated zucchini
1 pint blueberries

method

• grease and flour pans*, and preheat oven to 350°.

• sift flour, salt, baking soda, powder and cinnamon in a bowl.

• beat eggs, oil, applesauce, sugar and vanilla together in another bowl.

• add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture and beat until mixed.

• fold in zucchini and mix well. gently fold in blueberries.

• pour batter into prepared pans and bake for 50 to 70 minutes or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

* this recipe made one 8x4 loaf and 12 cupcakes. the cupcakes were done in about 25 minutes. you could also make 2 8x4 loaves or 4 mini loaves.

csa week six

muth family farm's organic csa week 6: savoy cabbage, eggplant, sweet corn, green beans, dinosaur kale, green onion, basil, green leaf lettuce, purslane, beets, eight-ball squash, patty pan squash, cucumber, zucchini and heirloom tomatoes

blueberry season is winding down here so i purchased a case of 12 pints from little buck organics (which yields about 24 cups of blue gems!) we already ate a pint and i froze about two-thirds of the case. john rattled off a list of what he'd like me to make. don't hold your breath, buddy.=)

  this is one of the two trays that were frozen. 

there's a great little produce market about a mile from muth farm. i love to stop there and peruse their dollar discount section. 

sometimes i find ripe bananas, which i freeze immediately for smoothies and banana soft serve. most of the produce is conventional, though today i made the best find yet...

organic d'anjou pears!

 

usually the fruit in this section is very iffy, but i couldn't find much wrong with these babies.

pears and blueberries taste great together, especially in smoothies and homemade fruit roll-ups. 

to go with a dinner salad i made a double batch of blueberry vinaigrette. this time i used coconut oil and balsamic vinegar, and it solidified in the fridge. next time i'll try olive oil and balsamic vinegar - i think that'll be the winning combination!

berry nutritious brekky

chia seeds, coconut milk and irish moss gel
topped with organic blueberries and soaked/dehydrated buckwheat groats

chia seeds : excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids, protein, dietary fiber and disease-fighting phytochemicals. used to treat heartburn symptoms. can be purchased online and in most health food stores.

irish moss : a gelatinous seaweed loaded with vitamins and minerals such as sulphur compounds, protein, iodine, bromine, beta-carotene, calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, zinc, pectin, B-vitamins and vitamin C (cites pure joy planet, a trusted seller of raw irish moss). also used topically to hydrate and heal skin problems.

note: i've read those taking anti-coagulating medications should avoid using irish moss.

blueberries : super rich in antioxidants known to prevent/heal heart disease and cancer.

buckwheat groats : gluten-free seeds found to lower blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose levels. full of fiber, vitamins and minerals. also a good oil source of alpha-linolenic acid, one of the two essential fatty acids needed for a healthy system.

+

to make this simple breakfast whisk about 2 T chia seeds with 1/4 C non-dairy milk and a heaping teaspoon irish moss gel. allow seeds to absorb liquid a few minutes.

beforehand, soak buckwheat groats 30 minutes then dehydrate until dry (you could also let them sprout a few days prior to drying for added nutrition).

top with bloobs or berry of choice. raisins and cinnamon also make a nice chia breakfast topping.

what is your breakfast of choice these days? 

food and freedom

hi chickies! i'm going to try to make this one brief... a hungry little biggles knocked a mug of water onto my laptop trying to wake me up for breakfast. it's in the shop hopefully getting repaired. i'm using johnny's desktop and he's got to use it too, so onto the food!

muth family farm organic csa week two: delicious organic blueberries ($3/pint and from another local farm), green onions, savoy cabbage, amaranth, endive, rainbow chard, cilantro, romaine, kale, zukes, cukes, yellow squash, golden squash, and sunburst squash.

aka pattypan squash

with my greens and new $17 salad spinner, we've been making lots of yummy salads. johnny boy had the brilliant idea to use the blueberries in a vinaigrette. a delight for the taste buds and eyes!=)

blissful blueberry vinaigrette

1/4 C + 2 T blueberries
2 T olive oil
2 T apple cider vinegar (i'm sure red wine and balsamic would also taste nice)
1 T agave or equivalent of your favorite sweetener

process in blender until smooth.

the dressing was made with philip's honey mustard dressing in mind. just four easy to remember ingredients. simple is scrumptious in the summer - i want to enhance the flavor of my fresh ingredients, not overpower them!

below is philip's honey mustard dressing with a tsp of irish moss (above, without). the irish moss added creaminess without changing the flavor.

don't own the raw food salad bar yet? win it here!

 

as you may have heard, i am driving to toronto next weekend to meet up with nelly, heathy and a few other  lady bloggers. (yippee!) since i may or may not have a laptop, i am going to pick and announce the winner of the raw food salad bar ebooks before i leave. the deadline for the giveaway is now tuesday, july 6th at midnight. click here to enter if you haven't already!

 

in the spirit of july 4th, i leave you with a picture of our civil flag of peace blowing in the breeze. it denotes our jurisdiction - common law (or natural law/the creator's law) - as opposed to military/admiralty/commercial law - the law which governs us today. the horizontal-striped, gold-fringed flag signifies a country at war. 

the first civil flag came about in 1767 when the "sons of liberty" rebelled against the stamp act by turning the british east india company flag on its side; the vertical stripes representing the people's sovereignty from england. it was the flag of the american revolutionaries.
 
the founding fathers of this country created documents like the declaration of independence and the bill of rights to preserve, in writing, our god-given birthrights, which intended to free the people from oppressive rule. let us all celebrate the true spirit of 1776 this independence day... with liberty and justice for all.=)

berry yummy

very berry dreamy...

carmella's blueberry dream pie

berry healthy...

kale, chard, banana, apple, blueberries and irish moss

berry creamy...

a variation of heathy's triple berry cake

berry refreshing...

frozen bananas, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, rice milk and vanilla bean

and berry cute!

my niece alaina

the photo has nothing to do with berries, but she's just so berry sweet!

=)