Pear Apple Celery Soup

Recently, I found this very interesting Pear Celery Soup on Chow.com and had some fun with it. The result was a light delicious blend of flavors, perfect for lunch!

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons "I can't believe it's not butter"
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped shallots
1 pear, chopped
1 gala apple, chopped
2 1/2 cups low-sodim vegetable broth
3 1/2 cups water

Instructions:
In a large pot melt butter. Once melted, add olive oil, shallots, pear and apple. Season with salt and pepper, cook until tender. Add celery and simmer until celery starts to soften. (About 10 minutes.) Stir occasionally.
Add broth and water, bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer until celery is very tender.
Turn off heat and let cool a little bit. With your hand blender, carefully puree soup until all the pieces have dissolved.

Now eat!

Blueberry Pancakes

Ingredients:
3 cups of whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of brown sugar
3 organic eggs
1/3 cups of "I can't believe it's not butter" or margarine
2 cup of 2% milk
1 cup of blueberries

Directions:
Combine all dry ingredients (flour, soda, salt, sugar) in a bowl. In a different bowl, separate egg whites from yolks. Beat egg whites and put them aside. Whisk yolks into dry mixture.

Combine butter and milk, then whisk it into the batter. If the batter is too thick then add more milk. Now, fold in the beater egg whites, until completely mixed. Drop in the blueberries.

Grease pan and pour in your batter. When one side is cooked turn over your pancake and cook the other side. (about 1 minute on each side)

Serve! =)

As for syrup you can use any kind you want. Today I served them with something different, I used Agave Nectar (the light version). It's sweet, 100% natural and delicious!

Delicious Quote

"Fish, to taste right, must swim three times - in water, in butter, and in wine." - Polish Proverb

Quick Mussels

Ingredients:
2 lbs. of mussels
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 orange
1/2 small onion chopped
2 large plum tomatoes (cut in cubes)
1 teaspoon of fresh garlic (crushed with garlic press)
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
In sautéing pan warm up oil, once warm add chopped onions and garlic. Saute briefly and add tomatoes, salt and pepper. Continue to cook in low fire. Cut the orange and squeeze the juice and pulp into the pan (being careful not to drop in the seeds). Let cook for a few minutes. Once all the ingredients form a sauce add mussels. Cover with lid and let cook at medium fire for 4 to 5 minutes (or until mussel shells open).

Now, pour yourself a glass of chilled white wine and enjoy!

Delicious Quote

"One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating." - Luciano Pavarotti

Avocado Tapas

Ingredients:
1 avocado
1 red bell pepper
1/2 small onion
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1/2 teaspoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 whole wheat baguette
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Cut the baguette in 1/2 inch slices. Put aside.
Cut avocado, red bell pepper and onion in small cubes. Put the cut ingredients in a bowl, add lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Mix together being careful not to smash the avocado (you don't want it to become too mushy).

In a pan, toast the slices of the baguette. Once they are toasty, warm and nice, transfer to a serving plate and add the avocado mix on top.

Enjoy right away, the avocado gets dark if you leave it out for a long time. Although the lemon should help avoid this.

Carrot Muffins

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups of Kellogs Corn Flakes cereal (brand doesn't matter any cereal of that type will work...)
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1 egg (beaten a little)
4 carrots (grated)
1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon of baking powder
a pinch of salt
1 cup of buttermilk or cream
1/4 cup of olive oil

Directions:
In a bowl, stir flour, cereal, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, carrots. Add buttermilk, oil and eggs stirring together. Pour into already buttered or nonstick muffin pan.

Bake in oven at 400 F for 20 minutes or until golden and tops are firm.

Quick Tip

Do you usually find yourself throwing out bunches of lettuce, spinach or other veggies that just end up rotting in your fridge? This used to happen to me all the time, mostly because when I see a big bunch of lettuce I just don't feel like having to chop it up and wash it before being able to use it.

So now, as soon as I get home from the supermarket I chop up all the leafy greens and wash them and save them in plastic food containers. That way they are ready to go as soon as I open the fridge!

Shakes: Peanut Butter Ginger Shake

Ingredients:
1/2 cup of Light Vanilla Soy Milk
1/2 cup of Plain Yogurt
2 tablespoons of Peanut Butter
1/4 inch of fresh ginger, peeled
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 1/2 tablespoons of brown sugar


Directions:
Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. About 3 to 5 minutes, the more you blend the smoother the shake.


Feel free to adjust the amount of ginger you use. If you'd like a more spicy drink use a little bit more ginger, but be careful a tiny bit of it goes a long way!

Now sit back, relax and enjoy a decadent and mostly healthy milkshake!