Coffee Oat Frappuccino

This stupid freaking hot humid heat, it makes me hate everything (of at least very strongly dislike). I don’t know how to deal but I am trying. One thing I am doing is to just eat and drink everything cold.

Now I am not typically a cold coffee drinker (I love ice coffee but find that whenever I drink it I can’t pace myself and if is gone in like 2 seconds. I need more time, like at least 2 minute with my coffee. So I always go hot. What I should do is drink a hot and and iced at the same time but that is just crazy talk. And I have done that.), but this coffee thing I made is making me want to drink all the coffee frozen. It’s coffee which is my life blood, creamy but not like thick and gross, and cold, which right now is a life necessity. A real damn treat especially when just looking outside makes me want to smack the sun. Shit do I hate this nasty weather but what I don’t hate is this coffee, in fact I am obsessed with It and it’s all I want to eat/drink for the rest of the heatwave.

Now to the cold coffee oat frappuccino!

The stuff. Strong brewed cold coffee, oats, ice, and a couple really soft sticky dates.

Start with the oats in the blender ans blend until a flour consistency. Add in the dates (use whatever sweetener you want) and half the ice and half the coffee. Blend until frothy. Add in the rest of coffee and ice and blend for like 30 more seconds.

Its now blended and icy and delicious and you can drink it now but. If you can do it, stick the whole blender in the freezer or pour the frap into a cup and stick in freezer for an hour or so because it can get even icy-er.

Pull the blender out (or pour slightly more frozen frap back into blender) and blend for another 30 seconds. It is now super icy deliciousness.

Pour into glasses and drink. It’s to only thing you need to drink/eat for the rest of the summer.

-C

---

Coffee Oat Frappuccino

makes 1

• 12 oz of brewed coffee (cold or even frozen)

• 12-14 normal sized ice cubes

• 1/3 cup old fashion oats

• Sweetener of choice like 2-3 soft dates , a couple teaspoon of maple syrup, or sugar

Place oats into blender and blend until flour consistency. Add in sweetener or dates and like half the coffee and half the ice cubes. Blend until mixed. Add the rest of coffee and ice and blend until completely incorporated.

Now either drink it as is (which is delicious) or for an even more icy consistency, place the blender (or pour the frap into a large cup) into the freezer for an hour of so. Then take it back out and and blend until a smooth frozen treat.

And then drink that right away.

Roasted Corn Hummus

How much hummus is to much hummus to eat? Seriously, how much? Because I eat A LOT of hummus, like hummus everyday, sometimes (all the time) even multiple times a day. And not just a little bit. Give me a bowl of it, any sized bowl, and see what I can do.

And I like just about any hummus, but with that said they are not all created equally. Homemade is almost always the superior, (although there are some brands that I really really like), freshly made is best, heavy on the lemon is a bonus, and some kind of mix in is always appreciated.

Roasted corn hummus. Oh boy did I attack this one. A base of a traditional creamy hummus in all it’s glory, blended up with freshly picked and freshly roasted sweet corn. When whipped up together it creates a soft, almost fluffy, creamy mixtures of all the goodness. It is so freaking good and is probably going to be my repeat hummus for the foreseeable future (until the corn stops growing). It really is a stand out. The mr and the littles even loved it and that is something.

To the hummus!

The stuff. Freshly roasted corn on the cob, cooked chickpeas, tahini, some garlic cloves ,a lemon, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes , ice cubes, and a little olive oil.

Basically the only work to do. Cut corn from cob.

Add corn and garlic to food processor and pulse for a minute, scrapping down sides a few times. Add in the chickpeas, tahini, juice of the lemon, ice cubes, and red pepper flakes. Blend until nice and smooth. And that is it. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.

Scoop it all into a bowl and eat the hummus any way you see fit.

-C

---

Roasted Corn Hummus

makes about 3 cups

• 2 roasted cobs of corn (2 cups cut from cob)*

• 2 cups (or 1can) cooked and drained chickpeas

• 1/3 cup tahini

• 2 cloves garlic

• a lemon

• 3 ice cubes

• salt and pepper

• 1-2 teaspoons red pepper flakes

• olive oil (optional to drizzle on at the end)

*There are many methods to cook corn so you can cook it any way you want. I just wet the corn still in the husk and pop it into a really hot oven or about 25 minutes.

Start by removing corn from the cob. Place corn and garlic into food processor and pulse for a minute, scraping down sides a couple times, until pretty blended up. Add in chickpeas, tahini, the juice from the lemon, ice cubes, and a good healthy pinch of salt and pepper and as much red pepper flakes as you want. Blend until smooth. Taste and add more salt and or pepper if needed.

Scoop into a bowl or container and drizzle with olive oil if desired.

Eat right away with cut up veggies, smeared in pita, with a spoon, or any other way you want to eat it.

Left overs can be stored in airtight container in fridge for a few days but really, who has left over hummus?

It’s Hot Out. Make some Popsicles.

It is hot out Dumb hot. What do you do to stay cool? Me? Well besides spending my time splayed out on the kitchen floor (it’s the coolest spot in the house), I like to eat frozen food, sometimes in the form of popsicles. And it has been freaking stupid hot way too much already this year and I haven’t made nearly enough popsicles. That ends now. Dealing with the heat sucks and I deserve a freaking popsicles and so do you.

Here are a few of my favorites.

• Roasted Banana Strawberry Popsicles

• Avocado Mango Popsicles

• Carrot Ginger Orange Popsicles

• Toasted Coconut And Corn Popsicles

• Rhubarb Popsicles

• Pineapple Cucumber Spinach Popsicles

Next week I’ll share one of my new favorite, a sweet potato fudgesicle. I was going to share it this week but I ended up eating the frozen sweet potatoes that I had intended to use. Oops.

Stay cool. Eat popsicles!.

-C

Strawberry Oat Milk

One of the most redeeming qualities of summer is the fresh, super sweet, strawberries that grow in the early part of the season. Bright red little gems that I go and hand pick from a strawberry field (early in the morning because who wants to be in a beating hot field in he middle or the day?), eating one berry for ever two I pick. Hands stained red. Belly full of berry happiness. It’s times like these that I am glad for summer.

And now that I have strawberries, I can make strawberry milk. Have you ever had it? This strawberry milk is nothing like the milk made from the nasty and crazy sweet fake pink syrup (strawberry syrup reminds me of my little brothers when they were little. They would drink cups and cup of the fake strawberry milk and I always thought that they were gross. But not just because of the milk…hehe). No this strawberry milk is oat milk with fresh strawberries and taste just like a berry explosion of goodness in your mouth. Its smooth and creamy and tastes like real strawberry, like it should.

A true summer treat. And it is so easy to make, almost as easy as squirting syrup into a cup.

Now to the strawberry oat milk!

The struff. Strawberries, oats, and water.

Only thing you really need to do is remove the greens from the berries.

Then pop them into a blender with water and oats and blend until smooth and creamy. That is it. Now you have strawberry oat milk.

Pour into glasses, garnish with a few berries (or a bowl to snack from) and that is that.

Summer milk.

-C

---

Strawberry Oat Milk

• 3/4 cup old fashion oats

• 2 1/2 cups cold water

• 1 cup fresh strawberries

• 1 tablespoon sweetener or a couple dates (optional to add sweetness)

Note. For a thicker and creamer milk just add another 1/4 of oats.

Remove greens from strawberries and toss them into a blender with the oats and water and any sweetener (if using). Blend until smooth.

Optional. Pour through a strainer or nut milk bag to remove any grittiness. I do not do this.

Pour into glasses and enjoy.. I like to add an ice cube or a cut up frozen strawberry into the milk to make it really cold.

Milk can be stored in a jar in fridge for 2-3 days.

Zucchini Dill Empanadas

YAY for the first zucchinis of the season! Zucchini is one of the main reasons I tolerate summer. Sure I complain a lot about being hot all time and the sun being just too freaking bright but the zucchini helps make it all worth dealing with.

Empanadas. Little hard pies. A perfect little vessel to stuff some zucchini into. Add some dill and it makes it all the better. I mean who wouldn't a zucchini and dill stuffed pastry on a warm summer afternoon (or whatever time you feel like eating). They are super easy to make, light and crispy, and are little pies of zucchini. What is not to like? Plus they require no utensils to eat them . Think about it, Make batch, throw them into a picnic basket and head to a nice little grassy patch under a tree. Doesn't that sound just so nice? That does sound nice. Why didn't I do that? Oh because I was busy being pissy because I made a perfect batch and while letting them cool off in the oven for a few minutes I accidentally turned on the broiler and burnt a few. But whatever, the mr actually really liked them burnt so no harm no foul, But next time I make them it will definitely be for a picnic.

Now to the zucchini dill empanadas!

The stuff. Zucchinis, a carrot and a onion, some dill and ground ginger, salt and pepper, water, oil, flour, and baking powder.

Start with making the filling. Chop the carrots into little cubes then grate up the onion and zucchinis.

Gather the zucchini and onion into a tea towel (or cheese cloth) and squeeze out he excess liquid. ( I squeezed it into the dough mixture)

dump the zucchini and onion into a heated and lightly oiled skillet. Add in the carrots, the ginger and dill, and a good pinch of salt and pepper. mix around a cook until the zucchini has gone cooked down and the carrots are slightly tender. Remove from heat.

Now make the dough. Ad the wet the dry and mix around unit a shaggy dough form then knead it for about a minute and place in a clean bowl covered with a towel to rest for 15 or so minutes.

After the dough has rested, dump into counter, pat into a disk and cut into 12 equal pieces.

Then roll each piece into a ball. Take a ball and on a lightly floured surface, roll out into a disk.

Then add the filling, A couple heading tablespoons of cooled filling go Into the middle. Have a little bowl or water and dip a finger into the bowl and run wet finger around the edge od dough. Fold the filed disk in half and lightly press the dough together. Now you can either try to twist the edges or just crimp them with a fork. Take a knife and cut a little steam vent into he top the place onto a baking sheet. Repeat until all empanadas are made.

Brush tops with a little oiled sprinkle with pepper. Pop into the oven to bake.

Pro tip. Don’t accidentally turn on the broiler right before you pull them out (especially if they were perfect. But in all honesty the mr liked the burnt ones so whatever.) Once they are nice and golden brown, pop them out of the oven.

Now toss them onto a plate and start feeding your face. No utensils required. Dipping sauce is up to you.

-C

---

Zucchini Dill Empanadas

makes 12

For dough

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/3 cup vegetable oil

• 1/2 cup cold water

Filling

• 2 small zucchinis (3 packed cups grated)

• a small onion

• a carrot

• 2 tablespoons fresh or 1 tablespoon dried dill

• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (optional)

• salt and pepper

• vegetable oil

Start with making the filling. Chop the carrot into small little cubes then shred the zucchini and onion on a box grater. Gather the zucchini and onion and place in a clean tea towel of cheese cloth and ring to excess liquid. Place the carrot and the zucchini and onions into a preheated and lightly oiled skillet. Add in the dill, ginger, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook down for 7-9 minutes or until zucchini has lost a lot of liquid and the carrot pieces are fork tender. Remove from heat and let cool.

Make dough. Place the dry ingredients into a bowl and mix around. Add in the water and oil and mix until it comes together into a shaggy dough. Dump out onto counter and knead for about a minutes them place dough back into the bowl ( wipe it out) and cover with a towel. Let dough rest for 15 or so minutes.

Preheat oven to 375.

Once dough has rested, plop onto counter, pat into a disk shape, then cut into 12 equal pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Lightly flour the counter and start to roll each ball out into a round disk about 4-5 inches wide. You can one at a time and fill it or roll them all out and fill all at the same time.

To fill, take about 2 heaping teaspoons of the cooled filling and place in the center of the rolled out disk. dip your finger into water and and run it around the edge of the dough then fold in half and lightly press the edge together. Then either twist the edge or crimp the edge with a fork. Take a knife and cut a small slit into the top then place on a baking sheet. Once all the empanadas are on the sheet, lightly brush the tops with oil and sprinkle with black pepper. Pop into the oven and bake for 20 -25 minutes or unit the empanadas are a nice golden brown.

Remove from oven. Eat while hot.

Place any left overs in a container in the fridge for 5-7 days. Reheat in oven or toaster oven.