RV There Yet??

Yay! I finally received my Christmas present from slaDE yesterday. Since I first saw them advertised at exhibition shows here in Calgary (i.e. The Home Show / The RV show), I salivated at the thought of owning a Vita-Mix. A blender of sorts, but oh so much more! It’s a juicer / food processor / blender / soup-maker / bread-kneader all-in-one. I’m in love and have only had it one day!
After watching the relevant dvd material on operation and recipe know-how, I decided to forego their suggestions of trying out their starter recipes and headed full-on into experimental mode!

This morning I started off with a smoothie …

Recipe:

1 peeled organic orange
1 peeled organic lemon
1/4 cup pomegranate juice
1 kale leaf
1 tbsp maca
1 tbsp greens powder
1 tbsp hemp powder
1 tbsp gogi berries
2 cups ice
dashes of cinnamon, vanilla and stevia

Verdict:
Too acidic …. next time, use less lemon. Otherwise, quite nice!

For lunch, I experimented with a soup … I had some vegetables that I’d been meaning to bake all week. In the mix included a butternut squash. So instead of throwing out the inner seeds, I threw them into this concoction:

Recipe:

2 cups organic vegetable broth
1 can organic tomatoes
1 organic onion
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 cloves organic garlic
3 tbsp raw popcorn!

Setting it up for 3 minutes on high speed, I prepped: 1/2 cup of black beans and a handful of fresh cilantro to be added afterwards (ie loose chop) on low variable speed.

Verdict:
A quick fresh yummy steaming soup. The seeds added a real unique hearty flavour. Gotta love it!

Enjoying the diversity in meal options, I wanted to experiment with a lovely creamy pesto to top rice linguini pasta.

Recipe:

1/2 cup cold-pressed olive oil
1/2 cup grated organic parmesan cheese
2 cups organic basil
3 cloves organic garlic
3 tbsp raw pine nuts
dash himalayan salt & pepper

30 seconds on high and I had a beautifully lightly chunked pesto!

Verdict:
One of the best pasta sauces EVER!

Unable to scoop out every ounce of pesto, slaDE coaxed me into making a potato soup with the residual yumminess.

Recipe:

2 cups chicken stock
3 baked potatoes
1 stalk organic celery
1 organic carrot
1 organic onion
1 cup skim milk
handful cilantro
dash himalayan salt & pepper

After 5 minutes on high, I added another carrot and celery stalk, mixed on variable speed for some added chunky goodness.

Verdict:
Less potato next time … a bit too starchy. Adding milk and a splash of butter on reheat will solve this dilemma quite nicely. A thick creamy concoction indeed!