Healthy Living In The City

Okay, this has nothing to do with this Project Cookbook post, but I just wanted to let you know that I am currently sipping on the Starbucks Coconut Lime Frozt, a new-ish drink that is being tested in select cities across the nation, and boy am I a fan!  Nick told me he was heading to Starbucks this morning and I said I’d go with him but I wasn’t feeling like any milk-based drink since I had just finished a big bowl of Cheerios with lots of milk.  Initially I was thinking I’d get a lemonade or iced tea of some sort, but when we walked in, I saw the banner for this new drink and upon asking the barista about the sweetness level, I decided to go with this new drink.  It is on the sweet end, but it’s super tropical.  I feel like I should be sitting on the beach in the Caribbean or Mexico instead of the beautiful (note the sarcasm) North Dallas.  Unfortunately I don’t think this is the healthiest option on the menu, but since it’s in testing right now, the nutrition facts aren’t posted, so I’ll just assume the momentary retreat to all places tropical that this drink brings me to as I sip it is healthy enough!  Okay, moving right along.  While I’m talking about limes, lets switch to another tart citrus; lemons.  Lemons and onions together give you:

Sweet Lemon and Onion Relish
More Recipes From A Kitchen Garden
by Renee Shepherd and Fran Raboff
Makes 7 servings (1/4 cup servings)

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, cut into thin 1/4-inch strips
2 medium lemons
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup water
5 tablespoons sugar
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves

Heat oil in a medium skillet, add onions.  Cover and cook on very low heat, stirring occasionally, until soft but not brown, for about 15 minutes.  While onions are cooking prepare lemons:

Squeeze the juice from the lemons and reserve.

Scrape out membranes and cut the rinds into 1/4-inch strips.

Put in a small pan and cove with cold water; bring to a boil, then pour out the water.  Repeat twice, boiling up the rid for a total of 3 times.

When the onions are tender, add the drained lemon strips, lemon juice, water, sugar, salt, and thyme.  Cook uncovered over low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes, until most of the liquid is reduced and onions and lemons are glazed.  Put in a glass jar.  Store in refrigerator for up to a month.

My Thoughts:
We had this on top of fish, but the recipe also recommends this for an alternative relish on top of Thanksgiving turkey to “spice” things up.  I really liked it.  It is light and refreshing, coming in at 95 calories per serving, and a great way to dress up any protein.  The thyme flavor really pops out in this relish.  And it forced me to buy some useful Ball Jars.  Pealing the lemon pulp away from the rind was a little tricky at first but after the first 1/2 I mastered the skill, using a grapefruit spoon.  I prefer limes over lemons (hence the pleasure I’m getting from my Coconut Lime Frozt right now), so I wonder how this would be using limes instead… an option to try in the future.

I was able to kill to birds with one stone with this recipe.  I got both cauliflower and carrots in my Urban Acres bin.  Sorry a lot for the initial photos are dark.  It was super sunny in my kitchen when I was making this which lead to some extreme shadows in the dutch oven.

Cauliflower Carrot Soup
More Recipes from a Kitchen Garden
by Renne Shepherd and Fran Raboff 
Makes 6 Servings

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minces
1 large onion, chopped
2 large carrots, thinly sliced
1 cauliflower (about 1 1/2 pounds), broken into florets
1/2 cup dry sherry
3 1/2 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 cup low-fat or regular milk (I used skim milk)
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Garnish:
1/2 fresh lime
2 tablespoons chopped chives

In a 4- to 5-quart saucepan, heat butter or margarine and oil.  Add garlic and onion and sauté until softened, about 3 to 4 minutes.

Add carrots, cauliflower, and sherry; heat and stir together for 3 minutes longer.

Add chicken stock.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer 30 to 35 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Add parsley.

Puree in a blender or food processor.  Return mixture to saucepan.

Add milk and nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste.  Heat, stirring, until completely hot, but do not allow to boil.  Squeeze juice of 1/2 lime over soup.  Before serving, garnish with chives.

My Thoughts:
This is a great summer night hot soup, although that seems like and oxymoron.  It is super light and refreshing.  And I bet if you top it with some avocado slices along with the chives that would be really good too!  Coming at 103 calories per serving, Nick and I devoured the entire pot (all six servings) and didn’t feel the least bit guilty about it.  Although, I think Nick would have liked some more protein in the soup.  Chicken sausage, anyone?