Tropical Kale Smoothie (I swear this is good!)
I know the color…well, it’s a little green. Kale is good for you though! Even my skeptical husband drank this, and proclaimed it to be “really good”. I drink smoothies every.single.day. This results in lots of experimentation, and, yes, some are less successful than others. The tropical flavors and punch of healthful ingredients have made this a favorite. I have been keeping kale in the freezer for smoothies and find that 1 banana to 1/2 cup lightly packed up of kale is a good ratio (meaning you don’t taste the kale!). I like adding a bit of extra virgin coconut oil for the flavor and the smooth texture.
Tropical Kale Smoothie
Serves at least 2
2 bananas
1 cup kale, stem removed
1 cup almond , coconut or regular milk
1 tbsp organic extra virgin coconut oil
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup frozen pineapple
1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
6 ice cubes
Blend until all of the kale leaves are completely smooth, add additional water if needed to blend.
In other news, we may have homegrown apples this year! At least I am hoping these blossoms mean our Cortland tree will bear fruit. It is only its second year in our yard. Even if we aren’t at our house to eat them in the fall, it is still pretty exciting.
Awakening
If you ask a grower of roses to name their favorite, many will declare this task to be impossible. If I had been asked this a few years ago, I too would not have been able to answer. However, over the years my climbing rose ‘Awakening’ has proven itself to be consistently reliable. ‘Awakening’ is a sport of the familiar ‘New Dawn’. I actually bought my first two ‘Awakening’ bushes when looking for ‘New Dawn’ at a local nursery. The crazy roseman that owns the place told me I didn’t want ‘New Dawn’, and he presented me with two small own root ‘Awakening’ bushes. It was an easy sale as I am a sucker for a high petal count and greater flushes of flowers. If it only had a strong scent it would truly be perfect.
Many roses in my New England garden have succumbed to black spot, the cold or various other ailments. Meanwhile, ‘Awakening’ has grown up and over my 8 foot arbor. Over the next few months the plan is to transfer ‘Awakening’ to a new larger copper arbor (courtesy of my future father in law).