Summer Smoothie Recipe: Watermelon* + Blueberry

 

 

 

 

 

I know Summer is almost over, but there's still a good month left! This Summer, I have had an abundance of blueberries in my yard and when you can't eat them all, you have to freeze them! Frozen blueberries are one of the most delicious treats and are perfect to add to fruit smoothies. If you don't have frozen blueberries, you can find them in your grocery store and even in bulk at places like Costco (and they have it organic)!

 



This recipe is perfect for the end of summer. It is cooling with the fresh watermelon, but to balance out that 'coolness,' there is some 'warmth' added to it from some fresh ginger (if you understand TCM or Traditional Chinese Medicine, you may understand the whole usage of 'cool' and 'warm' foods..it is a bit hard to explain, especially in English). Blueberries are also high in antioxidants (and they taste delicious) so this smoothie is just a win-win treat. I also like to add lemon just for an extra Vitamin C boost.

 

Here's what you'll need:

3 cups of fresh cut watermelon

1 to 2 cups of frozen blueberries (really a preference thing)

1 quarter slice of a lemon (if it is organic, include the rind)

1/2 inch to 1 inch size of peeled ginger root

 

 

Don't fill your blender up too full, or else the juices from the watermelon may overflow.

Blend watermelon first and then add the frozen blueberries. After they are almost fully blended, add the lemon and ginger. You don't need anything else!

 

And there you go! A healthy and refreshing summer treat =)

 

Readers, what are you favorite summer fruits? Do you have a favorite smoothie recipe? Let me know, I'd love to try them out.

Fresh Albacore Tuna Poke Recipe

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of my favorite things to eat is poke (pronounced poʊˈkeɪ/). Poke is a Hawaiian dish (kind of like an appetizers) that is a raw salad usually made with sashimi Ahi Tuna aka Yellowfin Tuna. It comes either spicy, or with no spice and can be sweetend too. It is usually made with soy sauce, sesame oil, inamona, chopped chili peppers, ogo seaweed and maybe a few tweaks here and there. I don't think I can pin point exactly how the original recipe is supposed to be like since there are many variations and they all are pretty tasty.

 

For my recipe, I used Albacore tuna, which is more of a white meat tuna. Below are the ingredients and instructions on how I made my poke!

 

Ingredients

1 lb Albacore Tuna

2 small cucumbers (or just 1 English cucumber)

1/2 chopped green onions

1 to 2 tablespoons of ponzu (citrus flavored soy sauce--eye ball or adjust to taste)

1/2 to 1 tablespoon of sesame oil

1 to 2 teaspoons of togarashi (japanese pepper/spice mix -- add to taste)

sea salt

 

Directions

 

1) Chop tuna into small, bite- sized cubes around 1/2 inch or so and chop cucumbers into cubes smaller than chopped tuna. Finely chop geren onions.

2) Place all chopped ingredients into a bowl and add your ponzu and sesame oil. Make sure you toss it well so everything is coated. For spice, proceed to add the togarashi and mix well. You can then add your sea salt at this point, sprinkling a little at a time. You won't need much.

 

And that's it! Super simple and quick and healthy. You can either eat right away or cover the bowl with saran wrap and place it in the fridge to let the flavors soak in more. Either way, this dish will taste good. I personally like eating it by itself, but you can eat it over rice as well or even over a bed of arugula.

 

Readers, have you ever tried poke? If you are a fan of  tuna sashimi/sushi (raw fish) you should definitely give this a try. What are your favorite Hawaiian foods? Let me know!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Natsu Matsuri 2014 Seattle

Another year, another festival! Of course I attended Natsu Matsuri at the Seattle Uwajimaya store again and here are some pictures that captured the day. This was two weekends ago but better late than never!

Seattle was blessed with beautiful weather so it made the event even better. And of course, be ready for all the food pics >.<

 

 

 

 

 

I'm such a sucker for somen!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And this Tonkotsu Ramen was bomb.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cutest little boy ever! His hair too!

 

 

Of course, you need ice cream for a hot day!

 

 

And that's it! Hope ya'lls Summer is going well  (if you're in Summer season that is)