C – Being mindful can be a challenge when you want balanced taste in all your food.
Not all of our posts made the cut. We did have quite a few, though. Here are some of our favorites. They were some of the most memorable of the year.
Fresh Mint Ice Cream
Since I started learning how to make ice cream, we haven’t gone back to the store-bought stuff. I am so grateful that I was able to make a good ice cream on the first few tries. It really made a difference. Now, all I have to figure out are good ice cream flavors. This mint ice cream recipe is the best we have ever done. Real mint, steeped for a few hours, to achieve a unique refreshing mint flavor. We love it so much, we always have it in our freezer. I’ve even converted non-mint lovers to people who like mint ice cream.
Homemade Dill Pickles
These dill pickles took a really long time to make. A whole month sitting in the refrigerator. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on them. Once they were ready, I was ready to dig in. The first bite was a flavor explosion in my mouth. A nice juicy pickle bursting with salty, sweet, sour, savory and spicy goodness. We started to compete over who got the last pickle. We all knew they were so good, we had to enjoy them to the very end.
Chicken Rice Soup Cold Remedy
I have been making this for years. It’s a family recipe for making colds run away fast. Everyone loves it. It’s meaty, soupy, filling and you get your vegetables for the day. One of my favorite parts of this recipe is the flavor. I love the balance of salty, sour, sweet, savory and spicy. I love that you can season it individually, so it’s to your taste preference. It lets me get my soup just right.
GOOD MORNING! Smoothie
This is one of those smoothies that can really get a person going in the morning. Some of us at Be Mindful. Be Human. aren’t morning people. Once a blender gets going and the glass is poured, there is a magical thing that happens. We wake up. We love the taste of the fruit combination. The tangerine, banana, mango, ginger and orange juice combination is packed full of flavor. I love the sweet and tart taste of the mangoes and the citrus fruit. But, my favorite part is the spicy ginger. It really wakes up a person’s taste buds. It’s so good and filling. A great way to start the day.
Roasted Brussels Sprouts With Fish Sauce Vinaigrette
Brussels sprouts can be a hard vegetable to cook. There are two key things to making Brussels sprouts taste good. First, don’t overcook them. Overcooked Brussels can taste and smell like stinky feet. Second, a good seasoning for them. A good, well-balanced seasoning really helps you enjoy these crunchy and tender little bites. This Momofuku recipe really was enjoyable. Well-balanced flavors, with perfectly cooked sprouts.
Wild Mallard with Chanterelles and Apple Compote
Fancy, elegant and oh so mindful. Luke showed us the right way to pan sear a duck breast. The duck was seasoned and flavored properly and it was topped off with some Chanterelle mushrooms and an apple compote. Individually, everything was good. Together, the flavors danced in your mouth. Flavor and texture were really important in this dish. Sweet apple bits played amazingly with the salty duck. Canterelles joined in with absorption of a great sauce and wonderful texture. Just delightful.
The Best Pecan Pie Ever
Pecan pies can be just too sweet, if you don’t know what you are doing. Jessica made an incredible pie for us. Unlike many pecan pies, this one had a perfect amount of sweetness. Having seconds, or thirds, wouldn’t make you go into a sugar coma. Like many, I don’t want my desserts to be too sweet. Instead, I want my guests to savor and enjoy a well balanced dessert. You don’t want them to suffer through a sugar bomb … and then be polite and say that it was good.
There are so many other recipes we made this year that were balanced. I can’t wait to see what we come up with next year.