I Make Myself

Cold Brew & two things.

Cold brew has become somewhat of a fancy term for something that is very easy, simple and uncomplicated.

One will need two things: A cold brewer and good coffee. 

Salvadorean Coffee is highly recommended basically because it is THE best. 

Granted, people are allowed to think I may be biased but just ask around and you'll see.

El Salvador is mostly popular for its not-so-good things but there are two things for which El Salvador should stand out: great waves and superb coffee. 

And it is about time my country starts standing solid on those two rocks. 

I don't think it's an overstatement to say that every Salvadorean has a relative living here in the States which I'll admit is just my general impression from having lived there almost thirty years. I grew up witnessing how, through these relatives, some of the American culture would make its way to Salvadorean lands. 

It is also not uncommon, when traveling to the States, to bring back certain products one simply cannot find in El Salvador. From organic shampoo to appliances -because there isn't a retailer that sells Vitamix-  the normal flow has been to bring stuff in.

But then I moved here.

I moved to L.A. in early April and now it is late November and I can confidently say that I am able to find everything I need, except one thing. This time it is from Salvadorean lands to the American culture, the one thing I can't get here is my favorite coffee in the entire world.

Coffee is the only thing that I keep asking for and bringing back. That can tell you two things, how good Salvadorean coffee is and how attached I am to it.  

Macchiato's Honey.

That's the one I use and if you are in El Salvador, you can too.

Now, on to the cold brewing part. 

I grind enough beans to make one cup of ground coffee. I put it on the strainer that comes with the brewer, fill it up and then I pour water until it is covered. 

I let it sit overnight.

The next morning I get a batch of chocolaty espresso-like coffee that I can be sure will not have any burnt after-taste that sometimes comes from brewing coffee with hot water. 

It's so easy that it makes me wonder, could all joys be this simple? 

I think my answer might be yes because if you give me two things, my favorite coffee and my favorite city, it makes me feel like I have it all. 

 

 

I got my cold brewer from Amazon, you can find it here

Madrid

While we lived in Spain I used to watch a TV show called "Españoles por el mundo". Every week I would tune-in and secretly wait for the day that they would feature El Salvador.

I thought it would give me answers. Maybe I could figure out why people had left the place I was now living,  to search for something in the place I had just left.

Seychelles, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, never El Salvador. No hard feelings about it,  I absolutely loved to watch the show. Not only were they able to travel to exotic places they also had the exceptional ability of finding small groups of the rare, overly-cheerful life enthusiast kind.

Spain is on average one of the sunnier countries in Europe but I was born in El Salvador which -arguably a privilege-  means I was raised biased. Basically what people refer to when they say weather-spoiled. We get the equivalent of 365 days of sun and anything less than that falls within the freezing-cold temperature spectrum.

We moved to Madrid right before the winter started. 

There is a sadness to winter, specially for those who have never seen the snow. 

Somewhere between walking the streets of a place I felt I didn't belong to and the loneliness of feeling far away, El Salvador felt like a loss.

I secretly grieved. There was a longing feeling that would never go away.

We were staying there indefinitely and I struggled trying to teach myself to contain my sadness. 

It may have been getting my dream job (I worked at an art gallery #teamcharlotteyork) or maybe that I started running but rather unexpectedly and even unintentional the coldness began to fade and my heart started to warm up. . 

My bet is on the the long summer walks. Heinz would pick me up from the gallery and we would walk back to our apartment. 

It became our two-hour daily "commute".

I remember the sidewalks becoming a friendlier place, a tinto-drinking party scattered around the city. Beating to the honks of white taxis; clear skies and terraces exposed by the natural light of 10:00PM sunsets.

Dimming, magical Madrid at its best. 

Ice cream cones were not exclusive to mid-twenties late night wanderers like us. Young families and kids seemed to think that the local ice cream joint was the go-to place for their midnight summer fun. 

Madrid and I found a way to confide in each other. We both move at a particular rhythm, we like to take our time and find our own life-walking pace. I could always trust that the city would start its days late while I was accountable for making sure that bed-time stayed overrated.

Our Madrid years make me ironically nostalgic. Back then there were days when getting out of bed was a monumental accomplishment.

Understanding that all souvenirs are biased is to be blamed. 

Here is one that I brought from Madrid.

Although originally a southern recipe Salmorejo is the thicker, richer brother of the Gazpacho and my personal favourite.

It's a cold tomato "soup" spiced with garlic and served with bread.

For this recipe I use:

• 5 tomatoes
• 3 cloves of garlic if you love garlic, if not 2 will be more than enough.
• Olive oil
• Salt to taste
• Bread

I don't peel the tomatoes because I'm lay-zee, I cut the garlic in half and take out the center part as learned from a Spanish lady. I trust her garlic wisdom completely because no one does garlic better than Spain. She said it will prevent you from having strong to only giving you mild-to-low garlic breath.

I mix everything in the blender. Tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, salt and as much bread I need to thicken out the soup. This time two loaves were enough.

I top it off with hard-boiled eggs.

A too-easy-to-be-true recipe. A Kobernik's favourite. An inherently biased souvenir.

 

I ♥ CR

It's not a secret that I'm completely, head over heals, crazy in love with Costa Rica.

I think it is a magical country and every time I go back I get really excited just as if I was going there for the first time.

When Green Vivant asked me if I wanted to jump in and collaborate with them it was a no-brainer. 

What I LOVE most about Green Vivant is that yes, they embrace a healthy living life style but their approach is more towards embracing a conscious life. It's about sustainable  tourism, products, events and of course yummie and healthy recipes.

I couldn't be more excited about this. It's got all my must-have items: food, Costa Rica and...ok, I guess there're only two items on the list.

You can check them out here.

 

 

All-you-can-coconut

So....lately I've been experimenting with coconuts. By experimenting I mean eating them like it is my job.

I don't really know why it hadn't occurred to me that coconuts are cheap here. 

The story goes as follows. 

I go through food stages. There was the quinoa stage, then the almond milk stage, the ice cream stage...that one was a good one....and of course the avocado stage. I'm currently on a everything-is-better-with-coconut stage and honestly who can blame me when coconuts are so.de.lish.

I used to buy bottled coconut water from the supermarket and even though the one  we can get here is really fresh something deep inside me told me that there was some added sugar in my drink <= what? I mean healthy-living sacrilege ;)

I couldn't really tell because the bottle doesn't come with a nutrition facts label but I could tell because sometimes it was way too sweet for my taste.

One day I was going to the yoga studio and as I walked past a fruit store that is right below the studio I thought....could I, just maybe, be able to get coconuts here?

I went in and I asked. Not only were they able to sell me coconuts but they would "peel" them so I would only get the white flesh with the water inside. Intact. 

And so it began...a true love story with coconuts. Oh yes and they are only .40 cents each.

It all started with the water but it has evolved into a quest...what else can I do with this white piece of heaven?

Coconut milk.

I've found two ways of making it, there's the yummy one and then there's the yummiest one.

For the Yummy coconut milk I use:

• 1 coconut or 1/2 a coconut (if it's a big one)
• 2 cups of warm water

For the Yummiest  I use:

• 1 coconut or 1/2 a coconut (if it's a big one)
• Water from one coconut...or more if I'm feeling naughty.

Instructions are the same for both of them. Mix everything together in a blender, drain either with a cheesecloth or a fine mesh strainer (I find the cheesecloth works better because you can squeeze it harder) and then drink.

The taste of fresh coconut milk is indescribable. It's so much lighter than almond and just as rich.

Now, the things you can do with this milk, as the french say...oh la la la la.

There are basic things like adding it to your coffee, making chai tea with it, mixing it with oats...and then there are the awesome things like making sorbet, vegan "cheesecake" and coconut oil!

Not to mention the things you can do with the shredded coconut that's left. I'm talking about coconut butter here!!!!!

Oh...the advantages of living in this tropical paradise which I now proclaim to be my very own coconut heaven.

 
 

My mix-whatever-you-have Quinoa

It's been a long time since I've shared a recipe and maybe, today you'll figure out why.

My meals are looking uglier every day. They are soggy, pasty and 90% of the time they come in a bowl. 

Are they delicious? Yes! Of course. 

But they are not picture-perfect-blogger-friendly.

This was my lunch yesterday. I mixed whatever I had in my fridge and it ended up being one of the most delicious ugly-looking meals I've had since I started eating Quinoa.

It was sort of a Mexican meets Greek style but I didn't use black olives. Although it could have used some but really...I had none.

I used:

• 1 cucumber
• 1 tomato
• A bunch of cilantro
• Feta cheese
• Juice of half lime
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Cooked Quinoa

I chopped the cucumber, tomato and cilantro and made what some people know as Pico de Gallo. I added salt, olive oil and lime. I still had half of what I made to save for later. If you do end up making a lot -like I did- be sure to add lime only to what you are eating. Saving it with added lime makes it a little bit bitter.

I added it on top of the Quinoa.

For the Greek part I topped it with Feta cheese crumbs and gave it a final stir.

Heinz had this for dinner and he was yumming while eating. Always a good sign.

Does it happen to you? do you find that the not-so-perfect looking meals end up being the most delicious ones? yes? no?

 

Green Smoothie

Just like the one from Costa Rica.

I used:

• 3 slices of fresh pineapple
• 1 cup of fresh coconut water
• 1 avocado
• A bunch of basil
• Ice

With Easter break comes Easter weather and this is a great way to cool down hot afternoons.

Also, this smoothie is great for non-smoothie lovers. I never liked smoothies until I tried this one.

Give it a shot.

Mixing it up

Where have my recipes gone?  I'll tell you. 

But first lets do a little recap.

Last year I struggled (in a good sense) to come up with easy and delicious recipes that would help me smooth my way into a healthier diet.

I experimented. I was determined to try whatever I needed to try in order to incorporate more veggies and stay away from processed food. You may have heard this before and it's the truth: somewhere along the way it stops being about weight loss and it starts being about fueling your body.

Some recipes were a huge success for Heinz and me, others just for me and the rest were half eaten, tossed away and forgotten.

As the year ended I didn't feel I had to go out of my way to come up with a balanced meal and that leads us to today.

Lately I've been mixing things up. Literally.

What I do is: 

1. Choose a green base

It's Brussel Sprouts season! I precook a batch and keep it in the fridge. Broccoli is also my go-to vegetable and I've recently discovered Chard (Acelga in spanish). Chard is a very green leaf that can be used in salads or boiled and sauteed just like Spinach. I personally don't like the taste of raw Spinach leaves and I feel I get a weird aftertaste. This is not the case with Chard. It's filled with nutrients and the taste is better than regular lettuce and a lot better than Spinach.

2. Mix something else

This varies from Quinoa, sauteed mushrooms, hard boiled eggs, cheese to broiled chicken strips. It's normally just one or two of them NOT all of them.

3. Adding the avocado touch.

Hi, my name is Ruth and I am avocadoholic.  

4. The final touch

A drip of olive oil, lime drops and some salt.

That's it.

I put everything in a bowl, mix until the avocado turns into a paste that holds everything together and finally I eat this not-anthony-bourdain approved stuff right out of the bowl.

Nothing fancy, nothing out of the extraordinary and it's the same....every.single.day.

I used to get bored easily when it came to food. I was constantly looking out for recipes so I could keep myself "on track".

For some strange reason I'm not bored yet, maybe it will happen soon...maybe it wont.

Until that happens I'll enjoy this veggie bliss. If I come across a recipe worth sharing trust me I will and if you'd like me try one of your recipes please send it my way :)

 

How about you? have you noticed your relationship with food change in this past year? could it probably be the end of the Mayan calendar and those energy shifts that were supposed to happen? mmmm let me know.

 

 

Coffee Break

For this refreshing and energizing smoothie I used:

 

• 1 banana
• 1 espresso shot
• 2 spoons of cashew butter
• Some almond milk & ice

 

 

Got avocados?

1. Green Salad with drained red beans, feta cheese and avocado. As a dressing I used some salt, olive oil and a little bit of lime juice 2. Guacamole toasts (great for breakfast, lunch or dinner) 3. Quinoa, broccoli and avocado cold salad. Dressing was again salt, olive oil and lime juice 4. Quinoa topped with sauteed portobello mushrooms and avocado.

I told you I was going to be eating a lot of avocados!

The common element beside the obvious is that all these meals are easy to cook. i don't have a lot of time between classes and I also have a limited amount of ingredients so I stick to fast and simple options.  I haven't had to sacrifice taste though :)

Last week I made my  hummus recipe so I think I'll be alternating between hummus and avocados...but I can't promise anything. I love these green pieces of heaven called aguacates.

 

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My diet plan for YTT

By me:

    

Black beans, avocado and feta cheese.

 

By the Juice Bar:

 

Avocado, pineapple, coconut water and basil.

 

....and that's what I plan on eating throughout the training...avocados...with something on the side.

 

 

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