Harbingers of Spring from Full Circle--Two Wonderful Strawberry Recipes!

As snowy as the ground remains here, look what a treat was in our Full Circle box this week!

I almost couldn't believe it--strawberries in March in Alaska, fresh and organic, in our own little box!

They arrived when Phil was away at the end of last week, and I was careful to save plenty for him (it was only an 8oz box). However, I made myself one delicious breakfast and one delicious lunch using three strawberries each time, with plenty left to welcome him home.

For both meals, I put my agar gel to use, armed with the better knowledge that it needed to be blended down! The breakfast was a white pudding type thing, and the lunch was a thick green smoothie that turned out not green at all!
Strawberry Breakfast Pudding
1/4 cup agar gel (per the linked recipe)
1/4 cup flax milk or other nut milk
1/4 teaspoon stevia
splash vanilla, or pinch vanilla powder
optional: 1 tb vanilla protein powder, or lucuma, 1 tsp slippery elm powder
3 strawberries, chopped

Blend everything except the strawberries together. Even a handheld blender works fine for this.
Stir in the chopped strawberries, and garnish with a few mulberries if you wish.

I do love mulberries, and they're a garnish on the lunch too. Can you believe there's a cup of spinach in the below smoothie? This smoothie also features maca--I mentioned recently that maca and coconut have a wonderful affinity; well, I happen to think maca and strawberries complement one another just beautifully also.

Pink Green Maca Lunch Smoothie (which of course would be fine for any meal!)
1/4 cup agar gel (per the linked recipe)
1/4 cup flax milk
1/4 cup water or cooled herbal tea of choice (e.g. gynostemma-rhodiola)
1 tsp slippery elm powder
1 tsp maca powder
1/4 teaspoon stevia
1 teaspoon erythritol (substitute any preferred sweetener)
1 cup fresh spinach
1/4 cup frozen peas (love these in my smoothies!)
3 strawberries (if you wish, freeze these for an hour or two before blending)
1 small piece of beet (this is what gives it that wonderful color
vanilla
Blend in a high powered blender until creamy smooth; garnish with mulberries.

Such a pleasant lunch on a sunny snowy day!
Have you had fresh strawberries yet this year? What's your favorite flavor combination with strawberries?

Belated Gratitude, The Good Side of the Holidays, Full Circle Farms

Thank you for the caring comments about my 'drowning in gray' post. I try not to share too much about my 'polar girl' ups and downs on here, but I also always prefer to be honest, and I know that some of it's probably obvious anyway. The reminder to get under my lightbox in the morning was so appreciated and right on. Exercise was also mentioned as a good antidote. Well, I've been jump-roping up a storm every day, doing bodyweight exercises, and hiking the beach also (slip-sliding on the ice). The beach hikes and getting outside are definitely a good idea--even when the weather's not beautiful or pleasant, there's something truly integrative about being out in the fresh air. As gray as it's been, I've regretted not bringing my camera every time we've hiked this week--there's always been something picture-worthily gorgeous.

And another thing that helps is gratitude. I have so much to be grateful for, and it's good for me to remember this, showcase this.

Many people despise the commercialism of the holidays. I prefer to focus on what's at the heart of it: at this dark time of year, many religions have a 'festival of lights,' and many cultures have traditions of gift-giving. This gives me some hope for humanity, as it shows a sense of mutual supportiveness; a recognition that this is a time when we can all use some extra validation.

Well, I am grateful for fresh produce in the winter here--grateful that it comes even though I can't grow it in my garden. I'm grateful for this blog and the wonderful connections I make through it. And I'm grateful to Full Circle Farms for inviting me to try out their organic produce CSA deliveries and share my thoughts. They are based in Washington and Idaho, and it's a sweet miracle that they reach out as far as Alaska.

It would have been fun to use some of their vibrant organic produce for Thanksgiving, but I was still in Israel. I will definitely be taking a look at their Thanksgiving Ebook of recipes and ideas, however, and you're welcome to share in that also--just click on the highlighted title to download it.

Yesterday, I picked up our first box.

It was full of beautiful greens and also some sweet little fruits, a giant beet, and some beautiful mushrooms.

I can choose exactly what I want to have in each box (within certain parameters). So, for example, I didn't get potatoes, because we grew more than my weight in them. I might not get an item that's available relatively reliably and/or cheaply here in town. If there's a staple that's relatively low in pesticide residues according to the "Dirty Dozen" list, I might choose to buy a conventional version in town. I love organic produce but I'm also a frugal shopper, and organic makes much more difference with some things than with others.

So far, we've been enjoying the fruit and I've been eating the lettuce by the leaf, but I'll be back later this week and for the next few weeks to share some of what I make with this bounty.

Again, get your copy of their Thanksgiving Ebook and check out their site (I'm always a sucker for farm websites).

I haven't forgotten about my remaining Israel stories. A busy weekend coming up, but I'll try to share at least one on here.

Do you enjoy the 'season of goodwill' for its 'light up the darkness' aspect?