My new favorite end-of-summer combo: Peaches and basil

I recently visited a cute local vegan/raw cafe with my cubie, F. We shared an lunch entree that included zoodles and an amazing beet salad. We also decided to each order a smoothie. There were so many to select from; I ended up going with the chef’s recommendation, the Tropical Peach, which featured flavors of peaches and basil. I thought it sounded like an interesting combination and wanted to see what it was like. Let me tell you. It was the most refreshing, clean-tasting, delicious creation! I took note of the ingredients she used to prepare it and rushed to the farmer’s market to buy some local peaches and basil so I could try this at home.

Here are the ingredients I used to create a smoothie perfect for summer’s end:

2 fresh peaches (I used white, but I’m guessing yellow would be just as good, maybe even better), 6-7 basil leaves, 1/2 c frozen mango, small handful of walnuts, 2 T shredded coconut, 1/2 c coconut milk, agave nectar (just a squeeze…may not need if peaches are really sweet), ice

I blended everything up in my Vitamix on high for about 30 seconds.

I didn’t even have time to garnish the smoothie before R grabbed it up and downed it. By the way, this picture does this smoothie no justice.

makes 2 generous servings

summer DIY projects

Today I started feeding my DIY composting bins.

So far I have put in shredded newspaper (soy-based ink), banana peels, garlic skins, strawberry hulls, hair from the carpet, used paper towels, leaves from under the carport, dryer lint and the hard outside of a cauliflower (all chopped up of course).

Here are a couple of pictures of the process of making DIY composting bins.