it's pomegranate season

I saw a gentleman open a pomegranate in the field on the Food Channel recently and I thought it was a bit better technique that I had been using.  His way doesn't cut through as many arils as mine did by just cutting it in half.  I thought I'd share what I learned with you in case it will help you too.

I don't see them organic very often, but when I do I pick up a couple, and they're US grown =)



This method will open pomegranates of conventional practice too in case you were wondering ;) 

Here's how I did it, cut off a little top



Now you can see the cute divisions inside.  I believe there's usually four, but there can be more.



I opened the fruit along the membrane segments as best as I could, this part here is where I saved some arils from being cut.





I just pop the tasty lil guys out into a container.  I think many people use the bowl of water method since the arils will sink and the white membrane pieces will float.  I do it this way, it may be a little slower, but I've never been accused of doing things quickly.  I don't even run fast.



There you have it.  We love the arils on salads, eaten alone, and of course I bet you can't guess this:  blended into green smoothies!  Aside from being really yummy and fun to pop in your mouth, they are a nice source of vitamin C, fiber, and antioxidants.  Drink up =)



I had a big desire for pancakes recently.  I haven't eaten much of any gluten for about five months so I was hoping to make them gluten free, but I also wanted them to be like the nice thick diner ones.  I had this mix from Bob's Red Mill in the pantry.  (I'm not excited that it's not organic, but I had picked it up in a pinch from Kroger as they are just down the street.  I have this thing where if I bought it, I will really try to not waste it, so this is where I started)



I chose a recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance called Pancakes.  Isa even says in the description 'straight up pancakes, just like at the diner at 2am'.  Perfect.  The GF mix says you can sub 1:1.  However doing that I thought the batter was way thin, so I added quite a bit more mix until it got to the consistency I thought would be good and went with that.  Lo and behold they were perfect, just what I was hoping for.  I added the optional cinnamon and blueberries of course ;) 



We loved them up with fresh raspberries and maple syrup, the real deal.



Raspberries were also seen this afternoon on my bowl of raw buckwheat granola with cacao nibs, banana, and sunflower seed butter.  yummy. 



Did anyone else eat this as a kid:
a bowl of sliced bananas, milk, and sugar?  I did.  I think today's version is a little bit healthier.

I'm bringing you a couple of my money saving tips today:

1.  shop your local food co-op.  They have the best sales.  This is a big 8oz bottle of organic fair trade vanilla extract for, well you can see the price.



2.  refill your addition to everything cinnamon with the bulk spice that you bought.  Buying herbs and spices in the bulk aisle is way cheaper to begin with (and less waste since you're reusing the same bottle over and over) and if you buy the whole foil one pound bag you get an extra 10% off (at Whole Foods anyway).  Ask your local store, it's common to get case discounts. 



That's all for now.  I'm going to watch a movie I picked up at the library , crochet, study.
Have a fabulous night!