Green Goddess Smoothie

I talk all the time about how great the food on Revolt is, and how wonderful all the new recipes every week are. Well now you can have a little taste of one of my favorites so far. This is a smoothie I have been enjoying once a day this week as a snack. I am completely smitten. I was already a fan of green smoothies, but had only ever tried spinach. Kale is even better, guys! It is not bitter in the slightest and blends so perfectly with other ingredients. I was a little nervous to try this smoothies, though, as I am not the hugest parsley fan. But I love it, and I bet you will too.

Green Goddess Smoothie, Serves 1-2:

1 cup Kale, stems removed and chopped
1 Granny Smith Apple, sliced
1 Ripe Banana, sliced
1/2 cup loosely packed Italian Parsley
2 cups Cold Water

Combine kale, apple, banana, parsley and half of the cold water in a blender. Blend until smooth. If needed, add more water and blend until smooth. For a slightly sweeter smoothie, try adding coconut milk or coconut water instead of plain water.

A perfect afternoon snack. Enjoy!

Today is a bit Grey

It's cool, grey, cloudy and threatening rain outside today. I can't complain too much; I appreciate a break from the sun and the heat occasionally.

No, it's not the weather that is bothering me today, but the fact that I am feeling a little under the weather. Actually, I've been feeling off all week. It's as if someone has reached in and jumbled my whole schedule and left me the mess. I haven't been sleeping well, I have quite a few projects I can't seem to get done, and all my perfectly organized things seem a troubled mess.

My terrible allergies are finally living up to their reputation and are catching up to me. I've also had a migraine  and nausea since waking up yesterday. My plans for today include napping, drinking tea, reading my book, wearing a cozy sweater and the cool comfy pants my sister got in Jordan, maybe (a huge maybe) catching up on the workout I missed while feeling sick yesterday, a walk with my pups, updating a few things around the blog, and transporting some plants to better homes. Today I'm just trying to take things easy and give myself a rest; it is hard to do when you feel like there are a million and one things you should be doing instead.

I'll be back tomorrow, hopefully fully rested, to share a little recipe with you. Until then, lovelies, take care of yourselves.  

Weekend Update

Unfortunately, this weekend did not include as much adventure as the one before but it was still rather lovely. After all the excitement from last week's camping trip, it was nice to stick around town and get some things done. My skin also enjoyed a bit of a break from the sunshine.

1. Dessert last week was real yummy 2. Pippin's Saturday morning face 3.Will and his brew

Friday night my mom was hosting a bridal shower for a friend, so Will and I got my dad out of the house and met Bee and Tyler at the theater. The unanimous selection was obviously Star Trek: Into Darkness. We're all Sci-Fi enthusiasts over here, and my father instilled a love of all the great classics in me. I have loved the reboot but I think this second film by far outshone the first. That opinion may be partially swayed by the fact that I am completely enamored with Benedict Cumberbatch. If you haven't seen BBC's Sherlock, YOU GO DO THAT RIGHT NOW (I'll see you in a few days). Anyway, Khan is just such a good character. Go see this movie; it's definitely one that is worth the money.



Saturday was casual and I loved it. I slept in a bit, ate good food, and got a lot of chores done around the house that I had kept putting off. Will was even more productive than me. After showing up at the campsite last Friday and realizing our headlamps' batteries were dead,  he went through all the camping equipment and took inventory. Did I mention that we have found FOUR ticks on Pippin so far this year?! Those things are nasty. Keep your pups safe.

Sunday we had a little celebration for my sister, Jenica. She graduated earlier this month from the University of Idaho with her Master's in Teaching English as a Second Language. Lots of time with family and lots of food. I made a delicious, healthy quinoa salad that was a hit; I'll probably share the recipe for it here soon.

^ my siblings and I ^

After that winded down, Will and I went out with Jeni and her boyfriend Kirk for a beer. Then I grabbed my groceries for the week! I'm excited for this weeks Revolt recipes.

Hope your weekend was lovely as well.

Spinach Pesto Pizza and The Best Pizza Crust Ever

Let me brag for a minute. Will and I are the best pizza makers ever. Okay, I'm done.

No, but really, we make a mean pizza pie. And by mean I obviously mean absolutely delicious. It's our go to when we cook food for friends or family. I've got the crust down and Will makes the best sauces, both tomato and pesto. Unfortunately, basil isn't quite in season yet and buying enough to make fresh pesto now is a little difficult. But we were in the mood for it, so we cheated and used store-bought pesto for this recipe. I'll definitely share his pesto recipe with you in the late summer time!

But don't you fret, I'll still share my legendary dough with you now. I've tried many many many different recipes and this is by far my favorite. That might be because this is also the easiest, but I swear it turns out perfect every time. I even healthified it a bit (I had this pizza yesterday on my cheat day, but didn't want to cheat too much, ya know?) and it is still equally delicious.

The Best Pizza Dough Ever, makes one thin large pizza (double for two thin pizzas or a thick fluffy crust):

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/8 teaspoons yeast or 1/2 a 0.25oz package of yeast
1/2 of a tablespoon Truvia
1 tsp salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 of a cup warm water

Mix the first four ingredients together in a kitchen mixer or in a bowl with a wooden spoon. Once combined slowly pour in the warm water and mix with the dry ingredients thoroughly. Also add the olive oil at this time. If making in a stand mixer, allow your mixer to knead it for you for a few minutes while you add in a bit more water, if needed.

No need to let your dough rise (I've tried both letting this dough rise and using it right away. It did not seems to make a huge difference to me). Remove the dough from your bowl and place on a clean, floured service. Knead the dough and work it around in your hands a bit, for 2 minutes or more. Gently roll the dough out as large and thin as desired. Place on to a pizza baking sheet or a baking stone and roll the edges up to form a crust. You can now add toppings to the crust.

Spinach Pesto Pizza:

1/4 a red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 a red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 tomato, thinly sliced
1 cup spinach
1/4 of a cup fresh basil
1 cup fresh shredded mozzarella cheese
pesto sauce

Onto your prepared crust spread pesto. I know pesto is tempting and delicious, but it is also oily; so avoided soggy pizza by only spreading a thin layer. Add your thinly sliced red onion and red bell pepper. Top with half the cheese. Add the slices of tomato. Finish with spinach, breaking the leaves smaller if necessary, and fresh basil. Top with remaining mozzarella cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cheese is golden and bubbly.

Let the pizza cool for a few minutes and then slice it up! Enjoy a piece or three with some balsamic vinegar for dipping or topped with a balsamic glaze. Wine in a mason jar also helps.