Balsamic Peach Crostini

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Fresh Orange Vinaigrette

This is my go to summer dressing. Its refreshing , bright, and citrusy and goes so well on so many different salads. I love to use it on beets or berry salads, along with green salads.

Fresh Orange Vinaigrette

Ingredients

• 1/3 c. Olive Oil
• 1/3 c. Canola Oil
• 1/3 c. White Sugar(or Stevia in the Raw)
• 1/3 c. Orange Juice, fresh
• 2 T. Rice Wine Vinegar
• 1/2 t. Sea Salt
• 1/2 t. Freshly Ground Pepper
• 2 T. Sweet Onion(just eyeball a slice)
• 1 drop Lemon Oil
• 5 drops Orange Oil

 Directions

1. Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until everything is completely emulsified. Store in the refrigerator.
               
       *Use 2 t. Of lemon juice instead if you don't have lemon oil.        
        *do try and find Orange Oil if you can, it adds so much flavor to the dressing that you can't get any other way! I use Wild Orange Oil by doTERRA        
        *If you will be storing the dressing in the refrigerator for more than a few days you will need to add another drop or two of orange oil the next time you serve it. Cold causes the oil's flavor to dissipate.        

Simple Chocolate Mousse with Chocolate Pearls

Smooth Chocolate mousse with little crisp chocolate pearls. Two different textures that together make me very, very happy.
Serve a little dish of thick whipped cream on the side of the mousse to make this treat exceptional.
Make this mousse a little lighter by subbing Stevia for the sugar and using coconut milk in the custard instead of heavy cream. I would still use heavy cream for the remaining 1 1/4 c. Cream or you will loose the mousse texture and consistency.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Heavy Cream
• 4 Egg Yolks
• 3 T. Sugar
• pinch of Salt
• 1 t. Vanilla Extract
• 7 oz. Semi-sweet Chocolate chips
  4 T. Callebaut chocolate pearls(Verhona makes wonderful chocolate pearls as well)
  

Heat 3/4 cup of cream in the microwave until hot. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar and salt until well combined. Slowly pour the hot cream into the egg mixture, whisking constantly until well blended. Transfer the mixture to a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens into a custard. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.
In a microwave safe bowl, melt the chocolate chips and stir until smooth.
Pour the custard through a small sieve into the melted chocolate chips. Stir the custard and chocolate until well blended and smooth. Let cool.
Whip the remaining 1 1/4 cups of heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Add 1/4 of the whipped cream to the chocolate custard and whisk in well to lighten the mixture. Add the remaining whipped cream to the lightened custard and very carefully fold in until the mixture is well combined.

Spoon the mousse into 8 ramekins and smooth the tops. Sprinkle 1/2 T. Of pearls over the top of each dish. Refrigerate the mousse for several hours, until firmly set and chilled.
Serve cold with whipped cream on the side. 

Gold & Red Beet Salad with Orange, Chèvre, Mint, & Fresh OrangeVinaigrette

I love beets. LOVE them. You may not be as big a fan, and that's ok. But maybe give this recipe a try. I've seen it turn a few haters into believers. Maybe it's the goats cheese, maybe it's the vinaigrette, I'm not sure. But one thing is for certain and that is that all these ingredients belong together.
*If you can't find golden beets, try a natural foods market like Sprouts or Whole Foods.

4 golden beets
4 red beets
3 oranges, skinned and sectioned
1/4 C. Chèvre(goats cheese), crumbled
4-5 Fresh Mint Leaves, chopped
Kosher salt and pepper, to taste
Fresh Orange Vinaigrette, to taste

Wrap each beet in tin foil and place on a baking sheet. Roast at 400 degrees for 30-50 minutes depending on size of beets. Remove from oven when beets are tender. Let beets sit for 30 minutes or so(this will allow the skins to steam and 'slip off'). Peel the beets and slice into wedges.

Arrange the beets in rows on a platter, along with the segmented oranges.
Add salt an pepper to taste.
Sprinkle the goats cheese crumbles and mint evenly over the beets.
Drizzle the vinaigrette over the beets(add as much or little as you like) and serve immediately.
If you will not be serving the salad right away keep it in the fridge and pour the vinaigrette over the beets right before service.

Watermelon Basil Lemonade

I have two favorite summertime drinks: Watermelon agua fresca and flavored lemonades. This is a bit of a cross between the two. Fresh Watermelon juice is combined with fresh squeezed lemons, and basil steeped in a simple syrup. I am trying to get away from using processed sugar so I thought this would be a good opportunity to try using something a little more natural. I made the sugar syrup with
Stevia instead of white sugar. I use Stevia in the raw which can be measured cup for cup just like sugar. If you use a pure Stevia you will most likely only need a quarter the amount of Stevia as you would using normal white sugar since the sweetness is so much more concentrated.
*This recipe makes a lot! Consider halving if you don't need a large amount.

Watermelon Basil Lemonade

1/2 large watermelon (or 1 small)
12 large lemons
2 cups Stevia in the raw
12-15 Basil Leaves
1 gallon+ Water

Combine 3 cups of the water and the stevia in a medium saucepan. Bring just to a boil and remove from the heat. Add the basil leaves to the simple syrup and submerge. Set aside to steep for about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, sliced the rind off of the watermelon and cut it into large chunks.
Working in batches, purée the watermelon in a blender, adding 1-2 cups of water to each batch. Strain the juice through a large seive into a large pitcher or drink dispenser. Discard solids.
Juice the lemons and add the juice to the watermelon juice. Add in the cooled syrup to the juice along with the remaining water(I leave the basil leaves in for more flavor!)
Taste and add more water as needed.
Chill and serve over ice.