Before August runs away from me in the same manner that July did, let me share some bits and bobs from my summer thus far. First off, no, I didn’t travel anywhere other than a day-trip to Lisbon. This was my first trip down the mountain since December 22, 2023! Yes, I have fully embraced the recluse life and no, I don’t regret it one bit. How do I manage? Pretty well actually, since all my groceries are delivered, amazon finds its way 85% of the time, and that’s about it.
Let’s talk about watermelons. Many of you will no doubt share my skepticism for this fruit and I don’t really blame you. I grew up with it in Mexico, the Philippines and kept running into it in just about every country I moved to. Needless to say I was never impressed, and found it to be one of the most boring fruits on the planet. While living in Thailand I stumbled on a recipe for cold watermelon gazpacho and that was a game changer. I finally found a use for watermelon that I could actually enjoy and it is a wonderfully refreshing summer dish when paired with fresh bread and cheese. Most watermelon gazpacho recipes online combine watermelon with tomato, which I don’t particularly like because the flavours cancel each other out, so here is my version.
FrogDiva Watermelon Gazpacho
Blend fresh watermelon chunks to produce 5 cups puree.
Add 2 cloves of garlic
1/2 tsp lemon or herbal salt
1 tbsp lemon or lime juice
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp piri piri powder OR 1/2 tsp chopped dried chillies*
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Blend all the ingredients together and chill for an hour before serving. Garnish with creme fraiche or ricotta cheese, chopped chives**, and serve with bread and cheese.
* if you prefer to use fresh green chillies like jalapeño or Serrano, it works just as well if not better.
** many will serve this topped with chopped cilantro but since this is not everyone’s favourite, myself included, I use chives or parsley, depending on what I have.
When I moved to Portugal, I continued to avoid watermelons, although they are in abundance here but it wasn’t until this year that I finally decided to get one. Now I don’t know whether I got lucky or this is the standard, but gosh was that watermelon was as sweet as a Philippine mango! I was so stunned that I had to think twice what to do with the rest of it.
First off, I chopped it up and placed it in a large plastic container and kept it in the fridge. One portion was used in salads, paired with grilled butternut squash and apples. Absolutely divine for these scorching hot days! Another portion I blended into juice and it has kept me hydrated without getting bored with water. No water or sugar added, just pure delicious watermelon juice. Lastly, the remainder of the watermelon was pureed and frozen in cubes so that they can either be added to sangrias later on used in iced tea. Another tip is to pour ginger ale over the watermelon ice cubes and garnish with fresh mint.
This is probably the first time I have been so enthusiastic about watermelon in my life. If I weren’t cutting down on sugar I would have gone ahead and made watermelon jelly or even watermelon mochi, both recipes I found on Pinterest but haven’t tried yet. It was very tempting to make watermelon sorbet as well, but the effort didn’t seem worth it for just one person, so I munched on a lot of the fresh fruit as well.
Moving on, let me share my experiences with an air-fryer. I am often late to jump on the bandwagon with many of the latest gadget or trends, this one included. When my daughter asked what I wanted for my birthday, an air fryer was at the top of my list, and it has revolutionised my concept of nutrition and way of cooking. I hardly use any oil now and thoroughly enjoy the results coming out of the air fryer, including spring rolls. I spent years depriving myself of certain goodies because of the sheer amount of oil it entails to cook them but now I can enjoy the goodness without swimming in all the grease. However, like the beginning of any other relationship, we were off to a bumpy start. Several things were undercooked or overcooked, and I had to re-evaluate the proportions, cooking times and temperatures. I pretty much have the hang of it now, and it is such a joy!
Update on my intermittent fasting (IF): I began my IF journey in April, opting for the 16:8 schedule given my age. The first three days were a bit of a struggle, and I was often tempted to binge or snack after the cut-off hours. However, my body adjusted well by the fourth day and I didn’t even have the urge to snack anymore. It depends on what your workday is like and how you integrate IF into your daily routine, but my eight-hour window is from 08:00 – 16:00, but I have reached the stage where I actually follow a 09:00-16:00 window because I don’t really feel compelled to eat at 08:00 and on some days I just stop eating at 15:00. Originally I wanted to drop some weight for my birthday, but once I got started on the IF journey I was hooked, and the results were visible. Thus far I have dropped three dress sizes and feel very comfortable in my skin, so I will continue indefinitely. I do allow myself one cheat day a week, and that is more than enough for me. The best part? It is as if my body has completely overhauled and rebooted. My blood pressure has never been better and I have far less migraines. I’m still affected by the full moon but on the whole insomnia has drastically diminished.
Lastly, let me tell you something nutty – as in peanut butter nutty. This has been a staple in my diet ever since I remember. Yes, I was a PBJ kid and passed it on to my daughter. But we grow up and older, and have to eat healthier. Peanut butter is much more expensive here in Europe compared to Asia or North America. Peanuts, on the other hand, are inexpensive – at least here in Portugal so I did a little research and discovered much to my delight that it is unbelievably easy to make your own peanut butter at home and can control the oil and sugar that goes in.
My first attempt was a solid block that I would chop but not spread. The second attempt was far too oily and although it was delicious, it wasn’t what I was after. Finally, the batch I made last night was the best!
Froggy Peanut Butter
2 cups roasted peanuts
1 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 tsp salt*
Blend for five minutes in a food processor at high speed until the texture becomes creamy. Place in sterile jars and allow to sit overnight before serving. Shelf life is three weeks at room temperature.
* I don’t add the salt but it is up to you.
For a twist, you can make Pecan Butter instead using
3 cups pecan halves
1 Tbsp coconut sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt.
Today’s blog entry on The Esoteric Frog:
FrogDiva Thoughts 