Unexpected Heat

August in Florida is crazy hot, but we’ve been blessed with a few cooler nights, a gentle breeze and less humidity over the last few days. While the outside temps may have cooled down slightly, our kitchen unexpectedly became very hot last night. I was washing berries in the sink and preheating the oven to bake cinnamon apples when the lights began to flicker and then I heard a loud POP! I turned to see the oven light on and a small glowing flame growing brighter and brighter on the element. The oven door locked shut and the electronic panel was completely black. I quickly called my mom to the kitchen. When the door unlocked, she grabbed the baking soda to try smothering the flame and I reached for the fire extinguisher. Oh my goodness, have you ever read the warnings on a fire extinguisher? “STAND BACK 6 FEET…FLAME MAY APPEAR TO GROW LARGER AS CONTENTS MAKE FIRST CONTACT.” Um, no thank you…all I could think about was backdraft and I envisioned this huge blaze of fire flaming out of the oven.

We closed the oven door and mom set out to find the circuit breaker for our oven. Fifteen years in our house and we had not known which breaker would disconnect the oven. After many minutes of turning switches on and off with the oven getting hotter and hotter and us both praying for mom to have Divine guidance to the breaker, she located the switch and the power to the oven was turned off. Praise the Lord! Now we are awaiting repairs…or a new oven, whichever the case may be.

In the meantime, we still have our stovetop to cook on, but it is also a good time to focus on raw foods. So, one delicious breakfast choice is hummus with veggies and a green smoothie. I think this makes a good breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner, midnight snack…pretty much anytime.

The hummus and the smoothie were both made in the Vitamix. It takes just minutes to toss all of the ingredients in and viola, you have a great meal!

Green Smoothie
Serves 2

1 1/2 Cups Filtered Water
2 Granny Smith Apples
2 Pears
1 Lemon, Juiced
4 Kale Leaves
1-2 Cups Spinach
Ginger, to taste

Combine all ingredients. Mix until well blended. Pour and enjoy!


Hummus

1/4 Cup Filtered Water
1/4 Cup Fresh Lemon Juice
1/4 Cup Sesame Seeds
2 Cans Garbanzo Beans, Drained
1 Tsp. Cumin
1 Clove Garlic
1 Tbsp. Olive Oil

Combine all ingredients. Mix until well combined. Serve with fresh veggies.