Curious Citrus

We love to foster curiosity in our house and it can be so much fun. My husband especially enjoys browsing the produce department when he's doing the shopping and bringing home foods we've never tried before. Last week he showed up with kumquats and a Buddha's hand. Leah researched Buddha's hand and Natalie, for her part, took the kumquats. They were each asked to find with three recipes we could try that were affordable and not too complicated. Here is what they came up with. I've marked the favorite recipes in bold. And it gave us a chance to pull out the waffle maker and jazz up our weekly breakfast for dinner.

Buddha's Hand Vinaigrette for Salads

Candied Buddha's Hand Citron
(we saved the syrup and have been adding it to smoothies)

Buttermilk Waffles with Buddha's Hand

Seared Venison with Kumquat Compote

Sautéed Chicken Over Wilted Spinach with Kumquat Sauce
(I made plain penne pasta to go with this)

Kumquat Apple Ginger Green Smoothie

The smoothie was delicious but really requires a high-powered blender to mix all of the ingredients well. Adam has been seeing new Vitamix blenders every now and again on local for sale groups... I guess people get them as Christmas or wedding presents and don't want them. Hopefully we can get an affordable one soon!!! I remember when I reviewed Green for Life: The Updated Classic on Green Smoothie Nutritionand was so excited about a daily green smoothie because the research was so compelling and the recipes sounded so delicious (and Eric Fairman's 8th grade Nutrition block even suggests rewriting the food pyramid with GREENS on the bottom) but my Oster blender just wasn't up to the task!