Guacamole Salad

Avocado is one of those foods I had almost no interest in until a few years ago. Now I feel like I'm making up for all those wasted, pre-avocado years... if an entree at a restaurant comes with a mere slice of avocado, I'll probably order it. I love to find ways to sneak it into my sandwiches and salads (Ever try a bacon, avocado, and tomato sandwich? Nom.). If you swoon over avocado too, you'll want to try this guacamole salad.

This is kind of a deconstructed guacamole (yes, I have been watching a lot of Top Chef): diced tomato, avocado, jalapeno, and onion are tossed in a lime dressing. And just to make it different, the recipe also calls for some black beans and yellow pepper. If you can get local tomatoes, try out the yellow ones... they are so sweet and tasty. This is one of those recipes where you can easily play with the quantities to suit your tastes (I used less jalapeno and onion than the original, and also added some fresh cilantro).

Guacamole Salad
adapted from Barefoot Contessa at Home

Ingredients:
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and 1/2 inch diced
1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup small-diced red onion
1 Tbs minced jalapeno peppers, seeded (about 1 pepper)
1/2 tsp freshly grated lime zest
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (about 2 limes)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 ripe Hass avocados, seeded, peeled, and 1/2 inch diced
chopped cilantro, for garnish (optional)

Directions:
Place tomatoes, yellow pepper, black beans, red onion, jalapeno, and lime zest in a large bowl. Whisk together lime juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, and cayenne and pour over vegetables. Toss well.

Just before serving, fold in avocado. Check seasoning and serve at room temperature.

Serves 6


Download a printable recipe.
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Salted Caramel Ice Cream

It was 104 degrees earlier this week. What other option did I have?

This honestly wasn't the easiest ice cream I've ever made, but it was definitely best. There were lots of mixing bowls involved. It required making both a custard and caramel on the stove top. It took forever to chill the mixture before I could put it in the ice cream maker. But I'd do it all over again-this was crazy delicious.

Here's a tip for you other caramel-making novices: when you add the cream to the sugar, keep the heat at medium. It bubbles like crazy, so I made the mistake of turning the heat down a little bit, and the caramel siezed up. I almost cried got a little worried, but turning the heat back up fixed the problem. It took a little while to melt it all down, but no harm was done.

We just ate this by itself, but I think it would be amazing scooped on a brownie or alongside some apple pie.

Salted Caramel Ice Cream
from Gourmet

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
2 1/4 cups heavy cream, divided
1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt such as Maldon
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup whole milk
3 large eggs

Directions:

1. Heat 1 cup sugar in a dry 10-inch heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring with a fork to heat sugar evenly, until it starts to melt, then stop stirring and cook, swirling skillet occasionally so sugar melts evenly, until it is dark amber.

2. Add 1 1/4 cups cream (mixture will spatter) and cook, stirring, until all of caramel has dissolved. Transfer to a bowl and stir in sea salt and vanilla. Cool to room temperature.

3. Meanwhile, bring milk, remaining cup cream, and remaining 1/4 cup sugar just to a boil in a small heavy saucepan, stirring occasionally.

4. Lightly whisk eggs in a medium bowl, then add half of hot milk mixture in a slow stream, whisking constantly. Pour back into saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until custard coats back of spoon and registers 170°F on an instant-read thermometer (do not let boil). Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl, then stir in cooled caramel.

5. Chill custard, stirring occasionally, until very cold, 3 to 6 hours. Freeze custard in ice cream maker (it will still be quite soft), then transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer to firm up.

Yield: Makes about 1 quart

Download a printable recipe.

Portobella Mushroom Burgers with Shoestring Fries

Tonight's blog post is a new favorite of ours, portobella burgers!  Since the farmers market opened over a month ago, I've made it a point to stop by the local mushroom guy's booth every week and buy some fungus.  Usually it's the oyster / shitake blend, sometimes its the giant portobella caps.  We made these a few weeks ago and sadly didn't take pictures (we do that a lot), and they were so good that we knew we'd be making them again.  The portobellas are nice and meaty and the combination of the dijon mustard, swiss cheese, and avocado is quite tasty!  I suggest anyone who's afraid of mushrooms, or isn't so sure they like them, to try this recipe, it's a guaranteed thumbs up.

We needed a side dish and what better side is there with a burger than french fries?  I've made these a couple times, and I'm a big fan.  They couldn't be easier to make, and are quite tasty with just salt and pepper.  You could go nuts and add all kinds of seasonings to them, but we'll stick to the tried and true recipe here.  The trick is to soak the fries in water before you bake them, it has something to do with the starches and helping them cook better, I don't know, but I know it works!  Hey, I read it in Cook's Illustrated, and I'll believe anything they tell me. ;)

Portobella Mushroom Burgers

Ingredients:
4 or 5 large portobella mushroom caps
4 slices of swiss cheese (or about 3/4 cup shredded swiss)
1/2 avocado (sliced into strips)
dijon mustard
2 kaiser or challah rolls, sliced in half and toasted
canola oil cooking spray
salt and pepper

Directions:

Heat a large nonstick or cast iron skillet over medium high heat and coat the bottom with a little bit of canola oil cooking spray.  While skillet heats, remove the stems and gills of the mushrooms using a spoon.

Place the portobellas stem side up in the skillet and spray a little cooking spray on each cap, then sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Cook for 5-8 minutes (cooking time depends on the thickness of each mushrrom cap) until bottom of mushroom starts to brown and a little liquid starts to collect inside cap of the mushroom.  Flip each cap, spraying with cooking spray, and salt and pepper each.

Cook for another 5-8 minutes until they have browned nicely and shrunk in size.  Top each cap with cheese, evenly divided, turn off the heat and cover the skillet.  Cheese should be melted nicely in 2-3 minutes.

Remove from skillet and place on toasted rolls with dijon mustard and sliced avocado.  Enjoy!  Makes 2 burgers.

Download a printable recipe here!
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Shoestring French Fries

Ingredients:
2 russet potatoes (cut into 1/4" strips using a knife or mandolin)
canola oil cooking spray
salt & pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Cut potatoes into strips and place in a large bowl.  Cover the fries with cold water and let them soak for about 10 minutes.  Drain the water and dry the fries completely on sheets of paper towels.  Place the fries in a single layer on baking sheets that were sprayed with cooking spray. It is important to put them in a single layer and not piled on top of each other.  Spray a little cooking spray on the fries, then sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.  Bake for about 30 minutes or until fries are golden brown.  You can flip them after 20 minutes, but it is not necessary.  Note: You can also make sweet potato french fries, as you can see, but be careful not to overcook them.  They take less time to cook (about 15-20 minutes) and burn easily, so keep your eye on them.

Serves 2.

30 Minute Tortellini Salad with Cherry Tomatoes, Arugula, and Pine Nuts

I don't know about you,  but I have no desire to eat a bowl of hot pasta when it's almost 100 degrees outside. I do, however, have no issue with scarfing down a bowl of cold pasta. This tortellini salad is a great meal for those summer nights when you can't bear to eat anything hot.  This is quick and easy to throw together, and it's got two of my favorite summer foods: tomatoes and basil. You could easily play around with this recipe to suit your tastes. Don't like arugula? Use baby spinach. Can't bear to have a meal without meat? Add some grilled chicken. And may I suggest some feta in place of the Parmesan?

It's supposed to be scorching hot all week, so give this one a try.

30 Minute Tortellini Salad with Cherry Tomatoes, Arugula, and Pine Nuts
from The Best 30 Minute Recipe

Ingredients:
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, shredded
1 shallot, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
salt and ground black pepper
2 (9 oz) packages fresh cheese tortellini
1 pint cherry tomatoes
2 cups baby arugula
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

Directions:
1. Bring 4 quarts of water to boil in a large pot.

2. Meanwhile, whisk olive oil, lemon juice, basil, shallot, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper together in a bowl large enough to hold the entire pasta salad. Halve the cherry tomatoes, set aside.

3. Add the tortellini and 1 tablespoon salt to the boiling water and cook according to package directions, until tender. Drain, shaking off excess water.

4. Add tortellini and tomatoes to bowl with the dressing and toss. Cover and refrigerate until cooled, at least 15 minutes (15 minutes will give you lukewarm pasta; go longer if you want it cold).

5. Before serving, stir in arugula, Parmesan, and pine nuts. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 4 to 6


Download a printable recipe.
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Healthy Banana Blueberry Muffins

Yes, these muffins are kinda healthy. They contain whole wheat flour, bananas, blueberries, and even wheat germ. I made them even healthier by swapping out half of the butter for yogurt (I needed the rest of the butter to slather on the finished product. Obviously.). And by some miracle, they do not taste like tree bark. In fact, they are delicious. It must be all of the sugar.

Healthy Banana Blueberry Muffins
adapted from marthastewart.com

Ingredients:

1 cup white whole-wheat flour (spooned and leveled)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1/4 cup wheat germ
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light-brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 ripe bananas (about 1 pound)
1/3 cup reduced-fat (2 percent) milk
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup frozen blueberries
   
Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. In a bowl, whisk together flours, wheat germ, baking soda, and salt.

2. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. In another bowl, mash bananas with a fork (you should have 3/4 cup); stir in milk, yogurt, and vanilla.

3. With mixer on low, alternately add flour mixture and banana mixture to butter mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix just until combined. Fold in frozen blueberries.

4. Divide batter among muffin cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 28 minutes, rotating pan halfway through. Let cool in pan 10 minutes; transfer muffins to a rack to cool 10 minutes more.

Makes 12 muffins.

Download a printable recipe.
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