Tag

avocado

Guacamole Black Bean Wraps

written by Ali

If you are looking for a quick and easy lunch for this new year, look no further than guacamole black bean wraps. Homemade guacamole is the star of this recipe. With just a few other ingredients, you’ll have lunch ready to go in no time.

I’m paring my guacamole black bean wraps with a kale salad this week. I’m continuing to experiment with kefir – I promise there will be tips and recipes featuring kefir coming up soon on the blog. I’ve managed to keep my kefir grains healthy and happy for several weeks now. What’s that got to do with kale salad? Well, I made a great ranch kefir dressing, which also made a pretty good dipping sauce for the wraps.

I can’t wait for tomatoes to be in season again. It’s been warm here on the coast, and I’m starting to long for spring. Fresh tomatoes would go great in this guacamole. In the absence of that, some local shallots worked out really well. A little lime and some cilantro and salt rounds out the guac. Black beans, cheese and tortillas and there’s lunch. This will definitely make my week much easier.

Yum

Guacamole Black Bean Wraps

Ingredients

4 flour tortillas
2 large avocados
1/4 shallot, chopped finely
2 tablespoons cilantro
Juice from 1/2 lime
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup shredded cheese
Salt to taste

Instructions

Combine the avocados, shallots, cilantro, and lime. Mash the avocado and salt to taste.
Warm the tortillas in a skillet or for a few minutes in a preheated oven.
Spread the guacamole evenly between the four tortillas. Divide the black beans and the cheese and spread on top of the guacamole. Roll the wraps by folding the top and bottom of the tortilla over the ingredients and then rolling up the sides.
Serves 4. Enjoy!

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January 16, 2018 0 comment

Appetizers Breakfast Farmer's Market Lunch Recipes Vegetarian

Avocado Green Curry Deviled Eggs

written by Ali

If you are looking for a tasty protein treat for your mornings, look no further than these avocado green curry deviled eggs. One of the bad habits I got into in when I lived in Vancouver was going to the bagel shop many, many mornings during the week. They made a mean Americano and I loved, loved, loved the everything bagel with either pesto cream cheese or veggie cream cheese. In terms of my overall health, though, this probably wasn’t the best for me. Fortunately, there is no easily accessible bagel place where I’m living now, so I’ve gone back to an old standard for breakfast: Greek yogurt with homemade granola and a hard-boiled egg. Super exciting, I know.

I decided this week I’d shake things up a bit with the hard-boiled egg and do a riff on a deviled egg, creating these avocado green curry deviled eggs. I had green curry paste from last week’s asparagus tofu green curry, so thought I might as well make use of it. This is a super easy recipe and positively great for a breakfast treat or an appetizer. The one challenging thing with this recipe for me is that it’s not a great idea to prep days-worth of deviled eggs all at once, so I’ve been making these one at a time, on an as needed basis. If you do this the night before, note that your avocado will oxidize. It tastes just fine – just looks a bit sad and brown. If I was making these avocado green curry deviled eggs for a party, I’d definitely make them right before serving.

Yum

Avocado Green Curry Deviled Eggs

Ingredients

6 hard boiled eggs
1 ripe avocado
2 teaspoons green curry paste
salt to taste

Instructions

Split each hard boiled egg into two and scoop out the yolk. Combine the yolk, avocado, and green curry paste in a small bowl. Salt to taste. Add a scoop of the yolk and avocado mixture to each egg.
Enjoy!

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May 22, 2017 0 comment

Lunch Recipes Quick and Easy Vegetarian

White Bean Avocado Wrap

written by Ali

Sometimes it’s good to have a quick lunch recipe on hand, like this white bean avocado wrap. Looking at my calendar, I already know it’s going to be a very busy week, with just two days when I’ll have time for lunch at my desk. As I was thinking about food prep this week, I also thought it might be a good time to do a little cupboard clean out. We have plenty of rice, several cans of Great Northern White Beans, and a couple of avocados that are just ripe. Toss in some cilantro and lime and throw it all in a tortilla and lunch comes together in a short period of time.

I love jasmine rice. It’s the perfect filler for my white bean avocado wrap. It’s so light and fluffy and pretty. You could definitely make these with brown rice as well, though I have to confess brown rice is not my favorite grain. It’s so…grainy.

White beans get gently mashed and get spread on the tortilla first. Avocado goes next and then rice covers it all. then it gets wrapped up and either wrapped in parchment paper or foil and goes into the fridge for the next day’s lunch.

The Great Northern White Beans add a great non-meaty, meaty texture to the white bean avocado wrap. Serve with a spinach salad and a few mandarin oranges and you’ll be set for the day.

Yum

White Bean Avocado Wrap

Ingredients

4 white or whole wheat tortillas
2 cans Great Northern White Beans or cannellini beans
2 avocados
2 cups cooked white rice
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
juice from one lime
1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Drain and rinse the beans. Gently mash with a fork, leaving some beans whole.
Spread 1/4 of the beans on each tortilla in the middle. Split open the avocados and scoop out the avocado, 1/2 of each avocado spread on each tortilla.
Add the chopped cilantro, the juice from the lime, and the salt to the rice and stir to incorporate. Heap 1/2 cup of the rice over the avocado and beans on each tortilla. Fold the top and bottom of the tortilla toward the middle, over the rice/avocado/bean mix. Fold each side in and roll so that you have a tight wrap.
Enjoy! Serves 4 and can be made in advance and stored in the fridge for a couple of days.

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This post is linked up to Tinned Tomatoes Meat Free Monday. Check it out!

It’s also linked up to Meatless Monday, co-hosted by Confessions of a Mother Runner and A Whisk and Two Wands.

February 20, 2017 3 comments

Appetizers Quick and Easy Snacks Vegetarian

Avocado Burrata Toasts

written by Ali

Avocado Burrata Toasts were just what I needed today to cheer myself up. We had a historic snowstorm here in the Portland area on Wednesday with equally historic low temperatures, so the snow and ice is still on the ground. I’d already been dreaming, for weeks, about spring. Four daffodils were already poking out of the ground in the front. Now, they are buried by eight inches of snow that refuses to melt. I just desperately need to get my hands in dirt and plant something. I keep wandering around the house, asking Clay if it is asparagus season yet. January and I are not friends.

When we got back from the grocery store this afternoon, I decided it was time to make a cheery snack. I still had a ball of burrata left from last week’s pasta dish, so opted to pair it with a very ripe avocado. If I was a football watcher, avocado burrata toasts are something I would totally go for as an appetizer for the Super Bowl – maybe paired with a ginger cider or an ale. But since I’m not, I’ll just eat these while curled up on the couch with a good book.

I opted to use two kinds of salt on the avocado burrata toasts. My wonderful husband gave me a salt sampler for Christmas (he knows the way to this blogger’s heart). I used a little bit of fleur de sel and some black lava salt for contrast. Just a bit goes a long way. It didn’t hurt anything that I also used a generous amount of unsalted butter to toast the bread.

The avocado burrata toasts did the trick – I felt a little sunnier after I’d snacked on them. I still resent the snow and would like to push a fast forward button on what’s left of the winter. I’ll just bury my winter blues in these toasts and know that somewhere under that snow, the daffodils are on their way.

Yum

Avocado Burrata Toasts

Ingredients

1 ripe avocado
1 ball burrata cheese
8 - 10 slices of French bread
1 tablespoon butter, softened
Fleur de Sel salt
Black lava salt

Instructions

Preheat the broiler. Butter each slice of French bread generously and place in a single layer on a baking sheet. Broil for 5 - 7 minutes or until toasty brown (time will depend on your oven).
Once the toasts are golden and crisp, mash a little bit of the avocado on each toast. Top with burrata cheese (use a combination of the creamy inside as well as the outer part of the cheese). Sprinkle with salt and enjoy!
Serves 2 as a snack and 4 as an appetizer

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January 15, 2017 5 comments

Breakfast Holiday Recipes

Bacon Avocado Eggs Benedict

written by Ali

One of the great joys of the holiday season is creating and trying out new recipes, like this Bacon Avocado Eggs Benedict. I’d never eaten Eggs Benedict before we moved to Washington. I’ll confess that I have been fairly intimidated by runny yolks on eggs. It’s just one of those quirky things. As a kid, I absolutely hated eggs. I could sort of tolerate them scrambled, with plenty of salt and butter. My grandmother, who was a firm believer in eggs as a key protein, would make pancakes that were more egg than pancake to disguise the eggs, but still get me to eat them. I really thought that hard-boiled eggs were the absolute worst; they struck me as a rubbery abomination.

Fortunately, I grew out of my egg aversion with a vengeance. I started eating hard boiled eggs when I lived in the Marshall Islands. They were a cheap and easy source of protein and with enough salt on them, they weren’t too bad. My relationship with eggs really changed when I met Clay – he makes the most amazing fluffy scrambled eggs and when combined with fried potatoes and avocado in a breakfast burrito, I’m in foodie heaven. Of course, when we moved to Oregon and I started getting farmer’s market eggs, I learned that not all eggs are created equal. My first encounter with a really fresh egg with a deep golden yolk was transformative. Since then, I’ve been really curious about what people see in a runny egg yolk.

I eased into Eggs Benedict, starting out by ordering hard poached eggs. And then one day, I didn’t bother and experienced a lovely golden egg yolk running all over my English muffin. Oh, yum.

So this year, I decided it would be great fun to make my own hollandaise sauce, my own English muffins, and recreate my favorite Eggs Benedict dish with bacon and avocado. This Bacon Avocado Eggs Benedict would be the perfect way to start the New Year. Timing wise, this makes an ideal brunch.

The biggest challenge I encountered with this was the timing of all the parts. So here’s what I learned:

I recommend making your own English Muffins. My recipe is linked. You can start the dough the night before, taking it all the way through the first rise. Punch down the dough and put it in the fridge overnight. Take it out thirty minutes before you shape the dough into the English muffins and proceed as directed from there.
Cook the bacon in advance and reheat it.
Cook the Hollandaise and then set it aside while you poach the eggs. Reheat it gently over very low heat until it is lukewarm. Be sure to keep whisking it as you do this so the emulsion doesn’t fall apart.
If you aren’t into poached eggs, fry your eggs instead. You’ll never notice the difference under all the Hollandaise.

Most importantly, enjoy!

Yum

Bacon Avocado Eggs Benedict

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

Hollandaise Sauce

3 egg yolks
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup slightly softened butter, cut into tablespoon sized slices

Eggs Benedict

8 strips cooked bacon
2 avocados, sliced
4 English muffins, split in half and toasted
8 poached eggs
Hollandaise sauce
Freshly ground pepper

Instructions

To make the Hollandaise Sauce

Off the burner, combine the egg yolks, water, and lemon in a small saucepan. Whisk to combine.
Put the saucepan over a burner set on low heat. Whisk constantly until the eggs begin to get frothy and start to thicken. There will be a noticeable change in the egg mixture - they will begin to increase in volume as well as will start to get thick enough you will be able to see the bottom of the saucepan as you whisk. When this occurs, take the eggs off the heat and whisk in the butter, one tablespoon at a time. When one tablespoon of butter is fully incorporated, add the next until it's all been added.

To assemble the Bacon Avocado Eggs Benedict

Split each strip of bacon into two pieces. Lay two pieces of bacon on each half of the English muffins. Lay one or two slices of avocado on top of each English muffin. Lay the poached eggs on top of the avocado and then divide the Hollandaise sauce equally over each muffin. Grind fresh pepper over each.
Enjoy!

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December 26, 2016 42 comments

Farmer's Market Lunch Recipes Quick and Easy Vegetarian

Fall Lentil Bowl

written by Ali

I spent the last two weeks traveling across the country to two very good workforce development conferences. I ate some great food, but to be honest, I was so ready to be eating at home again. This week, in addition to feeling like I’m going to have to crawl out from a mountain of paperwork and emails, I’m also eager to eat healthy, satisfying, and low-salt lunches at my desk, which is what inspired me to create this recipe for fall lentil bowls.

I also have been feeling like it’s time to clean out the pantry. I have a habit of buying interesting ingredients, whether it be lentils or pasta or winter squash, and thinking that I’ll eventually get around to cooking with them. In this case, I purchased some beluga lentils from Trader Joe’s months ago and decided today that I was really in the mood for a lentil dish. Beluga lentils are tiny black lentils that keep their shape and don’t get mushy. They are perfect for a base for adding various toppings. And since it’s fall, I thought it might be time to start eating the winter squash that are hanging out in storage in our garage.

I used Delicata squash, parsnips, almonds, hard-boiled eggs, and avocado for this recipe, but you could certainly add other ingredients – other squash, other nuts, maybe even spinach or other greens. If you wanted to create a vegan dish, leave the eggs out. I would imagine that this would also be good with a fried egg or poached egg, but I didn’t think either would hold up well for a night in the fridge before I go to work.

Fall Lentil Bowl
Serves 4

1 cup beluga lentils
2 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1 Delicata squash
2 parsnips
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup almonds
2 avocados
4 hard boiled eggs

Tahini Dressing
1/2 cup tahini
1/2 cup water
Juice from 1/2 a lemon
Pinch of salt
A few grinds of fresh pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add the lentils and salt, cover, and turn the heat down to a simmer. Simmer for 20-25 minutes or until lentils are soft and water is absorbed. Set aside.

While the lentils are cooking, prepare the squash and parsnips. Cut the squash into 1/2 inch slices and de-seed each slice. Cut the parsnips into cubes. Put the squash and parsnip cubes in a single layer on a parchment lined baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Roast for 50-60 minutes, flipping the squash and parsnip cubes once so both sides get golden brown.

Make the tahini dressing by combining the tahini, water, lemon, salt and pepper in a small bowl or jar. Whisk until thoroughly combined.

To assemble the bowls, split the lentils between four bowls. Divide the squash, parsnips, avocado, almonds, and hard-boiled eggs between each. Spoon the tahini dressing over the top and enjoy!

(I assemble part of the bowls in advance – the lentils, the squash, the parsnips, the almonds and the dressing, and then add the avocado and egg the night before I plan to eat the bowl for lunch).

October 17, 2016 0 comment

Farmer's Market Lunch Recipes Salad

Roasted Asparagus and Egg Salad

written by Ali

I have an obsession with chickens. I blame my formative years of watching The Muppet Show and being particularly fond of Gonzo and his chickens. Someday, when I’m landed in one spot that allows for urban hens, I’m determined to have my own chicken flock. For the time being, however, in a rural agricultural area, it’s easy enough to have conversations with others at work that have, or have had, rural or urban livestock. I was fortunate at my past job to have a co-worker who raises hens and also has guinea fowl. I had the chance to hear many stories about her flock, including quite a few stories about the guinea rooster who has a propensity for chasing after the chickens. I don’t think it’s a guinea rooster who is going to be long for this world because of his bullying behavior, in fact. The guinea hens, however, are apparently champion layers. One day a few weeks ago, my co-worker offered to bring me a dozen guinea hen eggs, and of course, I accepted.

Guinea hen eggs are smaller than chicken eggs and a bit pointier on one end. As I did some research to figure out what to do with these, I learned that one major difference between guinea hen eggs and chicken eggs is that the former are have much thicker shells, so can be tougher to crack. The actual eggs are described as having a deeper yellow yolk and as being creamier and more egg-y than chicken eggs.

I’m not sure why there is something a bit strange to me about eating an egg that didn’t come from a chicken. I’ve passed up duck eggs and geese eggs at the farmers market before, but I think I’m a convert now for non-chicken eggs. The guinea hen eggs are spectacular – the yolks are golden, and I think I may use the seven eggs I have left and make some homemade pasta with them. As is, they boiled up beautifully. Indeed, the only challenge was that I had to really whack them to break up the sh

ells – the shells are so thick!

This salad could definitely be made with hard-boiled chicken eggs as well. If you happen to have access to a different kind of bird egg, though, I encourage you to try them.

Roasted Asparagus and Egg Salad
Serves 2

4 hard boiled eggs, peeled
½ bunch asparagus, ends trimmed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread the asparagus in a single layer on the sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt. Bake for 10 minutes and then flip the asparagus. Bake for another 10 -15 minutes, until asparagus is a bit crisped and soft. Plate with the hard boiled eggs on top and drizzle with lemony avocado dressing.

Lemony Avocado Dressing
Juice from ½ lemon
½ avocado
2 tablespoons olive oil

Combine all ingredients in a blender. Add a bit of water or more olive oil if the dressing is too thick.

February 18, 2016 0 comment