Creamy Mashed Avocado Corn Salsa

Did you know summer is corn and avocado season? I did. And I LOVE IT. Especially since these are two of my favorite things in the fresh produce section. Then even more so when you can make a decadent, delisious salad topper, dip or side for next to nothing. Ladies and gentlemen, please enjoy this recipe - and if it is in the summer, at a crazy affordable price!

 

Ingredients

• 1 Avocado
• 2 ears of corn
• GOOD balsamic
• 1 tablesoon fresh salsa or 1 small tomato, chopped
• feta cheese
• salt and pepper to taste

Roast corn on the cob. I do this by turning on my gas burner to low and putting a de-husked corn directly over flame, lightly browning all sides. Set corn to the side to cool.

In a large bowl, place avocado flesh. Mash to desired consistency.

Cut corn off of the cob. Add to large bowl with avocado then add salt and pepper (to taste), tomato and/or salsa, and about a tsp good balsamic. Mix together so it is all incorporated. At this point you can add in feta if you would like or just use as dip. I like to put greens on the side then sprinkle feta and balsamic on it and eat it as a salad. My 6-year old daughter loves it! She loves corn and the creamy avocado, if mashed and blended enough, is hidden in the dish.

Enjoy! :)

Strawberry Lemonade Sangria

This one goes out to reminiscing about last summer with my sister... although she can't enjoy these until NEXT summer with me. Which is a good thing for two reasons 1) Summer is almost over, and more importantly, 2) she is blessing me with my first niece of nephew soon!

Anyways, this was amazing, fresh, sweet, yummy and shall I dare say "healthy"?! Here's the recipe...

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup Fresh Strawberries (can use frozen too)
• 1 1/2 - 2 cups White wine
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup strawberry lemonade

Make a "loose simple syrup" with 1/2 cup water and 1/4 cup sugar over the stove. Chop up straberrys (or throw in whole if using frozen) and add them to the pot once syrup begins to form. Cook on medium-low for about 5 minutes, when the strawberries really start to break down and mix in to the syrup.
Add white wine and lemonade. You can adjust this measurement, depending on how strong you like your drinks ;)
We then put ice in it to cool it down and threw it in the now empty strawberry lemonade jug to then easy transport to our picnic lunch at the springs!

Enjoy! <3

Choco-Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Treats

I have been craving chocolate! ...and sweets! ... and chocolate! Not a good sitation to be in when you are not supposed to have them. After worrying these cravings might mean I have become part of the 2012 baby boom that is going on... I decided to suffice my cravings with a sweet HEALTHY and low-cal treat. Brainstorming session occured - and these DELICISIOUS treats/cookies were born! YUM!

At less than 50 calories a POP, and FULL of nutrition, don't feel bad... enjoy!

Choco-Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Treats

1 very ripe banana

2 tablespoons peanut butter

1 block/cube dark chocolate (I used 85% Godiva)

3 tablespoons non-fat greek yogurt (plain or vanilla)

1 tablespoon unsweetened almond milk (any milk will do)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup oats

(recipe can be doubled, tripled, etc depending on how many bananas you have ;) )

Pre-heat oven to 350.

In a bowl, microwave dark chocolate piece for 20 seconds. Stir in peanut butter, yogurt, almond milk and vanilla. Mash banana directly in to mixture. Add the oats and stir. Here you can add nuts or chocolate chunks, if you would like. Let the batter sit for 20 minutes. Heat in oven for 12 minutes. Take out, let cool and throw in fridge or freezer for a cool HEATHLY savory treat!  

Black Bean Sweet Potato Burgers

So sweet potatoes are less than 50 cents a pond right now... so it is a good thing I love sweet potatoes because with how many Ive been eating I am a little worried I may turn orange! With so many sweet potatoes and a little left over black bean soup from Panera I started getting creative while simmering my chopped sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts and rice... and the result was a wonderfully healthy and delicious burger!

Ingredients 

• 1/2 cup sweet potato (1 small sized) cubed and simmered in tomato broth 
• 1/2 cup drained black bean soup 
• 1/4 cup rice
• 1/4 cup oats (quick oats) 
• 1 tbs whole wheat flour 
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar 
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin 
• no salt - enough in left over panera soup!

Preheat oven to 400*

Start by taking simmered and soft sweet potatoes and mashing in a bowl. Combine black beans and mix, lightly mash. Then combine all other ingredients and stir together. It should be a sticky, moist batter. You should be able to form a patty though, if too moist, add a little bit of oats and let sit so they can suck out some of that stickiness. 

Form in to patties. This recipe makes 3 - 4. Bake in oven for 25 - 30 minutes, or until your house smells great and patties are dry enough that they can be easily taken off sheet tray and placed on your plate! 

Banana Almond Super Food Oatmeal Breakfast

I loveeee waking up and eating a good bowl of oatmeal, which got me thinking how I can make my usual breakfast even more amazing while keeping all the health benefits? This dish was the answer. The yummy answer I must say! Enjoy! 

Ingredients (makes one serving) 

• 1/3 cup quick oats (or rolled oats) 
• 1/3 cup almond milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 banana, sliced 
• 1 tsp chia seeds
• 1 tsp ground flax
• walnuts and sliced banana to top

Combine oats, almond milk, water and sliced banana in a pot on the stove. Mix to combine. Set on med to med high temp and let simmer for about 5 minutes. The mixture should just be getting thick. Stir for 1 to 2 minutes, continuously, until a little runnier than desired consistency. Turn off heat and add chia and flax. Mix. Let sit 2 - 3 minutes. Serve and top with walnuts and sliced bananas. 

Roasted Broccoli and Sweet Brown Rice

Roasted Broccoli

So easy, quick and absolutely amazing!

Preheat oven to 425. In a bowl, toss broccoli florets, olive oil, garlic (lots and rough chopped), sea salt and pepper to taste.

Spread on aluminum lined baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes. Check at this point and determine remaining time until leaves are crunchy and lightly browned.

Serve fresh for most enjoyment!

Sweet Brown Rice

Pour olive oil in sauce pan and lightly saute brown rice. Add 1/2 chicken stock and 1/2 water as needed to cook rice. Season with salt. Chop up craisins and throw in a handful. Add zest of 1/2 orange. Cook rice according to ingredients. Once complete, stir in some balsamic vinegar then bon appetite!

Dally in the Alley - Taste Test 2

Tasting Number Two Review...

This amazing feasting night after night would come right before bikini season... I said yesterday that I would light the rest of this week. Well, tonights menu made me happily break that promise to myself. At least I got to the gym today!

Fish of the Day

Pan seared and served over steamed jasmine rice, pan seared shitake mushrooms, baby bok choy, snow peas and spring onions with orange, chilis, ginger and soy sauce

The fish - cooked to perfection! I also loved the melody of steamed, asian inspired vegetables. I did forgo the rice, I much rather would have more figs or black bean soup then fill on that - since I had the chance!

Although this dish was close to perfection, we all decided the fish needed some sort of sauce. One solution to this tonight, that actually worked wonderfully, was using the spicy asian vinaigrette from the salad last night. Good thing there is still more of that dressing left, because it is so fresh, crisp - yet spicy - I cant get enough!

Pan Seared Asian Vegetables

Grilled Pork Sausages

with figs and pistachios

I absolutely loved this fig sauce!! I got a couple pointers on how it was made, and will try and come close to making such an amazing sauce for myself in the near future.

The sausage was grilled on a charcoal grill then sliced and served with the reduced fig sauce. Crushed pistachios added a touch of brightness and lightness... just enough for me to have a few too many bites and believe that at least some of it was healthy!

What an A + appetizer, we all kept going back for more throughout the night.

Black Bean Soup

Hello perfectly spiced black bean soup, I love you. Theres not much more to say, than soaking beans produces the perfect base for a wonderfully flavored black bean soup. (and is much nicer on the tummy) Now I am inspired to cook a black bean soup of my own!

On another note - a special, and delicious twist - for my black bean soup seconds I cut up figs from the fig sauce and sausage and added them to the pot. HEAVEN!

Dally in the Alley - Tasting One

In preperation for the opening of my Aunt's restaurant, "Dally in the Alley", we had the first of many tastings tonight! This posting has the menu from tonight with my honest opinions on the dishes. The best part of this tasting... the first two dishes yielded so much food that we have a second tasting for the remainder dishes lined up for tomorrow night.

Asian Spinach Salad

Fresh spinach, snow peas, asian pear, navel oranges, pickled chili & cucumber, toasted hazelnuts, spicy Sesame Ginger Vinaigrette.

WOW! This salad was amazing and so light. The pork was plated first, so unfortunantly since I ate that first and it was so good I probably ate way too much!

My favorite component of the dish were the asian pears, which I believe were lightly pickled. They have this wonderful, crisp texture to them - like a cross between an apple and pear my Aunt mentioned. The second thing that made this salad was the dressing. It had the perfect kick to counterbalance the sweetness that I naturally find in a good vinaigrette.

Roast Pork

Slow roasted and accompanied by Cabernet [sauce/gravy], roasted shallot and wild mushroom gravy and sauteed greens, parsnip and pear mash

The above equals HEAVEN! This soulful dish left me so full, after I helped myself to seconds that is! It was absolutely amazing. The sauce was rich, but not overly indulgent or thickened with butter and flours. Instead, it was a wonderful combination of cooking juices, reduced wines and a touch of cream. The pork - so tendor and a wealth of flavor.

The pork wasn't the only star hear - everything was outstanding! The parsnip and pear mash was a suprisingly sweet and healthy twist to the usual "mashed potatoes". The texture was wonderful and the flavor so unique, while adding a healthy "starch" to the dish. And well Kale, I just love Kale cooked anyway. Especially when there is still a little crunch to it.

All in all, tasting #1 far surpassed my expectations. I went in to dinner thinking we would be throwing around feedback and ideas to enhance the dishes, instead we found ourselves so wrapped up in the food it was hard to talk... until we were done with our seconds that is.

Scone Recipe

(banana walnut above)

Trying to make scones at home is quite a challenge, considering the bakery my sister works at am has pretty much perfected the art! Yet anyways, I have tried to create my perfect, at-home scone recipe and here it is. Each time I make it, they just get better and better!

Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, frozen
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• mix-in ingredients
• strawberry and white chocolate chips
• cinnamon (powder) and cinnamon and chocolate chips
• banana and walnuts
• powdered sugar (for rolling out)
• sugar in the raw (to top with)

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

To start, mix in all dry ingredients in a bowl. use a whisk to blend ingredients together.

Cut butter in to one tablespoon portions and add to dry mixture. use a emulsion blender to mix butter into flour mix. (could also do in food processor)

In a cup measurer, combine sour cream, vanilla and egg. Mix together well.

At this time, add toppings in to flour mixture. Then add wet ingredients and stir using spoon until all moist and dough has formed.

Fold out dough on to a work surface prepped with powdered sugar. Mold into circle and cut out scones.

Line baking sheet with parchment paper and place scones on sheet. Sprinkle sugar in the raw on scones at this time.

Bake in oven for 12 minutes. Rotate tray. Bake addition four - five minutes, until nice and golden brown.

Let cool on rack. Enjoy!

Yogurt Curry Salmon

A delicious and light way to enjoy salmon. I paired with spinach and caramelized tomatoes.

Ingredients

- Skin on salmon

- Fat Free Greek Yogurt

- 1 part curry powder

- 1 part indian spice

- 1/2 part cumin

- 1 clove minced garlic

- pinch red pepper

- olive oil

Preheat oven to 325.

Based on 3 Tbs of yogurt...

Mix in 1 to 1 1/2 tsp of curry and indian spice mix. Add 1/2 amount of cumin, all garlic and red pepper. Stir and let sit.

Prepare salmon by seasoning lightly with salt and pepper. Liberally spread yogurt mixture over fish.

Cook 20 minutes in oven. At 18 min in, increase heat to 450. Continue cooking till total cook time has reached 22 minutes.

Remove, sprinkle with a squeeze of lemon and dig in!

French Onion Soup

This broth is so simple and flavorful! Eat it alone for a healthy, broth based soup, add cheese and croutons to make it a classic French Onion Soup, or use it as a delicious and rich base for any soup.

Ingredients

• 3 yellow onions
• red wine (merlot or cabernet)
• chicken stock
• garlic (4 cloves)
• olive oil (1 tablespoon)
• dried thyme
• dried italian seasoning
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 slices whole grain bread (toasted)

Slice three onions for soup. Warm oil in pot and add onions. Close and allow to steam, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. Add salt to begin caramelizing onions.

Remove lid. Add garlic, crushed, and the dried seasonings. Saute onions without lid and until they begin to get browned. Add 1/2 cup of wine and deglaze the yummy bits off of the bottom of the pot. Add chicken stock and pepper. Bring to boil.

Remove a cup of broth and add cubed bread. Blend with an emulsion blender. Add thickened broth back to soup. Mix to combine.

At this point you can either...

• let set and cool then enjoy
• add cheese and croutons then broil
• use as a base for a delicious soup!