Avocado - How do I love thee? Let me count the ways......

Avocado Salad with Beets and freshly squeezed Lemon

An avocado, like a potato, has a small amount (about 4%) of high quality protein, like an egg.  It's very high in potassium and mono-unsaturated fat, similar to olive oil.  It does contain some polyunsaturated fat, so it's good to add some coconut oil for balance.  It does contain some sugars, mostly in the form of fiber.


http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/fruits-and-fruit-juices/1843/2

Avocados can be frozen for later use if they are mixed well with lemon juice before freezing.  ("They" say the texture doesn't hold up well if left whole. ) I have done this quite successfully using the juice of one lemon for every two avocados.  I added additional juice to the top of the jar to prevent browning, just in case.  I don't know if it needed the extra or not, but it worked.

How do I know when an avocado it ready to eat?  The skin color changes from bright green to dark green/black as the fruit softens. No squeezing (which causes bruising) necessary. ;)


People with latex and other allergies should be cautious about eating avocados.  Forced ripening and injury causes the fruit (bananas and chestnuts too ) to make increased levels of chitinases, an enzyme that can cause issues in latex sensative people.  Organic fruit not subject to gas ripening may have lower levels.  Cooking may inactivate the enzymes.



Avocado Sandwich
Slice or two of bread*
Slather mayo, preferably homemade, onto bread
Layer avocado slices onto bread
Drizzle with coconut oil (unless it's in the mayo already)
Salt/Pepper to taste

Optional Extras
Homegrown, crispy bacon with gelatin
Leftover chicken pieces with gelatin
A slice of white cheese


Avocado Halves
Take an avocado, slice in half.
Take the half and cut with a butter knife vertically and horizontally, making a checker board pattern
Sprinkle generously with salt
Drizzle with lemon juice and coconut oil.
Squeeze gently at the bottom and eat as the pieces pop out.

Pit will usually pop out on it's own when the half is gently squeezed from the bottom.


Avocado Salad
Take an avocado, cut in half and twist to open
Make a criss cross pattern in the fruit and squeeze gently to remove from skin into a bowl or plate
Drizzle generously with coconut oil
Drizzle with fresh squeezed lemon or lime juice
Salt to taste

Optional Extras
Peach slices
Fresh cut orange sections or mandarins
Cheese curds or bite sized cubes
Feta crumbles
Beets - pickled, fresh roasted or canned
(Hint: commercially canned whole beets retain slightly more flavor than the sliced version,  nothing like making your own though.)


Avocado Dressing
Avocado
Coconut Oil
ACV or Citrus juice (lemon, lime and/or orange)
Salt
Herbs/Spices

Mush with a fork leaving a few chunks or blend together for a whipped, thicker dressing. Serve over fruit or root vegetables....like an out of the ordinary potato salad.


Guacamole (Of course!)
Avocado
Coconut Oil
Lemon or Lime juice (ACV in a pinch, but the flavor isn't the same)
Salt

Optional Extras
Tomatoes
Chilis or a touch of cayenne powder
Onions
Cilantro
Sugar/COT (I add this if using canned tomatoes or commercial salsa)

Add ingredient to a bowl sized at least twice as big as the avocado in order.  You can keep it chunky or mush with a fork after adding the oil, salt and juice.  Add other ingredients as desired. Fold gently and serve with homemade tortilla chips or on top of quesadillas or......

One restaurant I went to actually served the guacamole WITH the pit...said it kept it from browning as fast....don't know if that's true or not....it didn't last long enough to find out.



* There was a time when Alvarado St. Bakery was a small bakery that made wonderful, sprouted whole grain breads that were flourless, naturally sweet and weird ingredient-free.  The bread was local and lovely and FRESH and made spectacular avocado sandwiches. Those days are gone......


Friday Potluck
Seasonal Saturday
Simple Lives Thursday
Calling all Salads

The Classic Cheese Sandwich updated

A cheese sandwich is kind of boring...yet is so satisfying.  I became hooked on them on my first real babysitting job (non sibling and good money) many, many.....many years ago.  It has been very hot lately and cooking  is as appealing as teeth pulling right now.  Nourishing foods that can go directly from fridge to plate are coveted. (We made an exception for one of the optional ingredients initially, but it became a fridge item soon after cooking.)

Old Version as taught to me by the kids I was in charge of:
2 slices of bread
Mayo on BOTH slices
Mild Orange Cheddar Cheese slices to cover bread
Cut in half, NOT diagonal (these things matter, you know.)

New Version as dictated by an adult palate
2 slices of bread
slathering of mayo on one slice
slathering of mustard on the other (optional, may use mayo for both)
sprinkle of cream of tartar
sprinkle of cane sugar (optional, depends on the mayo used)
sprinkle of sea salt
Raw, white, sharp cheddar  to cover bread

Opened face cheese sandwich with bacon and nectarine

Optional ingredients:
baked bacon strips
tomato or cucumber
bread and butter pickles or dill slices
fruit of choice
salted or pickled beet slices

I used Brunkow raw milk "Aged cheddar" in a 5 pound block which makes for square slices that fit perfectly on the bread.

The mayo was Hain's Safflower Mayo (no soy or HFCS) instead of homemade because I needed to use it up.  Once it's gone, it's gone.

The mustard was Gulden's spicy brown mustard.  I grew up with Gulden's and now a days, it's one of the only ones I can find that hasn't been watered down.  Seriously...even "gourmet" mustards are now sporting water as one of the top 3 ingredients.

Bread was a sourdough spelt from Berlin Natural bakery....just spelt, water and sea salt.  I don't make my own bread....not for one loaf a year.

The bacon is homegrown and baked in a  350* oven on a broiler pan for 25 minutes, not preheated. I used the oven instead of frying because I think that helps make flatter bacon and we don't need the extra fat in the summer.  We will save it to flavor a cool weather dish someday.

I used a nectarine for mine because it needed using and made an open faced sandwich because I only had one piece of bread left.  The sandwiches were more popular than expected...not a bad problem to have.

Simple Lives Thursday
Full Plate Thursday
Pennywise Platter Thursday
Friday Potluck
Fight Back Friday
Friday Food
Fresh Food Friday
Simply Delish Saturday 
Weekend Gourmet Blog Carnival 
Made From Scratch Tuesday

Bacon and Brat Mustard Curry with Rice

Rice
Rice, dry
Water or broth
Coconut oil
Sea Salt

Add as much rice as needed to a pan and fill with water or broth so the liquid is higher than the rice level by the first bend in your first finger.  Add a glop of coconut oil and salt.  Bring to a rolling boil, then add lid and turn down low or off.  Let sit while the rest of the food is cooking. 


Meat
1 pound Nitrate Free Bacon, bite sized
1 pound brats, sliced bite size

Fry up bacon.  When it is the desired crispness, add  brats.  While the meat is cooking, make the sauce.


Mustard Curry Sauce
1/2 can mustard flour (dry mustard)
1/2 jar curry powder
1/2 - 1 tsp ginger root powder
8 TBS gelatin
8 TBS Sugar/cream of tartar mix
Sea Salt
Coconut oil
Apple Cider Vinegar 

Mix dry ingredients together and remove what clumps you can, then stir or mash in coconut oil.  Add vinegar and stir until is is the consistency of oatmeal. Let sit.  When meat is done, add wet mix to meat and stir until dissolved.  If sauce is too thick, add more vinegar and sugar/cream of tartar as needed.

Serve over rice.

Monday Mania 
Real Food Wednesday 
Pennywise Platter Thursday

Piggie Piggie Pasta GF

There's something amazingly decadent about cooking with bacon AND sausage together.   Here's two versions of a recipe that use almost identical ingredients that veer off wildly in two different directions with a just a little tweak here and there.  The secret to NOT over eating it, is to only make enough noodles for one serving per person.

The basics:
Bacon, bite size
Brats, bite size
Tomato
Salt
Vinegar
Basil
Beef gelatin
Sugar/Cream of tartar mix
Pasta



Piggie Pasta Italian Style:
I used tomato puree, a few glugs balsamic vinegar, extra basil and brown rice ribbon pasta

Piggie Pasta Asian Style:
I used diced tomatoes with green chilies, a few glugs of rice vinegar, just a dash or so of basil and served over Asian style semi translucent rice noodles.

Cook bacon first to desired crispiness, then add sausage.  Toss in tomato version of choice and season accordingly.  Mix in gelatin, taking care to avoid clumping.  Serve over noodles.
Monday Mania 
Heart and Soul Blog Hop 
Gluten Free Wednesdays
Ingredient Spotlight : Bacon