AB Guacamole

Despite how "healthy" avocados are, they are still a luxury good in my basket and I usually eat them raw with a dash of soy sauce when I do have them in stock. One batch of guacamole costs about the same as what it would at the grocery store; and the reason why I never buy it from the store is because guacamole is always laced with onions. The avocados make guacamole plenty green, so really there is no need to add cilantro, unless you like added greens to an already green dip.

Guacamole Ingredients

This ratio is adapted from Alton Brown's take on guacamole, except it lacks onions and cilantro:

Ingredients

3 ripe avocados, pits removed
2 ripe red tomatoes, cores and seeds removed, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 green jalapeno, seeded and diced
1/2 tsp each: kosher salt, ground cumin, cayenne pepper
2 tbsp lime juice

Directions

1. In a large bowl, scoop out avocado pulp and mix with lime juice.

2. Add salt and spices. Mash together until avocado is all mashed up.

3. Add jalapeno and tomato. Fold into avocado mixture until well combined.

4. Let sit at room temperature for an hour before serving.

Guacamole: Ready to Eat!

Basic Tomato Sauce (for pizza)

This recipe goes with the no knead pizza dough recipe. It is so basic that you wonder why it exists at all as a recipe. This comes from Jim Lahey's book My Pizza. At the time I made the sauce, I didn't have fresh tomatoes on hand.

Ingredients

One 15 oz can of organic diced tomatoes
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Directions

Using your hands squish the tomatoes together. Squish! Squish! 

Stir in salt and olive oil. Set aside until ready to use.

Blueberry Lemon Bread

Cloudy weather is perfect for sipping hot tea. What makes this even better? A slice of cake. I'm not sure what the difference is between cake and this particular recipe other than the lack of frosting. I feel like I should eat another slice, but I will finish writing this post. 

I am down to my last quart of frozen blueberries; picked last summer at Majestic Farms. Fortunately, blueberry picking season is just around the corner. The berries themselves are very sweet and I could have reduced the sugar in the recipe. If you are using frozen berries, thaw them in a measuring cup. 1.5 cups of frozen berries turns into 1 cup of thawed berries. Alas, onto the recipe..

A slice of almost perfection: blueberry lemon bread

Ingredients

1 1/2 c all purpose flour
1 c organic granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
2 eggs
1/2 c almond milk (or regular cow's milk)
zest of one lemon
6 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 c fresh or thawed blueberries

Streusel Topping

3 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp organic granulated sugar
1/3 c all purpose flour
1/4 c (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 F.

1. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt, sugar, and lemon zest.

2. Add eggs, milk and butter and stir together until well combined.

3. If you are using thawed blueberries, transfer just the blueberries (not the liquid) to the batter and gently fold it in until all the blueberries are covered.

To make the streusel topping, whirl topping ingredients together in a food processor.

4. Butter a loaf pan and fill with batter. Evenly top the batter with the streusel.

5. Bake for 1 hr and 15 minutes. The topping will be crispy and golden brown.

Cabbage Kale Carrot Slaw

I had this recently at a potluck and it is really easy to make. The most expensive ingredient is the mayonnaise. Actually, nearly all the calories are in the mayo, so use one that you enjoy eating.

Makes: almost 3 quarts

Ingredients

2 lbs green cabbage, shredded
1 lb green kale, leaves only
2 organic carrots, sliced into matchsticks

Mix vegetables together in a large 5-quart bowl. Add coleslaw dressing and mix until combined. 

Coleslaw Dressing

1/2 c organic mayonnaise
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp organic granulated sugar
1/2 tsp sea salt
fresh ground black pepper

Kitchen Notes: Canning 2016

Canning started early this year, mostly because I thought I might try to make strawberry jam instead of just eating the strawberries fresh. This is what has been made so far. I am down to one pint jar of salsa (from 6 pints) from last year's canning and also one pint jar of pickled beets with whole cloves.

To do wish list

tomato salsa with hatch chiles
tomato salsa with tomatillos and jalapenos
peach bourbon jam
harissa with fresh chiles
harissa with dried chiles
pickled beets with cloves (very tasty, imho)
dill pickle spears

May

apricot-pineapple preserves: 1 pint, 3 half-pints, 1 four-oz jar
apricot-rosemary preserves: 3 half-pints, 4 four-oz jars
strawberry-basil preserves: 4 half-pints plus 8 oz in the fridge
strawberry port wine jam: 5 half-pints plus 8 oz in the fridge