Ask and You Shall Receive...Yumminess 2

Since I went ahead yesterday and posted how I make hummus I thought I'd also throw up here what I do for guacamole considering I mentioned it yesterday. Truly it is one of the easiest things to make under the sun. What continues to mystify me are those little dry mix packets for guacamole. Let me tell you a little secret, you are damaging one the healthiest, most delicious foods on the planet by adding one of those packets. It's not necessary, and it's not yummy.

The key to guacamole is keeping it simple. I've had numerous people say how good my guacamole is, well, I can't take all of the credit really, I was taught by my sons' grandma. In fact I didn't like guacamole until she showed me how to do this. The sad part is I am not alone in that regard. So many people are deceived into thinking that what most restaurants turn out, being just some mushy avocado, is in fact guacamole. Oh that couldn't be farther from the truth. You can eat it on almost anything, I say almost, not everything, but close.

While guacamole is simple, it's more than just the avocado. That isn't to say that I don't enjoy just eating avocado. I consider it to be a perfect food. I eat it on salads, sandwiches, eggs, and even in desserts. I may post a pudding I use it in later in the week. Women should by the way eat one everyday for female health, I'll leave it at that for those of my readers that are men ;)It is a fruit, not a vegetable. It has healthy saturated fat, yes I said healthy and saturated fat in the same sentence. Most of the fat is mono-unsaturated though. It provides potassium, 60% more than a banana, as well as being rich in vitamins B, E, and K.

So here's how I make guacamole:

3-4 Hass Avocados (Has to be ripe, so when you you pick it up it should be semi-firm to the touch, but should give a little if you push on it. If your fingers or thumbs go through it, forget it. Color isn't always a true ripeness indicator, but usually if it's black it's ready, or is about to be with in a day or two.)

1-2 diced tomatoes (depends on how large your maters are)

1/2 medium red onion, diced

2 garlic cloves

Fresh lime or lemon juice (from what I gather the consensus prefers lime juice, but both are great, use what you have, and just keep squeezing it in there until it tastes right)

Sea salt to taste

Fresh cilantro (optional, I don't personally like it very much)

Instructions:

You can increase or decrease the ingredients as necessary. Your best bet to opening an avocado is using a butter knife. The Pampered Chef company actually has an avocado knife, which is great, I have one that I acquired for free, but don't add the expense if you don't have one. Like I said, a butter knife works fine.

Start at the top where the little nub is where the stem used to be, and just take the knife all the way around until it meets back where you started. Twist it gently, and it should open fairly easily. To get out the pit you can use your fingers like me, a spoon to scoop it out, or some people like to use a sharp knife, and stab right into the pit, and pull it out. Don't hurt yourself, and just take it out however.

If your avocados are a little firmer than preferred, a trick is to scoop them into a food processor. It will help make them creamier and smoother. I considered doing this on Saturday, but I had already used the food processor for the hummus at my friend's house, didn't feel like taking it out of the dishwasher and hand washing it. Also the party had commenced, so I didn't want to turn the loud thing on with everyone there. Probably more than you wanted to know, oh well, it's my blog and I'll bunnytrail if I want to, right ;)

If the avocados are ok, scoop out the flesh into the serving bowl before anything else. Mash them up really well. Add a little lime or lemon juice now, this will help smooth it out. Generally guacamole is not chunky. Mine was a bit on Saturday, but didn't have any complaints.

Next put in the rest of the ingredients in the bowl, and mix with a spoon. Just keep adding and tasting until it's perfect. You really can't go wrong with that method unless of course you eat it all in the process. Maybe buy a few extra of everything just in case ;)

My recommendation is to serve the guacamole with Trader Joes Organic Blue Corn Chips. They are my favorite! For you raw foodies flaxseed chips from the dehydrator would be tasty too. I also love dipping raw veggies like carrots, broccoli, snap peas, and bell peppers in it. If you are a meat eater, add some on top of grilled or baked chicken. Throwing some in your turkey sandwich or on a burger is lovely too. I adore it on top of my scrambled eggs. Just can't say enough good things about guacamole!

Ask and You Shall Receive...Yumminess

So over the weekend the kids and I celebrated with best friends their one year old's birthday. They had a wonderful party for him at their home. Requested by another close friend for the party were a few of my typical munch on type foods, guacamole, hummus, and quinoa salad.

It never ceases to amaze me how yummy the foods are that the Lord has given us, and why other than the almighty dollar we are so driven to concoct and eat scary things in boxes with 18-25 ingredients with things I cannot pronounce or that I use to clean my toilet...just saying.

Anyhoo thought I'd post here what I typically do for hummus.

Hummus

2 cups of dry chickpeas (garbanzo beans-same thing)
3 large garlic cloves roughly chopped
1/2 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (not the stuff in the bottle)
2 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp of evoo (extra virgin olive oil)
paprika
Fresh parsley sprigs

Soak the chickpeas in filtered water over night. Strain them in a colander. Next cook them for about 2 hours. Place everything into the food processor. Taste and add more of any of the ingredients above to make it how ya like it. Place into glass bowl, dig small well in the middle, and add some extra evoo to the well. Dust the hummus with paprika. Stick a few parsley sprigs in it for a garnish. Dip fresh raw veggies in it like carrots, celery, bell peppers and cucumbers, yum!

Raw Tomato Sauce

So a girlfriend of mine and I were talking just the other day about how to make tomato sauce. My recommendation to her was to make raw tomato sauce because you'll keep those nutrients in tact. Also as long as you use it while it's room temperature, and you pour it on something that is warm/hot like noodles, veggies, quinoa, potatoes or anything else your heart desires you really don't need to heat the sauce too. The other food should provide plenty of heat.

So here is what I put in mine, and what I do:

Any tomatoes will do really, we'll say 6-8 romas (preferably local and organic)
Slice open, remove the seeds, cut into quarters
5-6 fresh basil leaves
1-2 tsp maple syrup
1/2 cup diced red onion
3 garlic cloves
2-3 sundried tomatoes that have been soaked
As much salt and pepper as you like

Place it all in the food processor or high speed blender. Taste it and make it your own. Pour it on whatever you like. If you want it thicker or must heat it, go ahead, but as you can see, sauce is not complicated.

Snapshot of a Yummy Dinner

So I absolutely had to share my dinner with you. On Saturday morning I went with a close friend and her husband to the local farmers market. I cannot express to you my excitement over going there in the summer. It is a cook's or raw foodie's playground!

That day I perused and found some yummy bell peppers. I bought a purple and a white one. Never did I try this before, and I quite like both. I also picked up a spaghetti squash, which is what I am sharing here. Along with it I had a spinach salad.If you've never had one, it's called a spaghetti squash because it actually looks like spaghetti noodles inside.

Preheat your over to 400 degrees. To cook your spaghetti squash you slice it in half. You'll need a good knife. Then scoop out the inside. Then put a little coconut oil on each side. Cook it open face up on a baking sheet for 45 minutes. I put it on my pizza stone.

When you take it out take a fork and fluff up the middle. To dress it up you can put some raw or cooked tomato sauce on it, and even add some goat cheese like I did in the picture.

Awesome New Recipe

I cannot wait to try this one. It's from Kristen Suzanne.

Cheezy Hemp Nacho Sauce

Makes 1 1/2 cups

Prep time: Less than 10 minutes

1/3 cup water
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped (approximately 1 cup)
1 cup hemp seeds
2 1/2 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
1 tbsp chili powder*
2sps tamari, wheat-free or again Coconut Aminos by Coconut Secret
1/2 tsp Himalayan crystal salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp turmeric powder

Blend all of the ingredients in a blender until smooth and creamy. This can be stored in the refrigerator for up to five days.

*My favorite brand for this is Simply Organic.
Serving suggestions:

Use this for dipping fresh veggies, big heart of romaine lettuce leaves, or corn chips (raw or not – it’s up to you!)
For those eating cooked vegan foods, this is an awesome sauce on top of veggie burgers.
This also makes a delicious raw vegan dressing on a hearty salad with romaine lettuce, chopped tomatoes, and cucumbers. You could even sprinkle on some raw vegan taco meat.

Wow-Welcome to August

Can't believe August is here. Summer is almost over. That is so sad to me. I love this season with the sun shining so bright. It makes me want to be outdoors all of the time. I enjoy the heat!

So I found this yummy sounding recipe on the sunfood.com website this morning. Had to share it. I'll be purchasing my raw nori sheets from Renegade Health. Be sure to go through my link on the right.

Avo Olive Nori Rolls

Ingredients:

1 large ripe avocado
1 small tomato
3/4 cup pitted olives
1 tsp Nama Shoyu or Coconut Aminos by Coconut Secret
Wedge of lemon
Sunflower sprouts (grow your own to save!)
4 nori sheets

Preparation:

Chop the tomato and olives. Combine avocado, tomato and olives in a bowl. Add Nama Shoyu and squeeze on a bit of lemon. Stir ingredients for about 10 seconds, just to mix up. Add a large scoop (about a half cup) of the mix to the center of a nori roll. Spread the scoop across the nori so that you will have an even amount throughout the length of your roll. Add a handful of sprouts and roll up your nori sheet. Slice and enjoy!

If you have sushi mats it can make the rolling up portion more simplified. I purchased mine at the local Asian market. Health food store carry them, but they cost too much.

Smoothies, salads, and yummy stuff with cucumbers

So summer is all about the veggies. You can put them in a salad, a smoothie, a saute, or grill them...anyway you slice them, dice them, or blend them it's happiness! I love cucumbers for their cooling off factors ;) They are very good for staying hydrated. Sorry this post is excessively short, although some of you might be cheering, I have so much going on this month. I apologize for not getting more up here in the month of July.

So here's my smoothie for the day to help you cool off:

1 Cup of peeled cubed cucumber
2 Tbsp fresh mint leaves
2 Cups cantaloupe
1 Cup goat milk yogurt (or almond or coconut yogurt if you have some)
1 Cup ice
1 tbsp raw honey if needed for extra sweetness, taste first before throwing this in, you may not need it

Blend it all up and enjoy!

My salad will be:

3-4 cucumbers peeled and cut into sticks (like you would for carrots)
2-3 ripe,cubed/cut (not too small) tomatoes
1/2-1 red onion, slice it and then cut slices in half so they are like strips
Fresh parsley (um, as much as you want)
Put them into a bowl
Pour on balsamic vinegar, and extra virgin olive oil (I don't measure this, I just do it until it looks right...sorry)
Sprinkle on sea salt and fresh pepper to taste

If you decide to make either of these let me know :)