Avocado Pie

The great thing about cooking all week? The one night you get home and are starving... you have leftovers!! Instead I bring you a surprising and refreshing dessert :) Have you had your MUFA's (monounsaturated fatty acids--they're the good ones) today? At some point I was trying to think of something else to do with some ripe avocados-- I'd done the guacamole, spread it on some toast, even thrown it in my sandwhich.

Low and behold I came across a recipe for Jagger Pie from Nicole over at Pinch My Salt. It's probably evident already that I like to try things that might seem unique, so this definately was calling my name. My plan: to call it 'Frog Pie' and see if anyone could name the secret ingredient!


Verdict: Delish! And no one guessed that they were having avocado for dessert. Very light and it couldn't be easier to prepare. Last time I garnished it with kiwi slices, which provided a nice contrast of texture. Have fun with this one :)

Jagger Pie (or Avocado Pie)
Pinch My Salt

1 prepared graham cracker crust (who knew Arrowhead Mills makes them? you could also make your own, using brown sugar instead of white)
1 ripe avocado
1 can fat free sweetened condensed milk
3.5oz fresh sqeezed lemon and/or lime juice (both times I've done a mix of the two)

Blend/process avocado and sweetened condensed milk. Fold in lemon/lime juice, then pour (rather quickly) into crust. Refrigerate at least 3hrs before serving.

Slow

I covered Slow Food Nation, the gargantuan food festival that took place over Labor Day weekend in San Francisco, for my paper (here) and (here). It was a whirlwind of farmers and chefs, pickles and produce—an event that aimed to teach and entertain, feed and foster awareness of food that is “good, clean, and fair.”

I had a wonderful time at the festival, wandering among the booths at the market on the Civic Center Plaza and sampling Gruyere and oak barreled brew at the Taste Pavilion. But it was difficult to work through the anticipation for the event, born of media hype (mine included, yes) and their own massive expectations, which touch upon changing the face of the American food system. Hard to pull off over the course of a three-day party.

Many of the ideas behind this celebrity and celebration, however, have been present where I am living here in West Marin for a long time, and I find myself running into living variations on a daily basis. I interview farmers and ranchers; I shop at the market filled with local produce and personalities. There is an open-air, 24-hour stand a bit south on Highway One where I can buy chard, potatoes, or vibrant-hued flowers at any time of day. Raw honey, plums plucked from the tree, barbecues glowing in an otherwise pitch-black night. Food, both the growing and the eating, sustains and brings people together here in sharper focus than New York or Boston, perhaps because of the community’s heavy reliance on agriculture.

Just the other day I was given a container of eggs so fresh tiny feathers poked out next to the pastel-tinted shells. Poached, on a bed of sautéed swiss chard: perfect.

Pizza and a Roasted Beet Salad

When I was posting last night I realized how ambitious last night's dinner was :) Oops! I was able to do most of it ahead of time so it didn't seem that bad, and anything I can do to put off working on the revisions to my thesis... Not all my meals are like this, but since I've got some time this month, and my parents (and aunt) are just here for a few more days, I'm using them as my guinea pigs-- I don't think they mind, though!

My old lab-mate Michelle brought me back some smoked provolone from her trip to Italy (thanks MB!!!), which I thought would be best put to use on a pizza :) I decided to pair it with pesto and turkey after doing some searching online (found alot of smoked turkey and provolone recipes... so the opposite pairing should work, right?!).

in the blender

The Pesto:
scaled down from Cooking Light

~2c basil (loosely packed, or 1c packed)
1T pine nuts (i didn't chop or toast them)
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced (via garlic press)
1 1/2T extra-virgin olive oil
1/4c grated fresh Parmesan cheese
dash teaspoon salt

I just used (or fought with) the blender to make the pesto a couple of nights ago, so that was ready in the fridge, along with the leftover turkey from dinner Saturday.

Since everything else was pretty much ready, I decided to try my hand at pizza dough, following this recipe from Mel over at bitchin camero that used white whole wheat flour. I didn't have the vital wheat gluten, but followed the directions (even her "lazy mel" tips!). It came out quite wet after the rising, but somehow I managed to get it stretched out on the preheated pizza stone (I preheated the oven to 450deg). Brushed it with some olive oil, spread out the pesto (should've made a bit more!), topped with turkey, then sprinkled on the smoked provolone. Popped it back into the oven for ~12min until the cheese was bubbly and just beginning to brown.


After worrying that it wasn't going to make it off the stone, we all really enjoyed the pizza! Great combo of flavors and the smoked provolone melted quite nicely. I have some other whole wheat crust recipes bookmarked, so I'll have to give those a shot and see how they compare. As they say, practice makes perfect! And there's no such thing as too much pizza, especially when made yourself!

On the side I used up a bunch of ingredients we already had in the fridge to make this salad...


Roasted Beet and Green Bean Salad
thrown together by Shannon


2c chopped roasted beets (I'm totally guesstimating with these amounts, but it was about a 2:1 ratio beets:green beans)
1c steamed green beans, chopped into 1" pieces
~ 1/2T dijon mustard
2T white balsamic vinegar
1T EVOO
dash salt/pepper
goat cheese, to taste
chopped walnuts, to taste

In a large serving bowl, whisk together mustard, balsamic vinegar, EVOO. Season with salt and pepper, taste and adjust according to your taste. Add in the beets and green beans, toss to coat. Top with goat cheese and toasted walnuts and viola! Deeelish :)

Beets are a funny thing, along with brussel sprouts, I would NOT eat these as a kid. I even made mom put them at the other end of the table I couldn't stand the smell-haha. I tried beets again last year and adore them (especially with goat cheese)!! Brussel sprouts I've tried once, and while they were ok I'm not sold on them yet. Anyone have a way to prepare them that is sure to win me over, I'll be sure to give it a shot!

Yogurt Grilled Chicken, Ratatouille and a Panna Cotta

Yummm, tonight's dinner was delicious!! I've made two of the recipes before, and they turned out just as well as I remembered :) This recipe for yogurt-marinated grilled chicken comes out soooo moist (even when you forget the oil... oops!). Last time we did make the salsa with fresh pineapple, but tonight it was topped with some fresh corn salsa my aunt brought down.


Another winner of a recipe is this Cornmeal-crusted Ratatouille Tart from Ellie Krieger. I can't say enough about her, I've loved every recipe that I've tried! I roasted the veggies last night and it came together quite easily tonight for dinner. To go on with the theme for today, I forgot the oil in the crust... but I didn't notice any difference in the final product--score! The flavors of the roasted veggies just pop, and I don't think there was any of this leftover!


To finish off the buttermilk that came with me from Philly, I made a Buttermilk Panna Cotta. If you've never had panna cotta, this one came out like a flan, but not as dense. I think mine separated since my buttermilk wasn't that fresh, and I kinda goofed on the sequence of events, but you never would've known tasting it!! My aunt brought some wild Maine blueberries, which I cooked down a bit to top the panna cotta and it was perfect! So light this would really be a great summer dessert. And elegant enough for company but SO EASY :) That's my kind of entertaining! Sweet dreams, hope everyone had a happy hump day!!

Blueberries... and Basil?!?

I saw this combination in a few different places, and i felt I had to try it!! Since I had brought both cornmeal and buttermilk with me from the old apartment (anyone else start singing that, maybe bnl?), I chose a recipe for Lemony Blueberry Cornbread with Basil.

Doesn't get much easier than this recipe, it's just like a quickbread (dry, wet, then combine and fold in the goodies). We (me and the parents) all enjoyed it warm out of the oven!! I followed the recipe, substituting white whole wheat flour instead of most of the all purpose flour. On the side was a basil-butter to enhance the flavors. I don't eat a ton of butter these days, but a tad on my slice was delicious!


Up close, you can see the blueberries and basil studding the loaf :) Enjoy!!

Update and a Pasta Bake

Phew--I made it! Well, out of Philly, to my parents for a month before heading out to Boston. When I picked up the truck, I was a little worried that my stuff wouldn't fit with enough room for my bike, but we got it in there! I had a couple friends help and it only took a couple hours to load up. The ride back wasn't bad at all, either--it drove like an SUV and there was only a little traffic near the exit heading towards nyc. I think the best part was that my dad unloaded almost everything into the garage himself (thanks dad!!). I was so pooped from the past week, I was about to pass out on my dinner plate (mom had a turkey dinner all ready, thanks mom!!) and was SO grateful. Luckily he's a pro with the hand-cart, so it actually didn't take him that long.

Labor day was a sun-filled day at the US Open!! Dad and I went down and enjoyed a fun day of live tennis :) I'm still amazed at how hard they all hit the ball (even the girls!!), and don't know how any of the line judges can actually see the ball let alone make accurate calls!

I really enjoy coming home to cook-- having 3 people to cook for instead of 1 means I can try so many new things!! Tonight I made dinner, based on a recipe idea from Kath using ingredients we had around the house. We didn't have any red wine, so I left that out, but think it would've been a great addition. Used rotini instead of egg noodles, and did add a small can of tomato sauce. I should've thrown in some more sun dried tomatoes, and seasoned the turkey, but it still came out pretty well.


The use of goat cheese instead of ricotta went well with the sun-dried tomatoes and veggies. We actually just this itself, as it was chock full of veggies, but could easily be accompanied by a side salad, or maybe some garlic bread.

Mom's Meat Sauce

Growing up I always thought that this was bolognese but now I know that a traditional bolognese has some veggies and wine in it and takes a long time to cook. This is a much simpler version but still adds another layer of flavor and depth to the sauce. As always I change some minor things like how I season the meat but the end result pretty much comes out the same. We were over my parents' house on Sunday and my mom made this with rigatoni. It was delicious and I'm proud to say that mine and hers tastes almost exactly the same!

Ingredients:

2 cans crushed tomatoes
1 medium onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 lb ground beef
6-7 basil leaves
salt and pepper
garlic powder
Mrs. Dash
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp sugar


Brown ground beef in about 1 Tbsp of oil. Sprinkle with garlic powder, Mrs. Dash, salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Use a potato masher or wooden spoon to break up the meat so you don't have any large chunks. Drain oil from meat and set aside.

Saute onion and garlic in EVOO. Return meat to pot and add tomatoes. Swish water in the cans and add about ½ can of water or as needed so it’s not too thick. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add basil. Let cook for ½ hour, stirring occasionally so sauce does not burn. Taste again for seasoning. Add 1 tsp of sugar or a little more if needed. Allow sauce to cook for ½ hour more and taste again.

Serve over pasta.