Copycat Recipe: Avocado Margarita

Remember when I told you about the Avocado Margarita I couldn’t get enough of at La Cava del Tequila in the Mexico Pavilion at Disney’s Epcot? Well, I’ve been meaning to recreate it for awhile now but never got my act together and bought all the ingredients. My parents, visiting from Maine this weekend, generously made a stop at the New Hampshire State Liquor store for me and so it became my mission to recreate the drink this weekend.

Avocado Margarita

(serves 1)

Ingredients:

• 1 oz Midori Melon Liquer
• 2 oz Silver Tequila (I used Sauza)
• 2 oz fresh lime juice (from 2 limes)
• 1/2 ripe avocado
• 8-10 ice cubes
• 1 oz light agave syrup
• coarse salt for the rim of your glass (optional)

Put all ingredients in a blender (I used my food processor because I don’t have a blender and I do NOT recommend it). Blend until smooth. Wet rim of glass and roll in coarse salt. Pour your margarita into your glass and enjoy!

Coconut and Crispy Kale Millet Bowl

I’ve had Heidi Swanson's Supernatural Every Day on my reserve list at the library for months. Unfortunately, the one time it became available I didn’t make it in the allotted 7 days to pick it up and haven’t gotten a second chance yet.

I was thrilled back in January when Joy posted the recipe from Heidi’s book for the crunchy kale and coconut bowl. (I call mine ‘crispy’ because it seems more appropriate for my rendition.) Back in January when she posted the recipe, I immediately made it twice in the same week. And though I’ve thought about this dish every single time I’ve had kale in the house since, I’ve only just made it again, for you loyal readers. Since that day was today, I can say with authority that it is definitely worth turning my oven on for (even on crazy March days when the temperature reaches 80 degrees outside).

 

Coconut and Crispy Kale Millet Bowl

serves 2 as a main, from here and here

Ingredients:

• 2 T tamari or soy sauce
• 1 t rice vinegar
• 1 t sriracha
• 1/4 c extra virgin olive oil
• 5 c lacinato kale, ripped into bite size pieces
• 1/2 c shredded coconut
• 1/2 c millet, uncooked
• 1 1/2 c vegetable broth (or water – for cooking millet)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare baking sheet with parchment or tin foil. Begin cooking your millet (or other grain). Lightly toast millet in saucepan over medium heat for about 2 minutes. Add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and allow to cook (without stirring) for 15 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed. Don’t stir the millet, it will get mushy if you do (I know this from experience!) When it’s done, lightly fluff it with a fork.

In a small jar, or bowl, mix tamari, rice vinegar, and sriracha. If using a jar with a lid, add olive oil and shake vigorously until mixed. If using a bowl, pour in olive oil and whisk to emulsify. Put aside.

Tear clean kale off stems and rip into bite size pieces. Add coconut and about 1/2 of dressing. Toss and then spread onto prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes (check every few minutes after 10 to prevent burning – it happens fast!) Kale is done when it is crispy to the touch, if still soft, keep it in the over for 2 minute intervals until crispy.

Serve kale atop prepared millet and top each portion with 1/2 of the remaining dressing. Enjoy!

Birthday Cake Donuts

A few weeks ago it was our friend Clare’s birthday; it had been far too long since I’d busted out the donut pan – so birthday cake donuts it was!

Birthday Cake Donuts

adapted from Cookies and Cups

Ingredients:

For the Donuts…

• One box Funfetti or Confetti Cake Mix
• 3/4 c buttermilk (I used 3/4 c almond milk & 1 T lemon juice)
• 2 eggs
• 2 T melted coconut spread (butter substitute made by Earth Balance)

For the glaze…

• 1/4 c almond milk
• 2 c powdered sugar
• 1 t pure vanilla extract

For the frosting…

• 1 c powdered sugar
• 1 T almond milk (plus more if needed – add by T)
• sprinkles (definitely not optional)

Pre-heat oven to 425. Add 1 T lemon juice to 3/4 c almond milk if you are subbing for buttermilk. Mix all ingredients together (use a mixer if you are rich) and put into ziploc bag or piping bag. Cut off corner. Pip into your donut pan. Don’t over fill! A little over 1/2 full is perfect… otherwise you will end up with duffins (donut-muffins) like I did. Bake 7-9 minutes, just until browned. Place on cooling rack. Make 2nd batch… recipe should make 12 donuts or so.

For the glaze, combine ingredients in a medium sauce pan over low heat. Coat your donuts in glaze while the pan is still on low heat… place glazed donuts back on cooling rack. (Optional: perform taste test on semi-cooled glazed donuts)

For the frosting, mix together sugar and almond milk until smooth. Spread 1 t of frosting on cooled glazed-donuts, top with sprinkles. (Not optional: eat at least 2 more and complain of stomach pains for the rest of the night)

*For more technical instructions and tutorial, please see linked post. I know you don’t expect such from me.

My batch yielded more than a dozen but I don’t want to make you any promises. This was a win-win situation because I was still able to bring a dozen to the party, eat a few for quality control purposes, and have one the day after the party to perform freshness measures (I do it for you, blog friends).

Lately…

So, I haven’t posted in nearly a month. My longest streak since I started this little blog nearly two years ago. I could claim I’ve been too busy but I’m pretty sure there are bloggers out there busier than I am that post on a regular basis. So I don’t know what it is. But I have been eating, drinking and having some good times. With a gentle return to the blog world, I present you my life, lately, in instagram:

1-4: Beers and appetizers at Hingham Beer Works with mom and dad back in January. 5-6: One of my favorite wines and wine shop at Fresh Market, Hingham. 7-8: Griffy sits with on his grammie and pretzel crusted mac & cheese made by the man-friend. 9: An afternoon Pacifico at Acapulco’s, Quincy with my parents. 10: The ruler of my roost. 11: Snowed in Vampire Diaries marathon – with myself. 12: Friends came to visit and we saw “American Idiot” at the Boston Opera House. 13: An after work beer with my former roomie at Fat Cat, Quincy. 14: Hot peppers prior to chopping for one of the most delicious blogger-inspired recipes I’ve ever made. 15: Sunday morning coffee via Spiderman. 16: Kale-Chickpea Coconut Curry Soup.

See? I’m still doing stuff… even if it isn’t blogging.

Butternut Squash Wheatberry Fauxsotto

I won’t call this a risotto because it’s not. It takes much less time than a traditional risotto and doesn’t quite achieve the ability of risotto to “stand-up” when it’s ready. What this is is one of the most flavorful dishes I’ve prepared in a long time and yet it is so incredibly simple it can easily be made on a weeknight when time is minimal.

Butternut Squash Fauxsotto

adapted from Peanut Butter Fingers

Ingredients:

• 3/4 c wheatberries (mine are from the Whole Foods bulk bins)
• 3 c broth (I used chicken but use whatever you prefer)
• 2 c butternut squash, chopped
• 1 t fresh Thyme, chopped
• 1 T olive oil
• 1/2 onion, chopped (optional, I used dehydrated onion flakes)
• Salt and Pepper, to taste
• Parmesan Cheese, for topping

In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and Thyme until onions soften (if you use dehydrated onions you don’t really need to wait) add wheatberries and cook, stirring often, for just a few minutes.

Turn up heat to medium-high, add 2 c broth and squash. Stir constantly but allow pot to simmer.  The squash will break down and the broth will absorb. After 2 c of broth is absorbed, begin adding a little more broth at a time until it is absorbed. Repeat until last cup of broth has been added. When the fauxsotto has thickened, it is done.

Serve with fresh grated parmesan on top and optionally add sprigs of fresh Thyme for garnish.

Serves 2

Blood, Bones & Butter

Over vacation I discovered that I can borrow e-books from the library and read them on my laptop using Kindle for PC. A few I titles I was interested in were already “checked out” but Blood, Bones & Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef was available and it sounded worth my time.

What a great read! I couldn’t “put it down”. It’s a memoir written by Chef Gabrielle Hamilton of Prune restaurant in New York City. She starts by reminiscing of her childhood and her family’s annual pig roasts and the imagery is just incredible. As an adult, she marries an Italian and spends a month every summer in Italy – so as you can imagine, her descriptions of her time there are fascinating.

Though I had never heard of her prior to reading this book, I am definitely a fan of her approach at cooking (and eating!) as it is much similar to mine (I’d like to think, anyway) in that she takes a “no frills” approach. She believes that food should be straight forward and that the flavors should come from the quality of the food itself and not by adding “foams” or “emulsions”.

If you are a fan of memoirs, especially ones that involve food, you will enjoy this book. The author’s journey to becoming a chef was both an accident and an adventure.

Side note: I totally recommend the e-book feature from the library – getting a book to read for free (for a 14 day rental period) without even leaving my house? Sounds good to me!

Vegan Lentil Pâté

If you’ve had pâté before, the animal kind, and enjoyed it – then you will most likely be a fan of this vegan version. As you may know if you eat lentils, they almost mimic meat in that they are protein rich and super filling. While the flavors in this create a pâté that is unique, it is remarkably reminiscent of it’s animal-based counterparts.

If you’re skeptical, I don’t blame you. There are a bunch of less common, perhaps even intimidating, ingredients in this recipe. Finding Umeboshi paste (plum paste) took a trip to the local Asian Supermarket where I could not find it, a trip to my local health food store where it was too expensive for my wallet and finally a trip to Whole Foods where I splurged on it because I had a gift certificate. The Mirin (sweet cooking sauce) and Miso I picked up at the Asian Supermarket for quite a bit less than the regular supermarket/health food store. The French lentils I picked up in the bulk bins at Whole Foods and they were even cheaper at my local health food store. So all in all, it’s not a cheap dish but you’ll only be using a bit of the more expensive ingredients so you can make it many times (and I suspect after one taste you will want to) over.

If it’s the actual idea that this is pâté that makes you reluctant, perhaps you are vegan, don’t let that deter you. It doesn’t taste “meaty” by any means, it is reminiscent of pâté in that it has great depth of flavors.

Vegan Lentil Pâté

from Bojon Gourmet

Ingredients:

• 3/4 c dried green lentils (sometimes called “French lentils”)
• 3 c water
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 T olive oil, divided
• 1 med yellow onion, chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 1 T Mirin
• 1 1/4 c walnuts (I used a combination of walnuts, pecans and cashews – what I had on hand), toasted in oven at 350 for 10 minutes and cooled
• 1 T fresh thyme, chopped
• 3 T miso (I used the yellow/brown variety)
• 1 1/2 T Umeboshi paste
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Olive oil for drizzling

Add water, lentils and bay leaf to a sauce pan. Bring to a boil then cover partially and reduce to a simmer for about 20 minutes until lentils are tender but not mushy. Stir occasionally to ensure lentils don’t stick to bottom of pan. When lentils are done, drain and allow to cool completely. I suggest putting them in the refrigerator, spread on a plate, to speed up the process.

While lentils are cooking, add 2 T olive oil to another pan heated over medium heat. Sauté onion and garlic until onions are golden, about 15 minutes. Stir in the Mirin and remove from the heat. Allow to cool completely, I put mine in the refrigerator to speed this up.

Add the toasted and cooled nuts to the food processor and process until they have become the consistency of nut butter. Add the lentils and onion-garlic mixture and process until smooth. Add in the remaining ingredients and process until smooth.

Drizzle with olive oil and additional fresh herbs for serving. I served mine with a baguette cut into thin slices.