avocad-oh, yes!

when a friend posted this recipe with the words "must try" i found myself nodding enthusiastically. indeed. must try. so i did.

i made a few alterations. I used a tube of condensed milk (that's how we roll here) and augmented the rest of the creamy ingredients with some plain yogurt. i also used lemon and lime juice, because im wild. and, we dont have graham crackers, so i bought a box of butter cookies and used that instead.

the mister is away for a few weeks, so im eating lots of soup and sandwiches.

salmon chowder

and this pie. yes, oh yes. this pie.  

you should make this pie too.
you should.

a taste of home: california benedict

ha! eat your heart out, golden harvest!



mhmm, that's right. one california benedict with tofu bacon.

and roasted asparagus.

oh, golden harvest, lo for many moons you provided me with sustenance and joy. thank you for the inspiration.

i do have a goal to make my own english muffins. but we need to eat more tuna first. even though the mister thinks im batty, i am starting a collection of tuna cans to make my own crumpet rings. or i might try tin foil. at any rate, i have a plan.

i found some dark bread at the market to use for our base and built our dinner upon that. avocado, tomato, poached egg, tofu bacon, and, of course, hollandaise.

for the hollandaise sauce, i didnt use butter but yogurt.

i whipped the ever daylights out of two egg yolks, until they were thick, and added one pot of yogurt (about 1/2 cup conveniently enough). then i plunked my bowl on top of a pot with boiling water and kept whisking. i added lemon juice (roughly half a lemon) and a blob of mustard towards the end.

it was, indeed, a treat.

My mojo. I'm useless without it.

mojo sauce: it is so good..you should make some. poste haste.

i made some simple chard, potato, and black bean tacos with mojo sauce and avocado the other day and it was pure joy.

first, i steamed some taters.  I set them aside and let them cool. the chard was washed and the stems separated. i chopped the stems and sauteed them in a little olive oil first. then came the potatoes and beans. i added the chopped leaves last.

concerning tacos and burritos, i have experimented a great deal here with cheese. i am a fool to make such a declaration in the land of cheese, but... i really adore jack. it's just that i prefer something simple and gentile for my tortillas. asiago has won a prize for being an acceptable burrito and taco and quesadilla cheese. it melts well, it has a mild flavour, and it's tasty.

i shredded some asiago and sliced half an avocado.

then i put the whole thing together:

corn tortilla, cheese, avocado, chard bean potato mixture, mojo.

Bon Appétit

c’est le dernier cri: cilantro inspired salad and chocolate basil cake with balsamic ganache

we are back from tenerife and i have some new freckles and a deepened love affair with cilantro. i adore cilantro. so when i discovered mojo sauce, well, i was swept off my feet. mojo sauce, like enchilada sauce, is either red or green. the red sauce features red peppers and the green sauce is more or less cilantro pesto sans nuts or cheese. i warned christian that upon our return home, i might be a little mojo obsessed. traditionally, mojo sauce is served with potatoes but it's equally delightful slathered on bread. i envision tacos, enchiladas, burritos, and vegetables bejeweled with it. the experimentation shall commence shortly.

meanwhile, the mister and i love salad and we have not had enough of it lately. we were craving fresh crunchy vegetables something awful. and so for lunch, i made a super salad, complete with cilantro, that left us feeling ready to take on the world.

salad is good. 

i gathered the following:
2 carrots
1 head broccoli
1/4 cup quinoa (uncooked)
spinach
avocado
strawberries
bunch of cilantro
half bunch of parsley
dried cranberry
raisins
1 lime
honey
olive oil

in the food processor, i chopped the living daylights out of the carrots, broccoli stem, parsley and cilantro. while i was busy with that, the florets were steaming. i prepped a bowl of cold water and once the broccoli turned a magically vivid green colour, i drowned them in the cold water to stop the cooking process. they were drained and chopped and set aside. then i used the water from the steamer to cook the quinoa.

once the quinoa was cooked and fluffed and cooled, i threw it all together with the raisins and the cranberries. i made a dressing with the juice of one lime, some honey, and a healthy splash of olive oil.



i served the veggies on a bed of spinach with strawberries and a few slices of avocado for good measure.

yummo.

and then... we had plans to meet with friends for some pétanque (bocci ball) so i decided to bake a cake.   ive had it in my head to combine chocolate and basil and balsamic vinegar... so i gave it a whirl.

the cake recipe itself is a pretty standard vegan chocolate cake recipe (though i use half the sugar and salt).  the trick was adding the basil.

i went onto the balcony and plucked our basil plants until i filled a small bowl (roughly a cup-ish) with leaves. into the food processor went the leaves along with the sugar.  i ground them together and made a sticky green mixture.


3 cups flour (680 grams)
1 cup basil sugar (225 grams sugar + about one cup basil)
6 heaping tablespoons cocoa (100 grams)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 cup cold water

dry ingredients were combined, wet ingredients were combined, and then all the ingredients got together in one bowl and had a good time blending.

next, i greased a cake pan with olive oil and instead of flouring it with, er, flour, i used cocoa powder. i poured in the batter and baked it for about 40-ish minutes at 350/175 degrees.

while the cake was baking, i made ganache for the frosting.

some folks swear by making their ganache with cream but i use butter.

this time i used:
200 g baking chocolate
100ish g butter
lively splishysplash of milk (this helps keep the ganache spreadable. with a 2:1 ratio, the frosting can be a devil to spread)
2+ tbsp balsamic vinegar

melt the butter on the stovetop, or warm the cream if that's what youre using, and once melted/heated through, pour over broken-up chocolate bits. then, whisk until the chocolate is melted and combined, and the whole thing has a nice shine.

i let it cool for a bit then stuck it in the fridge.

once we got to the park, i realized the knife i brought to frost the cake seemed to have run away with the spoon and the dish. luckily, i was with a gathering of swiss folk and lo and behold, there was also a swiss army knife. i frosted the cake during a game intermission and i dont think lionel the lion has ever seen his knife used in such a fashion. i promised him i'd get the knife clean of chocolate. i let him cut the cake too.
 
and there were smiles all around.

the basil added a whole new dynamic to this cake. it almost had a peppery taste, and it sure was divine. for folks who are neither basil or balsamic vinegar enthusiasts, fear not: later in the evening, my father-in-law, hardly a devotee of either of those specific flavours, devoured his slice of cake.

In which our Hero decides to listen to folks

i love to cook. and bake. luckily, my partner loves to eat. we work well together. i cannot say how many times i harass him with the age old question, "hey there, hot stuff, what do you want for dinner?" the answer is usually a look of exasperation, a blank stare, or a mindless uttering of "something good."  in other words, yes please.

 i've been sharing my food creations with friends and family for quite a time, and for quite a time friends and family have urged me to write about my chefs-d'oeuvre. and why not? i look back at old photographs of the tasty treats ive made and i dont always remember what i did. so here i am.

im sitting on our balcony at present and the birds are singing like mad.  it's 9:20 in the evening and i still have enough light to write and enjoy the view of the alps in front of me.

i just ate dessert.

cherry and rhubarb crisp

tonight is a rare night when the mister isn't home in which i go ahead and make a dessert. but basically, ive been eating on my own since sunday, so why the hell not. he's really busy this week. his mom gave us some goodies from the garden (you will notice some themes) and i have had a wonderful time making things.  like what i just demolished.

i removed the pits from the cherries and chopped the rhubarb into moons.  i mixed that with some candied ginger chunks (not a whole lot--maybe two pieces?) and some almonds.  i threw the makings into an oven-proof dish.  then i combined some wheat flour, some grains (not just oats--quick oats dont really exist here), some coveted brown sugar (not so much, just a little), and butter.  i mashed that up a bit and topped the fruit.  then i put it in the oven (at 200° C) for half-hour-ish? i lost track of time as i was listening to the birds and talking with my dear laura in california.  the mister came home with nice cream the other day--something i dont think i've bought in the 2 years since ive lived here--so i went ahead and helped myself.  deeeeelish.

dinner this evening was a lovely chard pesto. i chopped some tomaters to put on top for kicks.  and for colour.  i like to cook with colour.

chard pesto: chard, garlic, basil, cashews, olive oil

which reminds me of last night's dinner, pineapple surprise.  the surprise is there's no pineapple. 

SURPRISE! 

pineapple surprise is an original recipe, though it changes with the tide, and whatever we happen to have floating around.  i usually make pineapple surprise with cilantro but we didnt have any and the markets were already closed.  i just used some chard.  the standard ingredients that dont change include bell pepper, black beans, onion, and mango.  it's also normally served with corniebread, though brown rice is not a bad choice.  you might have noticed that i wrote  corniebread, not cornbread.  this is not a typo.  corniebread is not your typical cornbread.  no, no, it's bright and colourful.  just like me.  ive been making my cornbread this way since 1995.  it just tastes better.  and i love cornbread.

2 eggs

1/3 cup oil

1 1/2 cup milk

3 tbsp melted butter

2/3 cup sugar 

1 1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup cornmeal

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp bkg powder

mix wet ingredients in one small bowl.  mix dry ingredients in another bowl.  slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.  pour into prepared baking vessel of choice.   

corniebread requires this slight variation: 

after the ingredients are poured into the baking pan, put a few drops of food colouring into the mixture and swirl around with an egg beater, fork, or instrument of choice.  

commence baking.   35 minutes at 350°/175° ...or until a toothpick declares itself clean.  

the recipe for pineapple surprise is as follows: 

sauté onion.  add bell peppers.  add lime juice (squeeze limes and lemons with the cut side up.  it lets the juice run down but not seeds).  add mango.  add beans.  stir stir stir.  eat.  

i like simple food.  just because something is simple does not make it bad.  pineapple surprise is a quick and healthy dinner.

another rather quick dish was what i had for lunch yesterday.  i have no name for this recipe as of yet... but let's just call it yumm-o!

i often make a huge batch of quinoa to keep around for salads. sometimes i make it with coconut milk because i am wild and crazy. i had some hanging out in the fridge, and some strawberries that needed to go. also some asparagus that was looking a little sad (i think it was the last of the season...nooooooooooo!).  there was also chard and rhubarb from my mother-in-law.   i sautéed a shallot, added the asparagus, added the rhubarb, gave those a whirl, and added the chard just at the end so it would be bright and green and full of nutrients.  then i plunked all that on top of the quinoa, added a few strawberries, and that's that.  the rhubarb was quite tasty--it added a lovely zing to the dish.  almost lemony! 

simple and tasty.

also simple and tasty was the pizza i made on sunday.  now, usually i make my own dough.  but i must confess.  this time i used a ready-made that fell into my grocery baskey last week.  oops.  well, i did what any savvy lass would do: i ate it.

i had some goat cheese, some mozzarella (the pizza dough had friends in the baskey), some asparagus, two nectarines (gonk) on their last legs, fresh basil, and one can of tomato paste.  ask my mom about me and tomato paste sometime.

i made a quick sauce with the tomato paste and herbs (dried basil and oregano), layered on slices of moo-zarella, and lovingly arranged the rest of the goods.

after i baked the pie, i added the fresh basil and devoured it.  well, half of it.  the mister was lucky enough to enjoy some when he got back sunday evening.

the last dish i would like to share was also thematically simple.

quinoa, chard, lime, goat cheese

i zested a lime into a bowl, juiced half the lime, and added in some goat cheese.  then i let that hang out.  meanwhile, i made a fresh batch of quinoa (i did not use the coconut milk batch but just regular ol' water).  when the quinoa was halfway done, i threw some chard into the pot.  i let it simmer, then turned off the heat and kept the lid on for a minute to let it steam.  then i emptied the bowl in with the chard and quinoa and juiced the other half the of the lime.

i ate it with an avocado.

you can eat anything with an avocado.

anything.

anything. 

bon appétit <3