Super Summer Guacamole Guacamole is one of those remarkable foods that has appeal across cultures and generations. There are many different variations out there, and more than once I’ve been snacking at the hors d’oeuvres table with fellow party-goers when curiosity about the contents of the host’s “guac” has turned to lively debate among guests and outright defense of a tried-and-true recipe. Red onions go head-to-head with garlic; limes duke it out with lemons. Cilantro? Tomatoes? Hot sauce? Mayonnaise??? A really good guacamole takes a little more planning than most dips. Very rarely am I able to find the perfect avocado in the store or at the market, so great guacamole is a perfect way to practice the under-appreciated art of postponing gratification. A rock hard avocado usually takes about a week to soften, while a medium hard avocado takes about three days. The soft avocados on the shelf are usually too ripe and won’t have the flavor of the perfect avocado. Organic avocados are readily available, even in the winter when other fruits and vegetables are out of season and you’re craving a taste of summer. My daughter, Sela, is a chef. She is an amazing cook. Almost everything she makes is perfect. We happen to have different guacamole recipes. People ask which one I prefer, and I always say, “I prefer anything she cooks for me.” That said, I make my guacamole differently! Sela’s Ingredients: 3 “perfect” organic avocados 2 cloves organic garlic, pressed or micro-planed 1 tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice Salt to taste My Ingredients: 3 “perfect” organic avocados 1/4 cup diced yellow or white onion 1-2 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice Salt to taste With both recipes, mash the avocados with a fork or a pastry cutter until they are creamy. Add other ingredients and salt to taste. On occasion, when I need to stretch the guacamole (more guests come than are expected or the kids are starving), I add tomato to the guacamole. This can be done with...
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Just in time for Cinco de Mayo, but delicious all summer – mix up a pitcher of these marvelous mojitos and you know good times are ahead. 1 Pitcher Water 1.5 C Lime Juice 2 C Vodka ( I use Absolut Vodka) 2 C Rich Simple Syrup (2 Parts Sugar/1 Part Water Mint Sliced Lime Serve in a punch bowl and add ice to glass when serving. Garnish with the lime and...
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I have always loved the look of eggplant; when else do we get to eat a purple vegetable? Lured in by its shiny skin and intriguing shape, I used to bring an eggplant home from the market, admire it from afar, and eventually throw it away because I wasn’t quite sure what to do with it. Then I discovered this recipe, which has become my favorite way to eat eggplant (even though by now I’ve discovered baba ghanouge and other eggplant-based recipes!) This is a delicious accompaniment to grilled chicken or seafood. Ingredients: Extra virgin olive oil 1 medium or 2 small organic eggplants, sliced & quartered 1 clove garlic, minced 1 white onion, chopped 8 organic mushrooms, quartered 2 tbsp high quality balsamic vinegar Preparation time: About 25 minutes Heat the olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat until it is quite hot. Olive oil has a lower “flash point”–or temperature at which it will burn—than some other vegetable oils, so you don’t want it to be too hot for long. Add the eggplant. Let the slices cook well on one side and then stir them so they can cook awhile on the other side. When the eggplant is lightly browned on both sides, add the onion and garlic. Cover and cook for 15 minutes or until the eggplant is soft and fully cooked. Add the vinegar and stir. Add the mushrooms and cover again. Serve when the mushrooms are...
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These DIY “sun”dried tomatoes were easier than I expected and more delicious! My “sun” dried tomatoes are made in the oven. Since they take such a long time in the oven, I recommend you fill the oven with as many cookie sheets full of them as possible. My oven has 3 racks, so I do 3 sheets at a time. I tried both the convection oven and the regular oven as well as a dehydrator. I preferred the convection oven over both the regular oven and the dehydrator but use what you have, they will still be great. I tried this with both beefsteak and roma tomatoes. The roma tomatoes were substantially better than the beefsteak tomatoes from a cooking perspective and were what I was expecting to like best. The beefsteak tomatoes had an unexpected sweetness and could almost be eaten as dried fruit. I am looking forward to using them for some creative cooking! They are delicious. From a time perspective the beefsteak tomatoes take hours more. When I removed the roma tomatoes from the oven, I put the beefsteak tomatoes in the dehydrator for another 16 hours. 20 Roma Tomatoes per cookie sheet or jelly roll pan Parchment Slice the tomatoes longways and place cut-side up on parchment on a cookie sheet. Cook on your oven’s lowest temperature overnight. I removed the stems from the tomatoes but didn’t cut out the stem core. Cooking time at 170 degrees was about 16 hours on the oven setting. About 14 hours on the convection setting. After cooling, I used ziplock bags to store them. I cut the used parchment to create layers of them so I can grab a couple of tomatoes at a time from the...
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Corn consumption is rich in family and cultural traditions. Do you use butter and salt? Do you use your knife to apply butter, or do you get up close and personal with it, rolling the cob right on the butter slab? Do you use those little corn holder tines that go in the ends of the corn? (And are they cute – like little cows or yellow plastic cobs with smiley faces?) Or, in your family, do you just grab it and hold it? (And sometimes yell “Ouch”?) There are five ways that I like to cook corn. And I don’t mean frozen corn. I mean the tasty, pick-it-up-from-the- road-side-stand sort of corn that makes living in farm country great. Boil It: This is the traditional way and it is pretty darn good. Don’t add salt when you boil it—adding salt will take out the sweetness. Shuck the corn right before cooking and boil for about 15 minutes. Steam it: Husk it and steam for about 20 minutes. Roast it: Leave the husks on and toss it on your barbeque for about 25 to 30 minutes. Or, remove the husks and toss it on the BBQ for about 15 minutes. I baste it with butter at the end. The kernels brown a bit. Yeah, this one is my favorite! Off the Cob: Cut the kernels off the cob and include in any stir-fry dish or freeze for the winter. Microwave it: Leave it in the husk and microwave for 10 to 15 minutes or until it is steamy inside. Corn is the perfect food to microwave, with its built-in splatter-shield! However you make it, fresh corn says summer....
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I love cooking food from the CSA (community supported agriculture) box I get each week. Here’s a video and recipe for my breakfast. It was delicious! 2 Tbsp diced onion 4 radishes, sliced 4 shiitake mushrooms sliced 3 stalks asparagus, sliced 2 eggs 2 heaping Tbsp grated Reggiano parmesan cheese 2 Tbsp sour cream 1 Tbsp chopped cilantro ...
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