Avocado-Tomato Stack

I've made the dressing for this two different ways so I'll include both.

Avocado-Tomato Stack with Cilantro-Lime Dressing
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1/3 cup fat-free milk
1 tsp. vinegar or lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
3 tbsp. sour cream or plain yoghurt
1/2 tsp. lime zest
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/8 tsp. ground cumin
Dash of crushed red pepper flakes
4 medium tomatoes, sliced
1/4 cup red onion, very thinly sliced
1 small avocado
Freshly ground black pepper

Avocado-Tomato Stack with Lemon-Basil Dressing
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1/3 cup fat-free milk
1 tsp. vinegar or lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
3 tbsp. sour cream or plain yoghurt
1/2 tsp. lemon zest
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/8 tsp. dried oregano
Dash of crushed red pepper flakes
4 medium tomatoes, sliced
1/4 cup red onion, very thinly sliced
1 small avocado
Freshly ground black pepper

The method is the same for either dressing.
Method:
1. Make buttermilk by combining the milk plus the lemon juice or vinegar. Mix and then let this stand for 10 minutes. To make the dressing, add the buttermilk plus the next seven ingredients (through red pepper flakes) to the bowl of a food processor. Process 30 seconds or until well blended. Cover and chill.

2. Layer 1 tomato slice on each of 4 plates. Top each piece with a little red onion and some avocado. Repeat these layers three times, ending with avocado. Drizzle each stack with dressing and sprinkle with additional black pepper, if desired.

Reference:
Based on Heirloom Tomato and Avocado Stack from the June 2008 issue of Cooking Light.

My Changes:
*DIY buttermilk.
*Used additional sour cream in place of mayonnaise.
*Used full-fat sour cream (not low-fat).
*The lemon-basil dressing idea was suggested as a variation in the original recipe. However, when I tried it, I added in the oregano in place of the cumin called for in the cilantro-lime/original version.
*Used regular vine-ripened tomatoes (in this economy, you use what you have!) Would like to try it with fancier heirloom ones, though. :)

Chickpea Burgers with Two Relishes

Is "relishes" really even a word..? lol :)

I actually made this a couple weeks ago and then my schedule went nuts and I've had no time for blogging!
It's a good thing; I've been going to lots of tai chi classes and I also found a netball club here to play with. Nice to be back on the court even though I am really rusty. That's what I'd be doing right now if my bio bomb students at work hadn't given me this cold... boo :(

These little chickpea numbers were so tasty! I can't wait to make them again. I think next time, I'd like to try them with black beans. Yum!
I served these with lavender-rosemary roasted potatoes in place of fries.



This would be enough for 2 (1 patty each)

Ingredients:
1/3 cup dry chickpeas (use canned it you prefer)
1 egg white
1 tbsp. sour cream
1/8 cup onion, diced
1 small garlic clove, minced
Small amount of lemon juice (about 1/4 lemon worth)
1/8 cup panko
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. Mexican oregano (dried)
1/4 cup freshly-shredded pepper-jack cheese, divided (1/8 per patty)
1/2 tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tsp. olive oil
Sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper

Relishes:
1 large tomato, seeded and chopped (divided so you have 1/2 tomato in each of two bowls)
2-3 Kalamata olives, sliced
1/4 tsp. olive oil
1/8 tsp. red wine vinegar
1/2 avocado, diced
Juice of 1/4 lime (or use some of that lemon from above)
Chopped fresh cilantro (1-2 tbsp.)
Sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper to taste

Method:
1. If you use dried beans, you'll need to start by soaking these. I prefer to quick-soak mine. Bring them to a boil in enough water to cover them by 3-4 inches. Once they are boiling, immediately remove them from the heat and let them sit, covered, for 1 hour. Drain, rinse, and cook as usual.

2. I decided to make the relishes first to allow the flavours time to meld together. I made two different ones - an olive-tomato relish as well as an avocado pico relish. Both were fantastic!
To make the avocado pico:
*Mix the tomato (1/2 tomato), lime (or lemon) juice, cilantro, and salt and pepper to taste in a small bowl. Allow this to sit in the fridge for 1 hour.
To make the olive-tomato relish:
*Mix the other 1/2 tomato, olives, olive oil, red wine vinegar, and salt/pepper to taste in a small bowl. Refrigerate until ready to use.

3. Make the patties! Put the chickpeas, egg white, sour cream, onion, garlic, and lemon juice in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until well-combined (it should be chunky). Add the salt, pepper, cilantro, and cumin and pulse until combined. Transfer this mixture to a mixing bowl and stir in the panko and cheese.

4. Form portions of the mixture into two 1-inch thick patties. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the burgers and cook for 6-8 minutes per side or until golden. Flip once during cooking.
Serve with the relishes and, if desired, avocado slices (I just can't get enough avocado!)

Reference:
I found this recipe on the Savory Safari blog; the author of that blog was inspired by a recipe for veggie burgers at 101 Cookbooks.

My changes:
*I used pepper-jack in place of cotija cheese. I also grated my cheese as opposed to slicing it and then mixed it in with the bean mixture rather than placing the slices in between two halves of each patty.
*I added the cilantro, cumin, and oregano.
*I used sour cream in place of mayonnaise.
*I added a relish :) The avocado-pico was my idea. I thought it would work well with the flavours in the patties.

Fresh Berries with Almond Cream

Yum... what a wonderful low-fat dessert! You will not believe how creamy the sauce is even though I used fat-free milk. :)

Plan at least 5 hours ahead for this!

2 servings

Ingredients:
1/4 cup blanched almonds
1 cup fat-free milk
1/8 cup sugar
3/4 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tbsp. amaretto
1/8 cup fresh organic raspberries
1/8 cup fresh organic blueberries
1/4 cup fresh organic strawberries

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Roast the almonds on a baking sheet for 15 minutes until they become light brown. Allow them to cool and then pulse them in a food processor or coffee grinder until they are finely ground.

2. In a medium saucepan, combine the ground almonds, 3/4 cup milk, and sugar. Stirring every minute or two, bring this mixture to a simmer over medium-low heat. Remove from the heat, cover, and let the almonds steep for 1 hour.

3. Strain the mixture over a glass bowl through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing down on the almonds to extract all the liquid. Discard the solids left in the sieve.

4. Bring the almond-milk mixture to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low. Dissolve the cornstarch in the remaining 1/4 cup milk. Gradually stir the cornstarch-milk mixture into the simmering liquid. Simmer, stirring constantly, until the custard thickens. Add 1/2 tbsp. amaretto and stir.

5. Strain the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a glass bowl. Place a sheet of plastic wrap directly on top of the custard to keep a skin from forming. Chill at least 4 hours or overnight.

**The custard can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated.**

6. Marinate the berries in the remaining amaretto for at least 2 hours. Just before serving, beat the custard with a wire whisk. Pour the custard over the berries.

Reference:
From The Occasional Vegetarian (Original recipe title was "Mixed Berries with Almond Cream). The only change I made was to use strawberries in place of blackberries. You can make this with whatever berries you have on hand.

Raita with Mixed Vegetables

This is a great little "salad" or garnish to serve alongside anything spicy - the combination of the yogurt and cucumber has a great cooling effect.

This makes 2 1/2 cups

Ingredients:
2 cups plain nonfat or lowfat yogurt
2 tbsp. nonfat sour cream
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
1 tomato, seeded and diced
2 tbsp. diced red onion
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. ground cumin

Method:
Combine the yogurt, sour cream, cucumber, tomato, onion, lemon juice, salt, and cumin in a bowl. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

**This can be prepared up to 1 day ahead - keep refrigerated.**

Reference:
From Karen Lee's book The Occasional Vegetarian. The only change I made was to omit 1/4 cup of diced red bell pepper.

Fudge Glaze for Brownies

This is also posted at the end of my original brownie recipe but here it is again to make it a little easier to find :) I realized I promised to include it with the amaretto brownies recipe and then never did! oops...

Enough to coat 1 9-inch pan of brownies (I usually make a little less and just "drizzle" it over the bars before cutting them).

Ingredients:
1 oz. unsweetened or semi-sweet chocolate
3 tbsp. butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract (for the amaretto brownies use almond extract instead!)
1-3 tbsp. warm milk

Method:
1. Melt butter and chocolate in a small saucepan. Blend in sugar and vanilla with a wire whisk. Add enough milk to make a smooth, spreadable glaze.

2. Spread or drizzle over cool brownies.

This would probably be good drizzled over cupcakes or fruit (wonder what it's like on ice cream?!)

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

This is basically the filling from the black bean and corn quesadillas I made for the second round of the Platinum Chef Challenge. I thought this would make a delicious salsa.

Ingredients:
1 ear of corn or 4 servings of frozen corn
1/2 of a 15-ounce can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup of onion, chopped - you could use red, white, green, or a combo of them (I like red and white ones mixed)
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
1 tomato, seeded and chopped
1 tbsp. lime juice
1/4 tsp. salt

Method:
1. If you are using fresh corn - heat the grill to medium-high heat. Remove the silk from the corn but leave the husks intact. Grill the corn for about 12 minutes or until it is tender. After allowing the corn to cool, remove the husks and scrape the kernels off the corn.

2. If using frozen corn - just cook the corn according to the package directions. Allow to cool.

3. Place the corn kernels in a non-reactive bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well to combine. Allow to stand for 30 minutes to 1 hour so the flavours can mix.

Enjoy with tortilla chips.

Homemade Guacamole

Pico de gallo (basically this recipe minus the avocado - makes a great, mild substitute for salsa)

With Memorial Day and Independence Day just around the corner, I am trying to post as many summer recipes as I can think of! I live for BBQ season!
Here's my own guacamole recipe. Quick and easy to make and much tastier than the store-bought variety (probably a lot cheaper, too!) If you leave out the avocadoes, this recipe also makes pico de gallo which is a tasty (mild) salsa alternative. Great on salads, tacos, as a dip for tortilla chips, etc.

This will make 8 servings (just enough for a family BBQ or picnic).

Ingredients:
2 ripe tomatoes, seeded and chopped (to seed tomatoes, try cutting them in half then squeezing each half over the disposal unit until the seeds pop out).
1 onion, chopped
3 green onions, chopped
3 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
3 tbsp. lime juice
salt and pepper to taste
2 avocadoes, chopped

Mix all ingredients up to salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Cover and refrigerate for about 1 hour. After the hour has passed, gently stir in the avocadoes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
You can make this as spicy as you like by adding some chopped and seeded jalapeno.


!Muy Delicioso! ;)