Quinoa Salad with Avocado and Kalamata Olives

Quinoa Salad with Avocado and Kalamata Olives

 

This recipe comes from the New York Times online.

I thought it sounded like a good way to eat quinoa (keen-wah), which is high in protein and a nice alternative to rice.

 

Before you cook quinoa, you need to rinse and drain it a few times to get the soapy residue off.  It cooks quickly.

When the little white string in the seed is present, you know it's done.  It's as easy as making rice according to the packaged directions.

After making the quinoa you toss it in a bowl with a seeded & diced cucumber, Kalamata olives (I halved mine), and chopped fresh mint and parsley.  I seasoned it with sea salt and black pepper.

 

Then I whisked the dressing ingredients together - lemon juice, vinegar, Dijon mustard, garlic, olive oil, and either buttermilk or plain yogurt.  I used plain Greek yogurt with a Tbsp of water to give it a dressing consistency.

 

 

You toss half of the dressing with salad greens of your choice (I used romaine), and the other half of the dressing with the quinoa salad.  I served the greens and quinoa separately, but you could combine them.

Top with diced avocado and Feta crumbles (optional).

 

I really loved this salad - I would do it again even without the dressing.  The boys were neutral, but David liked it too.  The quinoa salad portion was great the next day with new greens.

 

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Enjoy!

Avocado Alfredo Sauce

Avocado Alfredo Sauce

Alicia Silverstone shared this recipe on her blog last week so I tried it out.  It originally comes from EcoSalon, and it looked absolutely delicious.

 

I made up a large pot of pasta - rotini was what I had in the pantry.

Then I made the "alfredo" sauce by combining avocados, fresh basil, garlic cloves, lemon juice, sea salt and pepper in the food processor.

 

 

I drained the pasta and tossed it with the sauce, then topped it off with Kalamata olives and a little lemon zest.

 

It was really good.  David and I loved it.  Brennan liked it even better the next day, warmed up for an after school snack. 

 

David was pretty certain I had made this dish before, so I looked here on the blog and lo and behold - a different version of this same meal - although this other version was more of a pesto and included pine nuts.  You can find it here.

 

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Enjoy!

 

Endive Avocado Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

Endive Avocado Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

 

So first off I have to ask - what is a salad dressing that is made from herbs, citrus, & oil but contains no vinegar?  Is it still a Vinaigrette?  Let's go with that for now, OK?

 

I saw this delicious salad on Andie's blog Can You Stay for Dinner? 

 

And because I had most of the ingredients on hand, I decided to make it to go with pasta and basil marinara I was already planning last night.

 

It was so, so good, and fresh.

And a very simple recipe, perfect for the spring with all the great produce out.

 

Whisk up the Vinaigrette of fresh lemon juice, a minced garlic clove, olive oil, shredded Parmesan, salt, & pepper.  Then toss the lettuce with the dressing and plate it for each person.  I used endive because it's what I had and was tired of romaine.  Andie's original recipe calls for arugula.  Your pick!

 

Top with halved cherry tomatoes, sliced avocado and a sprinkling of Sea Salt and black pepper.

 

I had a big avocado so we all got generous portions of sliced avocado.  Win-win.

 

Brennan and David felt like it might be a little too lemon-y so you can play with the flavor as you're making up your dressing. 

 

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Enjoy!

 

Avocado Pesto Pasta

Avocado Pesto Pasta

 

This is another yummy recipe from Chloe Coscarelli's cookbook that we tried out this week.

I think this may be my favorite pesto recipe - and I've made tons of different pestos.

We loved the creaminess of this one - and the great flavors.

 

 

I made a pound of linguine in salted water while I made the pesto in my food processor.

For the pesto I used basil, pine nuts, 2 avocados, lemon juice, garlic, and olive oil.

I drizzled in the olive oil as the other ingredients were chopping and combining.

 

The recipe calls for 1/2 c olive oil, but I think next time I'll start with 1/4 c and see if I want to add more.

 

I placed the hot pasta in a large bowl and topped it with the pesto.

Combined it and served immediately.

We ate the leftovers later as well - the lemon juice protects the avocado from turning brown and kept the flavor great.

 

This makes a large bowl of pasta, so you could easily cut the recipe in half.

 

It was creamy and delicious!

 

Double click to print as a 5x7 recipe card. 

 

Enjoy!

 

 

Lemon Mousse

Lemon Mousse

Let me start by saying this is the strangest recipe I've made in awhile.

Wait until you see the ingredients.

I am always on the lookout for a delicious dessert recipe that also uses fresh produce.

And Lemon Mousse?  Sounded great!

I found this recipe in Gillian McKeith's You Are What You Eat cookbook - one that I reference a lot!  She encourages her clients to try this recipe because so many are lacking in essential fatty acids, which can lead to a number of health issues.

A healthy lemon dessert?  I was certainly willing to give it a try.

You start by zesting one lemon, then peeling four, cutting them in half and removing the seeds.

You place the lemons in the food processor along with 4 peeled avocados, fresh lemon juice, fresh orange juice, pitted dates, and maple syrup.

With all those yummy avocados, there's no way this Lemon Mousse was going to be yellow.

And shouldn't Lemon Mousse be yellow??

Once it's super smooth, you spoon the mousse into individual dishes and chill for 2 hours before serving.

Looks like guacamole, doesn't it?

Top with lemon zest, and serve.

The Results:

David and Thomas thought it was waaaay too tart, and they'd cut the lemons in half.

I liked the flavor - it's really tart from all those fresh lemons, and I liked the texture.

 I'd eat this dish again, but....

It was almost heart breaking to me to use up those delicious avocados and dates in this way.

I love each and every one of the ingredients that are combined in this (rather strange) dish.

I think I'd just rather eat them individually.

Note:  cover with Saran Wrap if you don't eat them all that day or they won't look awesome the next day.

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Bon Appetit!

Romaines of the Day

Abs Diet Hall of Fame

Romaines of the Day Salad

This salad is really, really good! 

We made it the other night and David has said a couple of times now that he really liked it - in case he forgot to tell me.  I think we'll be making this every week.

This comes from the Abs Diet cookbook that my friend John loaned me a year or so ago.
I copied a bunch of recipes from it and they've been waiting for me patiently in my large recipe file.

There are some good recipes from this book, but the recipe titles are the best, including this one.

I made the vinaigrette that is part of the recipe with olive oil, lime zest, lime juice, salt & pepper.  I tossed the diced avocado into the dressing before incorporating it with the rest of the salad to keep the avocado fresh.

I mixed romaine, cilantro, scallions, and rinsed & drained black beans.

Added the dressing and tossed it all together.

Mmmm...it was so good!

The next time I made it I kept the avocado/dressing separate so I could store them separately in the fridge so the lettuce wouldn't wilt.  It's a really great salad!

Double click to print as a 5x7 recipe card.

Enjoy!

Avocado Pita Pizza with Cilantro Sauce

Avocado Pita Pizza with Cilantro Sauce

This recipe comes from Two Peas and Their Pod, and it was really good!

After a long family bike ride on Sunday, then a quick stop at Dairy Queen, we came home and were ready for a meal.  This recipe was a pretty quick one to pull together.

You make a Cilantro Sauce by processing together in the food processor fresh cilantro, garlic, lime juice, green onion, and a little bit of minced jalapeno.  Then you drizzle in olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Then take your pitas and place them on a baking sheet, and top with the cilantro sauce. 

Then I added a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.

Bake at 400 for 8 minutes.

Then top with sliced avocado, slice up and serve!

Next time I will get the pita bread instead of pockets, but since we were slicing them up to eat like pizza, it was actually just fine.

Delicious!

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Enjoy!



Avocado Sour Cream

Sugar Cooking's

Avocado Sour Cream

I shared Sarah's Chicken, Spinach, and Goat Cheese Quesadillas on my blog here.

This is a delicious sauce that she serves with the quesadillas and one I tried out last night.

It's really, really good, and I could see using it in a number of ways!

It's very simple.

You chop and mash an avocado and add sour cream, lime juice, mayo and season it with salt and pepper.

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Buen Provecho!