How to Freeze Avocados to Use in Smoothies

                                             

How to Freeze Avocados to Use in Smoothies

We add an avocado to our daily smoothies, yet we found it was difficult to have a "just right" ripe avocado every day since they go bad quickly. Sometimes we only needed half an avocado. I figured there had to be a way to freeze a big quantity of them in half-avocado-size portions without oxidizing and turning brown. After a bit of trial and error I found a way: a smooth purée. For every avocado you need 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, and it keeps its bright green color if you purée it rather than mash it like you would for guacamole. Each avocado = 3/4 cup purée (12 tablespoons). Sometimes I will make a big batch, like 18 avocados, so I need over 1 cup lemon juice for that quantity of purée (4 tablespoons = 1/4 cup). Now it's easy to have that daily avocado!

6 avocados, ripe
6 TBL lemon juice, fresh-squeezed
6 sandwich-sized zip-loc plastic bags 
1 ice-cream scoop that measures 1/4-cup servings
1 large tray

1. Wash avocados. Make a cut around each avocado starting at the stem end, and cut all the way around. Twist to separate. The pit will stay in one half. You can easily remove the pit by whacking the sharp knife into the pit, leaving the knife in the pit and twisting it out of the avocado half. The pit will stay on the knife, so simply hit the handle of the knife on the edge of the sink and the pit will fall into the sink.
2. As you go, place each cut avocado half flesh-side down on a cutting board so they don't turn brown, until all avocados are cut in half.
3. Scoop out the flesh of each avocado into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade.
4. Add lemon juice and pulse several times, then run the food processor continuously until you have a smooth purée. Stop halfway through to scrape down sides of the bowl.
5. To portion out into plastic bags: open one plastic bag, then fold the opening backwards down about an inch or two. Hold the open plastic bag in one hand with your fingers under the folded edge, the bag resting in your open palm, and scoop 3/4-cup avocado purée into the bag (3 scoops). Yes, that's a whole avocado portion, but hang on because we will divide in in half in step 7). Set aside and continue until all of the purée is portioned out.
6. To seal, tap each bag on the counter to get the purée into the bottom corners of the bag, then press out all of the air and seal. 
7. Place each bag on the large tray and lay the bags flat. Divide the purée in half by pressing your finger on top of the bag and running it from bottom to top. This creates 1/2 avocado portions in case you only need half an avocado for your smoothie or other recipe. 
8. Freeze the tray of purée, and use half a bag or the whole bag as needed.

Salmon with Sorrel & Lovage

Salmon with Sorrel & Lovage

Serves 2

Sorrel and lovage shoot out of the ground practically screaming, "Spring!" I was in the mood for poached salmon today. Yesterday I harvested the last of the French sorrel, washed it and bagged it until I figured out more recipes to use it in, and then I saw that the lovage seemed to have sprouted 2-feet tall overnight. I realized the smokey, celery-like lovage would be a great flavor with the lemony sorrel. How could that not be a great thing with poached salmon? It turned out so well I ran to write down the recipe so I wouldn't forget. We buy frozen wild-salmon filets that come individually sealed. It only takes 20-30 minutes to thaw them after setting them in a sink full of cold water.

Don't forget to cut a few large lovage stems into 8-inch straws to put in your drinking glasses!

2 C broth, preferably homemade (chicken, beef or fish)
2 6-ounce salmon filets, thawed if frozen
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, sliced thinly
1/3 C sliced celery, use the tender inner celery heart, sliced 1/4-inch thick, including whole leaves
3 TBL lovage leaves, coarsely chopped, packed tight
1 1/2 C chopped sorrel leaves (roll like a cigar and chop in 1/4-inch shred (save 1/2 C for later)
2 TBL parsley, chopped fine
1 TBL chives, snipped fine with scissors (optional)
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper, or 10 peppercorns
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 lemon, sliced thinly
Garnish: chive spears with a few chive blossoms and/or small lovage sprigs

1. In a 2-quart sauce pan sauté onion, garlic and celery in olive oil over medium heat until soft and fragrant, about 3 minutes. 
2. Add broth, lovage, sorrel (save 1/4 cup), parsley, chives, salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 1-2 minutes on low heat to develop flavors.
3. Add salmon filets to broth, pressing them so they are submerged a bit, then place lemon slices on top of the fish. Poach the salmon, covered, for 5 minutes over low to medium low heat. Add remaining 1/4 cup sorrel just before serving.
4. To serve, ladle broth, herbs and vegetables in to large shallow bowls, then place the salmon filets on top and serve. Garnish with some of the fresh herbs and a few lemon slices.

Sorrel Soup with Chicken and Leeks

Sorrel Soup with Chicken and Leeks

Sorrel makes for a wonderful soup in the spring. In Poland or Hungary they call it Shav Borscht, and often eat it at Passover. Traditionally it is thickened with a flour and butter roux, but not in my house.

1/2 pound sorrel leaves, stripped from stems and chopped
2 leeks, cleaned, and sliced including an inch of green
1 TBL olive oil
4 C chicken broth, preferably homemade
1 egg, optional (not for AIP diet)
2 C chicken, cooked or uncooked
salt and pepper to taste
Sour cream, coconut cream or cashew cream

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat, then sauté leeks for a minute or so, and add the chopped sorrel. Cook until sorrel wilts and turns its own unique shade of brown (once you cook it, you'll see what I mean).
2. Add the chicken stock to the sorrel and leeks. Bring to a simmer, and simmer for about 10 minutes. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed. 
3. At this point you can either puree the soup (use an immersion blender) and add the beaten egg, or you can leave it as is. 
4. Add the chicken. If the chicken is uncooked, simmer until cooked through. If you are using up leftover cooked chicken, chop or shred the chicken and add to soup to heat through.
5. Serve the soup hot or cold, garnished with a small chiffonade of fresh sorrel, and a dollop of sour cream, coconut cream or cashew cream.

Yay! A local CSA farm near my home!

The farm near my home is La Nay Ferme, Provo, Utah. And, if you are lucky enough to buy fresh vegetables and fruit from a local CSA* farm near you, there are three reasons to join. Head chefs Vance Lott and Matt Lott talk about them here: 

1. TASTE & HEALTH: The fruit and vegetables taste MUCH better, and they are better for you
2. SUPPORT: You are supporting your local community
3. RELATIONSHIPS:  You develop a relationship with the food, since you've seen where it comes from, and that is a healthy thing!

*CSA means Community Supported Agriculture, so go ahead, join a CSA and support your community!

Creamy Cauliflower Soup with Spinach

2 heads cauliflower
1 TBL olive oil or coconut oil
2 onions, peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic, sliced
*
1 quart chicken broth (preferably homemade)
1 tsp salt, or to taste
4 C baby spinach

1. Remove large green leaves from both of the cauliflowers. With a paring knife, remove the cores. Rinse under running water and set aside.
2. In a large pressure cooker, heat the oil and sauté onions and garlic over medium heat. Cook until softened and fragrant, about 5 minutes.
3. To the pot add both cauliflower (whole is fine), seal the lid and bring to high pressure for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and bring pressure down by holding closed pot under cold running water (quick release method). Once the pressure valve is down, open lid away from you. 
4. With a sharp knife cut up the cauliflower in large pieces while it is in the pot. Add the chicken broth and salt to taste. 
5. Purée the cauliflower in the pot with a hand-held immersion blender. Add spinach and allow to wilt in the hot soup before serving.

Chicken 371º ~ Our Favorite Roast Chicken

Chicken 371º ~ Our Favorite Roast Chicken

Giving your chicken a long saltwater bath (brining) is a simple trick to make roast chicken turn out extra moist and flavorful... any day of the week. It doesn't even need a bath toy while it's brining. It's happy to just hang out, bobbing around. Roasting it untrussed makes sure that the dark and white meat are both evenly cooked and moist. Even the leftovers are still moist. We roasted our first brined chicken at 371º (using convection setting at 371º), and it turned out perfectly, so we've stuck with 371ºF just for luck. 

I knew that you are supposed to reduce the temperature 25º when you use the convection setting for anything, but with our range you turn the knob and have to wait for the numbers to change bit by bit. I was too impatient to wait for it to go down 25 degrees, so I gave up after only 4 degrees and hoped for the best at 371º. Good call!  P.S. Roasting times: 4 lb chicken-1 hour total. For every 1/2 pound difference up or down, add or take away 5 minutes...3.5 lb chicken 55 minutes...4.5 lb chicken 65 minutes.

Blueberry~Sorrel Smoothie

Blueberry~Sorrel Smoothie

This is sorrel season! If you've never grown French sorrel, or seen it, sorrel grows in bunches like spinach. Each leaf is shaped like a long bright green arrow that shoots out of the ground. We grew ours from seed, but I've also bought it at farmer's markets. The tart, lemony flavor is due to oxalic acid, the same stuff in rhubarb. It's toxic in huge quantities but a 145 pound person would have to eat about 11 pounds of sorrel to get sick. If that scares you, don't worry. You only eat, like, an ounce of sorrel in this smoothie, so forget about it and enjoy because it's tasty-shmasty.

Gwen's Citrus ~ Sorrel Dressing

 Gwen's Citrus~Sorrel Dressing

I have a happy patch of French sorrel that wintered over extra well. It's all ready to pick. In year's past I have sautéed sorrel to put on top of eggs or in omelettes (yum), but today I wondered if the lemony flavor of the sorrel would make a tasty salad dressing. It did...yum-squared! or one might even say y2.

Since it's so lemony (and peppery) I paired it with the juice of a sweet orange and some basil. Without the avocado it's a super light, perfume-like dressing perfect for a salad comprised of just lettuce. Any other salad "toppings" would overpower the sorrel flavor that you want to appreciate. Adding the avocado and perhaps an extra squeeze of lime or lemon juice would add a little weight to it for a hearty salad, say, with diced chicken or salmon. Save the rest of the avocado, though, and slice it to garnish the salad. Any leftover dressing (if any:) can be thinned with a little more orange juice and/or olive oil.

Sweet Potato-Coconut Puree

Sweet Potato-Coconut Puree

Makes 6 Cups (scant)

This naturally sweet dish is perfect if you are craving something sweet and creamy. It's a delicious hot purée. Freshly grated nutmeg is key here. It's also delicious served cold or partially frozen for a treat, it's taste is reminiscent of pumpkin-pie ice cream if you double the spices (freezing subdues the spices, that's why you add more).

I've noticed that sweet potatoes can come nearly as large as footballs and as small as dinner-rolls.  It's hard to guess what size sweet potato to get for most recipes if no weight measurement is given. I once mistakenly chose enormous Russets for my first vichyssoise and I could have spackled a wall with it.  So for this recipe, I give some guidelines: choose large sweet potatoes, about 1 pound each, and it will be thick and creamy, like my first, ahem, "vichyssoise".

Crispy Chicken Liver with Lemon

Crispy Chicken Liver with Lemon

Most people start out liking liver . . . until they grow up enough to find out no one is supposed to like it. This is a mouth-watering way to prepare chicken liver for the enlightened who want to give liver another go. Best served hot and crispy over a salad dressed with lemon juice and olive oil, or served on their own with a squeeze of lemon juice over every hot piece. Sauerkraut is a nice side dish for these. Cold leftovers, if any, are best reheated in a skillet over medium heat until they have softened. I was inspired to make these from the clothes make the girl dot com, but preferred different seasonings and fresh garlic.

Lettuce Wraps

Lettuce Wraps

Serves 4 as a main course

This dish is popular for a reason: fast to prepare, refreshingly tasty and nice enough for informal company (just have plenty of napkins on hand). This recipe is modified from a recipe by Vera Flannery at drflannery.com

Chive Blossom Mustard Butter

  

Chive Blossom Mustard Butter

*******

Makes four ½-cup logs of butter

We love this butter. We love this butter. Have I said we love this butter? It is a magical thing to welcome springtime by making something with some of the first herbs that peek out of the ground after a long winter.

I created this strongly flavored butter to compete with the assertive flavor of Brussels sprouts, and other strongly flavored veggies from the cabbage family. It's also great over fish, chicken, baked potatoes and bread. Got artichokes? Melt this butter for dipping. 

Fish Coconut Curry with Cauliflower & Sweet Potatoes

Fish Coconut Curry with 

Cauliflower & Sweet Potatoes

A "shoot from the hip" recipe Stan and I worked out for a quick, last minute dinner with stuff we had in our pantry and fridge. It's a fast, hearty, nourishing meal. We've been enjoying a lot of cauliflower lately, so this was a new way to enjoy it.

Cauliflower-Sweet Potato Soup with Ras el Hanout

Cauliflower-Sweet Potato Soup with Ras el Hanout

*******
Makes 15 Cups
Serves 7 to 15 people 
Fifteen 1-cup servings OR seven 2-cup bowls

If you want a nourishing soup this is it. I love Ras el Hanout so much that sometimes I just open the jar to enjoy the fragrance. I had fun creating this recipe and Stan said it's a keeper. This is a great recipe to use up fresh chicken broth after making Poule au Pot (poached chicken and vegetables) the day before. You may find there aren't too many leftovers of this soup, people magically wander to your house the day it gets made (college kids) or you hear about sick neighbors that need soup.

Pumpkin Pie-Coconut Cream Ice Cream

Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream

Makes 1 quart

I spy some dietary restrictions in my future. The doctor’s verdict will be in within a month, so I was hoping that some of the few remaining approved edibles (including coconut) could turn out something muy bueno. They did. This ice cream is excelente. The gingersnap cookies won’t be an option for the Paleo eater at the table, but everyone else will love them. 

Modified from the nourishing gourmet

Roasted Cauliflower with Vinegar Plumped Raisins

Roasted Cauliflower with

Vinegar Plumped Raisins

“Wow! How did they get the raisins to taste like that?!”, says the mouth who first tastes the surprising, but subtle, pop of flavor from plumped raisins. Once you start making plumped raisins you’ll wonder why you never made them before. It's a super fast and unique way to add variety to roasted vegetables (or green salads, baked goods, porridges or couscous for that matter). Simply use quality vinegar, hot water or juice depending on what you add them to. Since we’re Mormons we don’t use alcohol, but that’s also a popular raisin plumping choice for those who do.

Christmas Story Video

Hi kids, I know this doesn't have anything to do with cooking, but it reminds me a little bit of the nativity scenes you acted out when you were all little! Thanks for showing it to us over Christmas break Shannon. Aww, it makes me miss you all. It also makes me miss NZ. Merry Christmas.

Waffle Night! Stan's Sourdough Waffles

Waffle Night!

Stan’s Sourdough Waffles

*******

Makes 8 Belgian-type waffles.

Stan quadruples the recipe for an extended family crowd.
He multiplies it by 8 for a huge college crowd.

Stan was a little reluctant to share this prized recipe since it's been in the family for many, many months and was generously handed down to him by the Internet.  

Stan’s Famous Sourdough Waffle Night has become a Sunday night tradition at our house these past few years. He was looking for a way for us to stay connected to our growing children, nieces, nephews and their friends.

Thanks Stan! We love Waffle Night.  He starts the batter on Sunday morning and just before everyone arrives he stirs in the eggs and soda, then starts cranking out the waffles.  You wouldn’t believe how good they are. Thanks to Karey & Patrick for the sourdough starter that has a long history back to prehistoric times or something like that.  Someday there will be a throw-down between Grandpa Lanny, Patrick and Stan to see whose waffles are the best.  Bring it on. 

Recipe from Breadtopia dot com, who got it from Nancy Silverton’s La Brea Bakery.

Nana's Yams & Apples

Nana's enamel casserole dish

Nana’s Yams & Apples

*******

Nana brings this to dinner every Thanksgiving.  She’s 92 years old (2000). She always uses bright orange sweet potatoes, not yams, but I can't bring myself to change the name. I make it every Thanksgiving when we’re living away from home (and Nana) for the holidays. Sometimes I bake it the day before and reheat it the next day for Thanksgiving so that the flavors have had a chance to meld. 

It helps to buy yams that are all similar in size and width. I look for yams that are shaped like a cylinder (about 2-½  inches in diameter, rather than the ones in the shape of a huge football. 

[Update 2010: sweet Nana passed away when she was nearly ninety-nine. Guess which enamel casserole dish we use for yams and apples every year. Nana's.]

Challa Bread

Challa Bread

******* 

Makes 2 loaves

My neighbor, Bonnie, grew up with a Jewish friend and learned to love their family traditions, songs and the Hebrew language. Every Sunday she taught our Mormon young women a lot about the Hebrew alphabet and about many Jewish traditions (I was a teacher in Young Women so I got to hear her lessons). Even though she didn't talk about food, her lessons gave me the nudge to learn how to make something I'd always wanted to try . . . challa bread. Check out how to braid a six-strand challa.