The Family Table

                                              How to Freeze Avocados to Use in Smoothies We add an avocado to our daily smoothies, but it's nearly impossible to have a "just right" ripe avocado every day since they go bad quickly. Sometimes we only needed half an avocado. Here's a simple 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 Wash avocados. Make a cut around each avocado starting at the stem end, and cut all the way around. Twist to

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

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 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). 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.  At this point you can either puree the soup (use an imme

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 :  TASTE & HEALTH: The fruit and vegetables taste MUCH better, and they are better for you SUPPORT: You are supporting your local community 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!

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 Remove large green leaves from both of the cauliflowers. With a paring knife, remove the cores. Rinse under running water and set aside. In a large pressure cooker, heat the oil and sauté onions and garlic over medium heat. Cook until softened and fragrant, about 5 minutes. 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.  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.  Purée the cauliflower in the pot with a hand-held immersion blender. Add spinach and allow to wilt in the hot soup befor