Florida Produce: Avocado

The peak avocado season has already passed, but they are still around, especially if you live in the South Florida area. To me avocados are one of those commodities that you have to learn to love – like an acquired taste. But that is just my opinion!

Florida avocados have less than half the oil of other varieties produced in the country, which means they have less fat. They are mostly grown in Miami-Dade and Collier counties. Florida avocados are available from June through March, with peak months during July, August and September.

How to buy
Avocados should be heavy for their size, and slightly firm. Use them only when they are ripe, otherwise they are hard and completely tasteless. To determine ripeness, cradle the fruit in your hand and apply slight pressure; it should give slightly.

Tips for storage
Avocados are highly perishable. Unless you plan to use them right away, it is best to purchase them a little underripe. They can take two to three days to fully soften at room temperature. Once ripe, store them in the refrigerator and plan on using them within three days. Make sure to completely cover exposed avocado flesh with plastic wrap; adding lemon or lime juice will help slow browning.

Cooking tips
To safely remove pit, put the blade of a sharp knife into the pit, twist slightly, and it should come right out. If an avocado is not yet ripe and you need to use it right away, you can prick the skin and place it in the microwave for 40 to 70 seconds on high. This will soften the avocado enough to use. If the skin is brittle and hard to get off, try using a large spoon to scoop the flesh out of the skin.

Flavors well with
Tomatoes, salads, bacon, sandwiches, seafood, citrus, cilantro

Other uses
Help get rid of dry skin during those cold winter months by mashing up one half of an avocado and spreading it thickly on your face.  Wait 20 minutes and wash it off with warm water. No more dry skin!

Here is a recipe that Chef Justin made that pretty much made me start liking avocados.

Avocado and Egg Salad

Ingredients
2 Florida avocados, peeled, pitted and cubed
1 lemon, juiced
10 hard-cooked Florida eggs, peeled
1/2 red onion, minced
1/2 cup low-fat mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon paprika
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Preparation

Lightly toss avocado cubes with lemon juice in a serving bowl. Chop 6 of the hard boiled eggs and add to avocado with onion. Add mayonnaise to avocado mixture and gently mix. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Slice the remaining eggs and use as garnish atop the salad. Sprinkle salad with paprika. Serve chilled with salad greens or as a sandwich filling.

Oatmeal Cranberry Chocolate Chip Cookies

From here.  I made a modified half recipe and it made plenty, probably about 24.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup margarine
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup and 2 tablespoons flour (I used whole wheat)
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/2 cups oats (I used regular, not quick oats, and I think this is crucial to the texture)
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup craisins or other dried cranberries.

Methodology

1. Preheat oven to 325.
2. Mix sugars and margarine together “until light and fluffy,” whatever that means.  Add in vanilla, egg, flour, baking soda, and salt.  Oats go in last, then the chips and cranberries.
3. Drop by the teaspoonful on a greased cookie sheet.  Bake about 10-12 minutes.  Let cool before you remove from cookie sheet.

Notes

• I think I baked these about 13 minutes, mostly because I put them in for 8, then opened the oven and stared at them for a minute.  Don’t do that – start with 10.
• These were incredible.  The oats really give them a great texture, and they’re sweet without being too sweet.
• Good for breakfast, according to Bryan.

Safari.

A month ago, I had the pleasure of being the photographer for a couple who got married at Midtown Global Market. Their caterer was from one of the restaurants on the ground level of the building and I was so blown away by how yummy the food was. The restaurant is called Safari Express. The caterer, turns out, is the owner of the restaurant, named Jamal Hashi. We had a great time that night chatting while we both worked at this wedding and I thought he was a great guy.

Fast forward to Wednesday night – we picked Jace up from school and I decided I needed a repeat of that awesome food, and to introduce my family to it. So that’s where we went for dinner. I had the Chicken Fantastik, a dish I had eaten at the wedding and it was so so good! Mike had a spicy chicken dish (I can’t remember the name!), but he loved his too. Jace is a little harder to please. I was determined to get him to eat this food, even though his menu pretty much consists of mac-n-cheese and chicken nuggets. But it didn’t happen. He pouted and had a fit until Jamal, the sweet man he is, asked Jace what he wanted for dinner and when Jace replied (big shocker here) “Chicken Nuggets”, Jamal went to the restaurant across the aisle and bought Jace a chicken tenders + french fries dinner. What a great guy!

So, what inspires this blog post? I saw Jamal on KARE 11 this morning! I had just finished up a DVD I had started last night and gotten too tired to complete, when I clicked the input back to TV. And lo and behold, Jamal was cooking on a segment of the morning show and Mike and I had to watch. In fact, Jamal was making a Nomad chili, that even I, the I-only-eat-breakfast-food-in-the-morning girl, drooled over at 10am. And I can only assume that the chili will be making an appearance at tomorrow’s Midtown Global Market Chili cook-off. I don’t think we’ll be able to make it there for the event, but we’ll be rooting for Jamal from afar!

Go try this wonderful food! Safari Express

#4 Cook 2 new dishes a month for 6 months and document it in the blog

So I am on a soup kick!  This time I made cheesy broccoli and potato soup (the link takes you to the recipe).  It was once again a huge hit.  I really loved it.  Perfect for a cold night, I think if I keep making soups we might need to move someplace cooler because it’s really weird to have soup on when it’s 90+ degrees outside!  Also I cut this recipe back in about half, and still made enough for all of us to eat it at least twice! So keep that in mind if you don’t want to feed an army.

Using different types of salt: Weight vs. Volume

When cooking or baking, one of the most common mistakes when substituting one type of salt for another, say ordinary table salt with Kosher or sea salt, is that recipes usually follow a measure of volume not weight. Tablespoons, teaspoons and cups are units of volume, not weight. Since the composition of different types of salt is not the same, the same volume of salt will have different weight, thus different “salting” capabilities.

For example, Kosher salt weighs less than regular table salt per unit of volume. So, for every teaspoon of ordinary salt you will need more than a teaspoon of kosher salt. Different salts have different weights per unit of volume, so if you are going to use different salts in your kitchen, you really need to understand the equivalencies. There are salt conversion charts on the internet or if you want to be more precise, you can calculate your own equivalencies by weighing equal volume amounts of the different salts and comparing their weights. If you want a rough ratio for Kosher salt (the one I use the most), I usually use about 1.5 volume units of Kosher for every unit of regular salt.

Raw Date Nut Torte

Wow! Yum, yum, yum.  I have been thinking about this date nut torte sitting in my fridge all evening, and as soon as I finish this post, I’m going to go indulge in some dessert. I’m drooling just thinking about it.

The funny thing is that Alyssa Cohen has this listed as one of the first recipes to make under her weekly plan in Living in Live Food, but I decided against making it.  At the time, I was much more strict about my anti-candida no-food diet, and the thought of a lot of sugary raisins and dates wasn’t sitting well with me.  But I’ve relaxed my diet a bit now and am allowing myself to enjoy this delicacy.  It is awfully sweet though, so beware.  It’s a little addicting and really not healthy, but delicious none the less.
Ingredients:
Crust

- 2 cups raisins (I used flame)
- 2 cups walnuts

Frosting
- 1 cup dates, pitted and soaked
- Juice of 1 lemon
Directions:

Mix the crust ingredients in a food processor until they are well blended. Scoop out and mold onto a plate in a round circle about 1.5 inches thick. Mix the frosting ingredients in the food processor and spread on top of the crust. Sprinkle with copious amounts of cinnamon. Serve immediately or chill for firmer slices.

OK, so I couldn’t wait until after this post. I had to go to the fridge and get some now. Yuuumm!

This gets a strong 5/5 happy monkeys. The best part is the cinnamon I added on top. Next time, I think I’ll mix it into the crust for a cinnamon raisin crust. Also, I think I want to try adding hemp seeds and more lemon juice to the frosting to make it creamier without the added sweetness of more dates.

success in the kitchen: cm's own meatballs

dear world,

i am a reasonably accomplished cook. i can bake bread and i have some old standbys, but mostly i make salads. in our kitchen, i am the beta cook to MHM’s alpha cook. this weekend, however, i succeed in making meatballs. ok, everyone can make meatballs, you say. but this is not true! i have failed miserably (several times) at most forms of meatloaf  and usually just avoid the forming of meat into a shape that is not burger.

yesterday i made meatballs without consulting a recipe, without asking any questions and with complete success! here’s what i did:

cm’s own meatballs

ingredients: 1/2 pound ground sirloin, 1/2 pound ground pork, handful of chopped fresh parsley, 1 egg lightly beaten, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper to taste, 2-3 tbsp olive oil, your favorite tomato sauce, 3/4 pound penne pasta

1. combine the ground beef and ground pork in a large bowl with salt and pepper
2. add parsley, egg and 2 tbsp of breadcrumbs and mix until evenly incorporated (add more breadcrumbs if mixture is too wet)
3. roll meat mixture into 1 inch balls and set aside (approximately 12-13 meatballs)
4. in a large dutch oven heat oil over medium high heat
5. brown the meatballs in batches and remove
6. remove some of the left over fat from the pan and add tomato sauce
7. once the sauce heats through, turn heat down to medium low, add meatballs and simmer with the lid on until cooked through (1/2 hour to 45 minutes)
8. cook the pasta, drain and stir through with the sauce
9. serve with fresh chopped parsley and the cheese of your choice (i chose pecorino romano, MHM chose parmesan)

i am super proud of my culinary adventure this weekend. we used the last of the homemade sauce left over from summer tomatoes and V ate almost an entire meatball herself! i should also note that the recipe will serve 4 hungry people (or 2 adults, a small person and leaves at least 2 portions for leftovers). this meal was exactly what we needed on the sunday night before  a long work week.

satiated,

cm