Avocado feta tartine

Toast with mayo, avocado and feta. This little puppy is what changed the way I look at avocado. No longer merely a base for amazing guacamole, I've come to truly appreciate how delicious it is on its own. My husband loves this recipe too. As someone who loves a good word-play, he takes any opportunity to call avocados "lawyers" (in French both words are expressed as "avocats"). Hilarity ensues. 

We do try to eat locally as often as possible, and avocados are one food that pricks at my conscience. If only they grew in our corner of the world... oh avocado why must your carbon-footprint be so large? *sigh* I guess produce this time of year will be grown far away... no matter how you slice it. (hihi)

Avocado is the butter of the fresh produce world - creamy and spreadable, and full of good fat. A friend of mine who lived in Uganda said that she would crave avocados because they ate so few other fats. When my husband and I did a diet cleanse (no processed foods, white flour products or white sugar products) I often found myself hungry at the end of the day -it was probably because I was still nursing my 3-month-old, but regardless I wanted something satisfying. This tartine was my go-to snack and it is still a favourite of mine whenever we have ripe avocados kicking around. 

Note: "Tartine" is the French word for open-faced sandwich and it makes it sound fancy, even though this is just toast with stuff on it.  Think of it as a sandwich with half the carbs.

Avocado feta tartine

Ingredients:

2 pieces of toast (Rice cakes would probably work as a gluten-free option)

1/2 ripe avocado

Real mayonnaise

Crumbled feta

Directions:

First, toast two pieces of bread. (Whole wheat or sprouted bread are good options) 

Then spread a thin layer of mayonnaise. Not Cool Whip! I mean Miracle Whip. None of the Whips should come into contact with your toast, if you can help it. 

Slice half the avocado into about 1/4 inch thick slices.

Crumble about 3-4 tablespoons' worth of feta.

Then scoop the avocado slices out with a knife (or your thumbnail...) and lay on top of your toast. You could squish them with your knife and spread it out like real butter if you felt like it.  Top with crumbled feta.

This goes well with a bowl of soup or chili. I think I see a chili recipe coming soon...

Enjoy!

Homemade granola and yogurt

Yesterday, in what can only be a fit of insanity after my wonderful toddler opted to scream for an hour instead of nap, I decided to hit the kitchen and make not one but four recipes, granola, chocolate oat drop cookies, granola bars and homemade yogurt. On the heels of three days of sweeping out closets, spot cleaning the kitchen floor, cleaning windowsills and a weird trip to the grocery store where I found myself stocking up on Kraft dinner, tuna and licorice, I think we can safely say that at 37 weeks of pregnancy I am in that stage they call "nesting"... Even though the baby's room is only half-finished with walls that need a second coat of paint and, well... a floor, Baby #2 could arrive any time and we'll have a full pantry at least!

One of my favourite breakfasts is granola, yogurt and fresh fruit. It also makes a great healthy snack! The store-bought versions of granola tend to be full of sugar and fillers of all kinds. Even with some sweetener added, homemade granola is full of nutritious goodness when packed with whole grains, seeds and nuts,and makes for a hearty breakfast that stays with you until lunch. Granola is actually very forgiving; using oats as the base you can add your own combination of nuts, seeds, bran/coconut/dried fruit depending on your taste and what you have in your cupboard.

Granola

I usually halve this recipe from Allrecipes.ca, with a few tweaks based on what I have on hand, but this recipe is the simplified version that I use as a base when I make granola now. You just need to keep the approximate proportion of dry ingredients to sweet/wet to help it stick together. Flax and chia seeds both add to the stickiness factor when soaked in an equivalent amount of water for 10 minutes before adding to the mix.

Ingredients
3 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups nuts and/or seeds
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 cup wheat bran or crushed bran cereal
2 tbsp oil
6 tbsp liquid sweetener (honey, maple syrup, agave syrup)
1-2 tsp ground spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom)
5 tbsp ground or whole flaxseed (and/or chia seeds) soaked in 5 tbsp water
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp vanilla
3/4 cup dried fruit (raisins, chopped apricots, dried cranberries or blueberries...)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°.
Toss all the dry ingredients EXCEPT dried fruit in a large bowl, the top with the wet ingredients and flavourings. Combine well and spread evenly on a baking sheet. Use a silicone baking sheet if you have it! It's my new favourite kitchen thing - it makes cleaning pans SO much easier. Bake for about 30-40 mins, stirring every 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set somewhere to cool. Wait until it has cooled before you stir it, that way you'll have those nice crunchy chunks. Stir in dried fruit and store in an airtight container or bag.

The Yogurt

It's not as hard as you think! You can use a yogurt maker, but here is what I do almost weekly. You can use a lower fat milk, but it makes for a thinner yogurt. Embrace the fat!  Also feel free to multiply the recipe if you feel you'll use it up. You can use homemade yogurt as a starter for the next batch, but it will only work a few times before the bacteria seem to weaken or something. Fresh yogurt is the best starter.

Ingredients

1 L whole milk 

1 tbsp new plain yogurt (I use Balkan style)

Directions

Scald the milk gently in a medium sized saucepan. Set the timer for about 15 mins at a time so you don't forget about it. Let the milk cool until its still warm/hot but you can still stick your finger in for up to 20 seconds without it being too hot (about 115° if you have a thermometer).  Stir in a spoonful of new plain yogurt and pour into a jar or container. Cover and let sit in a warm place for about 8 hours. I put it in the oven with the light on, or you can also put it in a cooler with a hot water bottle. Refrigerate and enjoy!

Note: If you use the oven-with-light-on method, make sure to mark the oven somehow so that you won't turn the oven on to preheat for something else and have the high heat subsequently ruin the yogurt and/or container with a plastic lid... I learned this the hard way. (About 4 times - hello pregnancy brain!) Word to the wise - hang something on the dial or a noticeable equivalent that will stop you in your tracks and make you take out said yogurt before ruination occurs. 

Here are two other places that explain how to do it:

David Lebovitz

Chocolate and Zucchini

Today's breakfast - Granola with yogurt and nectarines.

Guacamole

Holé guacamolé!  We used to say that all the time as kids as a term of exclamation.  Now I just say it with my eyes closed when I savour a mouthful of truly holy guacamole.  I take great pride in my guacamole.  My mother-in-law declared she didn't like guacamole and I said, "Here, try mine" and she said "Ooh I like this guacamole".  There you go.

I like my guacamole made with simple, fresh ingredients.  There are so many variations, but I love the combination of spicy garlic, tangy citrus and fresh cilantro with the buttery taste of the avocado.

Ingredients:
A nice ripe avocado
1 tomato (or a handful of cherry tomatoes)
1 lemon or lime
1 clove of garlic
Handful fresh cilantro
Dollop of sour cream or plain yogurt.
Optional: pinch of cumin

Chop everything up and toss into a bowl.  

Top with a dollop of yogurt or sour cream and the lemon juice (or lime), mix it up well. 

I used to purée my guacamole quite smooth, but lately I've been leaving it a little chunky.  Mash to taste.

Eat it up with tortilla chips or pita chips!

Berry Bran Muffins

I'm baaack! My last blog was 5 days before my life changed forever and our beautiful baby girl, Sophie came into the world. She is now 4 months old, and while I can certainly say that becoming a mom has been the most amazing experiences, it has definitely adjusted my priorities. Napping and showering are at the top of my to-do list, housework near the middle and blogging is pretty close to the bottom... I have been cooking lots of yummy stuff, there is just no blog evidence to show for it. To tell you the truth, part of my motivation to start blogging again is to have a central place where I keep my recipes, because right now they are in an untidy pile of index cards. Here's to getting organized!

These muffins are a great way to use up that unappetizingly spotty and brown banana that's been laying around the counter. They have lots of bran to keep you regular ;) and the berries make them nice and moist (dry muffins are the worst).

Berry Bran Muffins

Prehead oven to 350 degrees and grease your muffin tin.

Ingredients:

1 mashed banana

1 egg

2 tbsp oil

1/3 cup molasses

1 cup milk

2 cups bran

1 tsp salt

1 tsp soda

1 cup flour

2 cups frozen berries (I've used blueberries and blackberries - both work great)

Directions:

Mash up the banana in a large bowl. Add the egg, oil and milk, mixing well after each addition. Here is my use-one-bowl-so-you-don't-have-to-wash-two trick : Dump the bran and flour on top, then add the salt and soda and mix the dry ingredients ON TOP of the wet. Then mix it all together without overmixing.

Spoon into muffin tin and bake for about 20 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin should come out clean. Turn onto a cooling rack. These are best eaten warm with a dab of butter!

Storage:

I found that if I kept them on the counter they go moldy super fast. If I keep them in the fridge the berries make them go all gooey and mushy. Freezing the muffins and taking out a few at a time seems to be the best option for a household that can't zip through a dozen muffins quickly.