Summer Guacamole

Bill says the guacamole in this photo looks slimy.. which it does.. but this recipe is too good to leave off my blog. So here we go:

I have been holding on to summer with all my might - even though its almost Halloween. This appetizer is an amazing treat summer, fall, winter, or spring - but it is the BEST in the summer served with Coronas.

Guacamole:

2 ripe avocados (you can detect whether an avocado is ripe by a) its dark colour and b) by pressing its "stem nub" (this is a technical term) and if it depresses inwards - you are ripe!!)

1/2 of a shallot (chopped very finely)

1 clove of garlic (smashed)

1/2 fresh lemon or lime juice (squeezed)

1 tsp salt

1/2 jalapeno - just the exterior shell - no seeds!

1 tomato - just the exterior shell - no seeds or juice - chopped finely

1 tbsp olive oil

Mix all these ingredients together and enjoy with gluten free chips or tortilla chips!!

PS. You can also add some fresh ground black pepper and top with a lemon/lime wedge.

** My cousin Darin uses red onion in his guacamole - I think this is a great idea! I HATE onions so I use shallots (onions for weaklings) **

Sunday Bread

This is my proudest baking accomplishment so far - An easy gluten-free loaf of bread! It's moist, dense, and has great flavor! Im so pleased. The only annoying ingredients are the gluten-free flour blend which you can find at Loblaws or other large supermarkets, and xanthan gum which you have to buy at a health food store or specialty food store. It is pretty much impossible to make a proper bread loaf without xanthan gum or guar gum as they allow for proper texture and rising.

Here we go:

3 cups all purpose gluten-free blend

1/3 cup sugar

1 tablespoon instant yeast

2 teaspoons xanthan gum

2 teaspoons salt

6 egg yolks

1/3 cup light olive oil

1 3/4 cups sparkling mineral water

1) Grease a bread loaf pan with butter.

2) Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Use a large whisk to thoroughly blend.

3) Lightly whisk egg yokes. Add olive oil to yolks and add to dry ingredients. Stir until coarsely combined.

4) Slowly add carbonated water to the bowl and mix until blended.

5) Using an electric hand or stand mixer, beat bread batter on high for 3 minutes. Scrape batter down with a spatula and cover bowl with plastic wrap.

6) Place in a warm location to rise (my bread took 2.5 hours to rise – I don’t thinks that this is normal – but it turned out amazing.

7) Pour into prepared loaf pan and even top with a spatula (dip spatula in water so it wont stick.

8) Set the loaf pan, uncovered in a warm, draft-free location to rise.

9) Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

10) When batter is about 1 inch above the top rim of the bread pan place it in preheated oven.

11) Bake bread for 50 minutes or until light brown on-top.

12) Remove bread from loaf pan and cool on a rack before slicing.

It is a great day - I can throw away the frozen Ezekiel bread!

Four-Cheese Margherita Pizza

Pizza is a treat that Bill and I have really missed since trying to stay away from gluten. This recipe is a bit of a cheat because I didn't actually make the crust - I bought it at THE BEST gluten free bakery in Toronto, called Haymishe. This place not only carries the most wonderful breads, baked treats and dumplings, but the women who run it are top-notch, vibrant characters. If you live downtown, it is worth the trek to Bathurst and Lawerence.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Pizza Sauce

1 cup fresh tomatoes

1 clove garlic

1 tsp salt

handful of fresh basil

1) Blend four ingredients until smooth (in a blender/magic bullet).

2) Add 2 tbsp olive oil to a frying pan then (once the pan has heated to low/med) add the blended sauce.

3) Simmer for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.

4) Add 1/3 cup red wine and continue to stir until sauce has reduced in half.

5) Remove from heat and set aside.

Top Haymishe pizza crust with sauce and "four cheeses" - mozzerella, goats cheese, feta cheese and parmesan.

Cook for 25-30 minutes. Sprinkle with kosher salt and fresh basil once out of the oven (the basil looses its nice green colour if you cook it on the pizza).

Enjoy!

Birthday Treat

This dessert is for my dear friend Kendal - It was her 24th birthday yesterday. I wish I had been there to celebrate.

xo

Coconut Shrimp Tower

If you are in the mood for a decadent appetizer - this is it. It is certainly not healthy, but it is really delicious.

Coconut Shrimp

1) Fill three dishes with

a) Corn starch

b) 2 eggs (whisked til frothy)

3) 1/2 Panko, 1/2 Shredded Coconut

2) Coat (raw, de-veined, no shell) shrimp in each of the three dishes - corn starch, then egg wash, then panko/coconut.

3) Heat a sauce pan filled with oil (I use corn oil) to 375 degrees (you can use a candy thermometer for this)

4) Drop the shrimp into the sauce pan - three at a time - and cook until they are nice and brown on the outside... Shrimp cook quite quickly, so you don't have to worry too much about under-cooking them. You can do a tester and cut it open if you are worried.

5) Have a plate with paper towel ready and scoop the shrimp onto the paper towel once they have finished cooking.. Coat immediately with a pinch of salt.

Dill Aioli

1/3 cup mayo

1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tsp finely grated lemon rind

1 tbsp finely chopped fresh dill

1 clove of garlic - (through a garlic press)

pinch of salt

Mix all ingredients together and serve along side the coconut shrimp!

I like to stack the shrimp into a tower like structure.. My mum always said "presentation is nine-tenths of the meal"

Strawberry Summer Salad

This recipe is courtesy of my Aunt Alison - she is a fantastic cook. I used to stay at her house when I was little, competing in gymnastics competitions, and she would make the most satisfying meals. I remember wishing that the medal ceremonies would end already, so I could get back to her house for dinner.

This is a slight adaptation on her poppy seed, strawberry salad! Delicious.

Dressing:

1/2 clove of garlic

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp honey

3 tbsp champagne vinegar (or white vinegar)

1 tbsp mayonnaise

1/2 cup oil

1 tbsp poppy seeds

1) Mash pressed garlic and salt together with a fork or whisk

2) Add honey, vinegar and mayo

3) Whisk in oil until emulsified

4) Add poppy seeds

Salad:

I used mixed greens, fresh strawberries, goats cheese, walnuts and avocado. Then I pan fried a chicken breast and threw it on top!

This salad is phenomenal with dried blueberries/cherries/cranberries too!

Asian Slaw Salad

This salad is very easy to make and can be adapted in lots of healthy, creative and delicious ways.

Dressing:

1/2 clove garlic

1/3 cup soya sauce

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

3 tbsp tahini

1 tbsp water

1 tbsp sesame seeds

2/3 cup canola oil

1) Mash garlic with a garlic press or chop finely.

2) Add soya sauce, apple cider vinegar, tahini, water and sesame seeds.

3) Whisk canola oil into mixture until dressing emulsifies.

Salad:

This salad can be made with all sorts of ingredients -this is my favorite combo:

-finely chopped red cabbage

-grated carrots

-chopped cucumbers

-chick peas

-snow peas

-avocado

-goats cheese

-slivered almonds

-mixed greens

Other possible additions are:

-spinach

-peas

-red/yellow/green peppers

-fried wontons

-feta cheese

**Any vegetables that you enjoy can be added!**

Tonight I had some wonderful smoked salmon (my fiance caught it himself in BC) that I threw on-top, but this salad is so delicious with chicken, or steak or tofu also.!

When I was growing up there was a restaurant down the street, The Laughing Moon, that served asian salads with warm rice on the side. This has become one of my favorite things to do. It makes the salad a satisfying meal!