A mouthful of sunshine: avocado cocktail

If you're looking for a dish that will make the sun shine (if only for a while) than you need to try this recipe because it's bursting with all the best summer flavours: tomatoes, jalapenos, cilantro and fresh lime juice. I can't remember the first time I made this avocado appetizer; it would have been many years ago. But it's been a summer favorite for a long time now because it's light, fresh and you feel like your laying under the warm desert sun of Mexico when eating it.





There's many different ways to put the cocktail together. You could have it as a light lunch served with salad greens. Or make as an appetizer to a Mexican dinner fiesta by cutting the avocado into quarters and serving on a plate, in a bowl or even in a margarita or martini glass. You can't go wrong however you serve it because the combination of flavours and that lingering taste in your mouth is the most impressive thing.

 You could serve this with homemade sangria and black bean tacos with feta and cabbage slaw.

When it comes to buying avocados, like any produce, I find it always pays off to take a little extra time and care in picking the fruit. If you have foresight, it's a good idea to ripen avocados at home. If not, pick one that is slightly soft to the touch and has a darker shell. The brown stem should still be intact at one end. The best test for finding out if the avocado is good is by removing the stem to see if the flesh is green or has started turning brown. The one thing you don't want is one someone else has removed the stem on and decided to leave behind.

Needing a little pick-me-up after a somewhat uninspired week brought me to making this for lunch today. And now with a cup of coffee in hand, I'm starting to feel better. I can't wait for those really warm (and lazy) summer days: for that first trip to the lake or spending the whole day laying out in the backyard reading. But until than, I'll be content with an avocado cocktail.


Avocado Cocktail (serves 4)

Ingredients
2 ripe avocados
1 ripe tomato, diced
1 jalapeno, stemmed, seeded and diced
1/2 small red onion, diced
1-2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
juice of 1 lime
olive oil to drizzle
sea salt

Directions
Mix together the diced tomato, jalapeno, onion and chopped cilantro. Add the lime juice just before serving.

Cut the avocado in half, and then peel and pit. Place avocado halves (or quarters) on a small plate or bowl, and fill the centers with the tomato mixture, allowing the mixture to spill over. Drizzle with olive oil and top with a pinch of good quality sea salt.

Tortilla chips & white bean dip

As part of my New Year's resolution, and what has now turned into a three month quest, I've been cooking with a lot more dried beans and grains. It's an attempt to to clean out the pantry and rotate all of beans and grains with new ones. It's been a healthy exercise that has inspired me to try out new recipes like this one for white bean dip. It's tasty and nutritious and a nice switch up from some of my other favorites like caramelized onion dip, baba ghanoush and warm artichoke and olive dip.

When I made the resolution back in January, I had no idea it would take so many months. I thought maybe one month, two tops. It's been reassuring to know how long I could last, if I needed to, on all the dried and canned goods in the cupboard.

This recipe caught my eye because it's a healthy dip with white beans, lime, cilantro, tomatoes and green onions. No cheese in sight. The combination of lime and cilantro adds a nice Mexican flavour and distracts from the fact that you're eating a whole lotta beans. And because of the two cups of beans that this recipe calls for, I've now happily used up all the dried white beans in the pantry. Only barley, black-eyes peas, macaroni, orzo and quinoa remain. Getting closer to seeing the light or the back of the cupboard.

In another month or so, I'll be ready to turn my thoughts to re-stocking the pantry. Bill Jones recently wrote this article for stocking an awesome kitchen pantry and I can't wait to start turning my thoughts to restocking. I'd love to hear what dried beans or grains you keep on hand. What's your favorite thing to have in the pantry?

White Bean Dip
From Cooking Light

Ingredients
2 cups (16 ounces) white beans, cannellini or other white beans, rinsed
1/2 cup cilantro
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon diced jalapeno pepper
1 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce (sounds strange but it's a flavour enhancer, like salt)
3 tablespoons olive oil (add more to get the consistency you like)
1/4 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 cup chopped plum tomatoes
1/4 cup diced green onions

Directions
Place the first eight ingredients in a food processor and pulse until smooth. May need to add more olive oil to get the consistency you prefer.

Top with chopped tomatoes and green onions. Serve with tortilla chips and enjoy!

A Spoon and an Onion

A new local food blog has appeared on the scene, A Spoon and an Onion. My lovely friend Eva Cherneff launched the site earlier this month. And while I don't know the story behind the name yet, I do know that Eva has brought lots of great writers together to contribute. And not just about food, but photography, gardening technology, the home and more.

Check out my guest post on a trio of dips for the holidays, with recipes for roasted red pepper and feta dip, warm artichoke and olive dip and caramelized onion dip. Each of these spreads are delicious in its own way.

The warm artichoke and olive spread is pretty much the same recipe as the one in this month's Bon Appetit, I just played around with the quantities. I love this dip because it tastes so decadent yet healthy compared with the usual mayonnaise and cheese filled versions. Here's one of the tree recipes that you can find if you click on over.


Warm Artichoke and Olive Dip (makes about 1 1/2 cups)
Adapted from Bon Appetit

Ingredients
1 398ml can of artichoke hearts
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
1 cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
1/2 cup green olive tapenade
1 box (150g) of Boursin soft cheese (shallot & chive flavour)

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 F.

Place artichoke hearts and basil in a food processor and pulse until well chopped.

Transfer to a medium baking dish and mix in Parmesan cheese, olive tapenade and herb cheese.

Bake until hot, about 30 minutes.

A little too good: caramelized onion dip

I made a mistake today. I made a caramelized onion dip earlier this afternoon around lunch time. The dip turned out well but perhaps a little too good for me to resist. I ended up eating two thirds of it for lunch... all on its own with just a little pita bread. In other words, I ate nearly an entire container of creme fraiche for lunch. Something this good needs to be shared with a group of people like as an appetizer at a cocktail or dinner party with veggies and pita bread.

I'm been on a bit of a kick with dips lately, Baba ghanoush is another good one. The great thing about dips is they're cheap, easy to make and usually last a few days as a snack. Not this one, not today. Do you have any favorites?


Caramelized Onion Dip (serves 6)
Adapted from Bon Appetit

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, chopped
1 cup (250 ml) creme fraiche
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 small garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Heat oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add onions and saute until slightly softened, about five minutes. Turn down the heat to a medium low and cook until onions are a deep brown and begin to crisp slightly, about 40 minutes. Transfer the onions to a bowl and let them cool completely.

Add creme fraiche, curry powder, cumin, garlic, salt and pepper. Stir to combine and taste. Adjust spices to your liking, add cilantro and mix again.

Serve with veggies or pita bread.

Because It's Fun To Say: Baba Ghanoush

Baba Ghanoush or eggplant spread tastes better then it sounds. Sure it's fun to say but more then that it's delicious. If you like eggplant that is. Up until yesterday I hadn't ever made it before. But now that I have, my fridge won't be without it for the next month. Seriously. With eggplant being in season now until October, I'm going to ride out the remainder of the season with this amazing spread.


This spread is a Middle Eastern dish of roasted and charred eggplant that's pureed with garlic, lemon juice, tahini, olive oil, salt and pepper. It has a creamy, smoky flavour of rich eggplant. Like hummus, it goes well with bread (pita especially), raw or roasted vegetables and salad. This recipe is from Donna Hay's Modern Classics Book 1. It's a standard recipe that you could dress up by adding cumin, parsley or chopped pistachios. But you don't need to.

Some of my other favorite recipes for eggplant are marinated eggplant antipasto and eggplant parmesan. I also recently made Jamie Oliver's Aubergine Parmigiana which is (not surprisingly) better tasting and easier to make then the previous recipe I was using. Okay, that's it for me. I'm off to the gym so I can have more pita and baba ghanoush later today.


Baba Ghanoush

Ingredients
2 eggplants
1/4 cup tahini
1 garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/3 cup olive oil
salt and pepper

Directions
Cut each eggplant lengthwise. Score it in a diamond pattern, cutting through most of the flesh, but leaving the skin intact. Rub the surface with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in the oven or on a barbecue until the skins are blackened and the pulp is soft.

Allow to cool and remove the pulp from the skin. In a food processor, puree the eggplant, tahini, garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper. With the motor running, gradually pour in olive oil until you get the consistency you like (1/3 cup olive oil or less).

Serve as a dip or with roasted vegetables.

Appetitzer: Cucumber Tapas

Every aspiring cook should have at least one, comprehensive cooking bible in their collection. A big, fat, go-to cookbook that covers all the basic information and instructions you may ever need. Soups, pastas, meats, salads... you name it, the book should have it. The Joy of Cooking is a classic example. Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything is an ultimate vegetarian cookbook and Marcella Hazan's The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking gives a great overview of the Italian basics.

Do you have a favorite?

One of my favorites is The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook, which marks the 10th anniversary of the magazine from which this book takes its name. With 1,200 recipes, the book covers every kind of dish with great, basic recipes that are inexpensive to make and work every time. And for people learning how to cook, this is important.

This appetizer for Cucumber Tapas is one of the first recipes I made out of the cookbook, and it's still one of my favorites for when I'm looking for an appetizer that tastes great, looks good and is easy to make.

Cucumber Tapa (serves 4-6)
from Martha Stewart Living cookbook

Ingredients
2 English cucumbers
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sherry vinegar
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1 tablespoon oregano, fresh or dried
salt and black pepper to taste

Directions
Slice the cucumbers lengthwise and using a spoon, remove any seeds.

Cut one half cucumber into a 1/4-inch dice and transfer to a small bowl. Add the olive oil, vinegar, crumbled feta cheese, salt, pepper and oregano and stir well to combine.

Spoon the cucumber, feta cheese mixture into the long trough of each of the three remaining halves of cucumbers. Slice the cucumbers crosswise on a slight diagonal into 1 inch pieces and serve immediately.

The Best Ever Appetizer: Goat Cheese Mushroom Caps

I love appetizers! They are tasty little bites that are creative and flavourful, and know no boundaries. Unlike your standard meal, appetizers don't have to follow the "protein, vegetable, starch" guideline and for that they are much better off. They are all flavour and pack a full palate punch.



Since I love the little things so much, I have a few coveted recipes that I often get requests to make - especially during the holidays. And if I'll ever be famous for something, it may just be for my goat cheese mushroom caps.

White or brown button mushrooms filled with goat cheese and topped with a breadcrumb mixture of toasted pine nuts, garlic, sun dried tomatoes, parsley and day-old bread. You can easily turn this recipe into a main course by using large Portobello mushrooms instead of small button mushrooms.


Goat Cheese Mushroom Caps (serves 6)

Ingredients
1 cup cubed day-old bread
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
4 sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil
1-2 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons parsley
salt and pepper to taste
20 white or brown mushroom caps
113 grams soft unripened goat cheese

Directions
Take each mushroom cap and gently break the stem away and scoop out the insides, removing the gills. Sprinkle the clean caps with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, toast the pine nuts in a pan on the stove top over a low heat to release their oils, toast until golden and fragrant.

In a food processor, combine the bread, garlic, sun dried tomatoes, parsley and pine nuts. Pulse until you get a breadcrumb texture.

Spoon a little goat cheese into each cap, covering the bottom of each cap. Top with a spoonful of the bread crumb mixture.

Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes, or until golden and sizzling. Serve on a platter and enjoy!

Marinated Eggplant Antipasto

A recent trip to Italy has left me with a nearly daily craving for eggplant. Can someone please help me?! I don't no why. I certainly didn't have it everyday while I was in Italy, unlike the varying quality of red table wine or endless bowls of pasta. And I didn't crave before I left.

What I think I'm trying to say is that if you have a favorite recipe with eggplant, I'd love to hear about it.


Antipasti or appetizers are authentically Italian. A plate of antipasti is often served before dinner or a formal lunch or as an afternoon or evening snack. They are characteristically tasty, light, appetizing and often served cold. Most of the antipasto plates I had included cured meats, grilled artichokes, eggplant, roma tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, seafood and sliced ciabatta. But sometimes they were as simple as bruchetta or sliced salami and olives.

I came across this lip-smacking recipe on Delicious Days for marinated eggplant that has every quality a good Italian antipasto should have. Simple ingredients and olive oil, tasty and delicious.



Marinated eggplants à la Ottolenghi
Recipe source: adapted from Ottolenghi - The Cookbook, p. 26

Ingredients
3 medium sized eggplants
olive oil for brushing
sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Marinade
5 tablespoons olive oil
5 tablespoons lemon juice
1 small red chili
3-4 tablespoons finely chopped fresh herbs (parsley, cilantro, basil or Italian parsley)
1-2 garlic cloves
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350° and line a baking tray with parchment paper. Trim both ends of the eggplants, then cut each in two equal sized halves width-ways. Now cut each piece into six to eight wedges, depending on the eggplants' size. Key is to obtain (almost) equally sized wedges.

Generously brush the wedges with olive oil, place on the tray (skin side down) and season with salt and pepper. Bake in the oven (middle level) for 20 to 25 minutes or until the tips have turned brown and the wedges feel soft to the touch.

Meanwhile prepare the marinade: In a medium bowl mix together the olive oil, lemon juice, chopped red chili (discard seeds, if you like it less spicy), chopped herbs, chopped garlic, salt and pepper. Set aside.

As soon as the eggplants are done, transfer them into the bowl of marinade while still hot and carefully stir (the wedges should not be mashed) until everything is well covered. Serve after an hour at room temperature, or keep in the fridge (in a container) for some days. Enjoy with some bread, salami and cheese.

MORE ITALIAN RECIPES---------------------------------------------------------------------

Mushroom and Spinach Lasagna
An Italian classic with rich flavours of pasta, sauce, cheese, mushrooms and spinach. Immensely satisfying.

Polpettone
Italian meat loaf or meat balls seared in olive oil and finished in a sauce of caramelized red onions, reduced balsamic vinegar and tomatoes. You won't beleive how good this is until you try it!

Panna Cotta
Panna cotta in Italian means "cooked cream" and comes from the Northern region of Piedmont in Italy. The version uses buttermilk in place of cream which adds a nice tangy flavour to the custard.

Vietnamese Salad Rolls

Making salad rolls at home has a simple elegance to it, akin to making pasta. You use your hands to prepare and assemble the ingredients: carrots, cucumber, avocado or mango, red pepper, sprouts as well as rice noodles and rice paper. These are a pleasure to make with friends because there's lots of tasks to share- and assembling the rolls brings everyone together.


Vietnamese Salad Rolls with Citrus-Peanut Sauce
(Makes 10 rolls)

Ingredients
1 ripe mango or avocado, peeled, pitted and cut lengthwise into 1/2 inch strips
2 cups mixed greens or sprouts
5 green onions, chopped
1/2 package rice noodles
10 rice paper sheets
1 carrot peeled into thin strips
1/2 cucumber peeled and cut into half inch strips
1 red pepper cut into matchsticks
1/2 cup toasted peanuts, chopped

Directions
Bring a medium pot of water to boil. Add salt and rice noodles, cook for 2 to 3 minutes until the noodles are tender. Drain and rinse. When the water has completely drained, place the noodles in a bowl.

Assemble the sliced carrots, cucumbers, mango or avocado, pepper, lettuce or sprouts together on a large plate.

Fill a large bowl with very warm water. Place rice paper sheet in the water and remove when the sheet begins to soften. With your hands, pull the sheet out of the water and hold in the air for a moment to let the water drain from the sheet. Place the sheet on a clean work surface.

Place about 1/4 cup of the rice noodles across the bottom third of the rice paper sheet. Drizzle 2 tbsp peanut sauce over the noodles and sprinkle with 1 tbsp of crush peanuts. Layer 2 mint leaves, 1 basil and a sprig of cilantro, a sprinkling of green onions, a slice of mango, carrot, and cucumber. Roll the sheet of rice paper into a cylinder and stop halfway. Fold the left and right sides into the middle, then finish rolling.

To serve, slice the rolls in half and arrange on a plate or platter with the peanut sauce. Enjoy!


Peanut Sauce

Ingredients
1/4 cup Hoisin sauce
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1-2 tablespoons peanut butter
3 tablespoons lime juice
3 tablespoons orange juice
1/2-1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely diced

Directions
In a small bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well. Give the sauce a taste and adjust to your preference by adding a little more of one ingredient.