Avocado Coconut Chocolate Mousse

Yes, the base of this dessert is AVOCADOS.  You won't even know they are there.  I served this to Adam's parents and I told them AFTER they ate it that they just ate a dairy free dessert with fibre and a low glycemic index.   They were suprised.  And they really enjoyed the dessert.

My inspriations (or, basically exactly what I did) come from these recipes:
http://www.hgtv.com/holidays-and-entertaining/chocolate-of-the-gods-mousse-with-raspberries-and-mint/index.html
http://www.notquitenigella.com/2011/06/17/in-my-kitchen-masterchefs-skye-craigs-chocolate-avocado-mousse/

AVOCADO COCONUT CHOCOLATE MOUSSE (serves 6)


Looks great!!!

 INGREDIENTS:

3 medium ripe haas avocados, peeled and wedged.
2/3 C Agave Syrup (or use pure maple syrup, add a bit more if it needs it as agave is sweeter)
3/4 C FULL FAT coconut milk (or about half of a 400 mL can)
6 packed TBSP of cocoa powder (I like the original, dutch process for a milder cocoa taste)
1/2 tsp of tamari (soy sauce is OK too)
1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar
itty bitty pinch of kosher salt

Raspberries, dried coconut, and mint leaves to serve

DELICIOUS roasted potato fries.

I have no photos of this, but after the reviews on Saturday night for making these when Adam's parents came over for dinner, I had to post what I did, or else I'll lose the recipe in the back of my mind forever!  These were some of the best roasted potatoes I've ever made.

INGREDIENTS:
4 large white potatoes (oblong is best)
Olive oil (will use about 1-2tbsp total)
2 tsp of nutritional yeast
3/4 tsp granulated garlic powder
2 tsp of italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon of smoked paprika
fresh ground sea salt and pepper

I intolerate food

You know, I love food and as a foodie of sorts and food intolerances and even worse - food allergies, are definitely not an easy thing to grapple with.  But they must be acknowledged.

I have a sensitive stomach, and have experienced stomach issues of varying types and degrees for several years. After over 20 years of being the kid who would always clean her plate and ask for seconds of pretty much anything under the sun - things changed for me literally overnight in my early 20's and it hasn't been the same since.

I don't have allergies or intolerances diagnosed by a physician (YET), just the experience in my gut, on my skin, and in my throat to thank for alerting me that something just ain't right.

I've done much research on the subject of food sensitivity and food allergy, and the former is actually extremely common, infact, most people have at least a mild intolerance to SOMETHING. 

Why this post is coming out now is because I am pretty sure I need to put more foods on my hit list.  I'm in an exploritory phase and trying to figure out in a dietary sense what is causing my various stomach troubles, and omitting suspect foods.

__________ Noodle Casserole

You fill in the blank here.  It could be tuna, chicken, ham, turkey, whatever.  Same with the vegetables.

The finished product!



This is a recipe that came from my grandmother, passed to my mother, passed to me.  It's an homage to 'convenience' cooking when it started to shine post war.  It uses a can of cream soup as the casserole base. When I make this, it's good, when mom makes it, it's quite good, when Grandma makes it, it's great.  I have no idea why.  It reminds me of when I was a little kid.  Yummy.

The traditional recipe is for tuna noodle casserole.  I made a ham noodle with broccoli casserole.  Similar principles, great results!   (see the Ham Noodle version below the original recipe)



ORIGINAL RECIPE (copied straight from my mom):

Broad Noodles cooked (2-3 cups dry depending on how large a casserole you are making

1 can drained flaked tuna (can also used left over turkey or chicken for a change)
1 large onion chopped
1 can mushroom soup

1 green pepper

Ingredients....

3 stalks of celery chopped

(may add other veggies for variety)

salt and pepper

Mix together and put in a casserole dish
cover with milk

sprinkle top with bread crumbs (or cracker crumbs)

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours (give or take depending on casserole size)

(meat)BALLS.



Appetizer sized all cooked up!

I like meatballs, I haven't made them excessively but I made them by way of (you guessed it) Jamie Oliver and have had great success.  I tried this recipe with ground chicken (don't) and just beef (great but not the greatest) I have found, and as suggested in the recipe, a combination of ground pork and ground beef give a great meatball, and it's true.  It is an excellent flavour profile.   Meatballs are for more than pasta!  Soup, sandwiches, and hors d'ouvres are all excellent ideas for these.

These are great fresh, or make ahead.  I did both!  See notes below.

This is the original and inspiration:

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pasta-recipes/meatballs-pasta

I made a triple batch.  This is what I did:

INGREDIENTS:

Several sprigs of fresh rosemary (5 or 6 will do)

2 lbs of lean ground beef

1 lb of lean ground pork

2 eggs

2 heaped tablespoons of italian seasoning

2 tablespoons of dijon mustard

salt and pepper

30 saltine crackers, pulverized (smash them up yourself or place in a food proccessor)

Olive oil (if you like)



Get your hands in and mash!

GREEN SALSA!

I had two piles of tomatoes, one was ripe or ripening, the other was still green.  I had to do something with some of them, so I decided to make a relish/sauce!  I was looking up chow chow, but they all had SCADS of sugar in them, I was searching and searching and found this recipe:

Blending away...

http://www.farmgirlfare.com/2005/09/saving-harvest-green-tomato-relish.html

This is so straightforward!

I can say, it is quite delicious.  I'm not planning on canning this stuff so I used the option for less vinegar and it was great, right now it's covered in the fridge and then it will make it's way into freezer bags in 1 C or so portions.  (this makes a good 6-8 cups I'd say).



Some Ingredients...



INGREDIENTS:

2 lb. green tomatoes (I used Roma), cored and chopped

1 lb. white or yellow onions (I used yellow), chopped

3/4 lb. sweet peppers (red, but I also used some green too) cored and chopped

1/2 lb. tart cooking apples cored and chopped (granny smith is good, but I had golden delicious on hand)

6 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1/2 cup 5% acidic organic raw apple cider vinegar (or less, see note below)*

1 Tablespoon kosher or sea salt

4 jalapeno peppers, cored, seeded if desired, and finely chopped (*note, I used thai green chiles, about 5 of them)

2 Tablespoons chopped cilantro (I used more than this)