Avocado, Asparagus and Tomato Salad

For some odd reason, I have been craving avocado like woah. So I made a salad with some. This was delicious and just the thing on a hot day. Not too heavy and very different texturally.

Avocado, Asparagus and Tomato Salad

1 Avocado, sliced
1 large tomato, chopped into large pieces
large bunch of asparagus, blanched and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
Balsamic vinegar to taste
Juice and zest from 1 lemon

Combine everything in a bowl, toss and enjoy!

Shortest post ever.

Chocolate Chip Cookies and a Test

A friend I work with asked me the other day what the difference was between using kosher salt, sea salt and table salt. Being the seasoned expert I am at baking....I had NO idea! So it was time for a little science experiment, with cookies!

I started by making some slightly healthier chocolate chip cookies from 101 Cookbooks. These cookies were tasty. Very moist and chewy. Definitely not my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe, but they do the trick for a slightly healthier dose of sugar! In half the dough I used sea salt and the other half I used kosher. Was there a difference?

NO! I really could not tell the difference between the two cookies. That being said, there may have been one my taste buds were not able to pick out. But I sure couldn't tell the difference! Case in point, use whatever salt you want! I think I'll still use kosher as my go-to salt, but its nice to know I have options!

Chocolate Chip Cookies
101 Cookbooks

5 ounces good-quality semi-sweet chocolate bar (I used mini chocolate chips)
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
scant 1 cup natural cane sugar (or brown sugar)
scant 1 tablespoon organic unsulphured molasses (blackstrap)
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup large-grain sugar (for ex: turbinado)

Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Line a couple baking sheets with parchment paper.

Finely chop the chocolate bar into 1/8-inch pieces. Try to avoid big lumps and chunks, which make flattening out the cookie dough later more difficult.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, oats, walnuts, and shaved chocolate. Set aside.

Beat the butter until fluffy. Beat in the sugar and mix until it is also light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice. Beat in the molasses, then the egg, mixing until both are well incorporated, scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice. Beat in the vanilla. Add the flour mix and stir by hand until the ingredients barely come together into a uniform dough.

I made these a bit bigger than they are on the website, but choose your poison. Gently flatten each dough ball into a thin, round patty with two fingers and then sprinkle the top of each cookie with a pinch of large-grain sugar. Bake for about 10 minutes (for larger cookies) or until cookies are golden and fragrant. Remove from oven, and cool on a wire rack.

Rosemary Cayenne Popcorn

Spice and I are going to turn into giant popcorn kernels. I swear.

We had a marathon of the second season of Tru Blood this weekend. I think we popped almost an entire bag full of kernels to partake of with our sexy vampire watching. PS: True Blood is an amazing show. I HIGHLY recommend you watch it. Now. After you watch it, tell me which vampire you love. Spice is in love with Eric while I am a true Bill devotee. Yes, these are vampires. Yes, they are Hot. With a capital H.

Back to the popcorn. Before we just started making vats of plain popcorn, I made some Rosemary Cayenne Popcorn. Delish. It had a very good balance between salty and sweet. Although, by the end of the weekend, I just started putting some sugar and salt on my popcorn and it did the trick for the lazy in me!

Rosemary Cayenne Popcorn
Montcarte

3 tablespoons canola oil
1/3 cup popcorn kernels
2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
2 tablespoons minced rosemary
2 tablespoons grated parmesan
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 cups popped popcorn

Heat the oil in a 3-quart saucepan on medium high heat.

Put 1 or 2 popcorn kernels into the oil and cover the pan.

When the kernels pop, add the rest of the 1/3 cup of popcorn kernels in an even layer. Cover, remove from heat and count 30 seconds. This method first heats the oil to the right temperature, then waiting 30 seconds brings all of the other kernels to a near-popping temperature so that when they are put back on the heat, they all pop at about the same time.

Return the pan to the heat. The popcorn should begin popping soon, and all at once. Once the popping starts in earnest, gently shake the pan by moving it back and forth over the burner. Try to keep the lid slightly ajar to let the steam from the popcorn release (the popcorn will be drier and crisper). Once the popping slows to several seconds between pops, remove the pan from the heat, remove the lid, and dump the popcorn immediately into a wide bowl.

In the bottom of a large bowl, mix the butter, rosemary, parmesan, brown sugar, cayenne and salt. Pour the popcorn into the large bowl. Stir the popcorn to evenly coat the kernels with the seasoning.

Vegetable Frittata

My Dad makes the BEST frittata. He makes it every Easter. I always kind of took it for granted how good his frittata really was. Then one year, I just couldn't eat enough of it and begged my Dad to make another one. I'm not sure if he did, but from then on, I have made sure that he makes at least two entire casserole dishes full of frittata. Then one year when I was in college I came home and made him make one and we froze it and I brought it on the plane with me back to school! Haha. Good times.

Now I'm a grownup (well, kind of) and I can make my own frittata. Of course, it will never be as good as my Dad's, but at least I have something to aim for!

This one turned out REALLY well! I make frittata different from the rest of the world, I think, thanks to my Dad. I dont cook the egg mixture on the stove but put it in the oven for longer. I LOVED all the different vegetables that I was able to put in! Of course, it was WAY better the second day after all the juices could sneak in. Gotsta love the juice sneakage!

Vegetable Frittata
Adapted from eCurry

Asparagus spears, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup spinach, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic
Green onions, chopped
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
Shiitake mushrooms
8 eggs
few tablespoons milk
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Blanch the asparagus by putting them in boiling water for a few minutes, then picking them up and placing in a cold ice bath.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet. Saute the onions and garlic until onions are translucent. Add the bell peppers and spinach. Saute for a few minutes, before adding the asparagus and green onions. Place cooked vegetables in a large casserole dish.

Whisk the eggs and milk together, then pour over the vegetables. Place in oven for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until eggs are set.

Cookies and Cream Ice Cream

Have I mentioned its hot here?

Oh yeah. That's all I've been talking about. Oops.

More ice cream to battle the mugginess. This one turned out well. Super creamy and delicious. The ultimate hot day quencher! Spice and I have enjoyed this while sweating like crazy on our couches, just watching tv, with approximately 10 (ok 2) fans blowing in our faces. What a life!

Cookies and Cream Ice Cream
Ben and Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream and Dessert Book

2 cups heavy or whipping cream
3/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup half and half
1 cup coarsely chopped Oreo's
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Place the cookies in a bowl, cover and refrigerate.

Pour the cream into a mixing bowl. Whisk in the sugar, a little at a time, then continue whisking until completely blended, about 1 minute more. Pour int he half and half then the vanilla and whisk to blend.

Freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. About 10 minutes before ice cream is finished, add in the crushed Oreos.