Nancy's Award Winning Guacamole

Okay, okay, so my award was just a water gun. Let me explain. My friend Becca had a birthday party that once doubled as a guac-off, which meant that whoever wanted to participate brought a guacamole to the party to compete in a contest to see which one was best. Mine won. And I would have been bummed if it hadn't. I won't lie. It's damn good.





Guacamole:

Ingredients:

2 ripe avocados
1/4 red onion
1 large tomato
1/4-1/2 small jalapeno or habanero pepper
splash olive oil
juice of one lime
handful chopped cilantro
sea or crystal salt (to taste)

Dice onion, tomato, pepper, and cilantro. Chop avocados in half and remove pits by inserting sharp knife and then pulling out. (This technique is good because it usually removes the pit clean without wasting any avocado) Set aside pits. Remove the avocado meat with a spoon and place in a bowl. Add a splash of olive oil and mash with a fork for just a few strokes. Add onion, tomato, pepper, and cilantro to bowl. Squeeze half of lime juice, add a pinch of salt and mix with fork until just mixed. Try a bit to see if you want to use the rest of the juice (I usually do) and need more salt. Keep mixing but be sure not to over-mix, as you don't want whipped avocado. If you aren't going to serve it immediately, put the two pits back into the guacamole and refrigerate. When the pits are in, the avocado thinks it's back in its shell and doesn't turn brown.

Peaut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I, more or less, stole this recipe from Recipezaar and tweaked a few things. Like the person wrote there, "These are so delicious. I can't even explain. You just have to try them." It's true. They are delicious, and you should just try them.








Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes: around 30 cookies

Ingredients:

2/3 cup plus 2 tbspns crunchy or creamy all natural peanut butter
4 tbspns canola oil
1 and 3/4 cups raw sugar
2/3 cup soy milk
2 tspns pure vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose or spelt flour (or mix of both)
1 tspn baking soda
1 tspn sea or crystal salt
2 cups oats
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or chopped dark milk-free chocolate bar

Preheat oven to 375.
In a large bowl, stir together first five ingredients until thoroughly mixed.
In a small bowl, sift together flour, soda, and salt.
Stir into batter and then mix in oats and chocolate chips. Don't be afraid to use your hands!
On a lightly greased cookie tray, drop batter in small spoon fulls.
Bake for 10 minutes.
Allow to cool for at least 5 minutes on tray, then transfer to a serving plate.

Note: The cookies may seem soft and undercooked, but if you have a trusty oven, rest assured that they are done. After they set for 5 minutes on the tray they should be perfect.

Deliciously Creamy Curry with a vegetable medley and breaded tofu

Made with a small amount of soy yogurt and a tomato base, this curry is perfectly creamy, spicy, and filling. The breaded tofu adds a nice touch. Try experimenting with different vegetables and working with what's in your kitchen at the time. If you get the base right, you can throw in all sorts of stuff. Serve with a side of rice.







Deliciously Creamy Curry

Serves: 4-6
Ingredients:

3 medium potatoes
2 medium carrots
1 package of firm tofu
flour
1/2 head of cauliflower
3 garlic cloves
1/2 white onion
1 red pepper
fresh corn from 1 cob
small knob of ginger
2 large tomatoes
3 tbspns curry powder
1/2 cup plain soy yogurt or soy milk*
1 cup water
2 tspns sea or crystal salt
pepper to taste
handful of chopped cilantro
olive oil

*if using soy milk you should reduce the amount of water to 3/4 cup


1. Start by filling a medium pot with water and bring to a boil. While the water is boiling, chop potatoes, carrots, and caulflower into small chunks. Add to water.

2. While these vegetables are softening, drain tofu and cut into small triangles. Salt and pepper tofu slices. Add a little bit of flour to a plate and bread your tofu by patting it into the flour on each side. While you're doing this, heat a medium size pan with a tiny bit of olive oil and once your tofu is breaded throw in pan. Slightly brown both sides, turn off heat, and set aside.

3. Now start to dice garlic cloves, ginger, onion, red pepper, and tomatoes. In a large pot, add just enough olive oil to cover the pan and heat on high. Once everything is chopped, add to the pot and fry until fragrance is released and tomatoes start to become soft. Then add 3 tbspns of curry to the pot, a pinch of pepper, and 2 tspns of salt. I used 2 tbspns of spicy curry and 1 tbspn of bangalore mild curry. Use curry of preference.

4. Mix at the bottom of pan for a few more minutes to ensure that curry is properly mixed in. Then add water, yogurt, corn, and tofu. Stir and bring to low heat.

5. Drain the water from the potatoes, carrots, and cauliflowers and add to the mix. Let simmer about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Salt to taste. Add chopped cilantro or garnish each plate with it later.

My Morning Smoothie

One time I froze some bananas at night and went to bed dreaming of the smoothie I would make with them in the morning. My husband was simultaneously dreaming of the leftover veggie curry that he would eat the next day on the bus ride to his soccer game. Somehow, he mixed up the containers and ended up bringing the bananas. You can imagine how bummed we both were when he opened his lunchbox only to find half melted bananas and I had to substitute ice cubes for frozen bananas. I think I got the better deal. At least I got to eat the leftover curry for lunch.








Banana Chocolate Peanut Butter Espresso Smoothie Woah!

Serves: 1
Equipment: Blender

Ingredients:

1 frozen banana, chopped
1 tbspn of raw cacao powder or cocoa powder
1 tbspn of natural peanut butter
1 shot of espresso
pinch of ground flaxseed (optional)
2 tspns of maple syrup, agave nectar, or brown sugar
1/2 cup soy, rice, or nut milk

You can do some pretty amazing things with frozen bananas. I use them a lot in the morning to make this smoothie, or a variation of it. It is rich and filling, but not a heavy breakfast. The espresso is an extra pick-me-up, but the raw cacao usually does the job. If you want to omit the espresso, just add a bit more soymilk. Blend all ingredients. Drink up.