Avocado Mousse Tartlets with Honeyed Walnuts

 

Avocado and mousse are probably two words you would never think to put together, but here we are.  As I was slurping down my avocado-strawberry smoothie the other day, I was finding myself still a little taken with the notion of avocados as a sweet treat and wanting to explore that further.  That's when the idea for the tartlets popped into my head.  So here you go, a K2 original, parental tested, parental approved.

Avocado Mousse Tartlets with Honeyed Walnuts 
makes 4 (4-1/2") tarts

1 Pillsbury pre-made pie crust rolled sheet
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
4 tsp. honey
1 avocado, peeled, pitted
4 tsp. fresh orange juice
1 tbsp. sugar
1 cup whipped cream
orange zest, for garnish

Roll out sheet of pie crust.  Place tartlet pans on sheet and cut out a circle 1/2" wider than the pan.  Should be able to get two from original roll, then two more by re-rolling the dough.

 

Press the crust into each tartlet pan and press off the excess around the edges.  Set aside.

In a small bowl, mix together the finely chopped walnuts and honey.  Will have a thick paste-like consistency.

Divide the mixture equally between the four tartlet pans and spread out along bottom.

Place the tartlet pans on a cookie sheet and bake at 450 degrees for 9-11 minutes or until lightly golden brown along the edges. 

Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature.  If the centers are poofy, poke with a fork to de-poof.  The crusts made from the re-roll will be a bit puffier since they are technically made of layers of crust.  Just poke them too.

In a food processor, cream together the avocado, orange juice, and sugar until smooth.  Or at least very, very smoothish.

Put avocado cream in a medium bowl and fold in the whipped cream (I used cool whip) until fully incorporated.

 

Spoon the mousse onto the crusts, dividing equally.  Garnish with orange zest and/or an additional dollop of plain whipped cream.

You can either serve up immediately or put in the fridge to cool until ready to serve, can't go wrong either way.

NOTES

A special shout out to Dad for some fabulous mousse brainstorming.  He helped toss around some ideas while Mom was whipping up a new taste sensation (to be featured in a future post) for dinner.  It good to have foodies for folks. :)

Post-Note about smoothies from the last post -- discovered that, unlike banana-based smoothies, if you have to store leftover avocado smoothie in the fridge, it does not separate overnight.  The avocado acts like an emulsifier and keeps the mix together even when refrigerated. So FYI on that.

Strawberry-Avocado Smoothie

 

Okay, since writing the post on Sunday, I have been intrigued by the notion of an avocado smoothie. So in the name of culinary science and kitchen experimentation (you know its all for you guys, right?), here is what I came up with.  And may I just say, good job me! :)

Strawberry-Avocado Smoothie

1 ripe avocado, skinned and de-pitted
1 cup fresh strawberries, decapitated (because I am forgetting the term for greens removal)
1 individual-size container (6-8 oz.) Greek yogurt, plain
1 tsp. honey
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
2 cups milk

Toss it all in a blender.

Blend.

Pour a nice tall glass and marvel at the superfood goodness of it.

NOTE

I keep all my ingredients cold so that I don't have to add ice, but you can add ice OR substitute 1/2-1 cup of milk for ice cream or frozen yogurt and turn it into a smoothie/shake.

I chose strawberries as my fruit of choice because I know they go well together from previous experience.  And I chose an avocado that was roughly the equivalent of a medium-size banana.

I added a 7 oz. container of Fage 2% plain Greek Yogurt.  I just put "individual-size" because the containers vary from brand to brand.

The best way to describe the taste is soft...I know that sounds funny, but its a good blend so depending on what you like, you may taste one thing more than another.  As always, feel free to adjust to your own taste.  The honey I used was the stuff I picked up from the Geechie Boy Market & Mill in Edisto, SC, which is really not that sweet.

Just in case you did not know, the easiest way to peel and pit an avocado is to cut it in half lengthwise and twist the sides apart.  Then (carefully) stick a knife blade into the pit and twist it out.  Scoop the flesh with a spoon and you are all set. FYI, this process works best if the avocado is RIPE! (meaning if it isn't I am not responsible for cuts and boo-boos, you were warned)

Good and Good For You: Avocados

 

As I get older, I find that each year I develop a taste for a new food...new in that I never liked it before and then one day, it becomes a must-have.  Looks like 2014 will be the year of guacamole for me.  Never had a taste for it, but I find that the more I try it, the more I really like it.

Photo is from an avocado tree in the garden at a house I visited in Guatemala. Was still getting to know my new camera so not the best photo, but thought the image of pre-grocery avocados was too good not to share.

AVOCADO

I'm kind of happy for this new addition to my food palette because as it turns out, avocados are a super food.  Something you might not know is that avocados are a fruit, though unlike other tree fruits, they are neither sweet, tart, nor sweet-tart, but rather creamy and buttery in taste.  And unlike other tree fruits, they are a great source of protein.

Sure, they get a bad rap for a high fat content, but some fats are actually not a bad thing.  Because they have a low water content, they are rich in monounsaturated fats and fat-soluble nutrients.  They contain vitamins A, C, B and E and minerals like iron, magnesium, folate, and potassium.  Since they contain all of these good things, it makes avocados good for your skin, eyes, heart, bone and liver.  The oils in avocado are actually great for the skin and often used in moisturizing products.

In many countries avocados are a food staple.  Never really gave them much thought beyond knowing they are eaten raw or mashed into guacamole, but there are a lot of different ways you can serve them up.

Because of their texture, avocados make a good substitute for bananas in smoothies.  And added bonus, because of it's high fat content, it helps slow down the release of sugar from any fruits that are added to the mix making your smoothie a much more substantial beverage.

And speaking of sweet treats, avocados can be used for pies, puddings, cakes and ice creams too.  In fact, there may be something of that nature coming your way on Sunday.  I've got some baking to do and am curious to use avocados in a new and different way.

When you buy avocados you want to pick one with unblemished skins and no soft spots.  They are ready for eating when you press them and the flesh yields.  If your avocado is not quite ripe yet, toss it in a bag with a banana or an apple for a couple of days (the other fruits contain a plant hormone called ethylene which is key in the ripening process).  Once you remove the flesh, you can use vinegar or lemon juice to keep it from discoloring like you do with an apple.

So avocados, YAY! And welcome to my food world.

NOTES

Just a fun/weird little didyaknow...the word avocado comes from the Spanish conquistadors version of the Aztec word ahuacotl, which means "testicle" that refers to the shape of the fruit which grows in pairs on the tree.

Avocados have also been called "alligator pears" due to their shape, color and the texture of their skin.

English sailors in the tropics used to refer to them as "poor man's butter" since it was used as such.

Chocolate-drenched Cocoa Nib Cookies

So after teasing you with the fabulousness of Adventures with Chocolate, I undertook one of them myself. Pretty successfully I might add though, as usual, mine didn’t look as pretty as those shown in the book, I’m going with the defense that I’m no food photographer.

In any case, the end results are a chocoholics dream AND I might be get away with the claim (barely) that these are good for you too. Cocoa nibs (according to the bag) are a Mayan superfood and dark chocolate is chocked full of antioxidants, so go ahead, enjoy without the guilt, you’re doing something good for your health.

Paul Young’s Chocolate-drenched Cocoa Nib Cookies
from Adventures with Chocolate (Kyle, 2011), page 36
based on recipe and instructions in the book with side notes by K2

1 cup unsalted butter
¾ cup demerara sugar I used Sugar in the Raw
Pinch of sea salt
2 cups all-purpose flour*
Scant 1 cup alkalized cocoa powder this is just cocoa powder
½ vanilla pod, the seeds scraped out, or ½ tsp vanilla extract
1 large organic egg I did not use an organic egg
50-100g cocoa nibs (as many as you like), or chocolate chips** this translates to approx ½ cup of nibs
10 ½ oz Venezuelan dark chocolate, or your favorite robust dark chocolate I used Ghiradelli 60% cocoa dark chocolate baking chips

Preheat the oven to 350°.

Place the butter, sugar, and salt in a saucepan and melt thoroughly.

Remove from heat and add the flour, cocoa powder, vanilla seeds (or extract) and the egg, mixing thoroughly.

Add the cocoa nibs and allow the cookie dough to cool for 5 minutes.

On a parchment-lined baking sheet, place generous scoops of the dough, leaving 3 inches between each cookie. You’ll probably need to bake in two or three batches.

K2: The 3 inches is in case they spread but my cookies did not spread at all. I did baked mine in 2 batches and made a total of 18 cookies.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes, then leave to cool completely.

K2: I kept mine in the full 10 minutes because at 8-9 minutes, they were still a little soft. I also removed mine from the parchment, but if you take them out at 8 minutes and leave them on the pan, they will continue to cook even once you remove them from the oven.

Once you have baked your cookies and resisted eating them all while warm, the next step is to drench them in chocolate.

K2:  FYI, I did not resist and I tried one right away, they are good un-drenched and warm too.

Chop the dark chocolate into pieces. Temper the chocolate according to instructions on pages 18-21.

K2: Okay, I am NOT including tempering instructions from the book because I used chip form baking chocolate and simply melted it, you could also use dark chocolate candy bark they all have the same effect of coating the cookies.

Dip half of each cookie in the tempered (melted) chocolate and place back on the parchment paper (or wax paper) to let the chocolate cool and set fully.

K2: So my cookies baked up with some a serious tendency to fall apart, rather than dip them in the chocolate, I poured the melted chocolate over them and then stuck the pan in the fridge for about 10-15 minutes to help the chocolate set. That way the chocolate helps hold the crumbly buggers together better.

Store the cookies in an airtight container or leave on a place for everyone to enjoy while fresh. They won’t last long.

*The original recipe calls for 1-3/4 cups of flour and the first time I made them, I didn't change the amount, but the cookies were very crumbly and had to be handled carefully.  I decided to up the amount to 2 cups of flour the next time I made them. The dough still more closely resembled brownie dough (shiny & slick) than cookie dough, but the cookies were much less crumbly the second time around.

**Cocoa nibs are not going to be found on your joe schmoe grocer's shelf.  For those in the Triangle, I got mine at Whole Foods in the Health Food section (because they are antioxidants) and just an FYI, they are not inexpensive.  They only came in a large bag for $18.95, so yes, I will be looking for other ways to use them.

The Colors Blue/Purple: Blueberry Sauce

Today is sort of a two-fer, not only am I featuring blueberries as my blue food, but they are also a superfood which means they are Good and Good For You.

The BLUE and PURPLE category get their coloring from natural pigments known as anythocyanins.  The anthocyanins in purple grapes, raisins, and blueberries are especially powerful antioxidants which help prevent cell damage.

Blueberries in particular among this group are high in vitamin C and fiber.  Whether eaten raw or cooked lightly to preserve their juices, they maintain a high nutrient level and in fact, add nutritional value to whatever they are baked or cooked into.

Eating even a small handful of blueberries a day can help with healthy aging and prevention of memory loss.  They also contain a compound that aids in lowering cholestrol.  So blueberries basically rock.

Other fruits and veggies that fall into the blue/purple group are blackberries, blue corn, blue potatoes, eggplant, figs, plums, prunes, purple grapes, and raisins.

Blueberry Sauce

1 cup sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp nutmeg
dash of salt
1 cup boiling water
2 cups fresh blueberries
3 tbsp lemon juice

In a deep sauce pan combine sugar, corn starch, nutmeg, and salt.

Stir in a cup of boiling water and whisk until well-blended. 

Bring to a boil over medium high heat (dial level 8), stirring contantly. Once the mixture is thickened and boiling, continue to cook for 2 minutes, stirring all the while.

Add in blueberries and bring to a boil again.  Cook for 2 minute, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat and mix in lemon juice.  Transfer to a non-reactive dish (i.e., not metal), cover and cool in the fridge.

NOTES

You can substitute frozen unsweetened blueberries, but they need to be thawed and drained.  Increase cornstarch to 3 tbsp.  Bring mixture to a boil, then remove from heat and add in blueberries and lemon juice at the same time (do not cook). 

For the record, I am not being sponsored by the Ground Nutmeg Association, it's just coincidence that this makes two recipe in a row with nutmeg as the featured spice.  If you aren't crazy about it, you can substitute 1/2 tsp of cinnamon in lieu of the 1/4 tsp of nutmeg.

What can you do with blueberry sauce?  What can't you do is my question.  You can serve it over poundcake, pancakes or waffles.  You can serve it over ice cream, frozen yogurt or pudding.  You can add it to a smoothie or milkshake.  You can serve it with oatmeal or use it to layer a trifle or yogurt parfait like I did.

Blueberry Yogurt Parfait

Vanilla yogurt
Granola
Sliced almonds
Blueberry sauce

Altermate layers of yogurt, granola, nuts and sauce in a tall thin serving dish (like a clear coffee cup or drinking glass).  Garnish with fresh berries and almonds.  Pretty and pretty good!

Good and Good for You: Nutmeg

As you will probably note from recent (and upcoming) posts, I do love baking this time of year.  When it's cooler outside, there's nothing better than a warm kitchen and the wafting aroma of holiday spices throughout the house.  One of my favorite spices to use is nutmeg.  It goes great on eggnog, it makes up an essential part of pumpkin pie spice, but it's also a great addition to savories like stew and chili.

NUTMEG

Nutmeg has been around for a long time and is recorded to have made it's way from Indonesia to the Byzantine court in the 6th century.*  By the 7th century it was introduced into the Mediterranean and from there spread throughout Europe.  During the 16th and 17th century the monopoly of nutmeg (through the profitable and much up-for-grabs spice trade) bounced between Portugal and the Dutch East India Company.

In the Western world, nutmeg was originally used for perfumes and aromatics as well as used medicinally, though even then with a modicum of care.  Too much nutmeg can have adverse medical effects which is why even today it is used in small amounts.  Eventually it transitioned into a culinary additive.

Nutmeg is one of two spices produced by a nutmeg tree.  Ground nutmeg is made from the evergreen's seed and mace (a lighter more delicate spice) comes from the reddish lacy covering of the seed.

Though in large amounts, nutmeg can be a not-good-for-you thing, in smaller doses it possesses several beneficial qualities.

* Nutmeg contains several essential minerals and antioxidant vitamins.
* Like many spices, it has anti-bacterial, anti-fungal properties that can help protect from things like food poisoning (e.g., E. Coli).
* Nutmeg can be mildly sedative which ties into both its anti-depressant and aphrodiastic qualities (for that soft-edged feel-good feeling).
* It has anti-flammatory properties.
* Nutmeg is considered to play a part in digestive functions as well.

The one thing that was emphasized over and over in my research is that nutmeg needs to be used in moderation because it can be harmful in large amounts so BE CAREFUL and please keep that in mind!

*A special shout out to Joy E. who brought back some great spices, including the nutmeg seed in the photo, from her recent travels to Bali and to Juliet for sharing them with me!  Can't wait to use them.  Terima kasih! 

Good and Good for You -- Peanuts*

* Unless, of course, you are allergic to them in which case you might dispute their classification here and I would not argue the point.

Oh the Glorious Goober, both friend and foe to many. 

Though it's got nut in the name, the peanut, aka groundnut, is not actually a "true" nut.  True nuts are defined as the hard-shelled fruit of certain plants (sort of a half-seed/half-fruit composite thing that Wikipedia does a much better job of explaining than I ever could).  Peanuts are a legume and associated with the pea family (for a recap of that long-standing debate, check out the Bean v. Legume).

Peanuts originated in South American but today they are grown in practically every subtropical area in the world.  Though China and India are the largest peanut producers, their peanuts are primarily used locally in the form of peanut oil.  The U.S. leads the world in exporting peanuts and most of our peanuts come from Alabama.

Now we know peanuts taste good, but it turns out they are actually very good for you too (unless you're allergic, of course).

Peanuts

* Peanuts are highly nutritious, they contain iron, vitamin E, and some B vitamins.
* They are high in antioxidants (with levels that rival both strawberries and blackberries) which helps protect against heart disease.
* Peanuts are a good source of protein.
* They are also high in monosaturated fats which are have been said to also help protect against heart disease.
* Peanuts contain a good level of tryptophan which is good for mood boosting and linked to brain function (good brain function).

Peanut oil has a high smoking point which makes it really good for frying things at high temperatures because it won't burn them.

Peanuts, shelled or unshelled, can be stored up to two months if kept in a cool, dry place.  They'll keep even longer if you store them in the refrigerator.  Because of their high oil content, peanut don't last long in warm condition and will go rancid.

Roast Onion Pumpkin Soup

I am very excited to bring you a K2 original recipe.  Perfect for the fall, not too heavy, but not too light, something to warm your belly when the temperature starts to drop outside, all that AND pumpkin!  Because I do love some pumpkin flavor this time of year.

So this was one of those train-of-thought creations -- I had a can of pumpkin puree, wanted to try something new, read this great post on Sunday (wink wink) about the savory things that work well with winter squashes, thought hey sage with pumpkin sounds good, been meaning to roast up those Farmer's Market onions with something too, also been intrigued by those Knorr Chicken Homestyle Stock starters I keep seeing on TV, add a touch of cream to that and...badda-bing badda-boom, magico presto...Roast Onion Pumpkin Soup.

Roast Onion Pumpkin Soup

1 medium onion (about 3-4" big)
1 tsp olive oil
fresh cracked black pepper
3 cups water
1 Knorr Chicken Homestyle Stock starter
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/2 cup Half-n-Half, warmed to room temp
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried rubbed sage
salt and pepper to taste

Peel and cut your onion into large sections.  Put them on a piece of foil (large enough to make into a packet) and drizzle with olive oil and a twist or two of black pepper from the pepper mill.

Fold the foil over to make a baking packet.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 1 hour.

In a sauce pan, bring 3 cups of water to a boil, then add in the stock starter and whisk until blended.

Drop the heat on your burner to simmer then add in the pumpkin puree and Half-n-Half to the stock and whisk together.

Mix in the salt and allow to simmer while the onions are cooking.

When the onions are done, put them in a food processor and process until it creates a smooth paste.

Add the roast onion paste to the soup and whisk to blend. 

Add in the sage and allow to simmer for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Garnish with sunflower seeds or, if you have them, toasted pumpkin seeds and serve with a nice hearty bread.

NOTES

Alternately, if you had the time, you could make your puree from fresh pumpkin (roasting pumpkin, see bottom of post), then save and toast the seeds to garnish your dish.

If you read the directions on box for the Knorr Chicken Homestyle Stock starter, you'll see it calls for 3 1/2 cups of water, but I opted to replace the 1/2 cup with Half-n-Half to make it creamier.

Make sure your Half-n-Half is at room temperature or warmer.  You don't want to add cold cream to the soup because it will curdle.  I put my glass measuring cup with the cream in the microwave for 35 second and then swirled it around to disperse the heat.  It was just the right temp for adding to the hot liquid.

The Parental Guinea Pigs garnished their servings with grated Parmesan cheese and said it added a nice additional flavor to the dish.

Most important thing to know, the longer you let the soup simmer, the better the flavors will blend.

Good and Good For You -- Green Peas

So little but with such big delicious taste.

Next to fresh green beans, green peas are my favorite veggie. I’ve been on a big pea kick lately thought I’d do a little research see if there was more to them than just cute, tempting, and tasty.

Green peas have been harvested and consumed since ancient times.  Before the advent of canning, they were were eaten fresh in the spring or dried and used later in soups (or eaten on their crunchy own).  It was only after people started canning them that they became available year-round.

As it turns out, peas are a superfood (get those bad boys a cape!). And what can they do for you?

GREEN PEAS

▪ Peas are loaded with vitamin C, vitamin A, and a couple of vitamin Bs to boot.

▪ They are very high in lutein, which combined with their high zeaxanthin content, means they are good for the health of your eyes.

▪ Peas are very high in protein so very good for those with vegetarian lifestyle (plus they are "meaty" and very filling).

▪ They are low in fat but high in soluble fiber which is good for helping to lower cholestrol.

▪ As it turns out, because frozen peas are usually frozen within hours of having been harvested, they often contain more vitamins and nutrients than fresh peas that have been left in their pods for several days.

Its best to store fresh green peas in the refrigerator, but you should use them almost immediately. The sugar content in peas will turn to starch if keep at room temperature for too long.

Snow peas and snap peas (or sugarsnap peas) are related to green peas in that all are legumes with pods, but snow pea and snap peapods are edible.

Have a yummy pasta dish in mind for this weekend with a big helping of peas in the mix so will be sharing that with you on Sunday. (I think I'm drooling already.)

Chocolate Fig Pecan Pie

So the way I see it, chocolate and fig is a great combo, fig and pecans get along really well, pecans and chocolate have a long history together, so why not throw them all together to see if they have a good time.  Well, they did.

Chocolate Fig Pecan Pie

1 9" unbaked deep dish pie shell
2 cups pecan halves
1/2 cup dried figs, rough chopped (about 4 figs)
3 large eggs, beaten
3 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 cup dark corn syrup
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp whiskey or bourbon
1/2 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375°.

Rough chop the dried figs and mix in bowl with pecan halves.

not pretty dried, but soooo tasty

Pour the mixture into the pie shell.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the beaten eggs and melted butter.  Whisk in the corn syrup, then the sugar and booze.  Finally, mix in the mini chocolate chips.

Pour the mixture over the pecans and figs.

Place the pie on a aluminum-lined cookie sheet (for easier clean up). Bake at 375° for 10 minutes until filling starts to set. Drop temperature to 350° and continue to bake for 25-30 minutes until set and nicely browned on top.

Remove pie from oven and cool on a wire rack.