Homemade Guacamole

Did you know that making your own, fresh guacamole could be so easy and so worth it?  Homemade guac has a much more intense flavor than the store bought variety -- and it's cheaper if you make it yourself, too!  Guacamole is a great condiment in place of ranch dressing, chip dips, or sometimes even ketchup or mustard!  Sometimes we even like to mix it with hummus while we enjoy our fresh veggies.  :) 

Homemade Guacamole

2 avocados
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1 organic tomato, diced
Sea salt to taste
Chili powder to taste
Cumin to taste

Optional ingredients to taste:
1/3 cup green or red onion, diced
2-3 radishes, diced
4 stems of cilantro, chopped
Fresh ground pepper to taste

Cut avocados in half (long way), take out pits.  Spoon out avocados into a large bowl and mash with a fork to desired consistency.  Add lime juice, finely minced garlic and all other diced vegetables.  Add seasonings to taste.  Mix together and put the seeds in the bowl to prevent the avocados from turning brown.  Refrigerate and serve with a favorite vegetable (bell peppers, cucumbers, celery).

Kombucha Update

I wanted to post this picture as one of our friends recently asked a great question.  We had given her one of our baby SCOBY's last week and she had started her first batch of Kombucha this week.  Her question was that her SCOBY was forming a white patch on it, is that mold?  My answer about any mold question and the SCOBY is to touch it, see if it is attached to the SCOBY.  If it is, it's probably not mold.  Also smell it -- if there is an odd odor, don't take a chance and toss it.  It is common that as the heart of the SCOBY starts to grow, it can appear white at first.  Over time, as the SCOBY ages and eventually has babies, that white part will turn black and that is the time to throw the old SCOBY away and start using one of its babies.

And remember that doing a Google search for SCOBY images can give you a better idea of what other people's SCOBY's look like.

Here is a picture of our SCOBY in the Kombucha after sitting out for the first week.  This SCOBY is about 3 months old.  Note: even this old of a SCOBY still has some white on it.:

Favorite Fruit Salad

This is a yummy treat to enjoy when you have a sweet craving!

Favorite Fruit Salad
6 servings

8 oz organic full fat Greek yogurt
1/3 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 Granny Smith apples, chopped
2 cups organic red and/or green grapes, halved
1/2 cup raw almonds, chopped

Mix Greek yogurt, orange juice and cinnamon in large bowl until well blended.  Add remaining ingredients, mixing lightly.  Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Orange Honey Grilled Chicken

A sweet yet savory dish perfect for spring!  We broke out the grill, used what we had left in the kitchen and gave it a shot -- really enjoyed it!  It's a great change from the traditionally plain salt and pepper topping to chicken.  We grilled this up with sliced bell peppers and orange wedges.

Orange Honey Grilled Chicken
2 Tbsp organic butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 c organic honey
1 Tbsp orange zest
3 Tbsp fresh squeezed orange juice
1 tsp fresh black pepper
sea salt to taste
4 chicken breasts, halved (bone in or out is your choice)

1.) Preheat grill over medium heat.

2.) Melt butter in stainless steel skillet over medium heat.  Add garlic and cook until aromatic (about 2 minutes).  Whisk in honey, orange juice and orange zest.  Reserve half for basting chicken while cooking.  Brush other half on chicken breasts.  Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.

3.) Lightly oil grill with coconut oil.  Place chicken on the grill.  Cook for 6-8 minutes per side depending on thickness.  Baste often during the last 5 minutes.  Chicken is cooked thru when juices run clear.

Steak Tips with Savory Mushroom Sauce

This is a great dish to WoW company with, and is straightforward enough to be a quick dinner fix.  Try this -- grilled steak tips with a slightly salty, super savory mushroom sauce (that can accompany any cut of beef really).  Serve with a side of just about any hearty vegetable (roasted asparagus, steamed broccoli, stir fried zucchini) and you have a great meal that will have your guests asking for more!

Steak Tips with Savory Mushroom Sauce
makes 4 servings

2 lbs sirloin tips, uncut (grass fed of course!)
15 oz beef broth (homemade is best, or else organic salt free from carton in the store)
1/4 c red wine (optional -- use beef broth instead; any table wine that tastes good will do, we used Merlot)
2 cup sliced Portobello mushroom caps
1/4 cup organic butter
1 Tbsp organic butter
2 Tbsp red onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp sea salt (to taste)
1/2 tsp fresh black pepper (to taste)
1 1/2 tsp arrowroot
1 Tbsp water

1.)  Melt 1/4 c butter in stainless steel skillet over medium-high heat.  Sautee red onion until transparent.  Add mushrooms and cook until darkened, about 5 minutes.  Remove mushrooms and set aside.  Add remaining butter to pan and add sirloin.  Sear all sides and cook to desired doneness.  Remove from pan and set aside.

2.) Deglaze the pan with the wine, scraping up any brown bits from bottom of skillet.  Add the beef broth, thyme and bay leaf.  Increase heat and bring to a boil.  Allow mixture to boil until it has reduced by about 1/3.

3.) When the sauce is reduced, add garlic.  Return to boil and continue to cook for another 5-10 minutes until garlic is aromatic.

4.)  At this point, if you are satisfied with the thinkness of the sauce, add the beef and mushrooms back and heat thru.  I recommend thickening the sauce:  Combine arrowroot with 1 Tbsp of cold water and whisk together until smooth.  Whisk mixture into sauce and heat thru until desired thickness is achieved.  Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.  Stir in mushrooms and beef tips, heat thru, and serve.

Beef Short Ribs in Chipotle and Green Chili Sauce

I adapted this recipe from one I found on Epicurious.  We had some short ribs sitting in the freezer from the quarter grass-fed cow we purchased in the fall.  This was the perfect way to enjoy them!

Market Tip: Pick well-trimmed ribs with a thick solid portion of meat on the bone, as little fat as possible.

Makes 4 servings

2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp fresh black pepper
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground coriander
4 meaty beef short ribs
2 Tbsp coconut oil
1 1/2 c chopped onion
6 large garlic cloves, minced
14 oz organic chicken broth (homemade is best, or else the organic no salt added variety)
1 cc drained organic diced tomatoes (either a glass jar or BPA-Free can)
1/4 c fresh lime juice
1 1/2 Tbsp chopped canned chipotle chilies*
3 large fresh Anaheim (California) chilies, stemmed, seeded, cut into 1/4-inch-thick rings
Chopped fresh cilantro
Lime wedges

1.)  Mix first 5 ingredients in bowl; sprinkle all over short ribs.  Place ribs on plate; cover and chill 1 hour or up to 1 day.

2.)  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Heat oil in large ovenproof pot over medium-high heat.  Add half of ribs and brown on all sides, about 9 minutes; transfer to plate.  Repeat with remaining ribs. It is important to not overcrowd the pan when doing this, or the ribs will not brown properly and fat juices will escape.

3.)Remove all ribs from the pot and reduce heat to medium.  Add onion and garlic to same pot; cover and cook until onion is soft, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.

4.)Add broth and bring to boil, scraping up browned bits.  Add tomatoes, lime juice, and chipotle chilies.  Return ribs to pot, meaty side down, in single layer.  Bring to boil; cover and cook in oven until ribs are just tender, about 1 1/2 hours.

5.)  Remove pot from oven.  Place over medium heat and simmer uncovered until sauce coats spoon and ribs are very tender, about 25 minutes.  Season sauce with salt and pepper. 

6.)  Bring ribs to simmer over medium heat; add chili rings. Simmer until chilies soften, about 10 minutes. Transfer ribs and sauce to large serving platter or plate individually.  Sprinkle with cilantro; garnish with lime wedges.

*Chipotle chilies canned in a spicy tomato sauce, sometimes called adobo, are available in the ethnic foods isle or by the taco/Mexican foods.

Gluten FREE Cranberry Nut Bread

Let me say that while this is a very delicious recipe, it is not necessarily the easiest.  While coconut flour is delicious and full of fiber, it can be a bit fussy to work with.  It is very important to always sift the coconut flour (at least once, sometime two or three times depending on the humidity) to ensure a smooth loaf/dough.  A word of advice:  it is normal for your loaves to brown both inside and out.  It's just something that happens with coconut flour  This is normal and the bread still tastes delicious.

Cranberry Nut Bread

1/2 c organic coconut flour
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking soda
5 organic eggs
1/2 c melted coconut oil
1 Tbsp powdered stevia
1/4 c raw honey
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 c frozen organic cranberries (make sure the package is sugar free)
1/2 c chopped raw almonds (chop in your food processor)

1.)  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease two 6.5x4" loaf pans with coconut oil.  In a medium bowl, sift together coconut flour, sea salt, stevia and baking soda. (If using liquid stevia, add with wet ingredients and use 1/2 tsp.)

2.)  In a large bowl, whip the eggs.  Stir in coconut oil, agave nectar and vanilla.

3.)  Blend dry ingredients into the wet.  Fold in frozen cranberries and walnuts.

4.)  Pour batter into the loaf pans and bake for about 35 minutes.