Looking for some pizza to go with our boardgames, we decided to try Avatara. Their selections are quite unique. Pick your choice of pizza and optionally add meat. Their crust is also gluten free. I found the flavors quite satisfying. The crust was good, for a gluten free crust. They also have dairy/lactose free/vegan/vegetarian options. Their pizza boxes were interesting too.
I love slow cookers. They give you time when you don’t have time. I got inspired to make this dish by someone microwaving their lunch at work. It smelled like peanut butter. I love peanut butter. I found this recipe via A Year of Slow Cooking blog. The recipe can be gluten free, if GF soy sauce is used.
The smell of peanut butter overwhelming my house was too much to bear, I kept on sneaking samples as it was cooking. It goes really well with a vinaigrette coleslaw. I didn’t need the bun; I could have ate it on its own. It has a strong peanut flavor, with satay undertones. Be sure to use the peanut butter that only contains 100% peanuts. No sugar or other additives for a natural taste. I used blade roast and shoulder butt instead of tenderloin. I shredded it in my Bosch Kitchen Machine. It was doing ok, until it got the parts covered with the connective tissue. I pulled those by hand. It is really moist and tender.
I was hoping for some fennel in my CSA delivery this week, but it was not to be. I really like fennel frond pesto. I’ve just about decimated my basil plant so I decided to make pesto with something else. I did get some arugula to go along with the bunch of cilantro that I bought earlier this week.
The recipe is adapted from Veganivore.
For the pesto:
Combine arugula, cilantro, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper into a blender or food processor. In a pan, toast the pine nuts for a minute or two and add to the blender. Pulse the blender until all pesto is thick and creamy and a bright, beautiful green- pausing to scrape unblended ingredients from the sides if you need to. Have a quick taste and adjust salt if necessary. Use a rubber spatula to scrape every bit of the pesto from the blender and enjoy!
I mixed it with some penne pasta and for a gluten free version, buckwheat groats.
Today’s foray to Indonesian Kitchen reminded me of the great taste of cassava. Cassava is a starchy vegetable that is used as food in a lot of Asian and African countries. It’s used a lot in subsistence farming. There is one ironic thing about this tuber. It is toxic to humans because it contains cyanide. There are two varieties, sweet and bitter. I assume they only sell the sweet variety in the grocery store. It requires proper processing techniques to be safe to eat. With sweet cassava, peel off all the skin (just the white flesh showing), cut off any dark streaks, grate and cook. Most of the poison is in the skin. The bitter variety, apparently has to be soaked for days in water or fermented underground. Then cooked really well. Processed, it is commonly known as tapioca. I usually dislike processed foods, but I appreciate it needs to be processed to be made safe for human consumption.
http://www.uoguelph.ca/foodsafetynetwork/cassava
I’ve modified the recipe below, by substituting the evaporated milk with water, adding some unsweetened shredded coconut, a dash of vanilla extract, and a couple tablespoons of sugar. I’m pretty sure I used around four cups of cassava – I didn’t measure, it was two large tubers. It’s surprisingly tasty, with the rich taste of coconut and a nice caramelized flavour.
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/cassava-cake/
I wanted to use some leftover veggies and cheese, so I decided to try this recipe. I made a few changes; I substituted the zucchini and mushrooms with corn, peas and tomato. Also used vegetable broth instead of chicken. It is a bit light on the seasoning. Next time I will add more salt. This is vegetarian and gluten free. It can turn into a vegan salad without the cheese.
http://www.thestayathomechef.com/2013/01/brown-rice-and-black-bean-casserole.html
I had a craving for a Vietnamese style avocado shake, and three avocados to use up. I think the traditional version uses condensed milk. I decided to swap it out with almond milk. It’s vegan and dairy free. I love the taste of coconut. If coconut milk is used, you might want to change or omit the sweetener. I don’t like my shakes too sweet.
Avocado Shake
Blend all ingredients until smooth. Serve in a large glass.
I finally got around to trying this place. We waited at the entrance for a server, but they must have been busy. So we seated ourselves. It was around 2pm in the afternoon, it didn’t look that busy. Our server came around a few minutes later. I decided to order the gluten free renegade ranchero pizza. The crust was thin and crisp like a cracker and the toppings didn’t soak through. The toppings were interesting. It wasn’t very spicy which was fine with me. I liked the idea of cranberries as a topping. Hubby ordered the one love tacos with yam fries. The fries were nice and crisp and he enjoyed his tacos. The service was friendly, but a bit slow. I will be back to try more of their menu.
I finally got around to trying this place. We waited at the entrance for a server, but they must have been busy. So we seated ourselves. It was around 2pm in the afternoon, it didn’t look that busy. Our server came around a few minutes later. I decided to order the gluten free renegade ranchero pizza. The crust was thin and crisp like a cracker and the toppings didn’t soak through. The toppings were interesting. It wasn’t very spicy which was fine with me. I liked the idea of cranberries as a topping. Hubby ordered the one love tacos with yam fries. The fries were nice and crisp and he enjoyed his tacos. The service was friendly, but a bit slow. I will be back to try more of their menu.
Meez-enh-plaiz. I must be a foodie because I am using fancy french words. Reminds me of that guy on Boston Pizza. I was preparing my food for work tomorrow and thought this looked kind of pretty. Organic frozen blueberries and organic strawberries to go with organic steel cut oats for breakfast. Organic celery, organic carrots, and green house grown cucumbers for snacks. Organic red leaf lettuce, organic strawberries, organic blueberries, organic red pepper and pineapple salad for lunch. No, that is not all I eat and no, I am not a vegetarian.
You win if you can identify the non-organic items in the last paragraph.
Miz en plas indeed.
What to do with leftover veg? I had some brussels sprouts, eggplant and green beans lying around. Hardly a combination for a stir fry. So I cut them up, drizzled on some balsamic vinegar and olive oil, added salt, pepper and some seasoning spices. Threw it on the grill. The result was delicious.
