The Superbowl Is a Cooking Holiday

I've read somewhere that the typical American consumes more calories on Superbowl Sunday than on Thanksgiving Day.  Seeing what's typically on the table at game time, I believe it.  While, in my book, Game Day has to involve wings and such, there can also be some veggie-based components present.  So if we have some wings, and then some veggies... it all balances out in the end, right?

Don't let your game day spread look like this!

I'll just let myself believe that.

Valerie does a pretty great job every year in putting together a box that supports game day snacks.  I'm positive this year won't be an exception.  In all the years in which I've been a crop share member, there has always been at least an avocado or two in the box.  So, let's talk about guac.  This is the easiest of the game day items.

Photo via Pioneer Woman

According to Wikipedia (which is never wrong, right?), guacamole had its beginning with the Aztecs.  Modern day guac in its most basic form is just mashed avocado with sea salt and lime juice.  Variations on the theme can also include diced tomato, minced onion, minced garlic or garlic powder, cayenne, chili peppers of some sort (Jalapeño, Serrano, or Habañero most typically), or finely chopped cilantro.  Pick the items of your choice, but remember that the avocado is the item to feature.  Other accouterments are just to accent, so don't overdo it.

Photo via Cristina Ferrare

Save one of the avocado pits, and include it with your guac in a sealed bowl until you're ready to serve it.  The pit will significantly slow the avocado from browning.

You can also have some more creative variations, too.  Try adding a bit of tequila, grilled corn, or some tart pomegranate or green apple to cut the creaminess of the avocado.  Everything is better with bacon, right?  Here is another idea that straddles the line between salsa verde and guacamole, but is utterly amazing.

Photo via Food & Wine

Guac This Way!

Great news, we're getting domestically grown avocados in this week's Crop Share!!!  AHHHHHHHH!!!!!! That can only mean one thing...GUACAMOLE!  Never has something that looks like rancid baby food ever tasted so very good.  You'll find a ton of recipes out there for guacamole, some of which contain about 15 different ingredients and even hardboiled egg.  Let me stop you right there, right bloody there, egg has no place in guacamole and if you need to add a bevy of seasonings, you are dishonoring the flavor glory of the incredible produce that goes into this dish.  Let the ingredients sing for themselves, as the only help they need is a bit of salt and lime juice to balance things out and bring out the brightness of the flavors.  So what does the guacamole sing when it's done properly?

"So I took a big chance, and gave a second glance, with an avocado that was ready to play.  It wasn't me it was foolin', cos it knew what it was doing, when it told me how to gauc this way!  Gauc this way!  Talk this way!  Gauc this way!  Talk this way!  Just give me chip!"

Yes, that was the guacamole version of Aerosmith's "Walk This Way."  Clearly I can talk the talk, and guac the guac. ;)

Fresh Guacamole

Ingredients:

3 medium avocados, flesh scooped, pitted & mashed
1 lime, juiced
1 tsp Kosher salt
1/2 red onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tomato, seeded and diced
1-2 Tbsp cilantro, minced
1 jalapeno or serrano chile, seeded and diced *optional


Want to know the best way to get the flesh out of an avocado?  Start by taking your knife straight through it as if you're going to cut it in half, and then just turn the avocado so that you're slicing the whole way around.  Twist each half apart and you'll be left with what you see in the photo above.  Then whack your knife into the pit and pull it out.  Next with your knife, slice three rows down and three rows across through the flesh on each half, and then grab the skin and essentially flip the avocado halves inside out.  The chunks you cut should easily come right out, and it'll save a lot of messing scooping.

In a medium bowl, combine your mashed avocado with all of the ingredients and stir to fully blend.  Adjust salt or lime juice, if necessary.  Serve immediately or really allow the flavors of meld and refrigerate for about 1 hour.  Serve it up the classic way with corn tortilla chips, use it as a topping for burgers and sandwiches, or see our favorite Potato Skins recipe and omit the traditional stuffings and throw in some guacamole or use it along with the bacon and cheese, for a fresh take on a game day classic!

Game on and gauc on!

Laying Down Some Rad...ish Beets!

This week we're hitting you with beets and radishes.  Okay, we're not literally going to hit you with them, but for those of you who are cringing over either or both of these veggies, you may be feeling like this is a human rights violation.  Thankfully, they are much more versatile than things that get sliced and placed on a sad, side salad.

So here are two sweet treat takes on radishes and beets, one a healthy and detoxifying smoothie, and the other...cupcakes, awesome Red Velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.  Because everything is better with cream cheese frosting.  And the cupcakes are vegan, so really they're practically a health food.

Rawkin Radish Smoothie via Young and Raw

Natural Red Velvet Cupcakes Made With Beets via Je Suis Alimentageuse

Can't Wait To Try!

With tomorrow's opening of our Pumpkin Tunnel we had a late, after-hours staff meeting, which means I fell asleep while writing the previous post.  So if things cease to make sense, that's why.  To keep things short and sweet and get sleepy self to bed, here are two recipes I'm dying to give a try this coming week!  Yum and zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

Kale Salad with Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette via Damn Delicious

Kale, avocado, goat cheese, quinoa and pecans?!  It's like all my loves in one bowl!

Mushroom Stroganoff via Skinnytaste

Love stroganoff.  Love mushrooms.  This recipe cannot disappoint!  Prepare to be made dairy & gluten free you crazy Skinny Mushroom Stroganoff you!

Guacamole-Stuffed Poblano Peppers

There are stuffed peppers and then there are STUFFED peppers.  If you're intimidated by the poblano peppers in this week's share, fear not.  While they look sinisterly hot, they are, in fact, quite mild, and when you stuff them with something gooey, creamy and delectable, the peppers provide just the right amount of zip.  We've all seen chile rellenos on menus in just about every Mexican restaurant, and while they are nothing short of yumtacular, they aren't exactly going to make it onto any healthy eats list.  Apparently, "experts" say that things stuffed with cheese and battered in egg are not good for you, despite them also telling me that my bones need calcium and eggs are great sources of protein.  Oh well, I guess we'll all just have to settle for...Guacamole-Stuffed Poblanos!  This recipe from Eating Well calls for using hearts of romaine lettuce, but you can just as easily use your red leaf lettuce in its place.

Guacamole-Stuffed Poblano Peppers

Ingredients:

5 small to medium poblano peppers

2 ripe avocados

1/4 cup fresh cilantro

3 Tbsp finely chopped red onion

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup thinly sliced red leaf lettuce

Click through to read the rest of the recipe on Eating Well...

Asparagus, Fennel and Avocado Salad

Guess what?  Local asparagus has FINALLY arrived!  It toyed with our hearts in the Early Spring round, but it is officially here and ready to be packed away into your Crop Share boxes tomorrow morning.  And if you're like us, then your excitement over the first taste of this season's Virginia-grown asparagus has now reached ecstatic elephant seal level...

Yes, we are that excited.  Happy dances did actually occur when it all arrived this morning.

So with a devout love for asparagus, I've never met a preparation I didn't love.  Whether it was the Baked Asparagus Fries from a few weeks ago, grilling them up in the summer, or roasting them up with some olive oil, garlic, cherry tomatoes and pine nuts, there's really no wrong way in my mind.  So it's a bit surprising that last year I came across an asparagus recipe I would have never imagined, was even skeptical about, and ended up falling head over heels for it.  Last spring I helped test out some recipes for a cookbook that Ogunquit, Maine's Chamber of Commerce was putting out.  The Mister and I honeymooned in Ogunquit the year prior, so it seemed like a perfect way to celebrate our one year anniversary, with a little taste of Ogunquit.  And one of the recipes I was sent to try was a Asparagus, Fennel and Avocado Salad.  Like I said, I was pretty skeptical but oh my word, it was fantastic.  This works fantastic as a side dish for summer picnics, but it would even be wonderful with some chicken added to it to make for a fresh and filling dinner.

Asparagus, Fennel and Avocado Salad

Ingredients:

1 bunch of asparagus

1 large, ripe avocado

Olive oil

1 fennel bulb

2 Tbsp granulated garlic

For Vinaigrette:

2 Tbsp green onion, finely chopped

1/4 Cups cider vinegar or white wine vinegar

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1/2 Cup olive or flax oil

Salt & Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

To prep asparagus, wash, cut off ends, cut into about 1" pieces, drizzle with oil and place them on a baking sheet.

To prep fennel, cut off base and remove outer leaves.  Wash and thinly slice.  Toss with olive oil and place on baking sheet with asparagus.  Sprinkle both with garlic and roast for about 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and allow them to cool completely.  Once cooled, place veggies into a bowl.

Cut open avocado, remove the out and scoop out the flesh.  Cut into small, diced pieces and add to bowl with the cooled asparagus and fennel.

Whisk together your ingredients for the vinaigrette and pour over the veggies, tossing to evenly coat.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Nalls Next Blog Superstar Is...

Drumroll please...

Miss Elisa and her "seriously succulent" Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Avocado & Toasted Pecans!

With the combo of avocado, pecans and balsamic vinegar, Elisa's dish delivers on her promise of succulent.  But I dare say this dish is downright decadent!

Plus, Elisa is the local food blogger behind Citrus -n- Spice, so you should run, not walk, your typing fingers over to her blog to see some of the other delicious recipes she's posted.

So without further adieu, from Elisa's kitchen to yours...

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Avocado & Toasted Pecans

1/3 Cup pecans

1.5 lbs Brussels sprouts, ends trimmed

Extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt

Pepper

Crushed red pepper

1 Medium Avocado, cut into small pieces

1/2 tsp Thyme

2 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar

Preheat the oven to 400. Place the pecans on a cookie sheet and bake for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. Chop into small pieces and set aside.

In a large pot, bring salted water to a boil. Blanch the brussels sprouts for about 3 minutes (less if they are small). Drain and let cool. Cut the sprouts in half and place on a foil covered cookie sheet or roasting pan. Drizzle with a little bit of olive oil (3 Tbsp.) and sprinkle with salt and pepper. 
Roast in oven on the top rack for 20 minutes.

In a serving bowl, combine brussels sprouts, avocado, pecans, crushed red pepper and thyme. Stir gently and drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

Congratulations again Elisa, you've made our produce-loving hearts flutter!

Homemade Salsa

This week, for crop share you will have everything you need for Superbowl weekend! To start off, how about some chips and homemade salsa? This will only take minutes to make and is a healthy alternative to most store-bought salsas.

Ingredients:

1tomato 

1/2 red, white or sweet onion

1 jalapeño pepper (keep the seeds for extra heat)

Juice of 1 lime

1/2 bunch of cilantro, leaves torn off of stems

1 tsp of your favorite hot sauce

Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:

Chop the tomato and onion into thick pieces and place into your food processor. Add finely chopped jalapeño. 

Add lime juice, cilantro, hot sauce, salt and pepper. Pulse until you get desired consistency.  

To make into a delicious guacamole, simply add your avocado to the recipe!