Turkey Avocado Salad

The other day I picked up a whole turkey breast with the bone. I roasted it and it came out so good...full of flavor and so moist. It was perfect for lunches with the leftovers. I have been getting away from sandwiches and it was good in the salad with avocados which are at their peak right now.

So easy too, on a bed of mixed greens. I used key lime juice, you could use lemon...I just squeezed it on the avocado, then some rice bran oil. I have been using it for salads, and it works great when making a stir fry. It has a high smoke point, and is pretty healthy using the whole bran of the rice. You can us a good olive oil or pumpkin seed oil or what ever healthy oil that you like. Then some balsamic vinegar to taste. Seasoned with my favorite season blend, and a little sea salt. If I had tomatoes like my mom grows in her garden in Michigan I would have loved to add them here. But either way I enjoyed it a lot! Simple but good!


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Crab Salad Stuffed Avocados

I love using avocados and this seems to be the time of year to do it. I like that you can find avocados at all stages of ripeness. So if you want to use an avocado today you can pick one up that is ready to go. I am trying to use them more, but other than guacamole which is so easy and by using lime or lemon juice it will stay green longer it seems to be hard to do and keep it nice looking. I tend to avoid it unless I am going to eat the whole avocado, because once you slice it open you have to use the whole thing. I like them on sandwiches, but you take a bite and it slips right out the other end. I think I have to mash them up first for wraps or sandwiches. So in order to keep it green and easy to make and eat I decided to just make a salad into it. I first saw it on Pam's blog - For the Love of Cooking you must stop by her blog it's wonderful...seems like I want to make everything that she makes.

For crab salad I usually don't measure or make it the same way each time, so I will try to give a recipe that will guide you. I had picked up some crab surimi shredded this time...I also wanted to make some crab salad nigiri so I can use this in both. You can use the sticks and chop it up or lump crab if you are going to serve it to someone else right along with you, since it does make a pretty lunch.

This time I made it easy with the crab surimi already to mix up, just open the package and drop it in the bowl...(we don't want those avocados to turn brown) I like to use what I have on hand too when I make salads, so feel free to add something or leave something out.

Ingredients:

• 5oz shred style crab surimi
• 2 avocados sliced in half
• 3 tablespoons Greek style yogurt
• 1 tablespoon mayo
• 1/4 cup shredded cabbage (I used purple)
• 1/4 cup jicama cut in thin strips
• 1/2 teaspoon dill
• 1/4 teaspoon celery seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning (or seafood seasoning)
• a few tiny salad shrimp
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro (you can use parsley)
• 1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice
• salt and pepper to taste

After you cut the avocado remove the seed and squeeze it with lemon juice. Mix everything until it is combined and spoon it into the avocado. Serve it with a bed of mixed greens, and a slice of lemon (I used key limes because that is what I had leftover from my key lime cheese cake disaster, and I thought it would be too much green on the plate).

You can always add some chili, dijon, sriracha sauce, celery, or water chestnuts. I used the jicama because I like to have a little crunch in my salads and wanted something other than celery. This one had shrimp, I left the shrimp out of mine because I don't like shrimp...but it doesn't mean I don't fix shrimp for my family!

was a very good summer lunch...I which i could put this in a bento. That's why it's nice for a summer lunch that you can serve right away!

With a nice glass of iced tea! or chilled white wine! or fruit fresca!

 It is so funny here in SW Florida, so many times you can drive with your sunglasses and windshield wipers on at the same time.The sun is shining in the rain! Does this happen where you live?

Crepes with Chicken, Avocado and Bacon

My turn to once again choose for Martha Mondays, my pick was crepes! but I am just posting it now! Almost a week late. I did  make them on Monday, but couldn't get a good photo after dark, so I saved some and had them the next day too. My computer is so slow and old I am getting a new one. In the meanwhile I have to use my husbands on the weekends or evenings. I feel so neglectful to you all...
I'll be back in full swing soon, and back to my regular visits and posts.

We had FCAT testing the last two weeks and everyone is on edge...teacher, students, and parents. In the clinic we get the kids come in when the test is done because they came to school sick just for the test. We try to encourage them do satay home and do the make up test. You can almost hear the sigh of relief from everyone. Now we are working on field trips, and school end stuff, getting ready for next year.

Now back to the crepes my choice this week was made because this was another things I have always wanted to make and really have no idea why I haven't. I like to order savory crepes when we go to a favorite breakfast place in town...turkey dill. Since I don't have that recipe for their sauce, it reminded me of a hollandaise with dill...anyway, I decided to make up my own to go with chicken, bacon, avocado and tomatoes. I also added some green onions to a couple of them for the savory breakfast crepe.

I made a creamy dill with yogurt and a chipotle mayo sauce. The crepe recipe was easy to follow and I first tried making them on my 13" round griddle that I use to make dosa on and it's good for quesadillas. It did not work that well for the crepes because it needed the edge of the pan to create the round edge of the crepe, so I pulled out my 9.5" green pan and that one worked out great. Just lightly buttered the pan and it didn't stick at all.
For the Chipotle Sauce: 1/2 cup Greek Style yogurt, 2 tablespoons mayo, 2 teaspoons chopped chipotle in adobo sauce or chipotle powder.
 

Yogurt Dill Sauce: 1/2 cup Greek style yogurt 2 tablespoons fresh dill (chopped) or 1 teaspoon dried dill 2-4 tablespoons milk 1 teaspoon key lime juice pinch of garlic powder salt and pepper to taste.
I used the sauce on the inside and out.

I now know how to make crepes and found out how well the keep in the fridge for a couple of days. I will see how well they freeze. Next I'm making dessert crepes, with Nutella, strawberries and bananas!

Pasta with Avocado and Arugula Pesto

I love avocados and it seems the easiest way to use them are in a guacamole, mostly because you can add the lime juice to keep the color green and not brown. Plus it is easier to add them to sandwiches this way. I love the way a sliced avocado looks on top of a sandwich in all it's plump, green buttery goodness, just glistening there all pretty...but come on, you must admit when you go to take a bite how long does it stay in place? It's a slippery little bugger and ends up on your plate anyway. So I usually serve them on the side, or I have made a chicken and avocado salad to go on an arepa.
When I saw Giada De Laurentiis make this on her show on the Food Network, I thought this is great, and it went to the top of my "must make" list! It has your greens and avocados and lime juice to keep the color! Eat it warm or cold, and perfect for a bento lunch! And pretty healthy too, a plus when the kids will eat it.

You can check out Giada's recipe here - Linguine with Avocado and Arugula Pesto

Pasta with Avocado Arugula Pesto - Recipe adapted from Giada De Laurentiis
Ingredients:
1 pound whole wheat ditali pasta (you can use what you like)
2 medium avocados, halved, peeled, and seeded (about 12 ounces total)
3 cups baby arugula leaves (3 ounces)
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or ground black pepper)
1 cup grated Parmesan (4 ounces)
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted and chopped bit
(I also sprinkled on some Japanese seven spice, just on mine!)

Directions
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water. Place in a serving bowl.

Using a spoon, scoop out the flesh from the avocados and place in a food processor. Add the arugula, basil, lime juice, garlic, salt, and pepper. Blend until smooth.

Pour the pesto over the pasta and toss together. Add the cheese and almonds and toss together until coated, adding the pasta water, as needed, to loosen the sauce.

The only changes I made besides the pasta, was the lemon with the lime juice (because I had lemons and only one lime) and used chopped almonds instead of sliced. I also used less basil, because I wanted to taste the arugula and avocado. This was so good, the flavors blended well and you could taste the tang of the lemon (I always think it helps cut the bitterness of the arugula) and the Parmesan was a pleasant topper. It was very filling and my family was happy eating this. My daughter wouldn't eat guacamole, but she ate this and liked it! I will definitely make it again, you could use probably any greens you like. It is such a good way to get more greens into your diet - make a pesto out of it!

One of the joys of having a night blooming cereus looks like a San Pedro cactus, or Peruvian Torch or what ever kind of cactus this is growing in our yard are seeing the flowers that come out only at night, and each bloom will open only once. If we go out early enough we can catch them while they are still open.

They are well on their way... almost closed., but this morning there were so many bees around them, it was so cool to watch them collect all that pollen. I need to get out there more often in the dark when they are full open, but then the bees won't be there, maybe just the bats!

This one took a tumble, but landed on a soft petal.

Sorry for the poor focus job, I was trying to get as close as I could without bothering the bees.

Arepa Reina Pepiada ~ Arepa Sandwich with Chicken and Avocado

When we were on spring break I had time to play around with making arepa for breakfast. I have both kinds of masarepa flour, and like them both. I made some with both white and yellow, with and without oil or butter, stove top and baked or both. I will show you one version today, and I'll later post some of the other's. I also got my waffle iron out for the first time (not to make arepas though).

Arepas are a simple bread made from precooked corn flour, and is popular in Columbia, Venezuela, and the rest of Latin America. These corn cakes can be thick, thin, stuffed, topped or made into a sandwich. You can find them on the breakfast table in many Colombian homes. I won't go into the differences of the Colombian and Venezuelan arepas and who was the first to come up with them. I'll just show you one way to make them.


I have both the white and yellow corn masarepa, supposedly you have to have this flour to make an arepa. I found it in our local grocery store in the Latin foods section. If you can't find it in your store I'm sure a Latin market will carry it.

Simply mix 2 cups masarepa flour, 3 cups warm water, and a 2/4 tsp of salt. Mix until well absorbed and the dough is not sticky (I used my hands to mix and you can get a better feel of the dough. Let set for 5 - 10 minutes. Wet your hands before you start and form into a ball, then flatten into a patty, about 3" across and 3/4" thick, if it cracks add some water to smooth it out. Some recipes call for oil or butter, but I found you really don't need this.

Place the arepas on a griddle or skillet heated to medium - high heat. Cook on each side 5 -6 minutes until golden crust forms. Take them from pan and place in a 375 degree oven right on the rack, and bake 15-20 minutes, they will sound hollow when tapped.

(I made some small one for my bento box lunches)

The arepas Reina Pepiada: The Curvy Queen of Arepas was said to be named after a Venezuelan Beauty queen Susana Dujim - she was 1955 Miss World. For fun you might want to read more about this at Venezuelan food and drinks. This is my version of Arepa Reina Pepiada:

4 arepas
3/4 cup shredded cooked chicken
1 ripe avocado

1 shallot chopped
1 clove garlic (roasted and chopped)
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1-2 tomatillos (roasted and diced - optional of course)
3-4 tablespoons mayonnaise
Salt and pepper to taste

I had some tomatillos so I thought I would use them, of course you can omit this. I roasted them and the garlic while the arepas were cooking/baking.

I put some lemon juice on the avocado slices just so they wouldn't turn brown. Shred or chop the chicken and cut everything in uniform size pieces, and mix together.

Slice the arepas in half or cut them almost all the way through so you can stuff them.

Fill them as full as you like...

Ahhh...the simple pleasure...enjoy them for breakfast or like we did with these for lunch

It is the 3rd Saturday time for Cultural Connections over at Our Krazy Kitchen, where I posted this recipe.