1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup olive oil
2 firm-ripe avocados
3 heads of Bibb lettuce, leaves torn
1 heart of romaine, sliced crosswise into 1-inch pieces
3 medium radishes, thinly sliced
Whisk together lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, then whisk in oil. Quarter, pit and peel avocadoes, then cut into bite-size pieces. Toss with greens, radishes, and just enough dressing to coat. Season with salt and pepper.
Source: The Herbfarm Cookbooks by Jerry Traunfeld.
To make fresh pumpkin puree, cut a sugar pumpkin in half and scrape out the seeds. Place it cut side down in a baking dish and pour in about 1/4-inch of hot water. Bake it in a 400F oven until the flesh is tender, 40-50 minute. Turn the pumpkin halves cut side up to cool. Scoop the pumpkin flesh from the skin and puree it in a food processor until smooth. Transfer the puree to a large sieve lined with a double layer of cheesecloth and let it drain for 2-3 hours until it is firm enough to hold its shape on a spoon.
From David Lebovitz’s Great Book of Chocolate.
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
8 Tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (or there-abouts) semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup (or there-abouts) walnuts or pecans, toasted and chopped
Adjust oven rack to the top 1/3 of the oven and preheat to 300F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Beat the sugars and butter together until smooth. Mix in the egg, vanilla, and baking soda. Stir together the flour and salt, then add to the batter. Mix in the chocolate chips and nuts by hand. Drop onto prepared sheets in Tablespoon-size balls. Bake for 18 minutes, or until pale golden brown. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack. Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Although I didn’t personally author this recipe, I do feel as though I can call it my own since I’ve made some modifications. I found the recipe in one of the Test Kitchen of America cookbooks while at the bookstore today.
2 cups all-purpose flour (I used Bob Red Mill’s White Whole Wheat flour)
1 pound zucchini (Using my Escali scale, 1 pound zucchini is equal to 454 g of grated zucchini)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup pecans (I used walnuts), coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt (I used kosher salt)
1/4 cup plain yogurt (I used low-fat French Vanilla yogurt)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 Tablespoon juice from 1 lemon (I had a fresh lime on hand)
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Preheat 375F. Grease and flour a 9×5-inch loaf pan. Grate zucchini and allow it to drain for 30 minutes. Toss with 2 Tablespoons of the sugar. Toast nuts for 5-7 minutes then coarsely chop. Whisk flour, nuts, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and set aside. Whisk remaining 1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons sugar, yogurt, eggs, lime juice, and butter in your Kitchen Aid stand until combined. Squeeze the excess water from the zucchini before adding it to the wet mixture. Whisk in flour mixture in 3 additions until just moistened. Scrape batter into prepared pan. Bake for 50-55 minutes, rotating pan half way through. Cool 10 minutes in pan. Then remove to wire rack to cool completely. Store at room temperature for up to 3 days.
From 101cookbooks
1 14-ounce can of coconut milk (lite is fine), divided
3 Tablespoons sugar
scant 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup arrowroot powder
3 Tablespoons toasted carob powder or cocoa powder
1 3.5 ounce bar semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup coconut flakes, toasted in a dry skillet
Shake the can of coconut milk vigorously for a few seconds. In a heavy saucepan bring 1 1/4 cups of the coconut milk, sugar, and the salt to a simmer over low heat. While that is heating, in a separate bowl whisk together the remaining coconut milk, arrowroot powder, and carob or cocoa powder. When the coconut milk and sugar mixture has started simmering take about 1/4 cup of it and whisk it into the arrowroot mixture, creating a slurry. Now whisk the arrowroot slurry mixture into the simmering pan of coconut milk. Keep whisking until the pudding comes almost to a boil and thickens up a bit, a few minutes. Remove saucepan from heat and whisk in the chocolate. Keep stirring until the pudding is smooth. Place in the refrigerator to chill throughly. To prevent a skin from forming, press plastic up against the surface of the pudding. Serve dusted with the coconut flakes.
This simple preparation is one of my favorite ways of enjoying fresh figs. You can have it with yogurt for breakfast, or place on top of a bed of greens with a squeeze of lemon juice as a salad. Tip: when figs are ripe there is a tiny drop of dew on the bottom of the fruit. However, eat them soon because they can quickly go from ripe to moldy. Store in the fridge in a single layer on a paper towel.
8 ripe figs, quartered
4 Tablespoons honey
3 to 4 Tablespoons chopped pistachios
Drizzle the figs with the honey and sprinkle with the pistachios. Serve as desired.
12 Medjool dates, pitted
1 cup coffee
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1 sliver of orange peel
2 Tablespoons butter
Combine the dates, coffee, brown sugar, cinnamon, and orange peel in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 15 minutes, until slightly reduced. Set aside the dates in a bowl and discard the cinnamon stick and orange peel. If you’re picky and you can slip the dates out of their skins and discard the skins. Continue to simmer the syrup for another 2 minutes, then whisk in the butter until combined. Pour the syrup over the dates and serve.
From Whole Foods website. Raspberries and almonds make a classic pairing.
4 pints fresh raspberries
5 Tablespoons maple sugar or white sugar, divided
1/2 cup almond flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 Tablespoons butter, melted
Preheat 350F. Toss the raspberries with the sugar and place in an 8-inch square baking dish. Using your fingers, blend the almond flour, coconut flour, almonds, cardamom, cinnamon, and butter until the mixture starts to come together and forms coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over the raspberries and bake for 30 minutes until the topping is lightly browned and the fruit is bubbling. Serve immediately.
