Rachel's Guacamole

Ingredients:
3 avocados, halved, seeded and peeled
1 lime, juiced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 roma tomato, seeded and diced
1 clove garlic, minced


Instructions:
1) Halve avocados and scoop out pulp. Add lime juice, toss to coat,
then add the salt, cumin, and cayenne and mash.

2) Fold in the onions, tomatoes, and garlic.

Mango Grilled Shrimp

Rachel grilled up this shrimp dish on her boyfriend Scott's custom designed and welded smoker.  It was a great summer dish for a backyard BBQ.  

Ingredients:
1 large clove garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 lemon, juiced
1.5 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 large mangoes, cut into 1 inch cubes

Instructions:
1) In a small bowl, crush the garlic with the salt. Mix in cayenne
pepper and paprika, and then stir in olive oil and squeeze in juice
from lemon. In a large bowl, toss shrimp and mango with lemon mixture
until evenly coated.

2) Barbecue shrimp along with mango for 2 to 3 minutes per side, or
until opaque.

3) Serves 6

Rachel's Potato Salad

This potato salad was a bit hit at Rachel's yesterday.  It was refreshing and light for a hot, sunny day in Noe Valley.  Rachel didn't tell us that the potato salad was made with mostly yogurt (instead of mayonnaise) until we had all tried it.  We were all shocked, it didn't taste healthy, at all!!  I will definitely be trying out this recipe in the near future.


Ingredients:
2 pounds (about 12) small red potatoes, quartered
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 stalk celery, diced
2 ounces diced pimento
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/2 cup low-fat yogurt
1 tablespoon flax oil
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
1) Boil potatoes for about 15 minutes, until tender.  Drain and cool.
Combine potato, green onions, celery, and pimento, and gently toss.
2) Combine all other ingredients to make dressing.  Add to potato
mixture, tossing gently to coat.
3) Serves 8

St. Lucian Pumpkin Soup

This recipe was shared by Abby. It's the perfect soup for a cold, winter night.

Ingredients:

1 lb. pumpkin, peeled and chopped
1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped
1 onion, chopped (I used 2+ onions)
3 Tablespoons butter
1 cup cream (optional, but makes it more creamy)
1 cups of chicken broth
Salt, pepper and crushed red pepper flakes (careful, gets hotter as the days pass) to taste.
Nutmeg or mixed herbs to garnish.

Directions:

Sautee onion in 3 Tablespoons of butter until clear.
Add chopped pumpkin, chopped carrot, chicken broth, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper flakes.
Bring to a boil and reduce heat.
Cover and simmer for 25 minutes or until soft enough to blend.
Pour into belnder or food processor (blender makes it more smooth) and puree.
Allow to cool slightly, add cream and stir well.
Pour into bowls and garnish as wanted.

Approx. 4 servings

Stop Being Lazy

I am making a push to revitalize this blog!!! Our cooking club has been as active as ever and we have had many delicious recipes pass through in the past few months. I will make an effort to gather and update the blog from cooking clubs past!!!

Recipe: Key Lime Cheesecake Pie

I had this key lime cheesecake pie during my trip to Michigan over Labor Day weekend. Barbara Kallman (mom and baker extradordinaire) challenged my will power and strengthened my sweet tooth repeatedly for three glorious days! Barb generously gave me this recipe, which she obtained from a bakery in East Lansing, Michigan.

The recipe is really easy and takes minutes to make. The ingredients can be modified to cut down on the calories and fat. Try substituting low fast graham crackers and light cream cheese. I'm not sure if sweetened condensed milk comes in a light version but if this ingredient could be subbed out, that would cut down on a lot of the calories.



Ingredients:

1 pkg of graham crackers
1/4 cup granulated sugar
5 Tablespoons of butter
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup key lime juice (Nellie & Joe's) - can adjust amount for tartness

Instructions:

For the pie crust, crush the graham crackers in a baggie, add the sugar and shake. Add melted butter, pour into spring form pan or pie dish and press to the sides and bottom. Bake at 375F for 8 minutes (I put it in for 10 minutes because I love it when the crust is a little bit more caramelized and crispy)

For the filling, mix cheese with sweetened condensed milk, add key lime juice until blended. Pour into baked crust and chill in the fridge.

You can add anything to the top you think will taste good. Barb's version had fresh made whipped cream and sliced kiwi. I made this dessert for a dinner party this past Saturday and it was very well received. Mine had raspberries and blueberries.

Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

OUT: Sacramento Taco Truck Party!

My dear friends, Jineui and Joshua, got the most awesomest taco truck to park in their driveway and cater a joint birthday party on Saturday, August 8th! There were four kinds of tacos on the menu - Carne Asada, Pollo, Carnitas and Lengua. First, I tried the chicken and pork tacos, with cilantro, lime and guacamole. YUM! I was kind of full but my friend Sherry kept raving about the lengua. I'm not a huge fan of beef tongue but was willing to give it a try. It was pretty good once I got over the idea of chewing on tongue - it was very tender and had a nice flavor.

After the belly was full of three tacos...someone else started going on and on about how good the carne asada was. I had to draw the line - nothing else would fit in the container! Especially since there were cupcakes and these wonderful little pretzel/marshmellow/chocolate balls from Freeport Bakery...and I, ahem, had partaken in the temptation earlier.


Thanks to J+J for hosting a great party and feeding me taco delishousness!!


Here are some pics