Not-So-Classic Guacamole (& Birthday Tacos)

As I mentioned in my last post, it was recently my birthday. So for the celebrations, my roommates and I had tacos and beer. It was awesome. We played Christmas tunes and lit festive candles and had a great evening (I was a party pooper and went to bed at midnight because I’m a tired baby and my body was exhausted). It was a nice little break from all the studying and school things we’ve been doing lately.

There are so many cool recipes out there for more exotic tacos (Like these or these), but I just wanted classic tacos. Actually, I don’t know if I’ve ever had a classic taco. But this is what tacos are in my mind. And it was my birthday so no one could contradict me… right? So, we bought a can of refried beans (Amy’s brand – delicious!), we bought some tortillas, chopped up some onion, tomato, and cilantro, and I made the guacamole. It was soul soothing in an odd way.

Today, I present you with the guacamole. This is from Grazings which is an awesome book full of snacks and dips and finger foods. It may be full of meat recipes but there are some gems (like this one – it also has some really cool meat dishes that have worked well with meat substitutes!) It’s not your average guacamole… actually it’s pretty fancy. But since the flavours used aren’t often paired together, it’s a wonderful surprise (actually your taste buds will go crazy with how good it is). The sweet fruit and the creamy avocado and the spicy pepper basically rock my world. If you’re not having the guacamole with tacos, it’s also fabulous with simple crackers or pitas or other veggies. It’s also good in a sandwich with slices of tofu, tomato, and lettuce… Just trust me.

GUACAMOLE: serves 4

• 2 large avocados, very ripe
• 3/4 cups pomegranate seeds
• 1/2 cup green grapes, chopped
• 1 small red pear (or your favorite variety of pear)
• 1/4 cup white onion, chopped
• 1 serrano chile, finely chopped
• juice of 1/2 lime
• salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Mash everything together with a fork to make it as smooth or as chunky as you like. Season with a generous amount of salt and a touch of pepper.

Roasted Maple Broccoli (with fruit & nuts)

Awe yeah! I Made a supreme lunch with broccoli, almonds, pistachios, dried cherries, dried cranberries, jumbo golden raisins, low-sodium tamari, maple syrup, grapeseed oil, nutritional yeast, and rice. HOW TASTY CAN IT GET? Inspired by this recipe, I made a few changes.The major changes I made are:

• Instead of broccoli and brussle sprouts, I only roasted broccoli and added kale in after the roasting
• Instead of Bragg’s Liquid Aminos I used low-sodium tamari
• I added some chopped pistachios
• I not only used dried cherries and the original calls for, but I added dried cranberries and jumbo golden raisins
• I used a MUCH smaller amount of nutritional yeast.
• I mixed it with rice to make it more of a hearty meal component

Even though the tamari lends a slightly Asian flare to the dish, it’s off set by the maple and dried fruit, not to mention the roasting really brings out the sweetness of the broccoli. I imagine the original recipe with brussel sprouts would be awesome, especially roasting the brussle sprouts and broccoli with some orange juice and zest and only using dried cranberries (that sounds like a Christmas/holiday dish… best keep it in mind). To make this even more of a meal, I’d add some fried tofu or lentils instead of rice.

ROASTED MAPLE BROCCOLI (serves 2-4):

• 1 large head Broccoli chopped into tiny florets
• 3 tablespoon low-sodium tamari
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 2 tablespoon grapeseed oil
• 1/2 teasoon salt
• 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast (divided)
• 1/3 cup dried fruit (I used a combination of dried cherries, dried cranberries and jumbo golden raisins)
• 1/3 cup chopped almonds (I also added pistachios but pecans or walnuts would also be amazing)

OPTIONAL RICE:

• 2 cups water
• 1 cup short grain brown rice

Method:

Preheat the oven to 400F and lightly grease a baking pan or casserole dish with a bit of grapeseed oil.

*OPTIONAL* In a medium pot, bring the 2 cups of water to a boil, add the rice, reduce heat to medium and let cook for 20-25 minutes.

In a large bowl, drizzle the tamari, maple syrup, grapeseed oil and salt over the broccoli and mix to coat all the broccoli florets with the sauce.

Place the coated broccoli in the casserole dish with the unabsorbed liquids and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast.

Bake for 25 minutes, stirring once halfway through. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the remaining 1 tablespoon of nutritional yeast and mix with the dried fruit and nuts. Serve warm!

*OPTIONAL* Mix in the cooked rice for a pilaf-like dish!