Taco Tuesday: Fried Avocado with Corn Salsa

July 22, 2014February 7, 20171 Comment

I know what you’re thinking? Fried avocado?! I hear the chorus of angels singing too. I looked at a few recipes and landed on this one (with my own changes, of course), inspired by The Beeroness. Check it out here. It’s delicious and naughty, so get ready.

Okay, here’s what you need:

Avocados – 1 large Hass avocado will make 6 tacos

Beer Batter – 2 cups flour, 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt, 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, 12 oz of light beer, canola oil for frying

Corn Salsa – 1 ear of white sweet corn, 1 half of a tomato, 1 small jalapeno, 1 half of a red onion, a couple green onions, 1 lime

Black Beans – optional, but it added some heft to the all veggie tacos. I added a pinch of cumin and topped with cotija

Corn Tortillas – fresh is always best, but in a pinch, use a good quality, thick corn tortilla

Begin by preparing the corn salsa, so it can chill in the fridge while you do the rest. Simply dice the veggies, cut the kernels off the ear of corn, squeeze the lime juice, add a pinch of salt and pepper to taste, and the salsa is done. Once that’s in the fridge, add oil into a medium sized pot, a few inches worth (sorry, didn’t measure). You want enough oil so that the avocados will be covered and so that you can measure the temp without the thermometer touching the bottom of the pot. It will take a bit of time to reach the desire temp, 375 (about 10 minutes).

Now, it’s time to prepare the batter. Add all of the dry ingredients into a large bowl and whisk it together. Next, slowly add the beer and whisk together until you have the consistency of pancake batter.

Slice up the avocado and you’ll end up with 8 slices. (Each taco will get one large slice, but the smaller slices can be combined for a “beefier” taco.) Dunk the avocado slices into the beer batter and make sure that they are getting a really good coating. By now, the oil should have reached 375. Go ahead and pull the first avocado pieces out of the batter and put them into the pot. Everything I read says to only place a couple pieces in at a time so they fry up evenly. I abided by this rule. Each round took only a few minutes, so this will move quickly. Once you put the first couple pieces in the pot, I’d suggest setting up a plate with a couple layers of paper towels. That way you have a place to put the avocados after they are done frying, and the paper towels will soak up the grease.

Heat the beans and tortillas.

Now, it’s time to assemble! I did about a teaspoon of beans, 1 large avocado piece, and a generous helping of salsa.

You could add some hot sauce or crema, if you’d like, but I feel like this was the perfect combination of crunch from the beer batter, creamy richness from the avocado, and freshness from the salsa.

Enjoy!

Currently.

July 15, 2014February 7, 2017Leave a comment

READING…The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri I have read amazing reviews, and so far am really enjoying this tale of two brothers.

LISTENING…Eldridge Gravy and the Court Supreme My husband’s friend is in this amazing funk band. The music is so perfect for summertime, and they just make you want to move. If you live in the area, go to a show!

EATING…cheese and fruit plates for dinner. It has been pretty hot here, and because it never gets hot here, most of us do not have an air conditioner, so definitely no central air. For the last couple weeks I have come home to an 85 degree house. Would you want to turn on the stove or the oven? I think not. I have been improvising for dinners with simple cheese and fruit plates. It’s light, delicious and requires minimal effort…cheese and fruit FTW.

DRINKING…iced Americanos in the AM. I try to keep my coffee buying habits under control, but there’s something about the heat and the sunshine that makes me want to enjoy an iced coffee. My order…a 12 oz iced Americano with light cream and a pump of almond syrup. I’d love to experiment with making my own syrups. Check out these recipes here.

SUCCEEDING…in clearing out some room in my linen closet to make way for some of my closet overflow. I realized that with the linen closet just outside the master, I had some valuable real estate there and I wasn’t using it properly. It was home to guest bath towels, and poorly organized linens. I moved all of the guest towels and a ton of travel size toiletries to…wait for it…the guest bath. Why hadn’t I thought of that before? Anyway, I have freed up some space and made finding clothes and putting laundry away much easier for myself. And I would imagine that guests will like having all of these things at their fingertips, in case they forgot something.

FAILING…at working out. So, this was my failing last month too. I have a couple good days here and there and bam, the lazy monster takes over. I could blame it on the heat, I suppose. Nah, I’m lazy. We have been going for a bike ride once a week, and I have consistently done yoga once a week. So, let’s call this, slowly improving?

LOVING…the weather! The PNW is just gorgeous right now. You cannot beat these summer days. I’m eating it up, wearing my summer clothes, opening windows and getting outside as much as possible. You have to cherish the sunny days here.

WAITING…for my first girl trip in many, many years. Me and a bestie have a trip planned to visit a girlfriend who just moved out of state, and I can’t wait. I never do this sort of thing, so it feels extra special.

WEARING…my gardening gloves! I have been picking green beans and zucchini from my garden and pulling weeds in the backyard, so we can make the backyard beautiful.

That’s it for me. Make a today a great one!

Life in Photos // 4th Fun

July 7, 2014February 7, 2017Leave a comment

We spent the 4th with dear friends and had a great day, filled with food, floating and fireworks.

First and most important, let’s talk s’mores. Our friend, Mel, is a bit of an evil genius when it comes to the culinary arts. She specializes in delicious food that is rarely good for you…case in point, s’mores for the 4th. She knew that we could do better than the traditional s’more. Sure, some people use peanut butter cups instead of regular milk chocolate squares, and we have heard of cookies instead of graham crackers, but aren’t the best things in life homemade? Yes!

Sooo, we crafted homemade marshmallows, peanut butter and coconut flavored. Mel found the recipe here, but as usual, we made some adjustments to the recipe we found. (For the coconut marshmallows, we replaced 1 tsp vanilla with 3/4 tsp natural coconut extract + 1/4 tsp artificial coconut extract and replaced peanut butter powder with 4-6 tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut.)

Mel made homemade grahams, coconut and chocolate flavored. Mel found the recipe here (and photo is courtesy of Mel.)

Mel bought Theo Chocolate bars in assorted flavors like dark chocolate coconut, milk chocolate chili, and the list goes on. Side note: Theo chocolate not only tastes amazing but they are fair trade and organic.

And then, for the real kicker, Mel made caramel sheets. Those caramel sheets really sent it over the top and made these s’mores into an experience. Sorry for the bad pic, but I was more focused on devouring this ridiculous treat. You are looking at the chocolate grahams, peanut butter mallow, dark chocolate coconut bar square, and a sheet of caramel. It was insanely rich and I could only eat half, but as my bestie would say, “go big or go home!”.

Luckily, the s’mores came at the very end of the night because I spent the first half of the day in a swimsuit. We began our day by floating the Skykomish River for a few hours. We tie all of our rafts and tubes together and let the current take us for a calm, relaxing float. We have mastered the float so that we have a cooler full of beverages, snacks and we even have music. It’s a great time and it’s a true sign that summer is here.

Lastly, here are some of my favorite shots of the fireworks. This first one includes my–impossible to see– red, white and blue Jell-o shot and fireworks. The rest of the fireworks shots are courtesy of my hubby, Marv.

I hope that you all had a safe and fun holiday. Happy Monday and welcome back to the grind. Although we have a full week ahead of us, let’s make it a good one. It’s summer!

Today’s BGD // 7.2.14

July 2, 2014February 7, 20172 Comments

I love writing this blog. I love pushing myself to be better each day and striving to find the best in each day. Unfortunately, as you may have noticed, I have not been writing as much lately. Call it being lazy, distracted, or having lack of inspiration. It doesn’t matter though, we can call it whatever we want, but really they are just excuses. Last night I laid awake thinking about ideas to share and in my fit of inspiration, drafted this post. I also thought about how great it is to decide that I’m going to make a change, and then make it happen. We have that opportunity each day. It could be some thing small like, I’m going to eat more vegetables today, or it could be something huge like, I’m going to be positive today. I woke up with the thought that today, I’m going to make more of an effort to make time for my passions. I’m sure that I will be here again, saying the same thing down the road, but isn’t this moment great? The moment you decide to make a positive change in your life is a powerful thing.

Today’s BGD, making time for what you love. One has to make an effort for the things that matter most.

Taco Tuesday: Roasted Zucchini with Creamy Chipotle Sauce

June 24, 2014February 7, 20172 Comments

For this delicious, but crazy spicy recipe you’ll need:

2 Zucchinis
1 Pasilla Chile
1/2 Red Onion
1 cup of Corn
1 cup of Pinto Beans
1 can of Chipotle Peppers (7 oz)
1/2 cup of Crema
2 Limes
Cotija
Sea Salt
Tortillas

Makes 6 tacos

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees, begin slicing the zucchini and red onion, and then place on to a baking sheet. Remove the stem and seeds from the Pasilla and just cut it in half. Rub some olive oil on the skin of the pepper, and then drizzle some olive oil over the zucchini and onion as well. It took about 20 minutes to roast the veggies, but I feel like I could have done less time for the zucchini, so just keep an eye on it once they have been in the oven for 15 minutes.

While the veggies are roasting, make the creamy chipotle sauce in your food processor. I dumped the entire can of chipotles into the food processor, a decision that I regretted after tasting the sauce, although delicious and smokey, crazy spicy. Consider yourself warned. I’d suggest using half the can, 1/2 cup of crema, and the juice from one lime. If you feel like that isn’t spicy enough, then by all means, go to town and throw the rest of the can in there.

This is the point when I realized I had frozen corn and that it would be a lovely addition to the tacos. I simply thawed some corn and browned it a smidge on the stove top. I also realized that I had a can of pinto beans, so you can guess what happened next…I heated the beans on the stove top.

Okay, it should be about time to pull the veggies out of the oven. Turn off the oven and put the tortillas on the middle rack of the oven to warm them. Now, go ahead and put the onion and zucchini in a bowl and add the corn too. Let the chiles sit for a bit, until they are cool enough to handle, and pull the skin off, and then slice. Add the chiles to the bowl with a dash of salt, and toss everything together. Pull the tortillas out and put them into a tortilla warmer, or in a towel to keep them warm.

Everything is ready, so it’s time assemble and eat. I did a layer of beans, layer of veggies, creamy chipotle sauce, and then some cotija. Garnish the plate with a lime wedge or two and enjoy.

Happy Tuesday!

Today’s BGD // 6.18.14

June 18, 2014February 7, 20171 Comment

My morning routine is something that has improved over the years. I used to get up one hour before I needed to leave, and between showering, putting myself together, letting the dogs out and grabbing breakfast/lunch for the day, I was always rushed and running late. These days, I really enjoy mornings. I wake up about two hours before I need to leave. I have found that waking up earlier allows me a slow morning, full of snuggling my pups and finding time to read for fifteen minutes while sipping my coffee. It’s all about making time for things you care about. My current morning reading is The Happiness Project. I love that in fifteen minutes I can put myself into a positive mindset, learn something, and get inspired to be better.

You don’t know what the day will bring, so why not start it off right? Some days are difficult and seem to get worse by the hour, and in those days, I can always reflect on my morning. Today’s BGD, find the beauty first thing so you have it to hold on to throughout the day.

Currently.

June 12, 2014February 7, 20172 Comments

READING…#GIRLBOSS by Sophia Amoruso, founder and CEO of Nasty Gal. Her story is unlike any other I’ve heard. Former anarchist and dumpster diver turned fashion mogul. If you want to feel empowered and have a good chuckle, you’ll enjoy it.

LISTENING…Lana del Ray West Coast

EATING…gelato. I.CAN’T.STOP.

DRINKING…my morning smoothies. My favorite right now is a mixture of coconut water, frozen strawberries, frozen mango, fresh blueberries, fresh cucumber and fresh spinach. If you don’t like putting your thinking cap on first thing in the AM, use a recipe, like one of these.

SUCCEEDING…in checking things off the old Summer Bucket List. I have already eaten outside three times, gone on a bike ride, made progress on the backyard benches, bought a Groupon for paddleboarding, read lots, and sketched an idea for a summer romper. I absolutely love this.

FAILING…at working out. I don’t know what my deal is. I need to get up earlier and just get it done. That’s my plan, get up earlier.

LOVING…my friends. I have had the pleasure of seeing my favorite girls this week, and I’m reminded of how amazing my girlfriends are. They are strong, funny, smart and loving human beings, and I am just head over heels for them. I feel very lucky to have them in my life.

WAITING…patiently for the best outdoor movie night EVER. They are playing The Sandlot this summer, and I have already marked my calendar with a giant heart because it will make the best date night. For those of you who don’t know, Benny “the Jet” Rodriguez was my childhood crush and my husband is his twin, only better. Not to mention, The Sandlot is a stellar movie. Can’t wait!

WEARING…coconut oil, all day, everyday. I love it as a moisturizer for my face and body, especially during these warmer months. It is light and leaves a lovely sheen.

That’s it for me. Happy Thursday!

Meal Planning 101

June 9, 2014February 7, 20171 Comment

As you all know, I like to plan. It makes my life easier when I have control over a few things because let’s face it, you can’t control everything. On Sundays, I enjoy going through my pantry, fridge and freezer to see what I have and think up what I could do with these items. Some days this task is easy, some days it’s hard. Some days the ingredients practically tell me how to use them up, and some days they don’t. When it’s tough, I go to the internet for ideas and inspiration.

WORK FROM THE BOTTOM UP, DINNER MENU FIRST:

I like to begin with deciding on dinners first. My goal is to cook at least four times a week. Four is good, five is better, and three is likely. Knowing this helps me from overbuying and wasting food. If you know that you are going to have a busy week and you’ll only cook twice, only buy enough for two dinners. You can always go to the market if you really need something, and then you don’t waste food and money. After taking stock and visiting my Pinterest board, I know what I’m making for dinners and can create my grocery list.

*Side note, in looking at your menu for the week, think about how these things will translate for lunches. For example, re-heating tacos don’t really work for lunch in your typical office kitchen, so I make sure to buy enough lettuce to create a taco salad for the next day.

Once dinners and lunches are covered, I think about breakfast. For me breakfast consists of a smoothie, coffee, and an egg. For my husband, oatmeal and orange juice. Add those items to your list. Now is the time to jot down any other necessities, such as toiletries or cleaning products. There it is, your list, in all its glory.

COUPONING, LAZY GIRL STYLE:

This is the part where I go to my coupon envelopes to see if I have anything that will save us a few bucks. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t. The thing I have learned about couponing is that it can be easy to clip coupons because they sound good, but if the coupon is for something you don’t normally buy, it’s not worth it. I clip coupons once a week and stash them in an envelope. After I make my list, I see what I can use for this shopping trip, and I go through and toss anything that has expired.

Another way that I coupon is through Safeway’s Just For You program. Safeway is the closest grocery store to me, and convenience is king when it comes to chores like grocery shopping. I simply log into my account, and review all of the personalized deals, store specials, and manufacturer coupons. I click away on what I need, and it automatically loads them to my card. It is super easy, and it’s pretty silly not to do it. Super dorky fact, I have the app on my phone too (see image above). Oh, and I accumulate gas rewards points. After grocery shopping today, I received a $0.90/gallon discount. I know, super dorky. I like saving money, can’t help it.

In all this process takes me about an hour. Within this hour, I am able to make my evenings easier, so I have more time to spend with my hubby and pets, and I keep our dinners interesting, so we don’t eat the same things over and over. I’m sure that this isn’t for everyone, but it works for me, so I wanted to share.

Let’s Talk…Summer Bucket List

June 5, 2014February 7, 20171 Comment

Here in the PNW, summer is the best. It’s short and sweet, always leaving us wanting more. I always feel like it goes by way too fast and that I didn’t get to do everything I wanted to do. My girlfriend suggested making a Summer Bucket List, and I have seen these popping up all over the place, so clearly it’s a must. I’m on board. I have 16 points listed, going off the Memorial Day to Labor Day calendar, which is 16 weeks. Anyhow, I would imagine this will change a bit over the course of the next couple months, but here it goes…

1. Outdoor movies, obviously

2. Outdoor concerts (did I go to any last year?! Shaaaaame)

3. Host a party (grilling, outdoor lighting, music, the whole shabang)

4. Finish our backyard projects (hanging chair, benches, lighting)

5. Eat outside a few times a week, EVERY week

6. Go for more bike rides (and buy a basket for my ride)

7. Outdoor yoga (did it once, and it was awesome…not sure why I haven’t done it again)

8. Be spontaneous (said the planner)

9. Plant flowers, beautify the house!

10. Read more books (the goal is 9 – 3/month)

11. Re-apply sunblock (I’m great at putting it on, not so great at remembering to re-apply)

12. Float a river (or two or three)

13. Hike more (camping hiking counts, but I need to get out there more)

14. Try paddleboarding (I know my hubby is on board, so we need to make it happen)

15. Make three summer dresses (they’re my favorite in the summer, and I know how to sew…no brainer)

16. Take the pups for more walks (they should benefit from the SBL too, right?)

So, will you be making one too? If so, please share.

Taco Tuesday: Shrimp with Mango & Avocado

June 3, 2014February 7, 2017Leave a comment

It was a sunny, warm day here, so I decided to do everything in my power to not use the oven or stove. Enter shrimp with mango & avocado tacos. Mission accomplished. I wanted to make ceviche tacos but I didn’t have raw shrimp, and I ended up working late, so I didn’t really have the time either. This is my “short on time” version.

I had cooked shrimp and red cabbage in the fridge, and mango, avocado, tomato, onion, lemon and lime in my fruit bowl. I chopped up all of the ingredients, squeezed in the juice of 1 lemon and 1 lime, and added a dash of sea salt. I let it sit in the fridge for about 30 minutes to chill and allow the flavors to come together.

6 oz cooked shrimp (tails removed and cut into small chunks)
1 large ripe mango
1 large avocado
1 small vine tomato
1/2 small white onion
1/2 bag shredded red cabbage
1 lemon
1 lime
Sea salt
Chili powder
12 corn tortillas

To put them together lay down a layer of shredded red cabbage, a couple scoops of the shrimp/mango/avocado mixture, a dash of chili powder, and you’re done. This made 6 tacos with a generous helping of leftovers, which I used to make a salad for my lunch. My regrets–not having cilantro and not heating the tortillas on the grill. I think those two things would’ve made these tacos stellar. They were still pretty delicious though. Give them a try and let me know your take on this recipe.