California Avocado Festival

http://www.avofest.com/

I am so bummed that I will miss the California Avocado Festival in Santa Barbara this weekend. Please attend and give me some highlights of your time there. You'll get extra bonus points if you bring me home some avocados. This is definitely going on my calendar for next year.

Today's Rewards

Pomegranate seeds, Peaches, Avocado, Squash blossoms, Cashews, Kale, Zucchini, Tomato, Apple, Potato, Carrots, Cilantro, Yam, Sweet Potato, Eggs.

Red Quinoa with Yams

modified from Gluten-Free Goddess

Despite, the apparent heatwave coming to LA this weekend, I am in the mood for Fall. It's my favorite season. I can't wait for cooler weather and warmer foods. Tonight I made an amazing, earthy, fall-inspired side dish with lots of ingredients from this week's farmers' market. This recipe is slightly modified from the one on Gluten-Free Goddess' website. Her recipes are wonderful!

1 cup red quinoa

2 small yams, peeled & diced

1/2 cup golden raisins

1/2 of a small red onion, diced fine

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 teaspoon of agave nectar (or maple syrup)

1/2 cup chopped pecans

2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley

1 teaspoon curry

Sea salt & ground pepper, to taste

Extra virgin olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Cook the red quinoa, using a 1:2 ratio of 1 cup red quinoa to 2 cups water.

3. Add yam, raisins, red onion, and garlic to a medium roasting pan.

4. Drizzle with a little olive oil, to coat. Add a teaspoon or two of agave nectar.

5. Sprinkle with sea salt and toss ingredients together.

6. Roast for about 20-25 minutes (until yam is tender.)

7. In dry skilled lightly toast the pecans briefly, till fragrant.

8. Mix in a large bowl the yam mixture, cooked quinoa, pecans, parsley, curry and sea salt & ground pepper to taste.

9. Drizzle mixture with some olive oil and toss to coat. Taste test and adjust seasonings as needed.

Reed Avocado

A couple weeks ago, on my aunt's suggestion, I purchased a Reed avocado from the Hollywood Farmers' Market. This avocado, unlike the typical pear-shaped Haas, is large and round, like a cannon ball. The farmer I purchased it from only has it available for a couple summer months each year. The Reed's ripeness is optimal when it yields to gentle pressure. I seemed to use it in almost every dish for a week and it lasted and tasted amazing throughout. Not turning brown or mushing up in salads and the like. To die for.

Today's Rewards

Eggs, Yams, Cabbage, Tomatoes, Almonds, Pecans, Corn, Lemon, Potatoes, Lime, Onion, Carrots, Peaches, Blueberries, Avocado

Today's Rewards

Potatoes, eggplant, green beans, avocado, broccoli, sweet potato, garlic, heirloom tomatoes, limes, green pepper, eggs, lemon, red onion, peaches, pears, pecans. Beautiful!

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Enchiladas

modified from Gluten-Free Goddess

So as I continue on my path of gluten-soy-dairy-free, I am enjoying so much the search for new recipes. This one immediately caught my eye. Mine certainly didn't turn out as pretty as the Goddess' but it was super good. Lots of different flavors. Enjoy!

Green Chile Sauce:

1 cup vegetable broth

1 tablespoon arrowroot starch dissolved in a little cold water

1 cup chopped roasted green chiles (I found cans of these at Trader Joe's)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon cumin

Filling:

1 15-oz. can black beans, rinsed, drained

3 cloves garlic, minced

Lime juice from 1 large lime

2 cups sweet potatoes; cubed, cooked and then smashed a bit, but still chunky

1/2 cup chopped roasted green chiles

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon curry

Salt and pepper, to taste

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

2-4 tablespoons olive oil, as needed

8 white corn tortillas (I used Food for Life gluten-free tortillas)

Shredded cheese, if desired

1. Preheat oven to 350 and choose a baking dish that would hold 8 enchiladas.

2. Make Green Chile Sauce by combining broth, dissolved arrowroot, green chiles, garlic and spices in a sauce pan and heating over medium-high heat until thickened.

3. Combine black beans, minced garlic, and lime juice. Set aside.

4. In a separate bowl, combine the sweet potatoes with chopped green chiles and spices.

5. Pour about 1/4 cup of Green Chile Sauce into bottom of baking dish.

6. Heat a dash of oil in a skillet and lightly cook the tortillas one at a time to soften them.

7. Lay a hot tortilla in the sauced baking dish and wet it with the sauce.

8. Spoon 1/8 of sweet potato mixture down the center and then top with 1/8 of the black beans.

9. Repeat for the remaining tortillas and top with the rest of the sauce.

10. If you prefer, top with a sprinkle of shredded Monterey Jack cheese.

11. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes.

12. Serve with a sprinkle of cilantro and a bit of guacamole on top.

Chapter 14: You Can't Run Away On Harvest Day

The more we know about our food system, the more we are called into complex choices.

Chapter 14 looks at animal harvest day for the Kingsolvers; the time of year when they have to slaughter the chickens they have raised on their farm. Kingsolver, who used to be a vegetarian but is no longer, expresses very eloquently her belief system regarding eating meat. She points out the hypocrisies of condemning animal harvest on moral grounds but ignoring that millions of animals die each year from pesticide exposure, contact with genetically modified pollen, and habitat removal in the processing of plant food. "Humans may only cultivate nonviolence in our diets by degree."

She also notes that it is understandable for one to oppose eating meat when we consider that most nonfarmers are only intimate with animal life within 3 categories: people, pets, and wildlife. But there is a fourth category to consider. On a farm, these animals have been bred to become food and the farmer should value the harvest as way to reconnect with that purpose. A harvest should imply planning, respect, and effort.

Kingsolver further reminds us that this is not always the moral purpose behind a slaughter. An unacceptable amount of American animal farming has become industrialized and dehumanized. It has led to antibiotic-resistant bacteria, deadly E. coli strains, massive fuel consumption, concentration of manure into toxic waste lagoons, and the shameful act of confining creatures at their physiological and psychological limits. But alternatives to the products of CAFOs do exist. Pasture-based chicken and turkey has become available in many supermarkets and farmers' markets. Clearly, farmers who raise animals on pasture have to charge more than factories that cut every corner on animal soundness. But like anything else in capitalism, as demand rises, more farmers can opt out of the industrial system and the cost structure will shift the other way.

Please choose your meat wisely.

Today's Rewards

Reed Avocado, Cantaloupe, Peaches, Potato, Yam, Sweet Potato, Limes, Lemons, Tomatoes, Cilantro, Carrots, and Eggs.

I'm very excited about the Reed Avocado as I've never had one, I hear they're delicious, and they're in season for only a couple months out of the year. I'll keep you posted.