Avocado Ice Cream

So weird, I know.  Here's the back story on this one.  Way back when we worked at Roche Harbor, during the summer months about 80% of the employees were there on working visas.  We would go from about 50 local employees in the 3 other seasons to about 250 employees in a mater of weeks for summer.  So we met a lot of people from around the world.  One summer, I spent a lot of time with a few Brazilians.  One of my Brazilian buddies made friends some someone who worked at the ice cream stand.  One evening he shows up with a green milk shake.  Come to find out it's an avocado milk shake and he is in heaven. Huh and weird I thought.  Apparently, avocado treats are really popular in that part of the world.  So lately I have noticed recipes for avocado deserts, quite a few being just fresh avocado drizzled with honey.  It was time, I had try it.

What you'll need:
3 Avocados (not too overly ripe, no brown)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 plain greek yogurt (or sour cream)
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice

Slice avocado, remove the pit, and scoop out flesh.  Place everything in a food processor and pulse until well combined and smooth.  My food processor is tiny so I had to pulse the avocado in stages.  Then I used the hand mixer to blend everything.  You could use a blender too.  What ever you have will work.

 Freeze in your ice cream maker.  That simple.

So my thoughts.  It was good, but definitely not going to be on my top five.  When you first taste it, it seems a little awkward.  But once your pallet adjusts to it, its actually really good.  That avocado creamy flavor that we all love really comes out.  It's actually really rich, which surprised me.  I could even finish my little bowl.  I also made a chocolate honey sauce to go on top.  I just felt that the plain avocado might need some sort of contrasting taste.  The chocolate honey sauce was amazing!

What you'll need:
3/4 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vanilla

Place chocolate chips in a bowl, set aside.  In a small sauce pan, heat cream and honey over medium heat, stirring until combined.  Once cream is just about to boil, add vanilla and pour over chocolate.  Let sit for 2 minutes for chocolate to melt. Whisk until combined.  Store in fridge.

I found ketchup and mustard bottles for $.99 so bought them.  Didn't know when exactly they would come on handy, but they eventually did!

I cut the top off a strawberry and filled the inside cavity with this stuff.  I didn't regret that decision. Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Barbecue Sauce (PBBBQ Sauce)

Don't knock it until you try it.  My cousin, I hear, makes a sauce like this, my mom tried it, but I never asked her what she thought.  So, I figured I would just wing it and see how it came out.  This is how it went.  Taste.  Hmm. Taste.  Hmm.  Taste.  Hmm. Kam Taste. Hmm.  And on and on it went.  At some point I said "this is gooooood." He agreed.

What you'll need:
1 can tomato sauce
1 mini bottle of any dark booze (I used bourbon)
3 tablespoons abodo sauce (use 2 if your not a spice person)
1/2 cup strong coffee
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke
1 teaspoon yellow curry
1 teaspoon cardamom
1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon cayenne (optional)

Mix everything in a frying pan except peanut butter.  Bring to a bubble over medium heat and allow to reduce for about a half hour or until desired consistency. Don't turn the heat down, just be sure to stir every couple of minutes.  Cover and tilt lid so steam can escape. You don't have to cover, but if you don't your stove will be very spotted by the time your done.  Once reduced, add peanut butter.

I decided it was time to add PB when the sauce stuck on my spoon like this.

Have a spoon ready!  We ate our sauce with some boneless beef ribs.  I'm thinking chicken wings, pizza, pork, I don't know, cereal. Kidding. Enjoy.

Tikka (I'm in heaven) Masala

Indian food lovers, it's your lucky day.  This is so easy to make and so rich and delicious you'll wonder how it could be that simple.  It does take quite a few spices, but most of them you will already have.  You will have to track down some garam masala, I know World Market carries it.  But you can also go into the Asian section of your local grocery store, buy the pre-made spice packet for Tikka Masala.  Just be sure you buy a dry spice mix not the pre made sauce.  I also made a wonderful rice pilaf to go with that is really delicious by itself.  You could make it as a side dish or with another chicken dish.  Don't let this ingredient list scare you away.  Your mouth and tummy will be disappointed if you do!

What you'll need:

For the Marinade:

1 cup plain greek yogurt

Juice of one lemon (about 2 tablespoons)
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cayenne (or less depending on your spice taste)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 1/2 pound chicken tenders

Mix everything together and pour into a gallon zip lock bag.  Add chicken and mix around until well coated.  Marinate for 1 hour to over night.  Longer the better.

For the Sauce:

1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 jalapeno minced (optional, if you like spice)
2 teaspoons ground coriander (you can find in the mexican spices)
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
3 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 can tomato sauce 
1 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup cilantro chopped

Cook chicken.  The ideal way is to thread the meat onto skewers and grill on high for about 5 minutes on each side.  If you don't want to get the bbq all messy from the yogurt sauce, cover a cookie sheet with tin foil and baked at 350 for about 25 minutes, flipping once half way. Set chicken aside. Once cool enough to handle, cut into larger bite side chunks. Set aside.

In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter.  Add flour and mix into butter, it will be a thick paste.  Add garlic and jalapeno and stir for 1 minutes. Add spices (coriander, cumin, paprika, garam masala & salt), tomato sauce,  mix until well combined and begins to bubble.  Add half and half. Reduce heat and simmer until sauce thickens.  Add chicken and cilantro.  Serve over basmati or pearl rice, or make the rice pilaf.  Recipe in following post.

So I made this about a week ago for just Kam and I.  It wasn't a good night.  The dinner turned out amazing, but in the middle of cooking, I grabbed my camera to shoot something along the way and the neck strap got hooked onto one of my drawer handles and when I stepped forward it pulled out of my hands.  It landed hard, lens down, onto the little rug and bent the zoom part of the lens slightly to one side so it wouldn't turn to zoom in and out.  I cried.  Kam managed to loosen it up enough so that it is in working order again, but it's hard to rotate now.  But it works, and thats all that matters.  Kam tried to make me feel better by saying accidents happen, its just a lens, it can be replaced, but I was still really upset with myself and I dropped my #1 tool.  I use that camera so much that almost breaking it really put it into perspective how much I love my little nikon d60.

So I gave the dinner another shot and made it for my parents the other night.  They have never had Indian food before, so I thought maybe they would like to try it.  My mom loved it and I don't think my dad knew what to think.  He ate his whole serving, and even stuck his fork in the bowl for one more bite, but I'm not sure he would request it again next time they are over.  Egg fu yong all the way Pappa Woody.  But he ate it, so he must have liked it a little.  As for Kam and I, we LOVE LOVE LOVE this dish.  Highly recommend the rice pilaf to go with it.  Enjoy!

Strawberry Gelato

It's becoming strawberry and blueberry season.  In my world, those are two different food groups that must be consumed in large quantities during the summer months or else certain death.  Its a rough life, but tolerable.  So Costco has the larger flats of strawberries in now, so I bought one of course!  Naturally the next thing to do was make ice cream, or gelato.  I actually made it 2 weeks ago, and never got around to posting it.  Then last night Kam looked at me as I was walking into the kitchen and told me to whip some up....riiiiight.  I'll just quickly throw that together for ya babe!


What you'll need:


3 cups whole milk
3/4 cup sugar (divided 1/2 and 1/4)
2 egg yokes
1 1/2 tablespoon corn starch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups chopped strawberries 
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice


In a food processor or blender add strawberries, 1/4 cup sugar and lemon juice. Coarsely chop strawberries until you have about 1 1/2 cups.  Set aside.


Heat milk to a simmer.  In another bowl, whisk your egg yolks and sugar together until well combined.  Add cornstarch and salt.  Whisk until sugar/egg is no longer clumpy.  It will be a little dry, but if you use a whisk, it will combine.  Slowly add half of your simmering milk whisking continuously.


Slowly return mixture back into saucepan, whisking until all is combined.  Turn heat up to medium and switch to a wooden spoon.  You do not want it to boil so you may have to adjust your heat a time or two.  Keep stirring until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of spoon, 4-5 minutes.  (If it gets too hot, the egg will begin to cook.)


Pour mixture through strainer into a bowl that will fit into a second bowl for an ice bath. Add strawberries and vanilla and whisk one final time.  Transfer bowl into large bowl with ice and water and leave until mixture is cool.  About 45 minutes.  Give it a quick stir every so often to keep a film from forming on top.  Once cool, lay a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the mixture.  Store in the fridge over night before adding to your ice cream maker.


I had a strawberry sauce that I had made for pancakes and stored the leftovers in the freezer a while back.  I thawed it out and we had that over our gelato.  Here is the recipe for that if you are interested, but the gelato is perfectly yummy without it!


Strawberry Sauce - (You may want to half this if you don't want a ton of left overs. Sorry, no process pictures.)


What you'll need:


5 cups crushed or chopped strawberries
1 1/2 cups water (divided)
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 tbsp lemon juice


Add strawberries, half of the water, and lemon zest into a medium pan and heat to boil.  Boil for 5 minutes.  Dissolve sugar in remaining water.  Remove strawberries from heat and mix in sugar water, lemon juice, and corn syrup.  Return to a boil and boil for another 5 minutes, stirring fairly often.  Allow to cool and serve with whatever your heart desires!  

Thank you Costco and California!

Not quite there....

The gelato was super light and creamy on its own, the sauce gave it an extra punch. I find the gelato be best after you remove it from the ice cream maker and freeze it for about 2 hours.  Its hard at this point but not too hard to scoop.  The next day, you may have to let it sit on the counter for about 10 minutes before serving.  Enjoy!