Posts tagged avocado
Gastronomy and Life's Other Pleasures
Follow me on my gastronomic adventures!
Leftover Love - weeknight beef tacos
Using our leftover slow cooked beef, the husband and I whipped up some delicious beef soft tacos. We didn’t change the original seasoning on the beef; instead, we sliced and stir fried some red bell pepper and onion and added some taco seasoning to give the veggies some flavour. We piled all of that on taco shells from Lone Star (the husband loves their taco shells) with our favourite toppings to make an almost instant weeknight dinner!
Lunch at the Works Burger Bistro
What’s more fun than a Friday lunch with your work bff’s? We went out to the Works Burger to celebrate a coworker’s last day before her mat leave this past Friday, and celebrate we did, with milkshakes all around!
I opted for the brand new (and limited time!) milkshake on the menu, the Maple “Sin-amon,” which is vanilla ice cream, a layer of maple syrup and cinnamon, another layer of vanilla ice cream and topped with crumbled maple cookies. It immediately jumped to the top of my all-time favourite milkshakes list!
For my lunch, I went with my usual, the avocado blt with chicken on a croissant. Perfection in every bite! All in all, another amazing meal at the Works, and the service was on point as well - they did a fantastic job!
Brunch at Milestones
I had not been to a Milestones in quite some time when my bff told me about their fantastic brunch menu. Some friends met the fiancé and I for a post-new year’s gathering, and we enjoyed our brunch during a quiet Sunday morning at the restaurant. The servers were great, and there were many other brunch items from which to choose (sadly, we all gobbled up our food so quickly that I only had time to snap a photo of mine before I dove in!)
I am a huge sucker for a good eggs benedict, so when I saw their grilled shrimp california benedict on the menu, I was sold. Grilled jumbo shrimp, double-smoked bacon and house-made avocado salsa are served atop a toasted English muffin, all smothered in a generous dollop of their delightful hollandaise sauce. The sides included breakfast potatoes topped with their Mediterranean salsa and some fresh fruit. I also indulged in Milestones’ ultimate brunch bundle, which added to my meal a starter plate of fresh fruit with a mint dressing and my choice of mimosa: I opted for the raspberry mimosa, which was heavenly.
All of us really enjoyed this brunch, and would not hesitate to return!
Curried tuna with avocado on crackers
How were your holidays? Mine were quick but wonderful. We got to visit with our families, enjoy two turkey dinners and lots of laughter. It has been snowing a great deal which has made driving tricky, but we managed. It sure is gorgeous outside with the more than 50 cm of snow that we’ve had in the past week!
Continuing with my quest to cook from Chef Michael Smith’s book, Fast Flavours, I have this delicious tuna recipe to share with you this week. I can’t believe I never thought to mix tuna with avocado; these two ingredients come together perfectly! I decided to adapt Chef Smith’s recipe quite a bit so if you would like his original recipe, check out his book! I must apologize for my terrible photo; I was trying to work with the natural light coming in my kitchen window but it totally washed out the colours. Don’t let my terrible photo fool you: these little morsels were completely delicious, and healthy to boot!
Curried tuna with avocado
Adapted from Chef Michael Smith’s Fast Flavours
Ingredients
- 1 can (184 g) of your favourite tuna
- 1/4 cup of 0% greek yogurt
- 1 tbsp of zucchini relish (I used President’s Choice)
- 1/2 tbsp of curry powder (adjust to your preferred taste)
- fresh ground pepper to your taste
- 1 ripe avocado, scooped out and chunked
- sprinkle of smoked paprika
- a bunch of your favourite crackers
Directions
- Drain most of the liquid from the tuna (it doesn’t have to be completely drained, but mostly) and put it in a medium bowl. Add greek yogurt, relish, curry powder and pepper. Stir in the avocado and mash everything up to your desired consistency (chunks of avocado are ok!)
- Spread onto crackers of your choice, sprinkle with a dash of smoked paprika and enjoy!
Lunch at the Foolish Chicken
The Foolish Chicken is another one of those fab little places close to where I work, and I’ve come to know it and love it. I’ve eaten there many times but had not yet documented my experience until now. My most recent visit was in commemoration of my bff’s wedding, where her work colleagues joyously celebrated sending her off to get hitched!
The resto is owned and operated by a husband and wife team who are extremely friendly and accommodating. They love hosting groups of nearby office workers (an extremely common occurrence for them) and we love to eat their delicious, home cooked, lovingly prepared meals! They are known for their expertly cooked chicken and for their homemade desserts which include amazing cheesecakes and pies.
I was feeling sandwich-y during this last visit so I decided to order one of the daily specials: a chicken sandwich with avocado served with a garden salad. The sammy came served on an herbed bun, and the chicken breast was tender and juicy. I think it had been marinated in a dried herb seasoning mixture as I could see the remnants of dried rosemary still clinging to the breast meat when I opened up the sandwich. It was delicious! I was so full.
Our gal of the hour was also treated to a celebratory dessert by one of our fellow staff members, so she chose the Snickers Pie to share with the table. The pie features a chocolate brownie base stuffed with oozy caramel and peanut goodness all with a smooth chocolate ganache topping. I’m told the pie was to. die. for. And that’s the thing about the Foolish Chicken - you know you’re always going to walk away satisfied after a delicious, well-made meal for a great price!
Weekday Supper
The boyfriend and I threw together this dinner one recent week night, and it was delicious! I made a marinade for the chicken breast consisting of red wine, maple mustard, salt, pepper, garlic powder, olive oil and a handful of chopped fresh herbs (sage, thyme and rosemary). Also, to cook the cauliflower, we created a foil pocket, tossed the veg with some olive oil and herbs and spices, and put it on the bbq with the chicken. I also added half an avocado for some creamy richness! Yum.
Sushi rolls keep us moving….
We ate out quite a bit during our recent move, but it was a good opportunity to squeeze in a few extra sushi meals. Luckily, Hockey Sushi was nearby! I love a good salmon and avocado roll! My second was a chef’s special, with cucumber, avocado, crab, shrimp tempura, roe, mayo and topped with white tuna. Yummmmmmmmy.
Frida’s also does table-side guacamole! That was such an amazing experience. I’ve never been to a restaurant where they make the guac table side, and it was so fresh and delicious!
A fresh salsa, but with chopped avocado added as a binding agent. Can be served as a dip or used to top grilled chicken.
Steak sandwich, fancy style!
Ingredients:
1 ciabatta bun, cut in half
1 thin striploin steak, bbq’d
1/2 ripe avocado, sliced into think strips
1 bell pepper (red, orange, yellow or green) sliced
1 onion, sliced into think strips
5 white mushrooms, sliced
Small bunch of fresh cilantro
A few pieces of baby spinach
1 tsp bbq sauce of your choice
1 or two slices cheese of your choice
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Stir fry onion, mushroom and bell pepper until softened, salt and pepper to taste. Bbq steak how you most enjoy it, remove from heat. Toast bun, then top with baby spinach, steak (whole or sliced into thin strips), cheese, and then slather on bbq sauce. Add the rest of the toppings, slice and enjoy!
A hearty meal of a dish, this dinner appropriate salad is delicious AND nutritious and won’t leave you feeling empty. My sister and I made it together while she was visiting and we both loved it!
I love the idea of adding quinoa to a salad for protein, and the mixture of creamy avocado, sweet nectarine and crunchy fennel is so satisfying. The pistachios add a nice salty touch to balance out the nectarine.
The recipe can be found on Sprouted Kitchen at http://sproutedkitchen.com/?p=1779.
