Wasabi Guacamole

Posted on June 24, 2012 by Katherine

One night, a friend of mine was raving about the best guacamole that someone had made for her. Wasabi guacamole. Why have I never heard of this? She didn’t have the exact recipe, but some Googling and recollection of the ingredients was enough to get this party started. Hot, fresh and flavourful, this was tasty and cleared up my sinuses (damned cold!)

Wasabi Guacamole – Makes about 1.25 cups

Ingredients:

two avocados (use large, I had small ones)
one small tomato, diced
one small onion, diced (I used red onion)
one green onion, chopped (I ran out, so I used chives from the garden)
two tablespoons of chopped cilantro
two tablespoons of lime juice
one tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
one teaspoon of red hot sauce, or any hot pepper sauce.
one teaspoon of kosher salt (or to taste)
one teaspoon of wasabi paste, powder, whatever you have (The flavouring on this can vary wildly from one brand/preparation to the next. Try a smaller amount first and add more to taste)

Peel and pit your avocados. Put them into a container and mash with a fork.

Add all of the other ingredients. Stir. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary (especially that wasabi!)

Let sit in the refrigerator for at least an hour for the flavours to mingle like an awkward office social. I always put plastic wrap right on top of the guac to prevent browning as much as I can.

Sprinkle with any leftover ingredients as garnish. So pretty. Eat it with a spoon. Or vegetable sticks, or whatever you want. My vote is for a spoon….

Paleo Sushi Rolls

Posted on June 17, 2012 by Katherine

I love me some sushi. There is a wicked sushi place across the street from my office but I haven’t been in months. This whole not eating grains thing, kinda puts a crimp in my sushi habit. I’m not a fan of sashimi. I like maki rolls. It’s the combination of the flavours and textures wrapped up into a neat little package that turn my crank.

When I was very very pregnant I practically lived on sushi (yes, I know, judge away… raw fish will KILL YOU AND YOUR BABY. Bite me. We’re fine). You see, I had excruciating gallbladder problems and I by the end I had found out by trial and very-painful-error what I could and couldn’t eat. A croissant? Hospitalized for three days. Over Christmas, no less!! Baked Lays and Philadelphia Onion dip? A-OK. Sushi? Even better. My sushi joint does dessert sushi which is rice, cream cheese, strawberry and mango wrapped in a rice paper. Oh my gawd. That stuff is crack. Anyway.

I took a stab at making some rice-less sushi rolls. I couldn’t be bothered to make a rice substitute like cauliflower or jicama or egg whites, I just took the ingredients and wrapped em up!

Paleo Sushi Rolls -makes enough for a very hungry girl to eat for lunch. Quantities will vary, because it depends on how much you can stuff into your rolls! Talented sushi chefs could roll a lot more than me.

nori sheets
spicy mayo (homemade mayo + chili garlic sauce or sriracha
cooked shrimp, tails removed
sliced avocado, cucumber, mango – in matchstick type cuts
microgreens or finely chopped lettuce. Boston works well.

Mix your mayo with the shrimp

Layer your ingredients on the nori. I couldn’t find my sushi mat, so I used a bamboo placemat. It worked well enough. Cover your mat with plastic wrap. It will be easier to clean up.

Roll roll roll, starting at the end with the filling on it, working your way around. You may find the nori more pliable if you use wet fingers to just rub the edges a bit. Pull the ingredients in as you roll. You want it as tight as possible.

Three rolls! Look at me go!

Use a VERY sharp knife to cut. Or you will smush them. Some of mine got smushed. There we many out takes. Or sad rolls that I shoveled into my mouth before they fell apart. Also, I tried to be artsy and make the ends of the avocado stick out all pretty like my fave sushi joint does, but it just looked stupid. Sorry.

Serve with wasabi and coconut aminos!

Egg, bacon and avocado salad

Posted on June 14, 2012 by Katherine

I probably saw this on Pinterest or something. But the idea popped into my head to make this. I love egg salad. But I am extremely picky about it and have to make it myself. Nothing is more repulsive than pre-made slimy egg salad sandwiches.

Even more importantly, nothing is more disappointing than when you send your husband to the fridge in the birthing unit’s patient kitchen to find you something to eat in the middle of the night because you are starving, exhausted, in pain, fiddling around in the dark attempting to breastfeed your one day old baby… and he comes back to report there is nothing there except a few lonely egg salad sandwiches. No thanks. I’ll starve. Thank goodness there was a grocery store nearby and for kind friends who delivered all my favourite foods to me from the other end of the city. Hospital food sucks. Especially sketchy egg salad on wonder bread. Anyhow…

The pic is kinda crappy, and no progress photos because posting this was an after thought, but make it anyway. Ok?

Avocado, egg and bacon salad – this made three servings, served on lettuce as pictured

5 hard boiled eggs, chopped
2 small avocados, chopped
a few slices of bacon, chopped and cooked
1/4c of homemade mayo
Salt and pepper
a squirt of lime juice and chopped cilantro (optional)

Mix it all up and enjoy! If you want to save it or pack it in your lunch, put it in a sealed container and press plastic wrap right up against it. This will help reduce the browning from the avocado. Yummy.