Avacado Sandwich with Green Harissa . Sprouted Kitchen

"For whatever it's worth: It's never too late to be whoever you want to be. I hope you live a life you're proud of, and if you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start over."

- Eric Roth, Benjamin Button (a story by F. Scott Fitzgerald)

I've been writing emails with one of my longest-time friends about the hamster wheel of worry and fear and how it can hold us in its grip. Her being a new mom, myself about to be one, and the fresh batch of angst that comes along with a little life dependent on you and doing things "right."

I love this quote, T, made me think of you. May we be women of confidence and faith - that we fearlessly enjoy the ride relieved we don't control the universe. xo

AVOCADO SANDWICH WITH GREEN HARISSA // Makes 2

Green Harissa recipe adapted from Ashley Rodriguez for Food + Wine

Hugh isn't huge into mint, so while Ashley calls for 1 cup each mint and cilantro, I cut the mint yield with half parsley and it worked great. Not too minty while still offering some of it's fresh flavor. Seed the jalepenos depending on your heat tolerance - I took out about half the seeds and thought this had the perfect amount of spice. Click on the link for her original recipe where she tosses it with noodles, shrimp and feta. Sounds great.

I went for a straight harissa spread, while we mixed Hugh's with 2:1 harissa to organic mayo ratio and it was delicious. Possibly preferred. If you are one for high-quality mayo, creamy greek yogurt or even a dairy-free cream cheese, the harissa is perfect for a sammy when it has this creamy factor going on as well. Add roasted chicken, quick seared tofu, a fried egg...really you could expand from here a million ways.

/green harissa/
1 clove garlic
1 cup cilantro
1/2 cup mint leaves
1/2 cup parsley
2 jalepenos, stemmed and seeded to your heat preference
juice of one lemon
1/2 tsp. each cumin, ground fennel seed, sea salt
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 whole grain rolls or 4 pieces bread of choice
1 large, ripe avocado
2 leaves romaine lettuce
1 small bulb fennel, sliced super thin

In a food processor, add the garlic, cilantro, mint, parsley, jalepenos, lemon juice, cumin, fennel, salt and pulse to combine. With the motor going, drizzle in the olive oil until blended but still a little rough. Transfer to a container and set aside.

Toast your bread. Mash up the avocado with a pinch of salt. Spread a few spoonfuls of harissa on one side of the bread and mash half the avocado into the other side of the bread. Layer a piece of romaine and a handful of thin sliced fennel and close up your sammy to enjoy or pack for an adventure.

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Appetizer, Entrée, Snack, Spring

AVOCADO TARTINES WITH GRIBICHE EGG SALAD

Sara Forte · November 10, 2013

Avocado Tartine with Girbiche Egg Salad . sprouted kitchen

I know, the avocado toast thing has been played, but this one is my new favorite. Goodies on toast is a timeless food application, I'm sure of it. I was at a baby shower brunch for one of my dearest friends a few weekends ago at a charming restaurant in Los Angeles called Eveleigh. Life is its own sort of wonderful when you see a friend who your soul trusts and adores, growing a person inside them. Baby, your mother has one of the most tender spirits and sweetest hearts and greatest laughs of all time, you're the luckiest. I'm thrilled you'll get to receive her love. So that part is exciting. But the second most exciting was this avocado toast starter that all the ladies at the table talked about after multiple shared courses. It was quite simple - thin crispy pieces of fresh, grainy bread, smeared with avocado, a sprinkle of aleppo pepper, and then a very chunky sauce gribiche was served on the side to top your toast. I get stuck on what to make for the blog and I just listened to the table chatter about the toast and felt like I was doing blog field research - people want a recipe for this toast, and I need to eat this again.

Classically, this sauce is more of an aioli base, where the yolk emulsifies for a more cream sauce consistency than the egg salad disgrace to the French I have here. It is intended to put on potatoes, chicken, fish... Molly writes about it here if you need more persuading. She's one to be trusted. I am an easy sell as eggs, shallots, heavy on the green herbs, and ripe avocado all fall into my favorite ingredients list. I suppose you could manage this on small baguette-size toasts for an appetizer or serve it along side a green salad for a complete meal. Even if you didn't want it on a tartine, the egg salad part would be an easy to pack lunch for work with a bag of crackers. All I know is this combo will be happening here often.

AVOCADO TARTINES WITH GRIBICHE EGG SALAD // Makes 4

I don't like my egg salads super yolky, so I take the yolk out of 2-3 of the eggs and chop from there. This makes it a little less rich and I prefer it that way, but you can make that call. If it gets chilled over an hour or two, leave the egg salad at room temperature for at least fifteen minutes before serving for the dressing to be the best texture.

2 teaspoons dijon mustard
2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup well chopped mixed herbs: flat leaf parsley, tarragon, thyme, chives, fennel fronds
1 small shallot, minced
1 tablespoon capers, drained
6 hard boiled eggs (see headnote)
sea salt and pepper to taste
4 slices of a grainy country loaf
1-2 avocados

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the dijon, vinegar and olive oil. Add the herbs and shallot. Give the capers a rough chop and add them too. Add a hearty pinch of salt and pepper and give it a stir.

Remove the shell from the eggs and discard any yolks if you so choose. Chop the eggs up and add them to the dressing. Stir to mix. Add salt and pepper to taste. Keep covered in the fridge until ready to use. The egg salad can be made up to a day in advance.

Toast the slices of bread. Mash the avocados well with a pinch or two of salt. Spread a layer of avo mash on the toasts and top with a few heaping spoonfuls of the egg salad on top.

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Entrée, Gluten Free, Fall, Winter

CHILI ROASTED TOFU WITH MINTED POMEGRANATE RELISH

Sara Forte · October 21, 2013

I was rebaptized into cooking after a four-week strike this past weekend. My strike included lots of waffles, scrambled eggs and frozen pizza with a liberal amount of greens on top so I don't feel *quite* as bad. We had a long-planned dinner party/photo shoot for the cookbook so I was actually left with no choice. It's a two man show over here, and one was occupied with stringing mini lights and photographing things, so table setting, shopping, prep, cooking, serving and cleaning for 10 is on me. That is not a complaint, it is really some sort of exhaustive rush. I truly do enjoy it. I just hope to have the funds and yard to do it more often in the future, it makes me so happy. My parents have a lovely space I can borrow for now. There is a chill in the air and the sun is setting quicker and earlier but it was still every bit as rewarding as always. Something about working your buns off and sharing the fruits of your labor with people you love is pretty special. I know I've said it before and it likely won't be the last time. Be warned. When I sign cookbooks, my line is "wishing you many great meals in good company." It got repetitive the more I wrote it, but never cheapened. The feeling I feel when I have a table speckled with food and friends, that is every sort of fullness for me and I wish that for other people. Sometimes the candles and flowers and twinkle lights, but sometimes just the gathering. The paper plates and chairs from around the house and overly simple foods - maybe even frozen pizzas with greens. It's the good stuff.

Pomegranates easily fall into my dozen favorite foods. Little plump jewels of tart-sweet juice and crunch. Just as tasty as they are gorgeous. I fell into the recent Thanksgiving issue of Bon Appetit, saw this minted pom relish and went through the contents of a meagerly stocked fridge to see how I could use it. I have a pomegranate and mint! I'm so close to something that resembles a meal. The recipe originally suggests this for your holiday turkey, so I suppose a number of proteins could do here. I'm just grateful to have something quick, easy and colorful for an easy fall dinner.

CHILI ROASTED TOFU WITH MINTED POMEGRANATE RELISH // Serves 2

Pomegranate Relish adapted from Bon Appetit November 2013

Below will yield enough millet and tofu for two but the relish enough for four. You could halve it, or keep the extras on hand. I made a rogue quesadilla with a brown rice tortilla, lentils, goat cheese and some relish that I thought was pretty tasty. Or I'm thinking it could be a lovely cocktail mix-in or garnish as well.

1 14 oz. pack extra firm tofu, drained and pressed in a dishcloth
1/2 cup millet or quinoa
1 cup low sodium vegetable stock
2 tsp. chili powder
pinch of smoked paprika
2 tsp. grade B maple syrup
1 Tbsp. orange juice
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp. sea salt

1 pomegranate, seeded
1 shallot, finely minced
1 Tbsp. orange or tangerine zest
1/2 Tbsp. fresh orange or tangerine juice
2 Tbsp. finely chopped mint leaves
salt and pepper

1 avocado, diced

Wrap the tofu in a paper towel or dish cloth, and leave a heavy item on top for at least 15 minutes to press out excess moisture.

To make the tofu marinade, mix the chili powder, paprika, maple, orange juice, olive oil and salt together. Cut the tofu into 1/2'' slices and put them in the marinade, turning over a few times to coat. Let it sit for at least 10 minutes, up to overnight.

Rinse the millet in a fine mesh strainer and add it to a pot over medium heat. Add the broth, bring it to a boil, turn it down to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes until liquid is absorbed. Give it a fluff with a fork, turn off the heat, cover and let it sit.

To make the relish, mix the pom arils, shallot, citrus zest and juice and a pinch of salt and pepper together. Add the mint and stir to mix. You could add a dash of olive oil if it looks dry.

Preheat the oven or toaster oven to 425 and line a baking sheet with parchment. Arrange the tofu slices on the tray and bake for 20-25 minutes until edges are browned.

Stir in a pinch of salt, pepper and drizzle of olive oil into the millet. Serve each dish with the millet, a few slices of tofu, a scoop of the relish and diced avocado on top.

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