Avocado and Banana Smash

Being married to a Chef has its benefits; dinner is always on the table, no meal is ever served twice, and I am always exposed to new and interesting foods.  The downsides of being married to a Chef are that he often works late hours, the sink is always full of dishes, and now my taste buds far exceed my own cooking skills, leaving me in an unpleasant situation on nights where I must fend for myself.  However, my one and only triumph in the kitchen came the day that I taught my Chef husband a new recipe.....avocado and banana smash.

Once upon a time in Miami, I lived in a house on the water named "The Bay House," which (if my memory serves me correct) had an avocado tree and a few banana trees.  One day, my roommate Aldo was preparing a meal using the fruit from the garden when I stumbled in and saw his bowl full of greenish goo.  After twisting my face in disgust, he finally convinced me to take a bite by telling me it was a Costa Rican delicacy. Although I am sure it can not quite qualify as a "delicacy," I am glad that he told me what I needed to hear in order to indulge in my first spoonful.  I was hooked! Not only is it delicious and filling, but it is very healthy, too. 

So here is the recipe (And no laughing! I know it is ridiculously easy...that's the beauty of it!):

• Take 1 ripe avocado and smash it with a fork in a bowl
• Take 1 ripe banana and smash it with a fork in the same bowl
• Now smash together until they reach the consistency that you like (some people prefer it smoother than others)
• Add a drizzle of honey if you prefer 

Now, ignore the way it looks and enjoy! Eat with a spoon straight from the bowl.  It is a perfect meal for breakfast, lunch, or an afternoon snack!  Thank you Aldo for sharing your delicious breakfast 10 years ago!

Tweet

Apple and Blackberry Crumble - Easy Seasonal Dessert

Well, here in unsunny London, the only seasonal fruits that are from anywhere close to local are the end of the seasons apples, and the first few fresh berries of the year just coming in, so I decided to combine the two into one very simple, but very tasty dessert to satisfy my wife's ever-present sweet tooth.

The other great thing about this recipe is that it's very adaptable.  If you have pears, or rhubarb, or figs, they would all be great in this recipe.  Just follow the same methods using whatever fruit you have handy!!

INGREDIENTS FOR CRUMBLE FILLING:
4 large apples
1 pear
2 clementines
1 vanilla bean
50 g sugar in the raw
125 blackberries
10ml Greens ginger wine (Optional)
15 g butter

INGREDIENTS FOR CRUMBLE TOPPING:
35 g Oats
35 g Plain Flour
35 g butter (softened slightly)
20 g sugar in the raw

For the crumble:
1) Peel, core and dice all of the fruit (except the blackberries, they would be hard to peel anyway)

2) Add to pot, squeeze the clementine juice over, add the butter, and place over medium heat

3) Take the vanilla pod, slice in half lengthwise, then run a knife down the inside to remove the seeds from inside (as above).  Don't discard the scraped pod however.  Add it to a pot of sugar or honey and let it sit for at least 48 hours and you will have an absolutely delicious vanilla sugar or vanilla honey for use whenever you want it.

4) Add vanilla and sugar to the pot and cook for 10 minutes until the apples start to give off their liquid.  Add the ginger wine and blackberries at this point and cook for 10 more minutes.
It should look like this now:

5) Put aside on counter to cool slightly while we make our crumble topping.

For the topping:
1) Mix together the flour and oats.
2) Add the butter and work it into the flour mix with your fingers till it starts to form a "breadcrumb-like" appearance
3) Add sugar and mix through
**Here's a quick video of the crumble making process just to show you the technique

4) Add the crumble filling to an individual ramekin, top with the crumble (as below) and bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes until the top is golden and the crumble filling is just starting to bubble up through.

5) Serve with your choice of custard, ice cream (I went with a lovely creme fraiche ice cream here), or, if you want to go simple, just some sweetened heavy cream.

6) Enjoy! My wife did...

"Life is uncertain.  Eat dessert first." ~ Ernestine Ulmer


"Stressed spelled backwards is desserts.  Coincidence?  I think not!" ~  Anonymous

Tweet