Tis the season...

for California Avocados! Yes that is right guacamole fans - avocados from the good ole USA are now in season and arriving at your supah-mahkets (as we say here in Masshole land). Avocados are a great source of omega fatty acids necessary for brain function, so as the school year starts to come to a close and/or tax season is taxing your brain, get yourself some guac, or slice some up and put on baked chicken/salad/turkey burgers/poached eggs etc.

For complete nutrition facts visit: California Avocados

ENJOY!

Did you see this article on Whole Foods and seafood?

This article on Whole Foods discontinuing sales of unsustainable seafood starting on April 22 (Earth Day), way to be ironic guys!

Whole foods to stop sale of unsustainable seafood.

Sources for this article where from Blueocean.org

Banana Walnut Pancakes

Makes 3-6inch pancakes

1 cup almond milk
1 large egg
1/2 tablespoon ground flax seeds
3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon wheat germ
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 banana, peeled, mashed
Grape-ola oil or cooking spray

1. Whisk milk, egg and banana together.
2. In a separate bowl mix the dry ingredients (flax, flour, wheat germ, sugar, baking powder, salt - then stir in the wet ingredients and mix well
3. Fold in the walnuts
4. Heat the non-stick skillet over medium heat, put a few drops of oil in bottom of pan or spray with pan spray.
5. Use approximately 1/4-1/3 cup batter for each pancake. Pour into pan and let spread. Leave pancake be - when small bubbles form on the surface and start popping it is time to flip the pancake, let cook additional 1 minute then take off heat.

Repeat for a delicious breakfast.

Serve with 100% pure maple syrup and a dollop of nonfat, plain Greek yogurt

Deluxe Station Diner

Set in a cutesy part of Newton Centre, exactly where the green line stops, is the local favorite, Deluxe Station Diner. The old train station is a beautiful building, everything is mahogany stained wood with decor back to the glory days of train travel. The owners of Deluxe Station Diner remodeled the building in 2010 to create an eatery that is anything but a stereotypical diner.

The menu has some things on it that you might expect: meatloaf, chicken pot pie, fish and chips; and a few that had you go 'really?': vegetable curry, spaghetti and 'meatballs' (made with eggplant instead of meat) and a Thai noodle dish. As you people watch waiting for your meal to arrive, you realize that the menu is a reflection of the clientele, and it is as eclectic as they are. People of all ages, dressing styles, social classes, and professions frequent this stop - probably due to the ease of access and the high quality of all their homemade-made from scratch dishes.

I ordered the waiter's recommendation of Broasted Half Chicken which came with two sides. I choose mixed greens (which was exactly that, with a few grape tomato halves thrown in). When I asked the waiter to choose between the mac & cheese and sweet potato fries he gave me a look as if I must be a moron, he wrote down and muttered "mac & cheese" without letting me get another word in edgewise.

He was very correct in his recommendations though! The broasted chicken was a cross between broiled and roast chicken, so it had a crispy outside as if it had been deep fried, but the meat was juicy and pulled easily away from the bone. I was pleasantly surprised. It was also not over seasoned which was nice. Some places salt the heck out of the poor bird or cover it in thyme and then it also comes greasy. DSD let the quality of the meat shine through, which I really appreciated! The mixed greens were fresh and a nice thing to break up the cheesey deliciousness of the mac & cheese, which was creamy and saucy, with extra cheese melted on top. I was to full to finish it and it made a fabulous lunch reheated today!

The Deluxe Station Diner also has a selection of microbrews and small batch wines to go with the food. The choices fit the character of the place with things like Alagash White (ME), Smuttynose IPA (NH) or Original Sin Cider (NY).

The atmosphere of this place is fabulous, the location is great with plenty of street parking, the noise level is good (the T came by multiple times during the 2.5 hours I was there, and you never heard it once), and the food is fantastic and reasonably priced (dinner for 2 with 2 beers = $42 + tip).

Deluxe Station Diner gets an A most definitely.

Have your chocolate pudding and eat it too??!

This recipe came from Whole Foods via Chef Bob at the hospital. It is great for dipping fruit into and the avocado gives it a moussey texture. If you have a finicky toddler this would also be a great way to get some healthy fats and produce into him in the disguise of dessert!

2 avocados
1 ripe banana
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup pitted dates, soaked in water for a couple of hours (or brandy if not giving to children!), and then drained
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Mix all ingredients in food processor and puree until smooth (you will need to stop and scrape down sides of food processor as you go). Chill for 2-3 hours before serving.

Tomato, Cucumber and Pear Salad

I whipped together this little salad last night and served it over some Israeli couscous - came out quite nice and was great as leftovers for lunch/dinner today!

The Israeli couscous is a bigger particle, so it has more texture (sometimes seems a little chewy), but it soaks up flavor really well and is a great base under marinated vegetables. The more traditional use for it is to served with dried fruits and nuts and carrots.



Salad:

1 pint grape tomatoes (organic), cut into halves
1 large anjou pear (organic), diced1 medium-large cucumber, peeled and diced
3 oz feta cheese, broken into chunks
***mix all together

Dressing:
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice (I used a Meyer lemon from our tree - they are soft ball sized!)
1 clove garlic, minced
ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon spicy brown mustard
pinch of dried mint
pinch of poppy seeds
***whisk all together, pour over salad, mix well, let sit until couscous is cooked

Couscous:
1 cup Israeli couscous (these are the larger ball size couscous)
2 cups water
1/4 teaspoon dried mint
***boil water, add couscous and mint, stir, cover and let simmer until all water is soaked up

Serve salad on top of couscous, perhaps have a loaf of bread like cranberry-walnut-oat and ENJOY!