About 
Hi there, I'm Rose. I love to cook food - and eat it. If you have any questions concerning any of my recipes, drop me a line at:
Contact:
rose [at] avocadobravado.net
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We’re experiencing a heat wave of sorts here in San Francisco. I even have something of a tan going on. I don’t even remember the last time that’s happened. So what’s a poor ol’ internet nerd supposed to do when it gets this hot? Why, make chocolate bourbon popsicles, of course! When summer rolled around, I decided I just had to have a set of popsicle molds. I used them once and completely forgot about them. Until last week, that is. I wanted to make popsicles that incorporated both chocolate and bourbon. When I bought a bottle of bourbon in July for Cory’s birthday bread pudding, I bought the cheapest bourbon I could find. The bread pudding was incredibly delicious, but the bourbon on its own was pretty vile and more or less undrinkable. So, I’ve been looking for ways to incorporate the rest of the bourbon in various dishes. I really love the flavor that the bourbon brings to the popsicles, but the pops are all about the chocolate (well, mostly!). Your chocolate popsicles will only be as good as the chocolate you decide to use. I decided to go dark. The darkest I could find. 85% cacao. Oh yes. These popsicles definitely fit the bill for these warm summer nights.
Chocolate Bourbon Popsicles
(adapted from Dying for Chocolate)
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2 1/2 cups room temperature water
pinch of salt
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3 oz chocolate (I used 85% cacao)
2 tablespoons sugar (double if you prefer sweeter)
2 tablespoons bourbon
Add a 1/2 cup of water, salt, cocoa, chocolate, and sugar to a medium-sized saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil, whisking constantly until the chocolate has melted. Remove from the heat, stir in the two cups of room temperature water. Take a taste and adjust the flavors, if necessary. Stir in the bourbon.
Transfer the mixture to 4 cup measuring glass, or any other container that will ensure easy pouring. Divide the mixture into popsicle molds and freeze for at least four hours (took about 5 hours for me. Maybe because I’m so impatient and I kept opening the freezer every half hour to see if they were ready).
Makes 6 popsicles from Tovolo popsicle molds
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I adore lentils. Recently, I feel like I’ve seen a lot of food bloggers bemoaning how ugly lentils are, but I’m so blinded by my love for lentils it doesn’t matter to me what they look like. A touch of pomegranate molasses is the secret ingredient to this salad, as it adds a wonderfully sweet and tart kick. Pomegranate molasses can easily be found at Middle Eastern groceries, co-ops, and gourmet groceries like Whole Foods. There’s always the option of making your own pomegranate molasses. In fact, it’s not even molasses at all, but a syrup made from pomegranate juice and sugar. Elise of Simply Recipes has a recipe for it here. Also, I found that this salad needed very little salt, since feta cheese is so salty.
Lentil Salad with Feta and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
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1 cup black beluga lentils (brown lentils and French green lentils can be used as substitutes)
1 small red onion, chopped
water, for soaking (optional)
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup freshly chopped herbs (one or more of the following: parsley, mint, basil)
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
2 teaspoons pomegranate molasses
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt & pepper, to taste
Give the lentils a quick rinse and add them to a stockpot with three cups of salted water. Bring the water to a gentle boil and simmer the lentils for 15-20 minutes, or until ‘al dente’.
Meanwhile, chop the onions, place them in a colander, and give them a quick rinse in cold water. This step is completely optional, but doing this helps take off the edge from eating the onions raw. Transfer the onions to a large mixing bowl.
Now, chop the tomatoes and the herbs and toss them in the large bowl, along with the feta cheese. Once the lentils are ready, drain them in a colander and gently fold them into the mixing bowl. Gently stir in the pomegranate molasses, olive oil, salt, and pepper until everything is coated. Season to taste, adding a little more oil or salt, if needed. Serve warm or cold.
Serves 4-6
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A couple weekends ago, Cory and I made the trek to the Mission to pay a visit to Rainbow Grocery, a food co-op. We only make a few trips to Rainbow a year, so whenever we’re there we stock up on stock up on pantry staples such as lentils, quinoa, couscous, oats, wheat berry, coconut flakes, coconut oil, honey and sweet treats like dried fruits. I rarely ever stray outside of the bulk section (which by the way, is massive), but I was lured into the produce section and quickly laid my eyes on a beautiful bunch of red Russian kale and tossed it in my shopping basket. By the time we arrived home, we were hungry and I quickly prepared this salad to serve with leftover chicken and roasted broccoli. I loved the salad so much that it became a recurring side dish for the rest of the week. It almost feels like a cheat to post this here since it’s so simple, but it was such a delicious and no fuss salad. And of course, I don’t need to tell you how good kale is for you. We quickly ran out of red Russian kale over the course of a few days, so I bought green kale to make even more of this salad and that worked just as well.
Kale Salad with Honey Dressing and Pine Nuts
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For the salad
1 bunch kale (green or red Russian)
1/4 cup pine nuts
For the dressing
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
salt & pepper, to taste
red pepper flakes (optional), to taste
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Chop the kale by folding the leaves in half and slicing off the ribs. Cut the kale into small pieces and transfer to a large bowl.
In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes (if using). Slowly drizzle in the olive oil, whisking constantly. Take a taste and adjust the flavors, if necessary.
Heat a skillet over medium-low heat (there’s no need to add any extra oils). When hot, add the pine nuts. Stir them constantly for 3-5 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove from heat.
Toss the dressing to into the kale. Serve on individual plates and garnish with pine nuts.
Serves 6-8, as a side dish
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Five years ago, I picked up French Women Don’t Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano. I wasn’t fat, but I definitely weighed more than I would have liked. About 30 pounds more. I wanted to maintain a healthy and balanced diet, but I had no idea how to even begin such a thing. I had no relationship or history with real food. I didn’t know how to cook. I didn’t know the slightest thing about nutrition. Like a lot of American kids who were born in the 1980s, food meant Happy Meals, Lunchables, and blue moon ice cream (okay, maybe blue moon ice cream is a Michigan kid thing). I was still in the mindset that if something was “organic”, it was better for you. In my case, that often meant justifying eating a box of cookies a tub of ice cream every week because it was organic.
The main message I took away from French Women Don’t Get Fat was that I could eat anything I’d like - in moderation. As far as I was concerned at the time, I ate in moderation, especially compared to my childhood. I’ve since grown to really hate the term “in moderation” because it means something different to everyone. Does moderation mean fast food twice a week instead of everyday? A 20-oz soda a day instead of a liter? There are now just some things I absolutely will not consume at all. Like soda, Happy Meals, and Lunchables, though I’m still on a quest for the perfect homemade blue moon ice cream. I did end up shedding those 30 extra pounds once I learned how to cook, so I guess I have a different meaning of what “in moderation” is now (whatever that means).
In the book, Guiliano recommended a 48-hour diet of a “magical leek soup”. The leek soup consisted of nothing but boiled leeks and water. What a great idea! At the time, I didn’t know what leeks even looked like, but decided to go ahead with the “diet” anyway. I blindly went into the grocery store, searching for leeks and was a little disappointed when I found them (“so, they’re like big green onions?”). I made the soup. Probably the first soup I ever made from scratch. I had a bowl and gave the rest to my dad. I didn’t touch leeks again for another three years. I’ve since grown to appreciate leeks, though I certainly don’t think I’ll torture myself with the “magical leek soup” again. I made this chickpea and leek soup earlier this week to accompany dinner almost every night. It was light, smooth, velvety, and incredibly budget-friendly. Really, it was probably in the $5-6 range for about 8 servings. Of course, I had to throw in a bulb of roasted garlic to the soup, since I can’t get enough of it.
Chickpea and Leek Soup
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1 bulb of garlic, roasted
1 1/2 cups dried chickpeas, soaked overnight
or
2 15-oz cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons cooking oil
5 leeks (white and pale green parts), sliced
4 cups water, chicken or vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
salt & pepper, to taste
optional garnishing: chopped fresh herbs (chives, parsley, rosemary, thyme) and/or parmiggiano reggiano
If using dried chickpeas, soak them overnight in a large bowl with a quart of water. Rinse and drain the beans and cook according to package directions. If using canned chickpeas, rinse the beans for 30-45 seconds over cold water, this will remove 35 to 40% of the total sodium from the canning liquid (source).
Preheat oven to 350F. Slice the top of the garlic bulb open, revealing the tips of the cloves. Place the garlic bulb on a sheet of aluminum foil and drizzle a teaspoon of olive over the top. Wrap the bulb in the foil, place on a baking sheet, and roast for 35 minutes. Remove from the foil and let it cool until it’s easy enough to handle.
Meanwhile, heat oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. When hot, add the leeks cook until softened, about 5-7 minutes. Add the water or stock, bay leaf, coriander, thyme, salt, and pepper. Lower the heat and bring to a gentle boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
When the roasted garlic is cool enough to handle, pop out the cloves into a small bowl and mash with a fork until they form a paste. Mix the paste into the stockpot.
Discard the bay leaf from the soup. Working in batches, blend the soup in a food processor or blender until smooth. Return the soup to the stockpot, add more salt and pepper, if necessary. Ladle into bowls and garnish with freshly chopped herbs and cheese, if desired.
Serves 6-8
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At first glance, mast-o khiar looks an awful lot like Greek tzatziki. There are countless versions of yogurt and cucumber based dips stretching from Greece to India. Mast-o khiar is a very simple and straightforward dip, it means “yogurt and cucumber” in Persian. Persian cucumbers are most commonly used for this dip. They have thin skins and don’t require any peeling, but they may be unavailable in your area. If you can’t find them, you can easily substitute with common cucumbers available at your local supermarket, but be sure to cut off their bitter skins and deseed them. Serve with warm flat bread, pita chips, and vegetables.
Mast-o Khiar (Persian Yogurt & Cucumber Dip)
(adapted from Claudia Roden’s The New Book of Middle Eastern Food)
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16 oz yogurt, preferably strained or Greek
2 tablespoons dried or chopped fresh mint
salt & pepper, to taste
2 Persian cucumbers, sliced and chopped
Optional garnishes: more chopped cucumbers, ground dried rose petals, more mint (fresh or dried), olive oil
In a large bowl, beat together yogurt until smooth. Add the mint, salt, and pepper and mix thoroughly. Fold in the cucumbers and serve with warm flat bread, pita chips, or vegetables. Add more salt, if necessary. Garnish with any of the following: more cucumbers, mint, dried ground rose petals, or olive oil.
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