In the Kitchen with Pinterest: Citrus Fennel and Avocado Salad

Good day all!  I'm back in the kitchen where I trialled a recipe from Pinterest I've been longing to try, Citrus Fennel and Avocado Salad.  It's my first time "cooking" with fennel.  The fragrance is very much like liquorice but the flavour is very slight.  It's a nice light crunchy vegetable that lends itself very nicely to salads.  My grocery store didn't have the variety of oranges listed in the recipe so I used Cara and naval oranges.  I considered adding canned mandarin oranges but they were imported from overseas and I prefer to shop more North American or local (but oranges don't grow here).  I also couldn't find champagne vinegar so I used my white wine vinegar.  No mint leaves on hand either so this is really a good test to see if the recipe bears up well with substitutions and without an ingredient.  Consensus was, it does.  

The original recipe calls for an assortment of citrus and the author notes she used 3 naval oranges, 3 cara oranges, 2 mineola oranges, 3 mandarin oranges and 1 blood orange. 

Here are the ingredients:

assorted citrus

1/2 fennel bulb, very thinly sliced

1/2 shallot, peeled and very thinly sliced

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp champagne vinegar

1 tbsp honey (I used liquid)

kosher salt (I used ground sea salt)

freshly cracked black pepper

1/4 cup mint leaves

reserved fennel fronds

For full recipe and directions see:  https://www.pinterest.com/pin/53480314303511332/

I served the Citrus Fennel and Avocado Salad 

with homemade potato salad, 

grilled peppers, asparagus and mushrooms 

and steak.

The big question is, would I make this again?  Yes.  Citrus Fennel and Avocado Salad is a recipe I will return to and next time I'll make sure I have mint leaves on hand.  Give it a try and let me know what you think.  Cheers!

In the Kitchen: Favourite Broccoli Citrus Salad (my own recipe)

For a change, I will be adding to the recipes on Pinterest rather than trialling a new recipe and sharing here.  Last night I made a broccoli salad recipe (my own recipe) that was so delicious and my husband loved it (he's my guinea pig).  Of course, I thought to take a photo after we'd already started eating ours so it looks a bit lacking in the broccoli but that's because we ate it!  Seriously, the next time I make it I will use two heads of broccoli instead of just one, as amended in this recipe.

Favourite Broccoli Citrus Salad

Serves: 4 - 6

Salad:

2 heads of broccoli

1 cup julienned carrot (approximately 2 carrots)

3 medium naval oranges

2 Cara oranges (red flesh naval orange)

1 cup raisins

1 cup Craisins (dried cranberries)

1/2 cup slivered almonds

4 slices cooked bacon

Dressing:

1 cup mayonnaise (I use mayonnaise made with olive oil)

1/3 cup sugar or Stevia

2 tbsp white wine vinegar

In a fry pan, cook and drain on paper towel the 4 slices of bacon.  Crumble or cut into 1/8 inch pieces. Set aside.

Into a large bowl add the following ingredients once prepared: Broccoli, washed (drained well in a salad spinner) and cut into bite size pieces, peeling the stems and cutting into small coins.  Julienne the carrots, leaving the skin on if not too thick.  Using a knife, peel  to remove all pith and cut the naval and Cara oranges into 1/2 inch cubes.  Stir in the raisins, Craisins and slivered almonds.  Add the bacon. Toss ingredients together.

For the dressing:  In a separate bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sugar or Stevia and white wine vinegar.  

Drizzle dressing over salad and toss.  Serve immediately and enjoy!

Optional:  add a can of rinsed water chestnuts prior to drizzling with dressing.

In the Kitchen with Pinterest: Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Soup

Back in the kitchen again but this time with the slow cooker.  I love the ease and convenience of using a slow cooker.  It ranks right up there among my favourite tools of the kitchen.  

My son and his family were visiting with us for a week and he's on a special diet that has proven quite a challenge for both him and his wife.  There are a lot of things he can't have due to some digestive issues and they're figuring out what is bothering him.  So, I scoured the Pinterest site in search of some meals to make while he was here.  I found a few really good ones like a gluten-free applesauce cake (I'll share that recipe another time) and this butternut squash soup.

When preparing this soup, do follow the ingredient list without substitutions because the levels of flavours are astounding!  To complete the soup you must puree it when cooking time has passed.  I used my food processor but you can use an immersion blender too.  I would have used mine but I noticed the coating on the cord was melted down to the wires.  Did I do that when I was plugging it in?  Not sure, but better safe than sorry.  So food processor it was and it was perfect!  Smooth and delicious!  I forgot to take a photo but here's a screenshot of the Pinterest recipe and the link.  You simply must try it and let me know what you think.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/86412886577901409/

In the Kitchen with Pinterest - Chickpea and Avocado Garden Salad

I've been on a Pinterest kick lately and have been trying some recipes, some delicious, others ok.  This one turned out very good and my husband liked it too, even went back for seconds.  It serves about 6 people and I advise to eat it all the first day.  Avocado doesn't do well longer than that.

I added more tomatoes.  The recipe calls for 3 medium tomatoes, I used 4. Cherry tomatoes would be very good here as they wouldn't add to the liquid, thus the other veggies would likely stay firmer longer.  I thought 2 cans of chickpeas would be a bit much but it was better with two.  I drained and rinsed them well before adding them.  Easy on the red onion if you're not a fan.  This was a delicious recipe and at two servings each, it comprised a couple of meals for both my husband and myself.  The leftovers were not appetizing the next day.  But give it a try and eat it with company so there are no leftovers.  It's a good source of fibre and vitamins and it's filling.  Here's the link to the recipe:

http://ifoodreal.com/chickpea-and-avocado-garden-salad/#_a5y_p=5236930