Avocado Milkshakes

Drinks, Miscellaneous, recipe, Snacks, Sweets

Earlier this week HoneyB, from The Life and Loves of Grumpy’s Honeybunch, presented me with my first blog award! Now it has fallen upon me to pass the torch along to some of my favorite food bloggers.

use real butter – This colorful blog showcases gorgeous step-by-step photos that always entice me to make the featured recipes. Jen has perfected the highly sought-after art of making cooking appear effortless and displays her talent in each entry.

Food Beam – “Lovin’ the beam” was the subject of the first e-mail I sent to Fanny of Foodbeam. This classy and fun chronicle on French cuisine offers a fresh perspective on classic dishes with the perfect, sassy food commentary on the side!

Orangette – A highly addictive food blog that “reads like fiction.” Each entry offers an escape out of the ordinary and into the world of magical foodism. Her artful pictures will draw you in and her witty banter will keep you reading all night!

Mad Baker – This was the very first blog I came across after joining the mystical world of food blogging. Karen showcases her creations as pieces of art in each of her entries that she is Mad About!

La Tartine Gourmand – A meticulous depiction of fabulous food! Bèa has a masterful eye for design and a fine-tuned palate to match. Her entries are highly entertaining and always a joy to read.

The avocado milkshakes featured in the video are a breeze to make at home and always bring intrigue into the kitchen. Also, the recipe I’ve included is extremely flexible and you can pretty much adjust the quantity of any of the ingredients to fit your tastes.

Avocado Milkshakes

(yields approx. 4 servings)

Components

1 avocado
1 cup milk
1 cup ice
2 tbsp. sugar
1 scoop vanilla ice cream

Putting them all together

Blend all the ingredients together until smooth.
Taste and adjust for sweetness and texture by adding more sugar or milk.
Serve chilled.

Goat Milk is King

Mezze, Middle Eastern, recipe, savory, Snacks, Vegetarian

This entry is dedicated to my cousins Dina and Yasmin (aka Rita), my Aunt Kiki and the rest of the family who showed me such an amazing time while I was visiting the Middle East, shukran jazeelan!!

In the Middle East, goat milk is king. It’s rich and tangy, and has a lot less lactose than cow milk. Although I don’t use goat milk in my cereal or for dunking cookies, when it comes to cooking, goat milk is phenomenal. I find it has a much deeper and sharper taste than cow’s milk, and it adds an authentic flavor when used in Middle Eastern recipes.

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What’s life without the occasional dunk?

Italian, recipe, Snacks, Sweets, Travel, Vegetarian

This entry is dedicated to Anna (Grazie Cosmos), my host mom from Florence and Queen of Tuscan Cuisine: Grazie di tutto l’aiuto che mi hai dato in cucina e di tutte le meravigliose ricette che hai condiviso con me.

Biscotti, literally translated, means twice-cooked in Italian. This crunchy confection of sheer goodness formed a significant part of my diet while I was in Florence this past winter. Undoubtedly, it is a cookie worth blogging about.

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Delicious, Any Way You Roast It

Mezze, Middle Eastern, recipe, savory, Snacks, Vegetarian

Middle Eastern spreads are plentiful, but very few have been able to jump the cultural divide into restaurants and homes in the States. In the Middle East, families, neighbors and even strangers gather around these homemade delicacies to talk for hours about absolutely anything.

Hummus is by far the most recognized Middle Eastern spread, but you don’t need to look far to find plenty of others that are just as tasty (or tastier!). Baba Ganoush is a traditional spread that uses charred eggplants to create a rich smoky pulp that is out-of-this-world delicious. For maximal fire-roasted goodness, roast the eggplants over an open flame. For those of us, however, who are only granted this luxury 2 weeks out of the year (if we’re lucky), we must turn to other alternatives. When it’s subzero outside I use my broiler or grill pan and find that both deliver a comprable fire-roasted flavor.

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Dating (à la gastronomique)

Mezze, Middle Eastern, North African, recipe, savory, Snacks, Spanish

Restaurant Week is an epic, 7-day culinary affair that takes place in every fortunate metropolitan city from Los Angeles to New York. During this event an assortment the city’s finest, chic and most trendy restaurants offer a selection of their menu at an unreasonably low, fixed price.

I was in Washington D.C. this past summer when the gastronomic festivities began. Friends were contacted, reservations were made, and we immediately began eating our way through the seemingly endless list of fabulous restaurants.

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