Savory Avocado Cake – Power Foods

This week, our power food is the avocado.  If you have followed my adventures, you know that the artichoke was a new experience for me and asparagus was a vegetable, my hubby detested and now we go to a favorite of mine, the avocado.  I do have to tell you that hubby is not crazy about avocado but as I have been adding it more and more into dishes,  he is eating it, without making a face.  When, I made today’s recipe, I didn’t tell him about the avocado and he really liked this.

Fruits of avocado (Persea americana) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Let me assure you, I am not being sneaky when I do this.  I trust my husband enough to know that he understands when I “hide”  a food in a recipe.  If he doesn’t like it, he says so and that is the end of it.  If in the case of the last two, he really has come around a little.  When I made asparagus for a second time, he helped himself to some.  The funniest part of this is that it is the artichoke, he never wants to see again and that he did not have an aversion to.  Of course, he most likely, never has eaten one.

The avocado has monounsaturated fats which may lower the level of  LDL (bad cholesterol) and raise the good cholesterol (HDL).  High in fiber and potassium, they are easy to choose as an aid to good health.  I was surprised to find out that an avocado has more potassium than the banana.

I have never made or thought about a savory cake other than a cheesecake.  I will vouch for how good savory cheesecakes are.  So, maybe a savory cake would also be good.  If you add corn meal, yes, it works.  The best part is that my husband who doesn’t like avocado loved it.

What I liked about this is that by adding avocado, there is no need for any fats, no butter, margarine or oil.  At least, the fat in an avocado is the healthy kind

Savory Avocado Cake

11/2 cup gluten-free  flour mixture

3/4 cup yellow cornmeal

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 egg beaters

1/4 cup Rice milk

1 whole avocado

1/4 small tomato cut into pieces

   

Pre-heat oven to 350°F.

In a large bowl mix flour, cornmeal, sugar baking powder and salt

 Cut and seed avocado. In a food processor (I used my mini) process avocado and tomato until smooth.  My tomatoes stayed in small chunks  but my goal was smooth.

Mix eggs into the gluten-free flour mixture, one at a time. Add milk and avocado. Mix until all the ingredients are well incorporated

 Grease 2 loaf pans or 6 mini cakes or mini bundts or (I think – a regular sized bundt pan)

Bake the minis  for 25 minutes or until the tops start to turn golden brown.  Bake the loaves for 35 – 40 minutes.  

This is our group.  Stop by their blogs and see what they did with the mighty avocado.  You might want to look through their blogs.  They are new to me and I am finding a lot of value in each of them.

Alyce - More Time at the Table
Ansh - Spice Roots,
Casey - Bookcase Foodie  – Me

Jeanette -Jeanette’s Healthy Living
Jill - Saucy Cooks
Martha - Simple-Nourished-Living
Mireya - My Healthy Eating Habits,
Sarah - Everything in the Kitchen Sink

This is linked to

Mix it Up Monday              Inspire me Monday                    My Meatless Mondays           Jam’s Corner

Avocado, Tomato and Sweet Onion Salad

I had a lot of cooking to do, for the next three days, and this salad struck me as just the right salad, to make.  It might have something to do with the fact that I had bought a multiple pack of avocados from Costco and they were sitting there.  I love them but tend to forget about them.  If I am making a salad, in a hurry, I stick to greens and don’t bother with even tomatoes or cucumbers.  When, I make for the family or company, I add a little something.  This is my little something from CD Kitchen

Avocado, Tomato And Sweet Onion Salad

Ingredients

2 medium avocados
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1/4 medium-sized sweet onion (such as Vidalia or Maui)
3 tablespoons rice vinegar  (flavored with basil and oregano)
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and black pepper to taste

1/2 teaspoon sugar

Directions

Peel avocado and remove pit. Cut avocado into 1 inch chunks and sprinkle with lemon juice.

Wash tomatoes, cut each in half and add to bowl with the avocado.

Slice the onion very thin and add to the bowl.

Sprinkle sugar over the vegetable.

Sprinkle vinegar over the vegetables, season with salt and pepper .

Drizzle oil over the mixture and gently stir until all ingredients are well combined. Serve on a lettuce leaf, if desired.

 This is linked to Scrumptious Sunday Link Party      Mop it Up Mondays     Inspire Me Monday       Whole Food Wednesday      Made From Scratch Monday    Real Food Wednesday         Whole Food Wednesday             Cast Party Wednesday         Allergy Free Wednesdays         See Ya in the Gumbo      Gluten-free Wednesdays

Hearth and Soul

White Bean and (Asparagus) Avocado Soup

When no one in the family likes asparagus, what does a girl do,with all those wonderful recipes featuring asparagus?  I think, this may be the in-season for asparagus since it appears each time, I click on a recipe.

Here it is again,in our weekly recipe for The Food Matters Project, selected by Adrienne of Adrienne Eats, where you will find the recipe for White Bean and Asparagus Soup.  I may not love asparagus but I do admire this blog, which has its stress on healthy eating with delectable recipes.    Check out her Friday Favorites, bloggers of note.

Usually, I select some green vegetable replace the asparagus such as broccoli or spinach.  My darling husband had just brought me a box of avocados and a few of them were ripe and that is the moment, I knew this was going to be a White Bean and Avocado Soup and it did work well.  I did use regular sized tomatoes, rather than small ones.  We like the flavor it brings to soups.  Instead of chicken soup as a base, I used an organic vegetable broth.

With the cooler weather returning, I have been making soups, on a regular basis.  This fit right in. 

Thanks to Adrienne for a good pick.  Go on over to the Food Matters Project and see who else has participated and what they have come up with.   If you are a Mark Bittman fan, you just might want to join us in cooking his yummy recipes.

This is linked to Homemaker Monday    Real Food Wednesday      Tuesday Talent Show        Allergy Free Wednesday      Hearth and Soul

Avocado Pasta

I was at Inspired Taste where I saw this pasta and I do want to share, they are giving away a Kitchen Aid so go on over and see if you can win.  While you are there, check out the recipes and sundry other items, you will find.  I am glad, I found the blog and plan to go back often.

My husband doesn’t love avocado although he eats it, when served, but I love it, so this was more for me than for him.  That is so unusual since I love cooking for him and usually make what he wants, before what I want.  I eat a more varied diet and like almost everything he wants.  He can’t say the same.  He eats a more bland diet than I like so I spice up my food on my plate, rather than in the cooking.  This is not necessarily the same but it works well enough for me.

I am married to one of those men who has done a lot for me, over the years, and cooking seems so small compared to all he has given of himself.  There are those moments though, when I want something and this is one of them.  I love this.

Avocado Pasta (Adapted from Inspired Taste)

Ingredients:

8 ounces pasta (brown rice spaghetti)

1 avocado

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/8 teaspoon salt (I added more on my plate.)

1/8 teaspoon  black pepper

1 medium tomato

1 green onion, finely chopped

Method:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Once cooked, reserve 1/2 cup of hot pasta water then drain pasta.
2. In the meantime, de-seed and dice the tomato then set aside. Next, add avocado to a large bowl and use a fork to mash into a paste (some chunks are fine). Add lemon juice, salt and a sprinkle of pepper then mix well. Taste for seasoning and add salt and/or pepper to taste.
3. Add cooked and drained pasta, 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta water and tomatoes to the avocado; toss. The avocado should turn into a thin sauce that coats the pasta, if you need to thin the sauce out slightly, add a little more pasta water then serve with green onions sprinkled on top.

• Pasta and Salmon Salad
• Cream Cheese Pasta with Veggies

This is linked to This Week’s Cravings     Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays      Tuesdays at the Table     Recipe Sharing       Allergy Free Wednesdays   Whole Food Wednesdays   Cast Party Wednesday