A DAY OF FUN AND YUM WITH CHARLES AND MARTIN

     We kicked off our Memorial Day Weekend with a canoe trip down the Deleware then back to our great friends Charles' and Martin's house, where we got to meet Ms. Pickles, their new wiener dog for the first time! There are no river adventure photos because Mike and I are famous for capsizing canoes, so I left the equipment back at the house. 

There were mounds of Southwestern BBQ Grilled Chicken.

Charles and Martin grilled up some Brussells Sprouts on a bed of bacon!!! They put some bacon on a piece of tin foil, then layered the sprouts over it and seasoned with salt and pepper and olive oil. Then with another piece of foil, they made a little tent, folding the edges up all around, and after about 15 minutes on the grill, those little green babies were juicy and bacon flavored.

Kathy from Ohio who makes amazing everything, made this outstanding Asparagus Salad. She steamed up some fresh asparagus, then mixed it with chopped grape tomatoes, fresh basil, fresh garlic, lime juice, salt, pepper and extra virgin olive oil.

     Kathy also threw together these amazing berry tarts. She baked up some puff pastry, let it cool then spread some instant coconut pudding on top. On top of that we got creative with the fresh strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries. For a glaze we thickened some apricot jam with water and a little bit of sherry, then brushed it over the top to give the berries that nice glisten.

     We double-desserted, which is becoming a bad habit. I wanted to make some fresh ice cream with avocado and bananas, but I never made ice cream before, because I have talked myself out of an ice cream machine so many times. After this concoction, I may reconsider. In addition to avocado and banana, we added fresh lime and grapefruit juice and zest, honey, a little salt and some fresh basil. The ice cream was super creamy from the avocado with a slight avocado flavor. The banana and basil flavors really combined in a nice way to make an all around delicious not to sweet pesto ice cream.

AVOCADO BANANA PESTO ICE CREAM WITH HONEY

1 C. Heavy Cream

1 C. Half and Half

5 L. egg yolks

1/2 C. sugar

1 ripe avocado

1 ripe banana

2 TBSP honey

1/4 C. basil leaves

1 tsp. lime zest

1 tsp. grapefruit zest

1 TBSP. lime juice

1 TBSP. grapefruit juice

1/2 tsp. salt

In a food processor blend the avocado, banana, honey, basil, zest and salt until smooth. Warm the heavy cream and the half and half in a small sauce pan. Let it cool slightly. Beat the eggs then while beating the eggs add the cooled cream mixture to the eggs. Strain the egg milk mixture then combine with the avocado banana blend and cool in the fridge. Once cooled, stir in the lime and grapefruit juice, then put everything in the ice cream machine. 

ROSEMARY BANANA BREAD

This is a variation of another Ginger Lopez recipe. Instead of canola oil, I use extra virgin olive oil and at the end I crush dried rosemary into the batter. Next time I will use even more rosemary and maybe some almond meal to give it a different texture. With banana bread, the more black and mushy the bananas the sweeter and the more banana flavored the bread will turn out. This recipe calls for 1 C. which is about two medium size bananas. This is such and easy recipe. You just throw all the ingredients together and mix it with a wooden spoon. After you make this once you will look forward to rotten bananas! Serve with cream cheese or butter.

Rosemary Banana Bread

3/4 C. Sugar

2 Eggs

1 3/4 C. Flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 C. extra virgin olive oil

1 C. mashed ripe bananas (about 2 medium)

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. dried crushed rosemary (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all the ingredients together. Bake 45 min - 1 hour at 350 degrees. Serve with cream cheese or butter.

GRANOLA, GRAPEFRUIT, BANANA, AND HONEY

Most mornings a simple breakfast is what I need. Few store bought granola bars cut it, so I experimented with making my own for the first time. I have such a variety of nuts in my fridge, it was the perfect time to try. I always start out on the Food Network, because there are tons of reviews and I can find out what works and what doesn't. I went with a Peanut Butter Granola Bar from Emeril and made a few tweaks. For example, I used a pre-toasted bag of rolled oats that was slightly sweetened and berry flavored from Trader Joe's (of course). Instead of dairy butter I used the Earth Balance. Whole chopped raw almonds replaced slivered almonds, and I omitted the pumpkin seeds, the raisins and the brown sugar since the granola was already a bit sweet. What I ended up with was a few irregularly shaped "bars" and a lot of delicious granola crumbles that I can sprinkle on everything. I want to experiment more with savory granola bars. Ideas: chile-lime with coconut, masala chai with coconut milk, pistachio with rosewater, pumpkin spice. 

Pictured: Peanut Butter Granola Bar, Grapefruit and Banana drizzled with Honey