Avanti Cafe Musings: September 2015

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Avanti Garden Gazpacho

A beautiful bowl of Avanti Garden Gazpacho :: Cool classic soup on a summer's day

Amount	Measure	Ingredient	Prep Method
1	Pint	Avanti Garden Salsa
2	Slices	Whole grain seeded bread	Hearth loaf
1/3	Cup	Pepitas
½	Cup	Water
¼	Cup	Basil leaves
1	Cup	Arugula
¼	Teaspoon	Fennel seed
2	Tablespoons	Red wine vinegar
		Salt & pepper	To taste

Directions:

Combine all in a powerful blender and whiz until smooth and creamy. If it’s too thick add a little more water. Adjust seasonings and add more salt, pepper and vinegar if necessary. You won’t really taste the fennel or arugula much, they blend into the fragrant bouquet of the married flavors, but they balance out the mix. Chill well for several hours or over night. Garnish w/ Matcha Aoli. When you whip up a batch of Avanti Garden Salsa, plan on having Avanti Garden Gazpacho as well!

NOTE: You can use a good quality whole grain gluten free bread for this soup if desired. Choose one that is preferably seeded and uses whole grain flours like millet, quinoa, legume and bean flours over tapioca and arrowroot.

Avanti Garden Salsa ready to make a batch of Gazpacho

Eating Healthy & Delicious is a Win Win Win Situation!

Eat, Live & Party Well

Blog post by Chef Mark Cleveland

Avanti is the longstanding leader in organic, sustainable, local, flavorful cuisine in Orange County, CA.

Meaning 'forward' in Italian, Avanti Natural is a culinary philosophy that integrates the best of traditional European and Asian healthful eating with the latest nutritional information for optimum health.

At Avanti Natural, we believe that you don't have to sacrifice taste to eat healthy. You can Eat Well & Live Well. Follow us on social media to see what Avanti is up to now. We are Whole Foods Experts. Post photos of your versions of Avanti Natural recipes on our Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram pages. Check our blog on the website for how to recipe blogs. We’re excited to see and share your culinary creativity!

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Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Summer Garden & Farmer's Market Broth

For the flavor base. Use produce grown in your garden or organic produce from the farmer’s market for this extra fresh treat.

Onion skins, red onion skins in particular carry a lot of create polyphenol antioxidants

The outer leaves of leeks

Tough celery stalks

Garlic peels

Ginger peels

Parsley stems

Tough stems of greens like kale and collards

Sweet bell & chili pepper tops and seeds

Corn cobs

Seaweed

Citrus peels & rinds

Eggplant peels

Potato & yam peels

Tomato trimmings

Woody herbs like bay, thyme, lemon grass and lemon verbena

Miso

Cooking liquors such as dry vermouth, sherry, marsala, madiera, red or white wine

Directions:

Combine all in a stock pot. Cover w/ about 3 inches of water. Cover the pot and set over medium high heat. Set a timer for 15 mins. When the broth comes to a simmer, reduce heat and simmer gently, uncovered for 15 mins longer. Don’t boil hard or you’ll get a stock that tastes like lawn clippings. Turn off the heat and allow to cool to room temp. You can compost the cooked vegetable left overs as long as you keep the ratio of yard waste up. Don’t add too many cooked vegetables to your compost. I compost w/ worms and they seem to do fine w/ some cooked vegetables from time to time.

If you want to lightly poach something to heat it and cook it gently this broth does double duty. In this batch I poached a block of organic firm tofu used to make Avanti Matcha Aoli.

Eating Healthy & Delicious is a Win Win Win Situation!

Eat, Live & Party Well

Blog post by Chef Mark Cleveland

Avanti is the longstanding leader in organic, sustainable, local, flavorful cuisine in Orange County, CA.

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Avanti Matcha Aoli

Piquant Matcha Aoli Festoons 10+ Grain Gluten Free Polenta & Avanti Summer Gardener's Salsa

Amount	Measure	Ingredient	Prep Method
14	Ounces	Organic firm tofu	Light poach
1	2” x 3” piece	Kombu seaweed	wiped
1	Whole	Meyer Lemon	Seeds removed
¼	Cup	Red wine vinegar
¼	Cup	Honey Dijon mustard
¼	Cup	Evoo
3 ~ 5	Cloves	Garlic
2	Teaspoons	Matcha
3	Tablespoons	Gin
½	Teaspoon	Black pepper
1 ½	Teaspoons	Sea salt
2	Tablespoons	Flax seed
½	Cup	water

Click the links for tofu, kombu and matcha to learn more about the health benefits of these power foods, and google the rest to see the power in all ingredients. Eat Well // Live Well

Directions:

Bring 2 quarts water to a boil in a wide sauce pan. Wipe the kombu seaweed w/ a damp cloth. Rinse the tofu. When the water boils, turn off the heat and gently lower in the kombu and tofu. Cover and let poach for 10 mins. You can use this water to begin a great broth. Or if you are already making a Summer Garden Broth poach your tofu and kombu in the flavor mix.

Using a slotted spoon or spider, transfer the tofu and kombu to the Vitamix. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend to a smooth texture. Store in the fridge. This piquant and rather bitter rouille is a great garnish to any and all rich foods. Try it on Avanti Garden Gazpacho. It pairs well w/ the fresh garden vegetable flavors of Avanti Summer Gardener's Salsa too.

You may wonder why there's gin in this sauce. The aromatic, bitter & unctuous flavor of gin pairs well w/ the matcha and full bodied Meyer Lemon botanical flavors. This aoli is not for everyone. Foodies tantalized by exciting tongue tinglers will adore it!

NOTE: Add 2 cups of the poaching liquid to the blender jar and whiz to clean out the sides. Combine that w/ the remaining poaching liquid, and you have a flavorful light broth to use for making miso soup, or as a flavoring for cooking rice, beans or grains.