Sweet Pepper And/Or HOT Chili Martoonis :: Chef Mark Cleveland @ Hungry Harvest ::

  When peppers are plentiful in the late summer, preserve them in voddy or gin w/ a float of frenet or other amaro.  You’ll taste the summer all winter long w/ these tasty Martoonis  

 

Gin is making a come back these days.  There are so many flavors.  Traditional gin had a strong juniper berry taste.  Not so anymore.  Talk to your local experts and taste the new herbs & spices that perfume the wide variety of blends available now.  

Eating Healthy & Delicious is a Win Win Win Situation!

Eat, Live & Party Well

Blog post by Chef Mark Cleveland

All New Blog Post Format ::> Direct from the Hungry Harvest Recipe Page.  Full Layout + Recipe Card ++ Extra Photos!

Chef Mark Cleveland has joined the team of Hungry Harvest creating recipe & culinary content for success in the kitchen with the amazing produce in each weekly Hungry Harvest box.  Visit www.hungryharvest.net/recipes/  for recipes, photos & More!  Follow HungryHarvest and ChefMarkCleveland on Instagram

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 and YouTube 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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Salt Roasted Organic Carrots :: A Free Style Avanti Recipe ::

These beauties are ready to roast

This open ended recipe needs no precise measurements.  Just the best quality organic heirloom carrots and a few seasonings.  Preheat the oven to 550.

Wash and rub w/ a towel a pound or two of organic heirloom carrots, fresh from the farmers market if possible.  Lay them on a parchment lined baking sheet and top a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil then a sprinkle of a coarse sea or mountain salt.  We use our Avanti pink blend of Himalayan, Bolivian & Hawaiian pink salts.  Add a splash of sake to give a bit of flavorful steam to the roast.  Put the carrots into the hot oven and turn the oven down to 350.  Roast for one hour.

Note that you can use flavored avocado oil, garlic oil, chili oil or toasted sesame oil, depending on your desired flavor results.  Same w/ the booze.  Consider Port, Madeira, Sherrys of any ilk, or even bourbon or scotch.  Just make sure to turn the oven down pronto if using the hard liquor.  No one needs to flambé in an oven. 

Once cool, slice and top with a couple tablespoons of champagne, sherry or balsamic vinegar.

Et Voila >> All Done

Now the fun begins.  Let's create food!

Moroccan carrots w/ organic apple, walnuts, cinnamon, anise & mustard seed & Spanish sherry [Passover] 

Pasta w/ mixed olives, romesco, salsa verde, basil blossoms & salt roasted carrots

Cha soba & quinoa pesto w/ salt carrots & poached organic egg

Korean pumpkin pasta w/ HOT spiced apples, salt roasted carrots & walnuts + edible petals

Noodle soup w/ braised baby eggplants, organic cherry tomatoes & salt roasted carrots 

Sumptuous tostada sliders [Mi Rancho Organic Mini Corn Tortillas] w/ Chinese chive shiitake baked eggs
& salt roasted carrots

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.

Our successful restaurant Avanti Café was located on 17^th St in Costa Mesa from 2005 through 2014.  Follow us on social media to see what is new and in store for Avanti in our culinary futures.

At Avanti Natural, we believe that you don't have to sacrifice taste to eat healthy; you can Eat Well & Live Well

We are Whole Foods Experts  It’s time to take Avanti Natural to restaurant menus & kitchens everywhere.

Post photos of your versions of Avanti Natural recipes on our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages.  Check our blog on the website for how to recipe blogs.  We’re excited to see and share your culinary creativity!

www.avantinatural.com

Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Avanti-Cafe/166822256677277?ref=hl

Twitter  https://twitter.com/AvantiNatural

Pinterest  http://www.pinterest.com/avantinatural/boards/

Instagram http://instagram.com/avantinatural

Gin Martini Musings

Syrah grape + African blue basil + Sea salted grapefruit

Building the perfect gin martini requires a stoic gentle dexterity.  And I must admit, that while I’m a purist (no vodka & no applejack) I’m also a divergent martini iconoclast.  Simple prep method – lightly frozen, neither shaken nor stirred (bruises the gin), a host of garnishes filling the glass & no vermouth.  I’m a fan of the old gag that you merely reflect wistfully on Antonio Benedetto Carpano, the inventor of vermouth in 19^th century Turin Italy, while you craft your gin martinis.  A whisper of reminiscence to perfume the air.

Gin is like wine, the herbs that dance around the juniper vary, and thus the subtly of flavors.  Explore the varietals. 

Here’s the method I prefer.  Into an impeccably clean glass vessel w/ a tight fitting lid, pour enough gin for your martini event.  Place into the freezer for up to an hour or so, but not much longer.  Into that same, clean and odor free freezer place your martini glasses as well. 

Let’s do return to the older style martini glass.  First, they are much more elegant than the auto funnel form we find in a 20 buck concoction of liquid propane.  A martini over 2 ounces is obscene.  We no longer drink like madmen, but still enjoy the possibility of a second or third libation in civilized company.  Plus, the journey from frozen to cool happens in just a few minutes, and a martini should never be guzzled. 

Ponder your garnish.  I go big, often three or four flavors.  Personally, and I’m sure that some will strongly disagree, I like a fully loaded glass.  But then, I’ve never met a fruit, herb or vegetable I didn’t like.  Never muddle.  The goal is not to impart strong flavors to the martini, but to infuse the garnish w/ the taste of the gin.  Gin laced cucumbers, chilis, grapes, tomatoes, olives, citrus, pickles & preserved delights complete the experience.  From the origin w/ the pimento stuffed olive, a gin martini is an activity of both eating and drinking.

Classic gin martini w/ Sicilian green & Moroccan black olive + Pickled red chile + Moroccan preserved lemon

GIN MARTINI QUOTATIONS

"Would you like an olive?  Auntie Mame says olives take up so much room in such a little glass."
Patrick Dennis

“I like to have a martini, two at the very most –After three I’m under the table, After four, I’m under my host.”
Dorothy Parker

Cucumber + Basil + Cherry tomato + Sicilian green olive

Why don't you get out of that wet coat and into a dry martini?

Robert Benchley

Martinis are the only American invention as perfect as a sonnet.”
H. L. Mencken

“I never go jogging, it makes me spill my martini.”
George Burns

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.

Our successful restaurant Avanti Café was located on 17^th St in Costa Mesa from 2005 through 2014.  Follow us on social media to see what is new and in store for Avanti in our culinary futures.

At Avanti Natural, we believe that you don't have to sacrifice taste to eat healthy; you can Eat Well & Live Well

We are Whole Foods Experts  It’s time to take Avanti Natural to restaurant menus & kitchens everywhere.

www.avantinatural.com

Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Avanti-Cafe/166822256677277?ref=hl

Twitter  https://twitter.com/AvantiNatural

Pinterest  http://www.pinterest.com/avantinatural/boards/

Instagram http://instagram.com/avantinatural