Three Seed Flatbread/Crust

Wheat? Yeast? Gluten Free?  What'll I do???  Grain bashing be damned.  At Avanti, we've never wavered, when it comes to baked goods -->  always organic grains & never ALL white flour.  Plain and simple.  Get at least 25% organic whole grain flours (either whole wheat or gf options) into everything you bake and eat.  And, unless you truly have a wheat allergy, it's just too much fun making real breads that rise and culture w/ active yeast.  This simple flatbread // pizza crust is 100% whole grain & 3 seed too.  The only flour in the mix is organic whole wheat, then there's the mighty flax meal (flaxseed flour) and WHOLE chia & sesame seeds.  It's easy to make, requires only one medium sized mixing bowl, one wooden spoon & two 16 inch pizza pans.  No added oil, low sodium, dairy free and delectable.  

Three Seed Flatbread/Crust

Breads 8/26/14

Amount	Measure	Ingredient	Prep Method
1 ½	Cups	Whole wheat flour
½	Cup	Flax seed meal
¼	Cup	Brown rice syrup
2	Teaspoons	Yeast
2 ½	Cups	Water

Directions:

Combine all in a medium sized mixing bowl.  Stir well w/ a wooden spoon.  Cover w/ a clean kitchen towel and allow to rise at cool room temp for several hours or overnight.

Next add:

¼	Cup	Whole wheat flour
¼	Cup	Whole sesame seeds
¼	Cup	Chia seeds
1	Teaspoon	Salt

Stir well, let raise for 30 mins.  Prep out two 16 inch pizza pans by spraying or brushing with out. 

Preheat oven to 450, divide the batter onto two pizza pans, smooth w/ a sprayed spatula to an even thickness.  Offset spatulas work best.  Let rise again for 30 mins.

Bake in preheated 450 oven for 15 mins.  Rotate set timer for 10 mins more.  It’s done when the thin spots get a dark golden brown.  25 to 30 mins total baking time.  If you want to make pizza, pull it out when just golden brown (20 to 20 mins) top with pizza topping flavors and bake 10 to 15 mins more.  

NOTE:  This bread is very adaptable.  Swap out chia &/or sesame for perilla, basil, nigella, whole flax seeds.  Experiment.  Add a tablespoon of chili powder, smoked paprika, curry, garam masala, hawaij or other spice blends for deeper flavors.  

Here's the crust, baked to crisp fully seeded perfection

We suggest a beautiful pissaladiere w/ Sicilian & Moroccan olives, organic baby pear tomatoes, capers, tomato jam, golden lime caramelized onions, fresh basil & tarragon for dining al fresco

How about a 3 seed free form cracker spread w/ a sake simmered beet pate w/ roasted heirloom cucumber and zucchini, grapefruit supremes, garlic, ginger & chive

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

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

Gluten Free Clafoutis :: Exotic French Dessert Avanti Style ::

Feeling French this summer?  Here's an exotic dessert from the Avanti Natural Kitchen.  It's not difficult to prepare.  It's less eggy and more solid than a traditional clafoutis.  Serve w/ a lovely Sauterne style wine or perhaps a Port or Cava Rosé.

Gluten Free Clafoutis

Desserts 8/11/14

Amount	Measure	Ingredient	Prep Method
¾	Cup	Tart dry cherries
¾	Cup	Prunes	Sliced
2	Tablespoon	Lemoncello	Or port, grappa, sherry, etc
1	Med	Grapefruit	Juice and zest (about 1/3 cup juice)

Set aside and let plump while you prep out the rest.  Preheat oven to 325

1	Cup	Quinoa flour
½	Cup	Coconut flour
2	Teaspoons	Baking powder
½	Teaspoon	Salt
¼	Teaspoon	Black pepper

Whisk dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.

3	Cups	Organic buttermilk
4	Large	Organic eggs
2/3	Cup	Organic brown rice syrup	Or ½ cup honey

Whisk together in a medium bowl. 

Stir the fruit mix into the dry ingredients to coat w/ flour.  Then whisk in the buttermilk mix.  Prepare a 12 inch skillet w/ oil, butter or spray.  Pour the mixture into the skillet.  Then drizzle

3

Tablespoons

Organic buttermilk

Over the top of the batter.  Cook for 1 hour and 15 mins, or until the center is set. 

Serve w/

Basil Bleu Buttermilk Sauce

1	Cup	Organic buttermilk
1	Tablespoon	Basil blossoms	Or leaf chiffonade
1	Tablespoon	Honey
1/3	Cup	Bleu cheese	Roquefort, gorgonzola, stilton, Danish or American bleu cheeses
1	Pinch	Black pepper

Whisk together buttermilk, basil and honey.  Crumble in blue cheese, add a dash of black pepper. 

 Here she is all ready to bake.

And now fresh from the oven

And served up proud w/ Basil Bleu Buttermilk Sauce

Avanti In Motion

By the time this blog is published, it will be the end of an era for Avanti Café on 17^th Street in Costa Mesa.  We have sold our restaurant location and are entering a new and exciting new phase for Avanti Natural & the Avanti Natural Kitchen. 

Starting in late summer, we’ll be doing culinary consulting, recipe, menu & product development as well as creating Avanti Natural Lifestyle content for our Avanti Natural YouTube channel.  We look forward to engaging w/ members of the Southern California community that share our interest in all things environmentally conscious and naturally delicious.  If you have a topic or guest suggestion for our youtube talk show, please contact us.  We’re excited to broaden our scope and talk on a wide variety of subjects w/ active people interested in creating a better environment for us all.  

Our other big project will be the Avanti Natural Kitchen cookbook, which will feature many recipes you’ve enjoyed here at Avanti Café.  The book will launch as an ebook in a whole new concept geared toward serious foodies and beginners as well.  All recipes will have complete tutorials, ingredient info and culinary nutrition tips.  And all will be based on the Avanti Natural philosophies of natural cooking & living. 

Make sure to follow Avanti Natural on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram and like Avanti Café and Chefs Mark Cleveland and Tanya Fuqua on Facebook too.  You’ll find everything that is going on w/ us posted daily. 

We’ll also be doing catering, events & pop ups locally.  And feel free to send new and exciting opportunities our way.  We plan to take the Avanti Natural concept of creating food that is BOTH Healthy AND Delicious to restaurants, delis & quality food purveyors far and wide. 

Our nine-year run here at Avanti Café has been the high point of our careers so far.  And now it’s time to take the skills that we have honed within these four walls to a wider platform and larger audience.

As we bid everyone a fond adieu from the Avanti Café restaurant location here are a few photos of some of our culinary triumphs

Avanti Famous HOT Tacos (photo: Anne Watson Photography)

Two organic sprouted corn tortillas stuffed w/ garlic pate, lime dressed napa, green & red cabbage & topped w/ a selection of our original seriously HOTsauces

Summer Omelette Brunch Special (photo: Avanti Natural)

Summer vegetable filled omelet w/ tomato basil cream sauce & fresh citrus, cilantro, basil & dill pesto + golden & red cherry tomatoes w/ sake simmered scallion & edible petals

A classic from our Holiday Menus (photo: Anne Watson Photography)

Roasted whole kabocha pumpkin.  Stuffed w/ garnet yam, white bean, brown rice pilaf, chives & your choice of pistachio or gorgonzola

The full on amazement of the Avanti Margarita Pizza (photo: Avanti Natural)

Avanti tomato cumin, garlic shallot baby arugula & spinach, Avanti cheese blend, fire roasted tomato sauce, smoked mozzarella

And of course the line up of Avanti sweet treats (photo: Avanti Natural)

Featuring the mighty Avanti Chocolate walnut brownie, the very best Snickerdoodle in the galaxy, superb Tangy oat chew, epic Chocolate chip pecan & uber chocolaty Chocolate truffle cookie

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

avantinatural.com

Facebook  AvantiNatural

Twitter  AvantiNatural

Pinterest  AvantiNatural

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