I just love a good picnic. One that includes great company, a Mexican blanket, baked goodies, yummy goat cheeses, pistachios, chocolate, lettuce wraps and good wine…of course! This weekend was a debauchery!! My girlfriends and I went to Los Osos for the free concerts at Sea Pines Golf Course, followed by a visit to see Andy (for free food) who was working in his food-truck at the Morro Bay Harbor Festival, and it continued into the next day with an epic trip to Avila beach with the best weather the Central Coast has yet to offer!
Andy always leaves a lasting impression with my friends, for within a few minutes of meeting him, he hands them carmelized plantains, fried Brussel sprouts and a spicy calamari salad. They/I were thrilled and we shoveled it down, barely speaking for several moments! He is very entertaining, as are my friends who had me in stitches this weekend with their antics and good company. It’s nice to have a great group of girlfriends here; I feel like I’m in Chicago with my old besties!
Equally entertaining are my students who never cease to amaze me with their gifts of gratitude. Last week, my student Alison returned from Croatia with tea and candied oranges; Miranda gave me a blender after she heard about my tomato sauce debacle, my student Patrick gave me fresh avocados from his tree and my student Veronica gave me a package of brownies from her company Wholesome Chow, arguably the best mix I have ever had! Ready for this?
These brownies are wheat, soy, egg, dairy, casein, and nut free, and they actually taste GOOD! At $5.99 a box, it’s a deal considering how expensive it can be to cook gluten-free. With other mixes including cake and frosting, I think Veronica has my friend Lori and I hooked! All you do is add a half cup water, two teaspoons of ground flaxseed or an egg, and a half cup of melted butter, dairy or non-dairy. That’s it! I added dried cherries to mine and they were a success!
Check them out!
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Since technically I didn’t create that brownie mix, I had to bring something along of my own to our Girl’s Beach Day yesterday at Avila. My friend Ellen gave me delicata squash last week (I had an amazing dinner with it) and I still had one left, and I didn’t feel like leaving the house, so I made muffins with what I had! These are sugar-free and gluten-free and because of the natural sweetness of the apple, you won’t notice the difference. You can literally use any type of squash, but the delicata works well because of its creaminess and sweet taste. Check out my butternut squash muffin recipe too!
All you need is a small delicata and an apple for this recipe!
Delicata Squash and Apple Spice Muffins- yields 15 muffins
Ingredients:
-1 cup gluten-free flour (I used Trader Joe’s brand)
-1 delicata squash
-1 apple
-2 eggs
-1/4 tsp each of nutmeg, cinnamon and apple pie spice
-1 tsp vanilla
-2 tsp baking powder
-1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
-1/2 cup of Niccola’s apple butter (applesauce or almond butter is fine too!)
-1/4 tsp salt
-1/2 cup walnuts
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400. Spray muffins tins and place aside.
2. Cut the squash in half, take out seeds (save them!) sprinkle with olive oil and place cut side down on a baking sheet for 20 minutes or until it is soft. Let cool.
3. In a bowl, mix the flour, powder, spices and salt together.
4. In another bowl, mix the eggs, vanilla and milk.
5. Scoop out the squash and place it in your mixer with the apple butter and puree.
6. Add the other wet ingredients to the squash mixture and puree again.
7. Slowly fold in the apples and flour and mix well.
8. Sprinkle walnuts on top and bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Beach ready in a Tupperware!
I used the seeds to create a healthy little snack I took to the beach too! I had leftover seeds from spaghetti and buttercup squash meals I had last week, so I threw the delicata seeds in with them too. I sprinkled some salt, pepper and cinnamon onto an un-greased cookie sheet and baked them for 15 minutes. What a cheap date I am!
Lastly, I am obsessed with salad. I eat at least one a day, usually for lunch, sometimes again at dinner as a side. The beach can be the messiest place to eat because of the wind, sand and flies, and I don’t normally bring a salad because of this reason… until yesterday. It dawned on me that I could make little lettuce wraps with the Boston lettuce I was going to use for my salad anyway and then roll them in rice paper to keep them neat and clean. Brilliant! I made a quick Harvest Grain Mango Salad to wrap up and I will be using this technique again. Have you had Vietnamese spring rolls before? Who knew they were easy pessy to recreate?!
Harvest Salad Wraps- makes up to 15
Ingredients:
-1 cup Trader Joe’s Harvest Grains
-1 head Boston lettuce
-1 mango
-2 heirloom tomatoes
-1 red onion
-1 avocado
-1 bunch cilantro
-salt and pepper
-juice from two limes
-rice papers
Directions:
1. Cook one cup of Harvest Grains in water and bring to a boil. Place on low heat and let simmer for 10 minutes. Let cool.
2. Chop up the mango, tomatoes, onion and cilantro and add to a big bowl.
3. Add the Harvest Grains and lime juice into the bowl and mix well, adding salt and pepper to taste.
4. Pull off the lettuce leaves, lay flat, and place two spoonfuls of the harvest mix on top.
5. Roll the lettuce in a small burrito like shape.
6. Take a piece of rice paper and place it into a warm bowl of water for 5 seconds, until it begins to loose its shape.
You can find these at any Asian grocery store.
7. Lay the paper flat and add the lettuce wrap on top, rolling the rice paper over it like an envelope. Easy pessy!
Side view! Easiest way to eat salad at the beach!
The sky was gorgeous last night on our way home from Avila. Until next weekend, I sit and write…
I LOVE MY LIFE!