Guasacaca (pronounced “wah-sah-cah-cah”) is the Venezuelan version of guacamole that includes vinegar along with the zing of citrus.
Smooth and creamy, this could be your new go-to dip or even salad dressing! And it’s oh-so-satisfying and ready in minutes using familiar ingredients.
Yes, eating healthy can be all these things.
Ingredients
3 ripe avocados, peeled and cut into pieces
3 cloves garlic, chopped
¼ cup white onion, chopped
1/3 green bell pepper, seeded/cut in large chunks
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded/deveined/chopped (or sub more green pepper to make ½ cup total)
¼ cup cilantro leaves
1 Tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley
1-2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
½ cup neutral-flavored oil, like grapeseed
1-2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional garnishes: cayenne/crushed chili flakes/nutritional yeast flakes
Directions
To a blender or food processor, add avocado, garlic, onion, peppers, herbs. With machine on, add oil in a small stream, followed by smaller amounts of lime juice and vinegar.
Add pinches of salt/pepper and adjust acid level to taste. Process further to evenly incorporate all ingredients and ensure a smooth texture.
Put in serving bowl and garnish. Serve with chips, crackers (seed-based or other favorite) or crudités.
Radishes with butter and salt is a simple French snack that’s a great balance of taste and texture. This recipe turns the classic combination into a compound butter, ready to spread on toast points or crackers.
It’s all about showcasing simple flavors, so a rich and creamy Euro-style butter is a great choice. Make it vegan using your favorite plant-based butter!
Ingredients
8 oz. unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
½ shallot, finely minced
Zest of 1 lemon
2 Tbsp chives, minced
10-12 round red radishes, trimmed & brunoised (about 1 cup)
2 Tbsp finely minced radish leaves (fresh, clean, not too tough)
Pinches of kosher sea salt
Pinch black pepper
Maldon Sea Salt, for serving
Directions
Spread radish brunoise in thin layer on a paper towel. Cover with another and press gently to remove excess moisture.
In a mixing bowl, fold ingredients together with a rubber spatula. Let rest 15-20 minutes for flavors to combine.
When serving, sprinkle a few flakes of Maldon Sea Salt on top of where you spread or dollop the butter.
Serve on sliced baguette, Belgian endive leaves, grilled steak, baked fish, scrambled eggs, roasted asparagus, mashed potatoes, or anything and everything else you enjoy with a delicious, colorful, springy butter!
Butter will keep up to 2 days in fridge, covered in plastic wrap.
Part sushi, part sandwich, part rice ball, onigirazu is shaped into a flat rectangle with fillings inside of rice inside of nori.
By varying the fillings, you can have combos that are good for breakfast, lunch or dinner!
Ingredients
4 full size nori sheets
4 cups cooked short grain white sushi or brown rice
Small sweet potato – about ½ lb
Small strip kombu seaweed (1 inch x 3 inches)
1 large avocado
7-8 oz. package marinated tofu
4 cups spinach, arugula and/or mizuna greens
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
2 ½ Tbsp olive oil
2-3 Tbsp warm water
1 Tbsp tahini
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp white miso paste
Toasted sesame seeds
Salt/Pepper
Directions
Peel and slice sweet potato into ½-inch slices. Place in small saucepan with kombu and add water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to a boil and simmer until sweet potato is soft but still firm enough not to fall apart. Remove sweet potato from water and set aside. Kombu can be sliced/diced into small pieces and used during onigirazu assembly, or discarded/composted.
To a small bowl, add 2 Tbsp warm water, tahini, miso paste. Mix to combine. Add maple syrup, lime juice and olive oil. Add more warm water to achieve desired consistency.
Open marinated tofu package over a small bowl and remove pieces. Slice pieces in half lengthwise, and then again if needed in order to get four equal slices. Set aside.
Open avocado, remove pit and cut flesh lengthwise into slices. Keep slices in half-shells until assembly to make things easier/cleaner.
Divide rice into four equal portions and arrange all ingredients for onigirazu assembly.
On a clean work surface, place a sheet of plastic wrap and then a piece of nori, shiny side down, with a corner facing towards you so it’s oriented like a diamond.
Take half of one rice portion and spread it in the center of nori, creating a 4-inch square or a little smaller. Corners of rice square will be pointing towards long sides of nori sheet and not corners. Add fillings one by one on top of rice, finishing with a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds. Place another layer of rice on top of fillings, making sure this layer is covering fillings.
Fold corners of nori over filling to make a square shape and wrap the onigirazu tightly with the wrap it’s sitting on. Let it sit for a few minutes and then cut the entire bundle in half with a slightly moistened sharp or serrated knife. Drizzle/dip sauce over it as you eat.
Tasty, fun and easy to make…and a great gift for your dentist when you have your next appointment!
Ingredients
1 apple, your favorite kind
Jar of peanut, almond or other yummy nut/seed butter
Mini marshmallows, raisins and other things for “funny teeth”
Small mint or parsley sprigs (got something green in your teeth!)
Directions
Core apple, using a corer. If you don’t have one, cut apple in half lengthwise, scoop/cut out seeds in center and remove other stem/etc bits with tiny cuts to keep the halves as whole as possible. Making all cuts lengthwise, cut each half into quarters, then each quarter in half and then those pieces in half again. 16 total pieces. See *note* below if you’re not going to eat the smiles right away and want to keep apples from browning.
Spread about 1 tsp nut butter onto each apple slice. Put one row of mini marshmallows and other “teeth” across one apple slice. If you’re putting any herb springs in there, this is the time! Sandwich another slice together with that one, pressing firmly until they stick. Take some fun selfies with your new choppers and then eat ’em up!
Note: ** Making these ahead of time? Keep apple slices from browning by soaking for 10 minutes in a combo of 1 tsp salt in 2 cups water. Rinse and pat dry, and then store your smiles in airtight packaging until ready to serve.
Charoset is one part of the Passover seder, and it comes in different forms that might look similar to fruit and nut relish, a thick spread, or a pliable sweet truffle like you see here. Its name come from the Hebrew word for “clay,” and it’s meant to recall the mortar Jews used to construct the Egyptian pharaoh’s buildings.
Along with fruit and nuts, charoset is made with spices, wine or fruit juice and often a binder like honey. Ingredients depend on what’s abundant in the area where it’s made, like this Moroccan-inspired version that relies on dates and other dried fruit.
Ingredients
¾ – 1 cup Turkish dried apricots, cut into ¼’s
6 – 9 dates, pitted and crowns removed, roughly chopped
¼ cup golden raisins
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ cup almonds and shelled pistachios, mixed
2-4 Tbsp raw honey
2-3 Tbsp grape juice, kosher wine or pomegranate molasses (reserve for end)
Optional: Additional finely ground almond flour or shredded coconut, for rolling balls in
Directions
Make sure there are no crowns/pits/stems in dried fruit.
Pre-chop nuts in food processor so they’re close to the size you’d like. Remove from food processor and set aside. Separate and save any dust/crumbs for rolling the balls in.
Add dried fruit, cinnamon, honey to food processor. Blend everything together completely. If texture is too thick, add grape juice/wine/pomegranate molasses, to thin it out.
Add chopped nuts (minus dust) back into food processor along with fruit mixture. Pulse several times to incorporate into fruit mixture but not chop nut pieces too much smaller.
Roll mixture into balls about 1” inch diameter. Roll these in reserved nut dust, as well as additional ground almond flour and/or shredded coconut as desired.
Store in a cool place in a tightly sealed container.
