spring has sprung

i've really missed our organics delivery the past couple weeks, and was so delighted to see it yesterday... it's sad to see the winter veggies start to go, but i'm looking forward to all of the berries and summer fruit as well. here is the box that arrived yesterday:

getting these deliveries has been great for so many reasons. one has been that no longer do i have to go to the annoying grocery store with super long lines (that will remain nameless), but it allows me to branch out and come up with recipes for veggies that i would not necessarily buy spontaneously. for instance the last box we had included yellow beets. who buys yellow beets!? but we really enjoyed them.

speaking of spring, i've made this twice already in the past week--- avacado salad. i was going to make "salad shirazi" a persian salad with tomatoes and cucumbers, but i had a bag of avocados from costco in the fridge as well, so i added those in and was extremely delighted! :)

here is what i used:

2 ripe chilled avacados, chopped into chunks
1/4 english cucumber (the really long kind)
1 firm and ripe tomato (or grape tomatoes will do as well)
1/2 large yellow onion
salt to taste
pepper to taste
approximately 2 tbsp lime juice

combine all ingredients and let stand a bit in the fridge if you can wait... i don't usually :)

simple enough, but so fresh and tasty!!

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gritssssss

i've had a love of grits since i was little, but i think i took a 10 year hiatus from eating them, mostly because i usually don't like breakfast food. anyways, trader joe's began carrying a new herbed olive oil that i think really provides a great accompaniment to grits. of course you can make your own oilve oil blend, but their's has so many wonderful things inside that at this point i'm too lazy to make! :)

my grits recipe is quite simple:

for a single serving

3 tbsp grits (not the instant kind!)
1 cups water
1/8-1/4 tsp salt (depending on your taste)
dash of fresh ground pepper
approximately 1 tbsp herb olive oil

boil water with salt and pepper
add grits to water and turn heat to low
simmer for 15 minutes stirring occasionally to stop lumps from forming
pour into bowl, and immediately add olive oil and stir in.

*note, i've also tried adding nutritional yeast to grits and have been very pleased with the taste (as long as it's not too much!) Pin It Now!

gluten free travels

i was a bit nervous about going on our recent trips to israel and switzerland and eating gluten free...
but thankfully, i requested the gluten-free meals on all three airlines we flew, and what do you know, they were much better than my dear husband's tasteless and transfatty meals! :)

i didn't take any pictures of them, but for instance, i got an organic sugar free french coconut macaroon which tasted incredible instead of a dry pepperidge farm cookie, a fresh fruit salad with blueberries, pineapple, and other fruit instead of an orange and yellow cabbage substance, and more :)

israeli food on the whole was not too difficult to manage, although all of my old favorites that i used to enjoy eating there i can no longer eat, like toasts (grilled sandwiches) and hot chocolate cake. but on the upside, hot salads are still fantastic, and falafel and shawarma are served on plates now as well.

i'm going to try to remake this drink and post the recipe at some point... there are different variations at each cafe or restaurant you go to in israel, but the main idea is mint and lemonade with crushed ice-- "limonana"

this was my last meal in israel where i really pigged out: :)

in switzerland they weren't too appreciative of the gluten-free lifestyle, and definitely not the dairy-free, but i did walk by a store window in zurich and saw a whole display of gluten-free food for sale. all in all, a positive experience food-wise, and i only got sick once in the two weeks! (which is not too bad) :)

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