Avocado "Ice Cream"

Avocado and Ice Cream probably doesn't sound good to most people because you're used to avocados in with your omelets or in sandwiches, but trust me. It soo yummy and VERY nutritious. I actually got this idea from my cousin while she was preparing food for her hairy troll. (Though she may never really know, I learn a lot of my cooking from watching her over the years)

And the best part about this recipe is....you don't need an ice cream maker. Honestly, how often would you use one if you did have one? Its impractical! No this is going to be a mini chemistry lesson with a yummy healthy result.

INGREDIENTS:

3-4 Small Sized Avocados

3-4 TBSP Granulated Sugar (you can put less if you would like)

~ 1/4 C Reduced Milk

1 entire tray of ice (or 16 ice cubes for all you fancy people with a nice fridge)

DIRECTIONS:

1) Blend all ingredients with a blender. You'll get a nice smoothie but that's not our quest.

2) Place mixture into a tupperware and place in the freezer

3) Let it sit for ~30min and open to stir the mixture well with a spoon

4) Repeat for 2-3 hours

5) Leave for another 2 hours and you have 'ice cream'

WHY DOES THIS WORK? You might think its a waste of time and just easier to let the mixture sit in the freezer for 4 hours and then serve. BUT you are WRONG. 

The great thing that makes ice cream essentially what it is...is because there are small bits and pieces of ice in the cream, which in science terms means little small ice lattices forming over time instead of a giant one if that mixture is left alone. In that case you would get a giant avocado popsicle. 

So in lue of an ice cream maker, the continually mix every 30 min is 'curning' our ice cream.  (note: its not going to be like stor bought ice cream but at least YOU made it) Crazy huh? Don't you just LOVE science? Its all around use and gives use soo many rewards such as this.

Please do try this and tell me your thoughts <3

Bejeweled Heels

SOOOOOOOOO excited over these heels! I saw this pin on pinterest a few months ago and fell in love. Come on its shoes, crystals and Miu Mui's? What girl would not love those things? (Mainly why would a girl with over 60 pairs of shoes not be interested :p) But unlike the girl who originally blogged about this amazing idea, I did not want to invest in $70 shoes with the possibility that I would mess up. So I've been waiting patiently for a cheaper alternative to pop up on Go Jane. 

I did however, fork over the $40 for the crystals because if all else fails...it would be put to great use for another project. Fast forward a bit, I spent the better half of Saturday and several wet towels to remove the glue from my fingers placing these gems on. It was all worth the effort, I must say! Super easy and very pretty and unique to your own personality. <3

SUPPLIES:

Heels with velvet or fabric next to the heel.These are the ones I got, but these are nice as well.

60-80 pieces of Swarovski Rhinestones of various sizes up to 15mm

Bottle of Liquid Stitch

Pair of Tweezers

Ton of wet paper towels

INSTRUCTIONS:

1) Make sure your shoes are clean of lint (I guess its not necessary, just my OCD)

2) DO NOT listen to the back of the glue bottle!!!! DO NOT place the glue on the fabric first. ( I learned that it is impossible to remove and leaves a mark if an excess amount it put on)

3) Instead, place droplets of glue behind the rhinestones and wait for a few minutes until it starts to harden. Do 4 at a time, so the glue still has its tackiness. 

4) Use the tweezers to place the crystals behind the heel. I did a design where the crystals got smaller as I got closer to the heel. 

5) Wait at least 24 hours before struting your heels. ( Its a lot harder than it seems, but you can do it!)

Until next week! <3

(Yes, there are two extra round stones on the right shoe, Im waiting for the backorder of the rest :/)

Lavender Syrup

This lovely picture was taken by my lovely and talented Duckie! LOVE YOU! (If I'm correct these are called English Lavenders. I use Spanish ones because they are easier to find in so cal)

Anyway, I get to do a blog entry on the namesake of my blog...finally. Lavender Syrup is by far my favorite thing to make in the spring when the flowers are in bloom. I've been making this simple syrup every year since my junior in college (so 6 years). Its very light but fragrant, so if the idea of rosewater makes you sick, I don't suggest making this.  

I really like using this syrup when I make lemonade or if you're having a really bad week...put some vodka in. (Too many lazy summer memories with this concoction) 

INGREDIENTS:

2 C Granulated Sugar

1 C Water

1/4 C fresh Lavender blossoms (make sure they were not treated with any pesticides)

DIRECTIONS:

1) Combine all ingredient in a pot and let simmer until sugar has dissolved. You can strain out the blossoms but I like leaving them behind. 

2) Store in the refrigerator (you can store it for awhile but the lavender taste is lost as time goes by)

Note: you can also do this with fresh rose petals 

Summer 'Pizza'

Its the day after Cinco de Mayo and I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one hungover and slightly suffering this morning. Summer is just around the corner, so I thought I would do a little twist on a favorite comfort food. Don't deny it! Pizza is one of the greatest comfort food when you're nursing a hangover or a I-want-pizza-ice-cream-and-a-chick-flick-moment. 

This recipe is really easy and I promise you...VERY yummy! Please do try it out and tell me how it goes.

INGREDIENTS:

Thinly Sliced Cooked Butternut Squash

Spinach

Armenian Feta Cheese (Feta Cheese mixed with Oregano)

Sliced Tomatoes

Slice of Wheat Tonir Lavash (thin flat bread)

Olive oil

Poached/ Fried Egg (optional to add with tomatoes at the end)

DIRECTIONS:

1) Place all ingredients on the flat bread except the tomatoes and lightly drizzle with olive oil

2) Toast in oven at 325 Degrees for about 10 min

3) Add the tomatoes

(In case anyone is wondering...that IS my old college textbook...you know some light reading ;) 

More Pies...

After my strawberry shortcake muffin venture, I still had fresh fruit left so I decided to make a petite pie. I used my previous recipe, but wanted to share my two pictures ( I take a lot of picture for each blog, but only choose a few)

Strawberry Shortcake Muffins

I LOVE LOVE LOVE strawberry season. At its peek, a basket of strawberries can cost as low as $0.99! That is CRAZY considering how much time and resources it takes to get these delightful treats to us. In my family, we are insanely addicted to fruits and vegetables especially in their ripe season. YUMS!

So with this strawberry overload, I decided to make a strawberry dessert that would keep the strawberries from withering away in my fridge. So thanks to pinterest, I found a Strawberry Shortcake Cookie recipe that  I kinda made into muffins and modified....this is the original recipe. I changed certain things to keep the muffins on the semi sweet side. 

INGREDIENTS:

2 C of Freshly sliced Strawberries cleaned with the Eat Cleaner

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

2 Tbsp powder sugar

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 C of 2/3 milk and 3 tbsp of melted butter (I did not have heavy cream)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2) In a bowl lightly mix the strawberries, lemon juice, powder sugar and let sit

3) In another bowl combine all the dry ingredients together: flour, baking powder, sugar and salt

4) Slowly add the cold butter into the bowl of dry ingredients - the mixture will have a crumb consistency

5) Add milk and butter mixture in and then slowly fold the strawberries in the dough

6) Spoon the mixture into a the cupcake molds and  bake for ~25 min or until lightly brown surface.

Serve warm with vanilla bean ice cream. <3

Perfect Broccoli

Probably not going to be one of my favorite post, but ...honestly, as we get older eating healthy is not a joke. So be happy I'm doing this with broccoli and not with Brussels sprouts (EWWW!) I guess my pitch with this is: have you ever had boiled/ steamed veggies that were mushy? The texture of food and especially with veggies its a crucial thing. I prefer having my vegetables cooked but crunchy. So this is a trick my mom taught me.

INSTRUCTION:

1) Clean your veggies with Eat Cleaner 

2) In a pot of boiling water, boil the vegetables for > 8 min

3) Immediately run the vegetables under cold running water - this stops the vegetables from cooking internally and leaves them crunchy and cooked at the same time.