Things I love about Summer... Part 2

Something else that I love about Summer is....

OKRA

I am absolutely head over heels in love with okra! As any Southern girl should be, I suppose. There is something so relaxing about spending a couple of hours in my grandparents' garden with them just talking and cutting okra. If you don't have a garden to get fresh okra from, have no fear! You can stop by a produce stand during the summer months and pick up some!

Some people complain about the ooey-gooey-ness of okra. But, with these recipes, you're sure to enjoy this little Southern gem.

My top 3 favorite things to do with okra:
1. Fry it! Everything is better fried, right? Cut the tops and bottoms off of the okra and discard. Cut the okra into small slices and sprinkle corn meal on it stirring to ensure that all piece are coated lightly. In a skillet, heat up about 4 tbsp. of canola oil. Once the oil is hot, toss in the okra. Let the okra cook for about 30 minutes, turning over about every 10 minutes. Cook it until its dark brown and crispy. If the pan is dry, add a little bit more oil as needed.

2. Put it in vegetable soup! I love fresh veggie soup, so much that I freeze it also! Add some sliced okra to your normal veggie soup at the beginning.

3. Grill it! During the summer, I hardly ever use my stove. The grill is where it's at! Take okra and cut the tops off. Slice down the center long ways. Spray with some non-stick olive oil spray, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and put on the grill. Let it grill about about 4 minutes on each side.

Do you have any other delicious ideas for okra?

Tangy Guacamole

One thing that I love is guacamole! But, I'm very picky about it. I don't like crunchy onions and I like it really tangy. This is my recipe for my favorite guacamole.

This recipe makes enough for a snack or appetizer for two people, or for one person to be enjoyed over a day or two :)

For this recipe you'll need: one ripe avocado, one lime, 1/4 of a medium tomato (or just a small one), one small jalapeno, salt, pepper, dried cilantro, and onion powder.

Half the avocado, dice it while its still inside the peeling, then turn it inside out. Then, it all falls out in perfect cubes.

Avocado will turn brown very, very quickly. And this is where the tangy part comes in. Add the juice of one whole lime and stir well with the avocado chunks making sure that each piece gets covered in lime juice. This will not only make it tangy, but keep it from turning brown.

Then, add the following to the bowl:
1) Tomato- (as much or as little as you like, I go with about 1/6 cup) use the firm part of the tomato from close to the skin
2) 1 tbsp. jalapeno chopped very finely
3) 1/2 tsp. onion powder
4) 1 1/2 tsp. cilantro (If using fresh, you may need a little more)
5) 1/2 tsp. salt
6) 1/4 tsp. black pepper

Put all ingredients in the bowl. Use a fork to mash the avocado. Mash until it has a few small chunks left. Stir together well to make sure all ingredients are combined. Cover with plastic wrap and press the wrap down until it touches the guacamole.

You can eat it right away but it tastes best after sitting in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours.
I hope you enjoy this yummy, healthy treat!

Easy, Healthy, Delicious Pumpkin Muffins

I'm a pretty healthy eater, but that's not to say that I don't crave some things that are not so good for me. :) And one of my biggest passions is cooking and baking. So, I often re-do recipes yummy foods so that they are healthy. Inspiration for this one came from my sweet (and very healthy) neighbor, Jessica Silva. Here's one of my favorites:

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

One of the best things about this recipe is that its so easy. I prefer to use plain canned pumpkin, but sometimes it is hard to find outside of the holidays, so Pumpkin Pie Mix is okay. You can use any muffin mix you like. I chose this one because it had a decent rating on my Fooducate app.

First, line your muffin tin with muffin cups and spray them with non-stick spray. Olive Oil spray is the best to use, for health purposes, and you can't taste the difference because its such a small amount! Lots of good, healthy fat.

For this recipe, you can either follow the instructions on the back of your muffin mix, substituting pumpkin for the oil. For extra delicious muffins, follow the recipe below.

Ingredients:

1 box of muffin mix that yields 12 muffins
1 whole egg, 1 egg white
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. pumpkin

Directions:
Separate one egg (I try to get the egg white first, just in case I drop the yolk in). Whisk eggs together with milk in a medium bowl. Add pumpkin and whisk well making sure that the eggs are completely broken up. Mix in muffin mix and mix just into combined. The key to light and soft muffins (or anything with flour) is not to over mix.

Equally split up the muffin mix and add to muffin tins. Pick up the pan and hold about 1 inch above the counter. Drop the pan a few times on the counter to even out each muffin and get rid of pockets of air. Bake on 425 degrees for 16-18 minutes.

Take out of the oven. Stick a tooth pick into the center of one muffin. If it comes off clean, they're done! If not, put back into the oven for a 1-2 more minutes.

Enjoy!

P.S.- You use this recipe with any flavor muffin you like. I've tried blueberry which is also delicious with pumpkin!

My love for cooking...

Dan and I were talking about how much I love to cook recently. He is especially fond of my hobby. Thinking about why I love cooking brings back so many special memories. When I was little, I had the privilege of being taken care of a lot by my great-grandmother. My great-grandmother and I use to cook all kinds of things together. We'd make vegetable soup, carrot bread, cornbread, sloppy joes, all kinds of vegetables, and meatloaf. She would teach me how to do everything and let me be involved in every step. I love thinking of those memories with her... even if it involved me grating carrots for carrot bread for what seemed like hours.

My great-grandmother also let me write my own recipes and try them out. Even if she knew they would be awful, she'd still let me make them...and encouraged it. Some of them turned out to be quite good. When I'm cooking now, I hardly ever use a recipe (in fact, I'm extremely picky about my recipes, I usually rework any that I use).

People often think I'm crazy for how much I love to cook. I really love to cook because my great-grandmother taught me how. She inspired the creativity years ago in me and made me into a natural cook. When I'm making one of the things that we made together years ago, I always think of her. When I'm reading through recipe after recipe and know that there is something that could be made better in everyone, I think of the times when she taught me how to understand measurements and how I can (and should)make any recipe my own. When I'm making something from scratch and without a recipe, I think of how she would encourage me to try things and not be afraid to make something gross.

My great-grandmother is 93 now and still making a difference in my life. I think about the things she taught me about cooking and life. I should always honor, respect, love, and visit the people who raised me and made me who I am today. When reading through recipes, I am reminded that there are going to be plenty of "recipes" for how I should do better at things, but that I should always know that I have to make my life in the way that's best for me... not other people (this is strongly connected with my last post). When I'm making new things, I am reminded that I must never be afraid to fail, no matter how "gross" it could turn out. I will never accomplish near my full potential if I'm afraid to fail.

I'm so thankful to have the great influence of my great-grandmother. I am so blessed and privileged to have grown up with her. Tonight I was really thinking about her- I came home from work, and I've been sick for a couple of days, so I was expecting to lay on the couch and be totally exhausted. I got this sudden burst of energy and ended up cooking 3 meals tonight! It was something that she used to do. Now I have lots of healthy, delicious food in the fridge for the rest of the week! :)