Avocados & Gardening (week 3)

Avocados
Over the weekend, I found the cutest little avocados. They're called peewee avocados and at 7 for 99 cents, they were too good to pass up!

Since the avocado seed is so tiny, there's still a ton of buttery avocado flesh to be eaten!

Garden Update
Now that i'm going into my 3rd week of gardening, I thought it'd be fun to do a side by side comparison to see how much my plants have grown.

Spinach (left: week 1 / right: week 3)
Tomato Vine & Butter Lettuce (left: week 1 / right: week 3)
Basil (left: week 1 / right: week 3)

Fun with Food
Having fresh herbs in the garden inspires me to add a boost of flavor into otherwise ordinary meals. Those aren't just regular ol' mashed potatoes, there's a double dose of magic in there! Garlic chives from the garden and TRUFFLE OIL!

  Mashed Potatoes with Garlic Chives & Truffle Oil, Sauteed Kale, and Seared Scallops

Kale

Oh kale! I love your versatility!

Baked kale! My new favorite snack thanks to steve! If you like eating dried seaweed, you'll love this!

Next time, I'll chop up the leaves before I bake it so that more of the surface area gets exposed to the heat and becomes crispy!

new experiences

it's a new year and i'm excited to say that i tried two new things that i just ADORE!

Quinoa and Kale!

i've been hearing a lot about quinoa but i didn't know what it was, how to cook it, or even how to pronounce it. i cooked it in a rice cooker with low-sodium chicken broth. when cooked, it looks an awful lot like cous cous but tastes like a mix between rice and mashed potatoes. delicious and such an interesting texture!

kale proved to be incredibly hard to find! for the record, i went to 4 different grocery stores before i finally found a place that had kale in stock. kale is leafy, curly, very firm and just feels healthy. i gave the kale a light chop and sauteed it in a little bit of evoo, minced garlic and s&p. it cooks down quite a bit but manages to keep it's crunch and has a slightly citrus-y taste to it.

rounded out dinner with some protein, good ol' trader joe's tri tip, cooked to a perfect medium!

yum! i could eat this all day everyday!