Older Bolder Life

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the Older Bolder Life Salad Sunday 18 November: Our House Guacamole

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The Primal/Paleo crowd doesn’t need to be reminded that avocados happen to be one of those superfoods that not only support great health but just taste damn good.

Most avocado fans know that avocados are packed with Vitamin K, Folate, Vitamins C, B5, B6 and E, and offer a good dollop of potassium too, though their principle benefit is the 15 grams (on average) of monounsaturated fat, most of it the monounsaturated fatty acid oleic acid (high in good olive oil too).

I recently shared about this recipe on Chi Wulff (a fly fishing blog) –

…my lovely wife has been something of a guacamole ninja since we enjoyed four years in San Antonio years ago during my graduate training; we learned to enjoy authentic TexMex and Mexican guacamoles and still have a batch 2 or 3 times a week to this day.

There are a lot of fancied up recipes for all sorts of up-town guacamoles out there today, and you probably have a family favorite, but what follows is Our House Guacamole recipe we’ve evolved over the years. While I’m working on the rest of dinner, ME can have a batch of this done, ready to savor, in under five minutes.

Being good Texicans, we consider a big bowl of guacamole to be an all purpose condiment (try it slathered over your steak or grilled chicken tonight), or a super-vegetable / all purpose side for any meal. (Some nights a double recipe of guacamole is dinner with a pile of crunchy crudite to dip)…

We don’t measure any ingredient when putting this together anymore; she just drops things in “until it looks right” – give this one a spin if you don’t have a house favorite yet…

2 large, ripe avocados, pitted, peeled, mashed with a fork
3 – 4 tsp fresh lime juice, maybe more to taste
1/2 small red onion, minced
2-4 tbsp finely chopped, seeded roma tomato
1 medium garlic clove, minced, then mashed with salt to a paste
1/2 – 1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp good salt
Generous sprinkle of good paprika/smoked paprika

Consider adding
1-2 stemmed, seeded (membranes too) and diced serranos or jalapenos
3-4 tbsp chopped cilantro (fresh of course)

Start by mashing the minced garlic clove with the salt (you’re making a paste), then combine the remainder of the ingredients and fold roughly wth a fork (we like some texture in ours). Don’t forget the peppers and cilantro either…

While it’s best uber-fresh, if not eating immediately, drop one of the avocado pits in the bowl, spritz with fresh lime juice, then cover tightly with plastic wrap, and throw in the fridge (no more than 2 hours!).

Sprinkle with the paprika before serving.

Enjoy.

Inquiring Minds Want to Know (Links and Stuff) 17 November 2018

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Topics That Caught Our Eye This Week

Does Science Support a 4-Hour Workday? Fascinating…

Timing of Food Intake Matters (and an incidental plug for IF)

And Another Study Supporting IF

Tainted Supplements????

Daily Drinking Leads to Increased Mortality

For Your Thanksgiving Holiday This Next Week

A Tongue in Cheek Southern Spin on Healthy Eating

Another Holiday Related Topic: The Science of Good Chocolate

Impress the Family at Thanksgiving: Bring Your Medieval Eating Knife

Our Recipes From the Past Week(s)

Braised Turkey Thighs (video)

Quick Pickled Daikon Radishes

Grilled Cumin Garlic Tahini Chicken

Grilled Southwestern Cauliflower Steaks

Homemade Caesar Dressing with Avocado Oil Mayo

Grilled Gochujang Skirt Steak

the Older Bolder Life Vegetable Wednesday 14 November: Quick Pickled Daikon Radishes

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Twice over the past few months I’ve shared recipes for quick pickles, something we tend to keep in the fridge year round, perfect for snacking and a quick, crispy, nutritious, and Primal/keto side for dinner.

If you missed the prior recipes, here’s the Quick Pickled Beets and Onions, and here’s the Tasty Quick Dills.

Radishes are one of my personal favorite snacks (even as we turn the corner to late fall/early winter, there’s still a container of trimmed radishes in water in the fridge this morning), not only for their satisfy crunch and burst of spicy, umami flavor, but also given the fact they contain almost no soluble carbs in a handful.

Radishes make a surprisingly tasty quick pickle, something Bahn Mi fans learned with their first one, and are a tasty snack/side to throw into your rotation. Bonus points for the quick, simple prep too…

1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
1/4 cup kosher salt
2 tbsp fresh-squeezed lime juice
2 tbsp good honey (optional)
2-4 red Thai or serrano chiles, stemmed, split lengthwise
1 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp dill seeds

1 medium-large daikon radish, trimmed, peeled, thinly sliced
Consider using a watermelon radish as well…

To a medium saucepan add the vinegars, salt, lime juice, honey if using, chiles, and both seeds; bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the salt and honey. Remove from heat and let cool for 15-20 minutes.

Prep the radishes, add to a large, flat-bottomed bowl, and pour the pickling liquid over. Stir well to separate the radish slices so that all are exposed to the liquid, cover, and chill for at least 4 hours before serving. These will stay crispy for 4-5 days, though ours never last that long.

Enjoy.

the Older Bolder Life Friday Feast 7 September: Grilled Cumin Garlic Tahini Chicken

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Here’s a bit of a different spin on typical grilled chicken we had with friends a few months back – a Grilled Cumin Garlic Tahini Chicken.

Our daughter recently traveled to Jordan for her work as a photojournalist, and came back armed with several artisanal olive oils and spice mixtures, prompting an exploration of Jordanian and other Middle Eastern foods we’ve enjoyed tremendously of late.

We’ve always enjoyed tahini around our camp (even if used primarily in whipping up the occasional batch of hummus when entertaining company), and the nutty goodness of the ground sesame really comes through in this dish.

The fresh garlic, good cumin (get some fresh) and paprika, along with the fresh lemon juice combine very, very well the tahini, and caramelizing (gently) on grill makes the whole package even better.

If you’re a tahini fan, give this one a spin, it’ll likely end up in your rotation (it has in ours of late).

3-4 pound chicken, cut up
Good salt

7-8 garlic cloves, peeled, minced, mashed
1 tbsp fresh ground cumin
1 tbsp good paprika
1/3 cup tahini
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (maybe just a bit more)
2-3 tbsp avocado or olive oil
Pinch of good salt, more to taste

Cut up your chicken, dust with good salt, and throw in the fridge for a couple of hours.

Mince the garlic, then grind into a paste with the side of your trusty chef’s knife, along with a pinch of good salt; transfer to a small bowl.

Now add the cumin, paprika, tahini, fresh lemon juice, and 2 tbsp of the oil you’ve chosen. Combine well, you’re looking for a thick paste something akin to a thinner peanut butter consistency. Add a tsp of fresh lemon juice or oil if you need to loosen it up; adjust the salt to taste.

Now slather the paste mixture over each chicken piece; it’s much more interesting to use your hands, rubbing it in and coating all surfaces well. Let the chicken sit at room temp for up to an hour.

Fire the grill.

Cook using your favorite routine for chicken; we start this one skin side down, and turn fairly frequently, moving the chicken to a cooler zone of the grill as the tahini-spice paste begins to caramelize. Rest the chicken when done for a few minutes, then serve either hot or cooled to room temp.

Enjoy.

the Older Bolder Life Vegetable Wednesday 5 September: Grilled Southwestern Cauliflower Steaks

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Even thought the calendar has turned to September, it’s still prime time grilling season for most of us around the country; if you’ve not tried grilling cauliflower, give these Grilled Southwestern Cauliflower Steaks a spin.

I know, I know, there are probably hundreds of recipes for grilled cauliflower floating around out there, but this is one of our favorites given the southwestern spice flavors.

This is another of those recipes that’s so ridiculously easy it’s almost child’s play (don’t tell anyone that) yet unique and tasty enough to serve when entertaining.

Don’t forget to save the cauliflower florets you trim away as you carve the “steaks”, the trim is perfect for a salad or stir fry. Some recipes out there call for microwaving the cauliflower for 2-3 minutes before grilling it, but we’ve never added that step and it turns out perfectly every time.

Inspired by several different recipes, include one from Serious Eats.

2 medium heads cauliflower, trimmed, cut as per below
3 tbsp EVOO or avocado oil

Spice rub
1 generous tbsp ground turmeric
2 tsp mild chile powder
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp good salt
1 tsp powdered ginger
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/4 tsp onion powder

Garnish
2-3 tbsp fresh cilantro or parsley, finely chopped
Pickled red onions

Mix the spice rub ingredients well, set aside.

Remove the green leaves from the cauliflower and slice off the root/base so the cauliflower can sit flat on your cutting board.

Slicing vertically, trim several inches off one side of a cauliflower head, then slice as many 3/4-inch thick slices as you can obtain from each head. You want the slices to more or less remain intact, with the peripheral florets still “connected” to the core/stalk so they’ll stay together on the grill. (Save the trimmed florets for a salad or stir fry…)

Brush the “steaks” with your oil of choice, dust/coat well with the spice mixture, and set aside at room temp while you fire the grill. (Alternatively, shake the oiled steaks one at a time in a large resealable bag with the spice mix.)

Grill over direct head for 3-4 minutes per side; you’re looking to develop a bit of char here without burning the spices. Then move to an indirect heat zone and cook until as tender as you’d like, we like these will a bit of residual crunch (somewhere between 13-15 minutes typically).

Best served hot/warm, and garnish with the chopped cilantro or parsley and maybe those pickled red onions…

Enjoy.

the Older Bolder Life Salad Sunday 26 August: Homemade Caesar Dressing with Avocado Oil Mayo

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As the summer heat drags on here in Northeast Texas, we find ourselves reaching more and more often for a cool salad topped with a tasty and chilled grilled protein.

My wife and I love a good Caesar, and have played around for years looking for a Homemade Caesar Dressing that tasted like a great Caesar should and yet didn’t require an advanced food science degree to pull off.

Thanks to several friends, including Chef Libby in Austin, we’ve settled on this amalgam of several good recipes, which is build around a cup of a healthy and tasty avocado oil (or good olive oil) mayo made right in our / your own kitchen.

If smashing anchovies and garlic into a paste with the back of a spoon doesn’t sound like your cup of tea, track down the very reasonable substitute anchovy paste, though we agree with the many traveling this road before us that the real thing packs a bit more funky, umami punch, and just tastes better.

Most recently we’ve been topping Caesars with either a Cajun-spiced grilled chicken or shrimp, though Judy’s salmon, grilled and chilled, is tough to beat too.

2-3 small garlic cloves, minced
1-2 small anchovies
1 cup freshly made avocado oil mayo
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 and 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp good Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp good salt (or to taste)
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

This one is a piece of cake to pull together.

Mash the minced garlic and anchovies into a smooth paste in a small mixing bowl; whisk in the next 6 ingredients until smooth and creamy. Stir in the freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (I’ll sometimes add a bit more) and adjust the salt and pepper to taste.

Stir into that masterpiece of a Caesar salad you’ve built and go to it.

Enjoy.

the Older Bolder Life Friday Feast 17 August: Grilled Gochujang Skirt Steak

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When were up in Montana a few weeks ago, I brought along about five pounds of skirt steak for a celebratory fajita dinner. We have a family favorite, Texas-inspired version we’ve been making for years (recipe later perhaps), and ended up making the entire bundle of skirt using that old recipe.

I’d actually intended to do a pound or two using this Grilled Gochujang Skirt Steak recipe a friend shared with us a few months back, though didn’t grill this one up until we were back in Texas settled into our routine again.

We’re using gojuchang more and more in the kitchen these days. If you’re not familiar, it’s the umami-laden, thick, crimson red, Korean fermented chile paste that’s most often sold in the little red tubs in our neck of the woods. For those watching their soy intake, most brands include fermented soy in the mix. Note occasionally a bit of glutinous (sticky) rice has been ground in to thicken the mixture, and some even include additional sweeteners (an ingredient we prefer not be included).

This blistering summer we’ve typically been eating thinly-sliced, grilled skirt steak (both warm and cold) over a big-assed salad, but it makes for a great taco (tortilla or lettuce) along the lines of what we talked about in last Friday’s Grilled Southwestern Lamb Shoulder Tacos.

You’ll want to try this in your rotation next week…

2 pounds skirt steak, trimmed, cut into 8-ounce pieces

1/3 cup (generous) gochujang + more for the table
1/3 cup (generous) avocado oil (or EVOO)
1/3 cup (generous) rice vinegar (seasoned if you have it)
2-3 tbsp tamari, coconut aminos, or soy sauce
1/2 sweet onion, grated

To serve
Warm tortillas or lettuce leaves
Your favorite taco fixin’s

Trim your skirt steaks and cut into roughly 8-ounce pieces.

Combine the gojuchang, oil of choice, rice vinegar, tamari/aminos/soy sauce, and the grated onion in a small bowl and mix well. Pour into a large resealable bag, add the meat and goosh it around so every surface has been coated with the marinade.

Into the fridge it goes for at least an hour, overnight is better.

When ready to cook, drain the skirt steak, and grill over medium-high heat 2-3 minutes per side. Remember skirt cooks really quickly as it’s so thin, and we like ours medium rare…

Pull, let rest for 10 minutes or so while you’re getting the rest of the goods ready, then slice thinly across the grain and go to it.

Enjoy.