Guacamolish Avocado Paste

Hey Lovelies!

In this post I want to share with you one of my favorite foods of all time - avocado paste! I'm not calling it guacamole, cause it's not exactly guacamole, but it's kinda guacamol-ish :)

I absolutely love avocado because it's by definition a super food, packed with nutrients and munchy goodness. It doesn't have a strong taste or aroma, which means it can be added to pretty much everything - from soups and salads, to desserts. It's a great source of non-saturated fatty acids, vitamins E, C, B6, K, potassium, copper, pantothenic acid, and fiber. It also has a very low glycemic index, which means it contributes to metabolism and weight loss.

Coming soon - super easy raw vegan chocolate pudding with avocado

It's very important to be able to pick out the avocados in the store, especially if you live in a country far, far away from where they are grown (like me). Below is a simple guide how to distinguish one avocado from the other:

So, without further ado, here is the recipe for the guacamolish avocado paste :)

INGREDIENTS:

2 ripe Avocados
1 tb spoon Sesame tahini
1 tb spoon Olive oil
1 small Onion bulb, chopped
2 Limes or 1, 1 1/2 Lemons

Salt and dill to taste






PREPARATION:

If the avocados are ripe enough, you can simply mash them with a fork along with the sesame tahini, olive oil, lemon or lime juice and salt. If they're not soft enough, you can use a hand blender to puree them.







After you have a nice smooth paste, add the onion and dill and mix it up. NOTE: Don't forget to put the avocado seed on top of the paste - this way it won't turn brown and will last longer.

And that's it! You can use it as a spread, dip or topping - it's always delicious :)

My paste, just made :)

With Love,

Your Tomato Monster

Lentil Stew with an Oriental Twist

Hey Awesome Ones!

I really love all types of legumes, especially beans and lentils, and I eat a lot of them because they can be prepared in thousands of ways and are just so tasty and give your body so much nutrients.

They're especially important in a vegan or vegetarian diet because of all the protein, fiber, zinc, magnesium, potassium... They're also rich in "slow-burning" carbs, which means they give you plenty of energy, keep you full for a long time and don't make you fat.

Types of lentils

I cooked this one in the Multicooker, so I'll also give you the variation for cooking in on the stove.

The Oriental hint comes from the cumin, so if you like the aroma (like I do), you can be generous with it :) It becomes even more exotic if you use red lentils, but I used green lentils, as these are the most common variety here in Bulgaria and I can get cheap, quality, locally grown produce.

So, hear, hear, tasty lentil stew with an Oriental twist :)


INGREDIENTS:

300 g (ca. 3 cups) Lentils 
1/2 cup Rice
2 Carrots, diced
1 medium to large Onion bulb, chopped
2 cloves of Garlic, cut in larger pieces
1/2 (or more omnomnom!) can of Tomatoes
1 tb.spoon Olive oil
3-4 cups Water


Savory, salt, cumin and fresh parsley to taste 


No matter if you're using the Multicooker and the stove, you need to rinse both the lentils and the rice. The latter you need to keep rinsing until all the white stuff (which is starch) stops coming out and the water becomes clear. If you're cooking on the stove, you may want to soak the rice in cold water for about 20 min before cooking it. With the Multicooker this is not necessary.

PREPARATION:

Multicooker

It's so simple, that it's almost unfair.

Just put everything except the parsley in the Multicooker, set the program to STEW and cook for 2 hours. Check it at some point to see if it needs extra water - the texture should be stew-like (duh) - don't let it roast!

After the stew is ready, top it off with some fresh parsley :)

Stove

Put the olive oil, onions and carrots in a cooking pot and saute until the veggies are softer but not cooked yet.

At this point, it would be good if you had warmed the water, but if you haven't, you can just add it to the pot.

Add the lentils, rice and tomatoes and cook for 15-20 min after the water has started boiling. Good thing is that lentils and rice have approximately the same cooking time.

While the water is boiling, add the spices except the parsley.

Check the texture while cooking, you may need to add or remove water.

Remove from the stove when ready and top with fresh parsley.

My lentil stew :)

Enjoy! :)

With love,

Your Tomato Monster