Pear, Avocado, and Cucumber With Goat Cheese Salad

I've been experimenting with some fresh produce and making fast delicious salads to reduce my tendency to be a carnivore.  This one tastes yummy but doesn't photograph well, I did try, and I don't share images I'm not happy with.

1/2 English Cucumber Diced
1 Avocado Diced
1 Pear Diced
2 oz Goat Cheese Crumbled
4 Basil Leaves Chiffonade
1 Garlic Clove minced

2 oz Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Juice from 1/2 Lime
Splash of Balsamic Vinegar
Salt and Pepper to taste.

Take your favourite mixing bowl toss everything in and mix it up.  The colour can be a bit questionable, but it is very tasty. I normally use Bartlett pears, but Bosc or Red should be tasty as well.

Buen Provecho.

More Later...
G.

Rapid Sauces For Dinner Plates

When you are doing "Fine Dining" most things have a tasty sauce, but in a French kitchen there is a dedicate person called a Saucier is responsible for these tasty concoctions... here are a couple of quick and easy tips to get a light sauce, and a cream sauce:

4:2:1 Chicken Stock : White Wine : Cream.

That is 4 parts low-sodium chicken stock, parts white wine, and if desired 1 part cream.

For each 2 parts chicken stock we sauté 1 medium minced shallot in tbsp. of oil or clarified butter, when it's translucent add 1 clove of minced garlic.  Stir for 30 or 45 seconds and add liquids, then reduce by at least half.  When it's reduce test for salt and pepper.  Add some minced parsley, and spoon over your vegetables, fish, chicken or what ever you need to sauce.

For a variation, I sometimes add a splash of Madeira or Marsala, or the juice of a lemon.

buen provecho

More Later…
G

Fast Flavourful Chickpeas

Sorry for not being a good host and providing at least a weekly note or idea; I'm hopefully back now and can rebuild my readership.  I've been playing with some of the America's Test Kitchen recipe magazines, and came across their Pan-Roasted Chickpeas recipe.  Here's my tasty spin on it…