Shrimp ceviche in avocado cups with aguachile and tortilla chips

Hey dudes. Missin ya this summer.

RACHEL! This one's yours you daydreamer you.



You know what I totally missed in my "it's summer so bloggie time takes a back burner" haze? JellyBones turned 2! Can't believe it's been 2 years since I started this little ole blog. July 1st actually. I may do a birthday post, I may not. Thought I'd give it some sort of shout out though. Blogging has been a bit sparse here lately. I actually took all summer off of blogging last year and I'm starting to remember why. It's hard to make time during July! Plus those summer cocktails kick in and all that food just doesn't get photographed. Wah-wah. I digress.

Anyone made ceviche before? This was my first time! Quite possibly the easiest and freshest summer food you'll ever make. Another first for me..... homemade tortilla chips. Seriously..... what the hell have I been doing for the last 32 years!? I'll never buy tortilla chips again! Well, I probably will. But you get the idea.



SHRIMP CEVICHE IN AVOCADO CUPS WITH AGUACHILE AND TORTILLA CHIPS
Inspired by: F&W and Rachel
Makes: about 6 stuffed avocado halves and 32 tortilla chips
Hands on time: 30 minutes
Total time: 2 hours, 30 minutes

Ingredients:
1 lb good quality wild caught raw shrimp, peeled and deveined (don't go cheapo with this one peeps)
1 cup fresh lime juice
8 small tortillas (I used blue corn/flaxseed medley)
About 1/2 cup + 1/2 Tbsp canola oil
Salt
1 serrano pepper, seeds and all
1 whole english cucumber, 1/4 thinly sliced and 3/4 seeded and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 garlic clove, smashed
1/4 cup lightly packed cilantro
1/4 cup lightly packed parsley
1 Tbsp fresh mint leaves
2 Tbsp water
3/4 cup thinly sliced sweet or red onion
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
3 large avocados, halved and pit removed

Make:
Start by making your shrimp. Pour lime juice over shrimp in a medium sized glass bowl and give a good stir. Cover and place in fridge for 2 hours, stirring about every 20 minutes

Make your tortilla chips: Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Cut tortillas into 4 slices like a pizza. Spread evenly on 2 baking sheets, making sure to not overlap. Generously brush canola oil (reserving 1/2 Tbsp) onto tortilla slices and top with salt. Flip and repeat on other side. Bake for about 15 minutes or golden brown.

Make your aguachile:: Blend serrano, 3/4 of the cucumber, garlic, cilantro, parsley, mint, 1/2 Tbsp oil, and water in a blender. Season with salt.

When shrimp are opaque and pinkish, drain all but 2 Tbsp lime juice and combine with remaining cucumber slices, onion, and tomatoes. Add aguachile to taste, I used about 4 Tbsp. Fill avocado pit holes with ceviche and serve with tortilla chips.



Well, I've come a long way since my first post, honey pineapple rhubarb popsicles. Cripes those photos are bad. I know I'm still learning and I'm far from being pro, but I'm proud of the accomplishments this blog has made over the last 2 years.

Cheers to you Rachel! Thanks for the inspiration!

Happy July friends.

Trish

Blueberry chocolate torte brownies

Psssssst..... Becky! This one's for you.



Dude! There are no healthy brownies. I scoured the interwebs for alternative brownie recipes and could not find a single one that sounded appealing. Lots of veggie/bean burgers mixed with chocolate shaped into squares. Even avocado brownies? Puh-lease people! That's not a fucking brownie.

I considered cutting a super gooey fudgy brownie recipe in half and adding so much fruit that it would be "healthier," but alas, I realized this would just be a fail waiting to happen. I did make some compromises on a recipe I found adding raw organic cacao powder rather than cocoa powder, and adding more blueberries/less chocolate chips. The results were........ ergh....... pretty good but not awesome. These brownies are ALMOST there. More like a cakey torte than a gooey brownie. I am a really shitty baker though. My measurements are a joke, which is why I don't bake. I'm more of a "little bit of this little bit of that" type of cook.



BLUEBERRY CHOCOLATE TORTE BROWNIES
Inspired by: I am Baker and Becky
Makes: about 12 brownies
Hands on time: 10 minutes
Total time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups fresh blueberries
1 stick butter
1/8 cup chocolate chips
1 cup raw sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup raw cacao powder
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt

Make:
Preheat oven to 350F and butter a 8x8 square pan.
Place butter and blueberries in a small saucepan and heat over low heat until butter is melted. Add chocolate chips and stir until melted.
In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar and vanilla. Slowly add blueberry mixture, tempering eggs so they don't scramble. Stir in cacao powder, flour and salt until combined.
Pour in greased pan and spread mixture evenly in pan. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick (or fork) comes out without goo, just crumbs.

So, here's my thinking:

One brownie won't kill anyone. Just one. That's it. This recipe is pretty close so if you can expand on this to make it great, let me know!

Happy humpday friends!

Trish