Guacamole Deviled Eggs

Our 4th of July kicked off a whole new season in our lives. Though we still didn't technically own our new home, we hosted our first "big" party with family and a few friends. It was one of those totally last minute deals where we were literally buying a gas grill hours before we lit it up . . . and I was in need of some majorly tasty party food -- and fast.

PS: I need a major post-move makeover, people!

Deviled eggs are an all-time favorite of mine. I could seriously eat an entire batch myself. And keeping with my Avocado Egg Salad theme, I thought to try them with some guacamole we had leftover from a Veggie-Loaded Quesadillas dinner the night before.

Let me tell you, these eggs are !!!


GUACAMOLE DEVILED EGGS

What you'll need . . . 

• 12 eggs, hard boiled 
• A couple tablespoons to Vegenaise or mayo*
• 1/4 cup homemade guacamole (or store bought), more if desired
• Dried dill, paprika, etc.

* Optional, but I love the tangy taste it adds to this recipe!

Method . . .

1. Hard boil your eggs on the stove. The best instructions I have ever run across for this process are from Martha Stewart. Works perfectly every time -- cover eggs with 1 inch of cold water, bring to a rapid boil, take off from heat + cover, and let sit for 12 minutes before putting in a bath of cold (or icy) water to stop the cooking.
2. Slice eggs in half -- carefully -- and place hardened yolks in a small bowl. Arrange on a plate for future filling.
3. Then add the Vegenaise or mayo and guacamole and mix until well incorporated. You may add more mayo or guac, depending on your desired flavor and texture.
4. Then scoop a generous amount into each egg 
5. Then top with generous sprinklings of dill and smoked paprika, etc. I also added some fresh grated black pepper and sea salt for good measure.

I will definitely be making another batch (for myself only!) ASAP. There's just something about that avocado + egg mixture that gets me every time. Oh, and if you're vegan, you can always tried the Tofu Avocado Salad recipe we posted last year. It's another winner!

Happy Monday -- and I hope you all had a great holiday! Here are some more photos from our party. I'd say this recipe is certainly a strong move toward making more of my clean eating goals a reality.

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Sourdough Soft Pretzels

Quirk // I write many of my recipes on the backs of unopened junk mail.

It's a strange habit that started in college and it's stuck to this day, apparently. I need to invest in some composition books or something. Oh, and my writing instruments of choice range from markers and crayons to sharpies and Stephen's red grading pens. Whatever is around and not out of ink.

All that sloppy scratching =


SOURDOUGH SOFT PRETZELS
 Makes 4 >> vegan << pretzels

What you'll need . . . 

• 1/2 cup sourdough starter (straight from the fridge) 
• 1/3 cup low sodium veggie juice (I used R.W. Knudsun's Very Veggie)***
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 1-1/2 cups bread flour
• 1 tablespoons flax meal
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• pinch salt
• rosemary + paprika, to taste (optional)

*** You can also use water, I'm sure of it.


Method . . . 

1. Easy enough: Toss all wet ingredients into a large bowl followed by the dry ingredients.
2. Mix together using a spoon, then work into kneading with your hands, adding extra flour if necessary. Form a smooth, elastic ball.
3. Put a bit of olive oil in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap overnight (or 8 to 10 hours should do it).
4. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F. Lightly grease a baking sheet and set aside.
5. Divide dough into 4 equal portions. Then, on a slightly oiled surface (I used a large plate) roll out into a long snake. Shape into a pretzel, as per these instructions from another recipe.
6. Fill a large stock pot with water and bring to a raging boil. Then place the pretzels in one by one (or two by two, if you're comfortable) and keep submerged for about 30 seconds (they will begin to float).
7. Repeat with the other two pretzels. Then sprinkle with coarse salt (and more paprika, if you like).
8. Bake for 5 minutes. Then lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, until golden.

I've been making a lot of stuff with my sourdough starter. Honestly, I didn't know there were so many uses for it. Bagels, pretzels, pancakes, waffles, just to name a few. My favorite creation has to be the basic sourdough loaf, though.

I've also noticed a gigantic difference in taste, sourness, with letting things rise overnight versus just a few hours. It's well, well, well worth the wait, whenever possible.

And I took your advice and bought a non-Le Creuset dutch oven. Got it -- a Wolfgang Puck, 5.6 qt -- at TJ Max on clearance for $39. THIRTY NINE DOLLARS. As in, at least $100 under what I thought I needed to spend.


You'll be getting good use this weekend, my friend.

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(Baked) Sweet Potato Fries

For the past four nights, we've eaten Spook Fork Bacon's Spicy Black Bean Burgers slathered with Vegenaise, avocado, and lots of mustard. "Beefy" vegan burgers between two impossibly thick slices of sourdough toast.

And what's a.l.w.a.y.s on the side?

These guys . . .

So much for variety in my diet, right?

There's not much difference between these sweet potato fries and roasted sweet potato cubes. It's all in how you slice them. The thinner, the crispier they get while baking. We're partial to spicy fries anything, so I tossed on a teaspoon of different spices I found lurking around the cabinets. The usual suspects, as you'll see below.

(BAKED) SWEET POTATO FRIES
Serves between 2 and 4, depending on the size of your sweet potatoes

What you'll need . . . 

• 2 large sweet potatoes 
• 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil 
• Salt + pepper to taste
• Optional: curry powder, turmeric, paprika

Method . . .

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. (Hot, yes -- but unlike with roasting, you want to SHOCK them to crisp as much as possible.) Find a rimmed baking sheet. Doesn't have to be rimmed, but makes things easier.
2. Cut sweet potatoes in half and then each half in half. Then cut into fry shapes, as shown above. You don't want them too thin or too thick, if that is helpful at all.
3. Place chopped sweet potatoes onto the baking sheet and then drizzle with oil -- just enough to coat them. 
4. Sprinkle on your salt, pepper, and other spices. I didn't measure how much I used, but it was a good 1/2 teaspoon of each.
5. Bake for 10 minutes, then flip over/stir around. Bake another 10 minutes -- again, stir + turn over. Then bake another 5 to 10 until you've reached your desired brown. We like ours rather dark.
6. Serve with ketchup or mustard or a sauce of your own creation.

// Random Tip:

Like I said, we've made these a lot recently. Some times, I refrigerate uncooked fries (just the chopped sweet potatoes) for the next day. I find when I bake them right out of the refrigerator, they get slightly crisper. It may very well be my imagination.

// Also:

I feel like tossing in some whole wheat breadcrumbs might add to the crunch in an out-of-this-world sort of way. I am planning on trying that soon.

And I'm sure this method would work well with other types of potatoes, too!


Check out the inexpensive + festive Valentine's Day DIY --||--> STAMPED ARROW T-SHIRT <-- b="">today on Writing Chapter Three. I'm off to make one for myself . . . and then I'm going running outside . . . where it "feels like" 4 degrees F. 

Do I win a prize? Probably not. But the shower after will feel amazing.

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