Avocado & Crab Salad

What a treat it was to stumble upon this recipe for avocado and crab salad.  Two of my favorite things; especially in the warm weather.  One thing I love about this dish is that it's actually healthy for you!  I know I speak for lots of people when I say that avocado is VERY good for you.  It's packed with the Omega-3's we need so much and don't often get.  To top it off, it's made with crab.  MMmmmm... crab...

The recipe is adapted from this one. Thank you skinnytaste.com!

AVOCADO & CRAB SALAD

INGREDIENTS:

1 medium Hass avocado

4 oz lump crab meat

2 tbsp chopped red onion

2 tblsp red wine vinegar

1 tsp olive oil

salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS:

In a medium bowl, combine onion, lime juice, olive oil, cilantro salt and pepper. Add crab meat and toss well.
Cut avocado open, remove pit and spoon out avocado. Cut into large chunks and add to crab. Mix carefully, not to mash the avocado. Spoon back into avocado shells and enjoy!



PERSONAL NOTES:

What an easy little meal to make! I had it done in about 10 minutes, if that.  The original recipe called for the juice of one lime and 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro, but as always I chose to go in a different direction with the red wine vinegar.  Cabernet vinegar is a particular favorite of mine...

Artichoke, Kale & Ricotta Pie

If you've been following my posts for any length of time you'll see the ridiculous amount of dessert dishes I make.  It's just not normal.  After all, it's just me and my husband at home.  I'm not feeding a family or an army.  I just get swept up in the recipes and visions in my head of all these heavenly delights.  You know what that leads to?  Me feeling like poo when I've eaten too much of it. 

For the record, I don't eat all of it. Far from it.  I bring a large chunk of what I make to whatever yoga studio(s) I'm teaching at that day.  Luckily for me, not every yogi is into a strict vegetarian (healthy) diet.

That said, I'm seeking to go back to a more mindful and healthy way of eating.  Granted, I have to clear the fridge and cabinets of whatever leftover supplies I used, but I'm getting back on track.  And what better way to do both than with this next recipe for Artichoke, Kale and Ricotta Pie.  (Original recipe is found here).

By the way, it's cooking right now and smells absolutely sinful!

ARTICHOKE, KALE & RICOTTA PIE

INGREDIENTS:
Olive oil
4 eggs, beaten
8 ounces ricotta cheese
4 ounces Parmesan, grated
1 cup canned artichokes, chopped
1 bunch kale, roughly chopped

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease a 9-inch cake pan lightly with olive oil. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and cheeses. Roughly chop the veggies and add to the cheese/egg mixture. Stir until combined. Pour contents of bowl into the greased cake pan and cook until custard is set, about 40 to 50 minutes. Cool on a wire wrack for 5 to 10 minutes and serve.

PERSONAL NOTES:

This pie didn't need to be in the oven as long as the directions state.  I left it in for 40 minutes and checked; it was more than ready to come out.  Next time I make this (and I will be making it again because it turned out delicious!) I'll check it at 30 minutes and possibly lower the temperature to about 375 degrees.

As far as the flavor goes, I like putting garlic and onions in almost everything I make and this was no exception.  However, I discovered I ran out of fresh garlic.  Boo.  Happily, I have a good amount of onions on hand so I decided to thinly slice up a couple of shallots.  Hooray!

So even though it cooked a little longer than I would have liked, it still came out fantastic.  My husband gave it his two thumbs up as well!