Easy to Make Guacamole Dip

Easy to Make Guacamole!You can make guacamole that people will rave about! It’s easy, and you don’t need any fancy kitchen utensils or appliances. What You’ll Need To Have ReadyAssemble the following kitchen items:
Cutting board    Sharp knife    A shallow-lipped dish or bowl, preferably with a flat bottom    A potato masher, hand-held is better than an electric whipper
Ingredients (for one batch, feeds 2-4 people as a side dish or dip for chips):
2 Haas avocados*     Fresh cilantro (usually comes in a small bunch or plastic bag in the produce area)    2 Roma tomatoes    2 fresh limes (not lime juice)    Sour Cream (fafree is OK)    1 package of Guacamole seasoning (Schilling, McCormick, or Lawry)    Cumin (a spice)    Your favorite salsa (homemade or favorite brand)    Favorite tortilla chips
* Do not use green-skinned “Chilean” avocados. Haas (or “California”) avocados have a very dark skin, almost brown, and the skin has a “wrinkled” appearance. To select avocados that are “ripe” (ready to use), pick up the avocado, hold it in your palm (like you are holding a ball), and squeeze very gently, but with some pressure. The avocado should “give” a little (that is, not feel solid or too firm). If it is “squishy” (really soft), then try another one. Don’t buy too far ahead of time (I like to get them the day before). DO NOT REFRIGERATE prior to making the guacamole. Making the Guacamole1. Rinse the avocados. With a sharp knife, but avocado in half. There is a very hard “seed” inside the avocado, so after you’ve sliced it all the way around, grasp the two halves and “twist” to pull apart. You can scoop out the seed with a spoon, then scoop avocado flesh out of the skin and put in the dish or bowl. 2. Pinch off several leaves from the tops of the cilantro and rinse. Trim off stems. Cut through the leaves many times until as finely minced as possible. Scrape into avocado. NOTE: Cilantro is very potent. Start with just a little bit. After the guacamole has been completely mixed, taste test. If you need more “zest,” then begin to add a little more cilantro and taste. Continue until you have the zesty flavor that is right for you! 3. Rinse the tomatoes. Cut in small pieces and then mince as finely as possible. Add to the avocado. NOTE: I like to do the cilantro first, and then the tomatoes, without rinsing off the cutting board. This way, you can pick up all the cilantro flavoring that’s still on the cutting board!4. Cut one lime in half. Take one half and squeeze most of the juice into the avocado. NOTE: Limes can be very strong, flavor-wise. Start with just half a lime. If you need more of a lime flavor, after making the guacamole, you can squeeze in a little more juice. Be careful! Don’t add too much liquid to the guacamole or it will be too runny! 5. Spoon in a dollop of sour cream (about a soup-spoonful) into the avocado. 6. Open and empty the entire packet of guacamole seasoning into the avocado. 7. Add a “pinch” of cumin to the avocado. NOTE: Cumin is a very strongly flavored spice. Add in just a little bit at a time until you have the right taste that’s best for you. 8. Add a spoonful of salsa (about a soup-spoonful) to the avocado. Now that you have all the ingredients in one bowl, begin to mash (with your potato masher). Continue mashing until almost all of the avocado has been mashed smooth (that is, mash until only little chunks of avocado are left, some avocado will be thoroughly mashed like mashed potatoes). Taste, using a chip that you are going to serve with it. Depending on your personal preferences, you can now begin to add small amounts of cilantro, lime, and cumin until you have just the right zestiness! If you go overboard on any one ingredient, you can offset with little pinches of sugar (add in a pinch at a time, mix well, and taste), until you have the perfect flavor. Provides enough dip for 2-4 people. If using as a side dish to tacos, burritos, or fajitas, you might want to double the recipe so that you have enough for the side dish and as a dip for chips. When To Make and How To Store Your GuacamoleYou can make the guacamole ahead of time, although I recommend that you make it the same day that you are going to serve it. Put freshly made guacamole in a glass dish or container, and refrigerate. If you are going to be refrigerating for more than 6 hours, add 1 teaspoon of reconstituted lemon juice, and mix in well. This will prevent the guacamole from turning brown. When you are ready to serve, I suggest that you serve in a wooden bowl. Using a cut lime, smear the inside of the wooden bowl with just enough lime juice to wet the surface. Spoon in the guacamole. For a festive touch, spoon a very small dollop of sour cream into the middle of the guacamole. Break off one or two leaves of cilantro, leaving enough stem so that you can push down into the sour cream (so that the cilantro leaves stand up). Then rim the outer edge of the guacamole with a little bit of freshly minced tomato. Serve with chips or as a side dish to your favorite Mexican or Tex-Mex meal!

Fruit Phyto Bars

(NC)-Forget those tasteless, over-processed energy bars you buy at the store which have been sitting on the shelf for who knows how long! These delicious bars will not only tempt your taste buds but will deliver some important nutrition benefits as well. Made with antioxidanrich California tree fruits (pick your favorite or use a combination of plums, peaches and nectarines) these bars will help you keep the sun’s UV rays at bay with phytonutrients critical to maintaining healthy skin.

11/2 pounds fresh California tree fruit (peaches, plums and/or nectarines)
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup liquid egg substitute
6 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup instant nonfat dry milk powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
11/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
1/4 cup dry roasted sunflower kernels

Lemon Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons lemon juice
3 teaspoons hot water

Preheat oven to 325┬║ F. Butter and flour 11″x151/2″x1″ baking pan and set aside. Pit and dice fruit to yield
31/2 cups. Measure 1 cup into blender or food processor. Add oil and process until smooth. Reserve the remaining fruit.
With mixer, beat pur├йed mixture together with sugar, egg substitute, honey and vanilla until sugar is dissolved. Stir flours, dry milk powder, soda, ginger, salt, oats and sunflower kernels together in another large bowl. Add all at once to mixer bowl with remaining diced fruit; mix just to blend. Spread evenly in prepared pan and bake at 325┬║ F for 30 to 35 minutes, or until pick inserted in center comes out clean.
Meanwhile, mix ingredients for glaze together until smooth. Drizzle or brush on bars while hot. Allow to cool in pan. Cut 5×6 to make 30 bars.
Nutrition information (per bar) – PROTEIN: 3 grams; FAT: 3 grams; CARBOHYDRATE: 24 grams; FIBER: 2.6 grams; SODIUM: 20 milligrams; CHOLESTEROL: 0.2 milligrams; CALORIES: 134 calories

Cooler Summer Expected

(NC)-A long, hot summer is the right time to sample the growing number of coolers now available. They come in just about every flavour imaginable from the traditional lemonade to the exotic passion fruit. But, just as new favourites are introduced each year, some old favourites become difficult to find. A perfect example is Jack Daniel’s Country Cocktails. No longer in general distribution in Canada, many consumers are having trouble finding their Jack Daniel’s favourites. Fear not, hope is on its way! Corey Ball, Group Brand Manager for Jack Daniel’s in Canada, has the answer: you can mix your own. “After numerous requests,” says Ball, “we developed these recipes to give consumers the great taste they enjoy with Jack Daniel’s Country Cocktails. Here are two favourites for you to try:”
Jack Daniel’s Blackberry Jack
1 Part Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey
2 Parts Blackberry Brandy
4 Parts 7-UpВ® or SpriteВ®
Jack Daniel’s Downhome Punch
1 Part Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey
1 Part Peach Schnapps
1 Part Sour Mix
2 Parts Orange Juice
1 Part 7-UpВ® or SpriteВ®
Splash Grenadine
Mr. Ball reminds us that these and other delicious recipes can be found by visiting the Jack Daniel’s website at jackdaniels.com, where you’ll find lots of good ideas to have a cooler summer this year.

A Cocktail Is Not A Cocktail Without Lime

(NC)-Citrus is the fruit of good health and well-being – and indeed, for many of us there is nothing more rejuvenating than the taste and aroma of freshly squeezed lime. It makes for great cocktails too.
Vodka cocktails are very popular at any time of the year and the makers of Finlandia, who have been producing vodka for more than 400 years, tell us that the next time you plan to mix your Limosa – or your Lime Mary, your Limedriver, Limetini, or Key Lime Smoothie, and others – they now have the perfect shortcut to the right taste every time.
New on the shelves this year is Finlandia Vodka Lime. You will recognize it by the familiar red dot on the ice-crafted bottle, except this new brand of icy-white vodka features a touch of lime, on both the outside, and inside the bottle. Mix it with soda, tonic, cranberry, grapefruit juice, or use it in any number of vodka cocktails. The lime flavour required is already evenly blended into a vodka that is hailed for its premium quality, promising quick, less fuss, bartender-style results.
It would appear that making a premium vodka is far from easy work however.
“The goal when distilling vodka is to produce a totally pure spirit, one without the slightest trace of anything else,” says Corey Ball, group brand manager for Finlandia. “Ours follows a set of rigorous steps, of which the most important include: using the purest, glacial spring water; using six row barley, the most expensive distillers grain; using home-grown yeast to ensure freshness and consistency; and applying a continuous, uninterrupted distillation process.
“And when you go looking for our newest family member, Finlandia Vodka Lime,” says Ball, “not only will you have little trouble recognizing the bottle, but as it stands right now, it is the only vodka on the shelves to offer this popular blend of lime. It is the only one, we say, to give you a taste of the arctic but with a hint of the tropics too.”

Plum Good Apple Pie

Flaky Crust:
2 1/4 cups (550 ml) Five Roses Cake & Pastry Flour
1 tsp (5 ml) sugar
3/4 tsp (3 ml) salt
1/4 cup (50 ml) cold butter
1/2 cup (125 ml) shortening
1 egg
Ice water
Filling:
1 lb (500 g) red plums, stoned and sliced
3 large apple peeled, and chopped
1 tbsp (15 ml) lemon juice
3/4 cup (175 ml) granulated sugar
3 tbsp (45 ml) Five Roses All Purpose Flour
3/4 tsp (3 ml) cinnamon
1 egg yolk
1 tsp (5 ml) milk
granulated sugar
Crust: In a bowl mix flour, sugar and salt. Using pastry blender, cut in cold butter, then shortening until the size of peas. In a measuring cup, beat egg and stir in enough ice water to equal 1/2 cup (125 ml). Stir egg mixture, 1 tbsp (15 ml) at a time, into flour mixture until pastry is moistened and holds together in a ball. Press dough together and flatten into two 5-inch (13 cm) rounds; wrap with plastic wrap and chill for 30 min.
Filling: In a bowl toss fruit with lemon juice. In a small bowl, stir sugar, flour and cinnamon; stir well into fruit. Roll out pastry on lightly floured surface to 1/8-inch (3 mm) thickness, to fit 8-inch (20 cm) pie plate. Trim edge of pastry and brush edge lightly with water. Roll out pastry for top crust, cutting steam vents. Spread plum/apple mixture evenly into bottom crust. Place top crust over cutting about 3/4-inch (1.5 cm) overhang; fold under bottom crust edge, pressing to seal. Finish crust edge as desired. In small bowl mix egg yolk and milk, brush a little over crust and sprinkle with a little sugar. Bake at 425ВєF (220ВєC) for 10 min.; reduce to 350ВєF (180ВєC) and bake for another 30 min. or until apples are soft and crust is golden brown.

Drunks On The Set

As long as actors stay sober on the set, movie studios will generally put up with their off screen behavior.  Colin Farell often showed up at six in the morning to work on Swat (2003) so hung over from an all night bender that his bodyguards would carry the nearly unconscious Irishman into his trailer.  His co-star Sam Jackson was constantly amazed that the young actor was on time, knew all his lines and was totally professional.
In earlier days before drug testing made it difficult for studios to insure actors like Robert Downey Jr.( known to be just as professional on movie sets as Farrel) the film industry had more tolerance for drunkards.  During the making of Abbott And Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948), Director Charles Barton put up with Costello’s antics which included starting a pie fight with Dracula (Bela Lugosi), putting a leash around the Werewolf (Lon Chaney Jr.) and walking him around Universal Studios, and pelting ad-libs at Frankenstein’s Monster (Glenn Strange) so the creature kept laughing and ruining takes.  A bigger concern was Bud Abbott who would get so sloshed by 2pm that he was incapable of shooting for the rest of the day.  Abbott later explained that when he was young, a doctor told him that if he didn’t stop drinking he’d be dead by the age of thirty.  The straight man was so worried about  the diagnosis he stayed drunk for the next forty years.
Another classic alcoholic was the British actor Robert Newton (1905-1956) who once got so inebriated he showed up to the wrong movie set.  The happy producer put the big star in four scenes until people from the movie he was really supposed to be in came to haul him off.  His reputation eventually made it difficult for him to find work.   Producer Mike Todd interviewed Newton for the film Around The World In Eighty Days (1956).  “Your friend David Niven says you are a big drunk.”  “My friend Niven is a master of understatement.”  Newton agreed to stay sober during filming and kept his promise.
If you give up drinking you can get something in return.  When Lucille Ball was negotiating with CBS to turn her radio show into I Love Lucy (1951-1957) she was surprised to get a call from a character actor she knew named William Frawley.  “I hear you need someone to play your landlord.”  Lucy was in a quandary.  She was from the old school where you help your fellow actors out if they are down on their luck.  But Frawley was a well known drunk.  She suggested he talk to her husband Desi Arnaz  Frawley promised Desi he’d never miss time due to drinking.  But could Frawley who was an avid baseball fan have time off if the Yankees made it to the World Series?  Desi later regretted giving in to Frawley’s wishes, in the fifties the Yankees made it to the Series almost every year.
Sometimes a director could turn an actor’s drunken behavior against him.  When John Huston was ready to shoot the first scene in Heaven Knows Mr. Allison (1957), on location in the South Seas island of Tobago, he sent an assistant director to get star Robert Mitchum out of his tent.  Mitchum showed up four hours later explaining that he and the AD had got started drinking scotch and the poor man was unconscious back in the tent.  Huston smiled,” That’s ok Bob.  Now let’s shoot the scene where your character, the marine floats into the island unconscious on the raft.”  Mitchum spent the next four hours suffering in the blazing tropical sun as Huston sitting comfortably in the shade ordered retake after retake.  The actor was on time from then on.
But who was the most notorious drinker of all?  The Swarm (1978), a disaster film about killer bees, featured Michael Caine, Henry Fonda, Ben Johnson, Slim Pickens and Fred MacMurray, definitely some guys who knew something about putting them down.  One day they were joined for lunch at the Warner Brothers commissary by the quiet Olivia de Havilland.  There were complaints that no booze was being served.  “That’s because of Errol Flynn (1909-1959)”, said de Havilland.  “He used to get so drunk he couldn’t work so Mister Warner said no more booze.”  The men wanted to hear more about the famous swashbuckler.  “Oh my God, Errol was something.  Do you know he once got so drunk he wagered a film crew $500 that he’d have his way with me.”  The men could see she was a lady and the incident must have been embarrassing for her. Olivia grinned mischievously “Oh it was, it was.  And you see that table over there.  That’s where he won his bet!”

Beauty Drinks

(NC)-Cool and refreshing, these delicious smoothies are not only a great energizer on a hot summer day, they’re great for your skin too. Made with antioxidant-rich California peaches, plums and nectarines, these drinks will help your skin ward off the damaging effects of the sun’s ultraviolet rays. Instead of a soda or a milk shake, try one of these delicious drinksтАжand enjoy the healthful benefits.
Mix ingredients in a blender and whirl until smooth, taking care to stop the machine and scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula to ensure proper blending. Serve immediately or store refrigerated until ready to serve. For best results, serve within one day. (Note: Fresh fruit may be previously frozen. A good trick is to puree fruit and freeze in ice cube trays for later use.) Recipes yield approximately two one-cup servings.

Nectarine Nutrition Booster

3 fresh California nectarines,     cut in small dice with skin on
2 tablespoons wheat germ
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon green tea
3 tablespoons coconut flakes
Nutrition information (one serving) – PROTEIN: 2 grams; FAT: 3 grams; CARBOHYDRATE: 18 grams; FIBER: 4.5 grams; SODIUM: 18 milligrams; CHOLESTEROL: 0 milligrams; CALORIES: 103 calories

Peach Pick Me Up

3 fresh California peaches, sliced with skin on
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginseng
1/2 teaspoon aloe vera
2 cloves
Nutrition information (one serving) – PROTEIN: 0 grams; FAT: 0 grams; CARBOHYDRATE: 19 grams; FIBER: 3 grams; SODIUM: 0 milligrams; CHOLESTEROL: 0 milligrams; CALORIES: 72 calories

Aromatherapy Plum Soother

3 fresh California plums, sliced with skin on
2 ounces chamomile
2 teaspoons honey
1 tablespoon cucumber extract
Nutrition information (one serving) – PROTEIN: 0 grams; FAT: 0 grams; CARBOHYDRATE: 19 grams; FIBER: 1.5 grams; SODIUM: 0 milligrams; CHOLESTEROL: 0 milligrams; CALORIES: 75 calories