Mom’s Super-Easy Avocado Sherbet

By Sandy Hu

When we were growing up in Hawaii, avocados were virtually free. If you didn’t grow them, a neighbor did.

To “put up” extras when we had more than we could eat, my mom created this simple, refreshing avocado sherbet. It takes just four ingredients and a few minutes, and it’s really quite wonderful.

Avocados are high in fat, making sherbet of a creamy-rich consistency. The fat is primarily the “good” fats: monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. And you can feel virtuous about eating avocados; they are a nutritional powerhouse.

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Farmers Market Tour

By Andrew Hunter

Last month we wrote about Dirt to Dish and the importance of teaching our boys how their food gets from the farm to their plate. Ben and Nick are urban kids, but they’re old enough to understand the basic principles of sustainable food, planting seeds, harvesting fruits and vegetables, and the idea of cooking and eating without wasting.

So we’ve decided this will be a summer of farmers’ market tours. We plan on hitting all the local markets from the west side to the east side. The first stop of our tour is the Santa Monica Farmers Market on Main Street.

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Doing Breakfast Justice

By Lori Powell

We are in for a ton of rain this weekend…some folks would not be very happy with that forecast. Not me, as it gives me license to stay in the kitchen all day and cook up some delicious grub.

Also, the weekend is when I have the luxury of time to really do breakfast justice. No eating a hard-boiled egg on the run, my favorite go-to breakfast (especially when hand- picked from my own chicks).

Speaking of chicks, 10 more came in the mail this week to add to my diminishing brood from two years ago. So in honor of the new chicks, the rainy weekend and doing breakfast right, here’s my take on salsa and eggs, where the eggs are actually baked in salsa and served with corn tortillas, mashed avocado and with lots of chopped cilantro sprinkled on top for a fresh hit.

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Our Love of Sweet and Salty

By Marilyn Hunter

Our boys adore chicken teriyaki. It’s that sweet and salty combination that can’t be beat. In fact, Ben and Nick love it so much they conned our neighborhood sushi chef, Tashi, to wrap it with rice and sesame seeds in toasted nori for a roll that’s not on the menu. We go to Tashi’s at least once a week, so chef starts rolling when he sees the boys walking through the door.

Teri means glaze and yaki means grill…it’s a glaze made from soy sauce, sake, mirin and sugar. It’s a brilliant balance of slightly sweet and salty flavors. It goes just as well on fish and beef as it does on chicken. The sauce is easy to make, but save yourself some time and buy a high-quality bottled version.

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A Feast for One

By Lori Powell

I have always enjoyed feasts big or small, no matter what the number in courses or number of guests. Tonight I’m celebrating a feast for one!

When I first lived in New York City, I shared a two-bedroom apartment, #13 (apparently this building had not gotten the notice that this was an unlucky number), in a fourth- floor walkup with a lovely person I knew from high school.

While she was out training for the next marathon, I was home making a three-course dinner for myself. Table set with candles burning.

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