Wasabi Guacamole
Asia meets Mexico in this recipe. Thanks to a lack of Tabasco sauce I stumbled on this crowd-pleasing guacamole. The Chinese speak about turning crisis into opportunity. I thought my guacamole was doomed without Tabasco, but it turned out to be the hit of the party!


I N G R E D I E N T S

  • Two ripe avocadoes, peeled and mashed with a fork
  • 1 small tomato, peeled, seeded and finely chopped
  • ¼ cup of finely chopped red onion
  • ¼ cup of finely chopped fresh cilantro
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • ¼ tsp. of sea salt
  • Wasabi to taste


M E T H O D

Add the tomatoes, onion, cilantro, lime juice and sea salt to the mashed avocado, and stir until well mixed.
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Add wasabi to your taste. (Note: I would never be the one to tell anyone how much heat they might like in their food. Taste-test at will until you achieve the perfect amount of heat.)
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Serve with good quality low-salt tortilla chips. For a more festive presentation use a variety of colored and flavored chips; lime-flavored are especially good.

COOKING TIP / Drop the tomato in boiling water for 60 seconds, then run under cold water. The skin will come off easily. To seed the tomato, cut in half so the top half is where the stem was. Squeeze the halves to remove the seeds.

Yogi French Toast
Last year I found myself unprepared for a last minute Christmas breakfast with my daughter. I offered her a bowl of oatmeal, but knew she was longing for Eggs Benedict, our traditional Christmas brunch in a past life. After perusing my condiments I found I could at least make some spicy yogi tea. My seldom-used freezer produced some frozen whole wheat sourdough bread, sweetened with dates, and an idea.
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The best French toast to come out of my kitchen was born that Christmas morning. Here is my miracle of Christmas, inspired by a recipe from my Sikh yogi teachers.


I N G R E D I E N T S

  • 3–4 cups unsweetened soy or almond milk
  • 6 cardamom seeds
  • 6–8 whole cloves
  • 3–4 black peppercorns
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • A few generous sprinkles of freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1½” piece of fresh ginger sliced thin
  • Zest of one orange
  • Star anise is also an option
  • Several bags of decaf Chai tea
  • 6–8 slices of whole wheat sourdough bread


M E T H O D

Simmer the milk gently and try not to let it boil. A flame deflector set under a low flame can do the trick.
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Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for at least 20 minutes. (I tied the tea bags together and attached them to the handle on the pan so the string and tag did not become part of the recipe!)
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Squeeze the bags of tea into the milk and discard.
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Strain the yogi tea of the spices and discard them too, then pour the tea into a large flat glass pan and add the bread slices.
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Soak the bread in the milk for 10 minutes until plump but not soggy, then carefully transfer the bread and enough milk into a large heated non-stick frying pan.
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Allow the Yogi French Toast to poach until most of the milk is absorbed, turning once, and being careful not to let it stick to the pan. Create your own miracle!