A love affair with food

Historically, my relationship with food has closely resembled a love affair - passion, excitement, indulgence...and the ensuing guilt. At times, food, or more specifically the emotions associated with food, has consumed me (and there I was thinking it was supposed to be the other way around?!).

But I'm on a mission to change that.

I've started by choosing a more appropriate, more reliable love interest (thank you, primal diet). I'm working on my commitment - trying to stay faithful to this new love; trying to reduce incidences of infidelity. And I'm investing quality time in the relationship. Bear & I have started doing an early CrossFit session on a Saturday, so that we can then spend the morning wandering around a farmers' market, finding fresh, organic, quality food for the week; and exploring the wonders (and meat specials!) of Nosh or Farros. With good ingredients on hand, I get even more pleasure from creating healthy, tasty, nourishing food. And I find myself spending more time cooking for enjoyment, rather than just because we need it.

Slowly, but surely, my relationship with food is improving. The passion and excitement are still there (and every now and then, so is the indulgence!), but the guilt is starting to fade into the background. At least, until those reckless moments of infidelity!

Next step is to reduce the frequency of those unsatisfying moments of weakness. And maybe replace them with something like this...

Avocado & lime sorbet (or Avocado, lime & pistachio tarts!)

Sorbet
4 ripe avocados
Juice and zest of 2-3 limes
1/2 tsp crushed chili (chili powder would probably be better, but I didn't have any!)
~2 tsp ground vanilla
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp honey
1/2C pistachio kernels, chopped

Put all ingredients except the pistachios into a food processor and blend until combined. Stir in the pistachios (or you could add them into the food processor & just blend briefly).

Put mixture into the freezer for about 30 minutes. Remove and blend again. Repeat a couple more times, to get a creamier sorbet. (An icecream maker would probably be an awesome addition to my kitchen toys!)

This was really yummy, but I decided it might also be good as a pie filling. So I defrosted some of the sorbet and made it into...

Avocado, lime, & pistachio tarts

For the filling:
About 1/3 of the sorbet mixture (defrosted, if you froze it first)
3 eggs
~1/3 C coconut cream

Beat eggs and coconut cream together. Gently fold sorbet mixture into the egg/coconut cream mix.

For the base:
200g pistachio kernels
10 dates
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp macadamia butter (or other nut butter)
Cold water

Put all ingredients except for the water into a food processor & combine. Remove mixture and place in a bowl. Mix in a small amount of cold water, so that it becomes a sticky-ish 'dough'. Refrigerate if you have time.

To make the tarts, take spoonfuls of the 'dough' and press into a muffin tin to create the bases (I put enough in so that the base went about halfway up the side). Spoon filling into each, then bake at 180 degrees for approximately 20 minutes, or until filling is set.

Cool for a few minutes in the tin, then remove onto a wire rack to cool.

If I'd had extra limes, I would have served this topped with lime zest. As it was, I just served them with a delicious 2007 Shingle Peak Late Harvest Riesling instead! ;-)

These also work well as mini tarts...