This is a family favorite in my house. My family loves it because of how the shrimp and noodles are paired with this light clear flavorful broth. I like it because it may seem like a lot of work, but it is a great simple recipe. When I have the time I make the wontons from scratch but on rare occasions, I buy the wontons frozen. 
We love to pair this wonton soup with limes and sriracha sauce. Although, it might not be traditional, we love the slight variation of it. 
Note, in case you cannot have a wine in your soup, substitute it by adding 1 Tbsp of soy sauce to your broth. It will also work very well in a pinch. 
Of course, you are always free to make it your own to enjoy. 

Shrimp Wonton Soup
Yields: 6 servings
Ingredients:

• 32 wontons - frozen or homemade
• 1 pound raw shrimp - peeled and deveined

Broth

• 2 tsp - sesame seed oil
• 4 garlic cloves - minced
• 2 tsp ginger - freshly grated or minced
• 7 cups chicken broth
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 4 Tbsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp Chinese cooking wine - if not available you can replace with Sherry or Mirin
• 4 oz brown mushrooms - sliced , about 1 1/2 cup 
• 1 carrot - thinly sliced diagonally 
• 3 baby bok choy - separated 

Assemble:

• 1 package, 10-16 oz dried egg noodles 
• 1/3 cup green onion - thinly sliced 

Directions:

1. Cook wontons according directions on package if frozen. If homemade according to the recipe you are using.  
2. Heat the sesame seed oil in a large pot over medium heat. 
3. Add garlic and ginger, and cook. Frequently stirring unit fragrant, about 1 minute. 
4. Stir in broth, mushrooms, soy sauce, sugar, wine and carrots bring to a boil. Cook for 5 minutes, until mushrooms have softened. 
5. Add bok choy and shrimp, cook for about 3-4 minutes. Until shrimp has turned pink. 

Assymbol:

1. Prepare noodles according to package directions. 
2. Placed cooked noodles in a bowl with wontons and blanched vegetables.
3. Ladle about 1 cup of broth over soup. 
4. top with green onion and enjoy. 

My Balsamic Watermelon Feta Salad is a very simple summer salad I like to make for my family and friends. It is perfect to bring to barbecues or simple get-togethers because it is such a great side dish which goes well with any meat or vegetables. Additionally, this is a great salad to impress the other guests. 
I love to use feta cheese in this salad because the salt and creamy texture of the feta cheese just seems to be the perfect pairing with the sweet watermelon. Feel free to choose your own favorite type of cheese but feta is my personal favorite. For example, friends of mine make this kind of salad with goat cheese, and I must say, it tastes absolutely wonderful. 
Another favorite addition to my salad is mint. I just love the taste of mint paired with the watermelon. When I choose to make this type of salad without arugula and balsamic, I usually use plenty of mint. This gives the salad a fresh summer feel and taste. When I started to make the Balsamic Watermelon Feta Salad on the regular, I re-introduced the mint because I love the way my other salad tasted before. However, I noticed that not everyone agrees with this kind of taste. I heard for people which really like it, and others which cannot stand it. For this reason, I made the mint an optional ingredient. 
When I make this salad at home I like to make croutons out of a long piece of bread brushed with olive oil, and pressed in a panini press. I then serve my hot meat on top of this crouton which I place on the side of the salad. This gives the salad a great look as well as prevents the warm meat from wilting the arugula. However, this salad is great all on its own and can be served by itself as well. 
Secret tip: If you have balsamic reduction left from making your salad, it goes well with vanilla ice cream, strawberries, or raspberries. My family always waits for the leftover sauce after I make this type of salad.

,Balsamic Watermelon Feta Salad
Yields: 8 servings
Balsamic Reduction:
Balsamic vinegar            1/2 cup
Brown sugar                   1/4 cup
Salad: 
Baby arugula                   5 oz. 1 package
Seedless watermelon    8 cups, cubed
Feta cheese                     7 oz. 1 package, crumbled
mint(optional)                 1/4 cup, chopped
crushed pepper              to taste
Balsamic Reduction:
To make the balsamic reduction, place the balsamic vinegar and brown sugar in a saucepan, and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat until it simmers and let it simmer for 6-8 minutes. Once it has reduced, remove it from the heat and let it cool. 
Salad:
Arrange arugula over a plate or large platter. Scatter watermelon, feta, and mint over the arugula. Drizzle with balsamic reduction and sprinkle with pepper. Enjoy!

Previously, when posting about my Chocolate Zucchini Bread, I had mentioned that it was a great pairing with my Avocado Chocolate Frosting. Recently, a friend made a request to have a cake made for her with Avocado Chocolate Frosting. She really loved my muffins with it and asked me to try my frosting with a cake. When I made the cake for her, I added my Avocado Chocolate Frosting and topped it with candied hemp seeds, roasted cocoa nibs and chocolate pieces. 
Fair Warning: This is a very rich chocolate cake and chocolate frosting - yummy! On a plus side, I made sure to make the cake and frosting not too sweet buy only using a semi-sweet chocolate. I am suggesting that you give it a try for yourself and sweeten up the cake and frosting to your liking. Secret tip: If I like the frosting to be rather sweet, I add a few dates and blend them in the food processor. This will give it a natural sweetness as well as keeping the frosting smooth in texture. 
Additionally, in my recipe, I added oil as an optional ingredient because I like my frosting to be a bit stiff. This has an added benefit of using it to do more decorative things on my cake. It is also possible to add the oil if you feel that your frosting is not smooth enough. Furthermore, adding oil can aid in the process of avocados and cocoa powder combining. If you do choose to use oil, choose a neutral flavored oil such as olive oil, as it will not affect the flavor of the frosting. However, if you are fine with the normal consistency of the frosting, feel free to simply skip the oil. 

Chocolate Avocado Frosting
Yields: 1 Cup
Ingredients:
Avocadoes                                                          2, ripe
Cocoa powder                                                   1/2 cup
Maple syrup or your choice of sweetener    1/3 -1/2 cup 
Vanilla extract                                                   1/2 teaspoon 
Sea salt                                                               1/8 teaspoon 
Oil (optional)                                                     2 Tablespoons 
Directions: 
Place the avocado meat and the rest of the ingredients in a food processor. Combine the ingredients until smooth. Add oil if your processor needs more help combining the ingredients. Best if used immediately, but can be refrigerated for a few days. Look and texture will change over time. Enjoy!
​

The zucchini bread was a request from a long time friend of mine. She is one of the lucky ones to have a garden full of zucchini. I am so jealous. 
This is also the recipe I have used for my son's Woodland themed birthday party which was at a local park called Sulfur Creek. If you have not been there, I highly recommend a visit. We had the party outside, right next to the fox enclosure which was perfect because of the theme I had for the party. The birthday package also included a show with three animals that the kids could pet and learn about. The final event was arts and crafts for children of all ages. Sulfur Creek is a nonprofits animal rescue which is financed through donations, people which rent this place for parties, and supported by volunteers. 
For my sons party to keep the theme as natural as possible, I decided to make muffins instead of frosted cupcakes which gave the party a more earthy look. Because my son really likes chocolate, I made zucchini bread. Additionally, zucchini bread was a bit more healthy then frosted cupcakes. 
The reason I love this recipe is because it is a great chocolate cake, moist, and very, very chocolaty. I usually add more zucchini then the recipe calls for but this is my personal preference. I love that this type of cake is dense, but still moist and soft. Sometimes, I make cake with zucchini and pair it with a avocado fudge frosting. I will include that recipe another time. 

Chocolate Zucchini Bread
Yields:
20 standerd muffins or 2 loaves (8x4 inches) 
Ingredients:
​All-purpose flour                           2 cups
Cocoa powder                                1 cup
Salt                                                   1/2 teaspoon
Baking soda                                    2 teaspoon
Allspice                                            1 teaspoon
Grounded cinnamon                     1 1/2 teaspoon
Brown sugar                                   1 1/2 cup 
Melted butter                                 1/4 cup
Vegetable oil                                   3/4 cup
Eggs                                                 3
Buttermilk                                       1/2 cup
Grated zucchini                             2 cups about 3 medium size
                                                         (wash and dry the zucchini, no need to peel the skin off)
Semi-sweet chocolate chips        1 cup
Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. If you make the muffins, line 20 muffin pan cups with muffin liners. If you don't have muffin liners you can use nonstick cooking spray. If you decide to make loaves instead, spray nonstick cooking spray on the loaf pan, or line it with parchment paper. Make sure to use two 8x4 inch pans. Should you used parchment paper, make sure to leave a few inches of it out on the sides of the pan to help remove the loaves after the baking. 
• In a large bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, and set aside. 
• In a medium size bowl, combine sugar, butter, and oil. Add eggs to it, one at a time. Then add vanilla and buttermilk. 
• Gradually add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients until just combined. Then fold in the zucchini and chocolate chips. 
• Muffins: Divide batter among the muffin cups. Bake for 20 - 24 minutes, untill toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and muffin tops are springy to the touch. Rotate them halfway through the baking time. Once the bake has completed, cool it for 5 minutes in the muffin tin, then transfer muffins to a cooling rack and cool for additional 5 minutes. Enjoy!
• Loaves: Divide batter among the loaf pans. Bake for 40 - 50 minutes, until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and loaf tops are springy to the touch. Rotate them halfway through the baking time. Once the bake has completed, cool for 20 minutes in the loaf pan, then transfer loaves to a cooling rack and cool for additional 15 minutes. Enjoy!