Guasacaca

Brought you from
My Own Kitchen

My husband's family is quite the mix. With Italian and German ancestry and born and raised in Venezuela, the meals that come out of our kitchen are both diverse and delicious. Today I have a recipe for Guasacaca - whose name is derived from the word Aguacate (Avocado).

Ingredients

1 medium onion
2 ripe avocados
1 large red pepper
2 cloves garlic
Fresh Parsley
Fresh Cilantro
3 tbsp Vinegar
1 Lime Juiced
Salt to taste
Black Pepper to taste
1 cup olive oil

Optional:
Hot sauce or jalapeño

Directions

1. Peel and Pitt the avocados, then chop roughly.

2. De-seed the pepper and chop roughly.

3. Peel garlic cloves and onion and chop roughly.

4. Remove stems from Parsley and Cilantro leaves.

5. Put everything except the olive oil into a food processor and blend until mostly smooth. Then slowly start adding the olive oil until completely smooth.

6. Make about an hour before you plan to serve it.

Optional:
7. If you want a chunkier style Guasacaca, then have an extra avocado set aside, peeled, pitted, and cubed. Gently mash in the extra avocado chunks about 5-10 minutes before serving.

This sauce is great for putting on any kind of cooked meat or starchy side dish. 

Organic Household Tip

Spring Cleaning!

As we pull all those warm-weather-only items out of closets and storage spaces, we’re struck by the smell that often lingers on them. Clothes, linens, and drapery are all items that seem to cling to that musty “I’ve been in storage” scent that no-one likes. Instead of wasting water washing them over and over, try adding ½ cup to 1 cup of white vinegar to the wash cycle. Make sure to add the vinegar directly to the water and soap before adding any cloth. The vinegar scent should dissipate, but if not use lightly scented liquid softener or dryer sheets to finish.

Prolonging Your Produce

How many times have we set something on a shelf in the fridge or placed it inside the crisper, only to come back not even two days later to find it has gone bad? Thankfully, prolonging the life of your organic produce is not as hard as you’d think. It all starts from the moment it enters your home.

The cleaner your produce is before it enters your fridge, the longer it will last. As a side note, the cleaner your fridge is, the longer your food will last as well. Gently wash and dry all produce before storing it, even those with protective skins on them like oranges and bananas.

 I recommend using a solution of 3 parts water to 1 part vinegar, the vinegar works as an anti-bacterial and keeps the produce from breaking down as quickly. For an even more complete clean, try adding a tablespoon of baking soda and a squeeze or two of lemon juice.

The baking soda and vinegar will react together, helping to actively clean the produce by forming bubbles of hydrogen dioxide. The lemon acts as an astringent, helping to close the pores of the exposed plant tissue and prevent access to invading bacteria.

Once washed, spread your produce on a flat surface and separate all your leafy greens from everything else. Interesting fact, if you put spinach or kale in the same bin as apples or peaches, the greens will become yellow and limp within a day or two.

The reason for this is differences in production and reactions to Ethylene gas. By keeping your leafy vegetables separate, you are actually prolonging their life in your fridge.

On to storage! Keep the locations that you store you produce dry. Some people prefer to wrap each leafy vegetable in paper towels until they are ready to be used. This is a good method and helps to absorb the water, keep the leaves cooler, while still letting them breathe.

Another greener alternative is to invest in some new produce dedicated dishtowels. Wash the dishtowels in the same vinegar/baking soda/lemon solution as I mentioned earlier, rinse well and let them air dry.

Line the bottom of each bin with a dish towel and then, once the greens have been placed in the bin, place another dry dishtowel on top. You can layer additional towels as needed. By using dishtowels, you can easily switch out a damp towel for a dry one and lower your paper usage footprint.

If you are interested in finding out the optimum temperatures and storage for a specific type of produce or knowing more about which types of produce are sensitive to Ethylene (like Avocados and Carrots), please check out this produce storage table.

Herbal Vinegars from Gaia Garden

This week we teamed up with Vancouver Herbal Dispensary Gaia Garden to bring you information on herbal vinegars and a few recipes so you can make your own at home! This information was provided by Angie Shand and Bronwen Erickson, who both are Practicing Herbalists with over twenty years of combined experience. They are currently working at Gaia Garden Herbal Dispensary, 2672 West Broadway Vancouver BC (604-734-4372) http://www.gaiagarden.com/



How to Make Herbal Vinegars:

Pack a clean glass container (a canning jar, a discarded peanut-butter jar) loosely with the herbs you’ve chosen. Cover with vinegar warmed to room temperature.

Tamp the herbs down to release the air bubbles; then add more vinegar to completely submerge the plant material. Cap the container tightly, set in a dark, warm place, and let the herbs steep for a month to six weeks. Use a plastic cap or a piece of plastic film tied with a rubber band to prevent the acidic vinegar from corroding a metal top.

Strain out the herbs and repeat the process with more herbs if you want a stronger-flavored vinegar. Otherwise, decant the vinegar into a cork- or glass-stoppered container. Store your herbal vinegars in a dark, cool place.



Medicinal Plants used for making Herbal Vinegars:

Nettles are a plant rich in chlorophyll, it rebuilds the blood, stabilizes blood sugar and supports bone health, strengthening the whole body. Nettle is a rich source of antioxidants and Vitamins A, C, D, E, K, Quercitin and flavanoids. Nettle also contains calcium, iron, potassium and sulfur. Medicinally, nettles are astringent and toning and cleansing for the kidneys and blood.

Chickweed is an excellent source of vitamins A, D, B complex, C, and rutin (an accompanying flavenoid), as well as iron, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, zinc, manganese, sodium, copper, and silica. Chickweed is believed to help break up fat and fatty deposits in the body. Chickweed is a demulcent, helping to reduce inflamed tissue and joints, promoting a cleansing soothing tonic effect on the urinary system for relieving cystitis and urinary inflammation.

Red Raspberry is an excellent source of vitamins C, E, A, B complex, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, manganese, selenium, silicon, sulphur and calcium. Magnesium helps the absorption of calcium, and increases the absorption of certain hormones. These minerals additionally promote strong nails, bones, teeth, hair, and skin. It can be used as a mouthwash for sore throats, weak gums and mouth ulcers as well a great tea for children’s diarrhea. Traditionally known as a blood tonic and purifier, red raspberry possesses hormone-regulating and uterine-toning properties.

All of these herbs can be made into a herbal vinegar to use medicinally. Use 2 tsp to 3 tsp a day in water, on salads or other foods, and is safe for children. Apple cider vinegar helps to break down the minerals with its enzymes and increases the hydrochloric acid in the stomach which helps to absorb the minerals.


Gaia Garden is now owned and operated by members of the Gaia Garden team. Our mission is to provide the community with exceptional plant based medicine to cleanse and nourish the mind, body, and spirit. It is our responsibility to support and educate our community on their path to optimal health. We offer natural, organic, or wild crafted products to contribute to the health and sustainability of our planet. We are proud to facilitate peace, harmony, and good health to all Gaia’s beings.