My darling husband should be jealous when I've found a new love, not because I've replaced him, but because I will spend hours and hours with this new love creating new dishes to please my palette. My new love this past year became Avocados!
Question - Is it wrong to admit that I found a "new" love within my first year of marriage? (giggling inside)
I've always known about avocados but never truly found them until we lived in Malaysia. And the sneaky little scientist in me crept up and said, "Let's figure out what we can do with these things to make them taste exceptional". Well, as it turns out, not much had to be done. Seeded, skinned and sliced...just adding a sprinkling of sea salt and black pepper was enough. I loved them like this to top off a salad! I also enjoyed stacking a sandwich on crackers with a bit of honey mustard and cheese. Stack 'em on a Dagwood sandwich! Mmmm!
Ever had bad guacamole? Well, maybe I should say, have you ever had good guacamole? I lived 35 years before I stumbled onto some good guacamole. In restaurants and grocery stores, it always seemed to have this sort of, well, a smothering taste. And if it's not treated with an acid such as lime or lemon juice, it takes on a whole new meaning of "disgustingly brown". My husband has a much more graphic description of it but we'll leave that for another time.
The key to a good avocado is to get a ripe one. If the avocado is very hard, you will not be able to seed it short of renting a jack-hammer from the local equipment supply company. Find an avocado that gives just a bit if you squeeze it. If it gives too much or feels very soft, it is over-ripe. Regardless of the color, grab the ones that have a little give. To seed it, use a large, sharp chef's knife to cut all the way around the seed from top to bottom and back up to the top again. Twist the two sides in opposite directions and they should come apart easily. One half will hold the seed, the other half, obviously will not. Hold the half with the seed in your hand and the knife in your dominate hand (the one you write with - trust me, you'll want to use the hand with the most control and accuracy for this next step). Whack the seed with the blade (embedding the blade into the seed) and then give the blade a twist just as you did to separate the halves. The seed should pop right out and still be embedded with the knife blade. To remove the seed, grab it with your hand using a kitchen towel as a barrier of protection.
Use a tablespoon to scoop our the flesh. Just wedge it between the skin and the flesh and dig the spoon through to scoop it out. It should take only a swipe or two.
Please note - DO NOT ALLOW YOUR CHILDREN TO SEED AVOCADOS! You might also benefit from using an oven mitt or a towel when holding the avocado half, you know...just in case your aim is a bit off. ; )
Quick Tip for Ripening Avocados
- Place 2-3 avocados in a brown paper bag and store at room temperature. If you don't have paper bags on hand, wrapping them in newspaper will also do.
- For even quicker ripening, add an apple or a tomato to the bag.
- Check daily to see if avocados are ripe yet. Don't just judge by their color, as some varieties will retain their green color, even when ripe, rather than turning a deep greenish brown.
- Ripe avocados will peel easily and are soft, yet still firm and not squishy.
- Extra Tip: If your avocados are ripening before you have a chance to eat them, place them in the crisper of your refrigerator, as this will help them keep a bit longer once they are ripe.
Basic Guacamole
- 1 Large Ripe Avocado
- 1 tsp Fresh Lime Juice
- 1/4 cup Pica de Gallo
- 1/2 tsp Fresh Minced Garlic
- sprinkling of Sea Salt to taste
- 1 Extra-Finely Minced Chili Pepper (with or without seed & it's optional)
Avocado Dip
- 2 Large Ripe Avocados
- 2 Tbsp Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice
- 1/2 Block Cream Cheese, soft
- 1/2 C Sour Cream
- 2 Tbsp Butter, soft
- 1/4 c Finely Chopped Yellow Bell Pepper
- 1/2 c Finely Chopped Onion
- 2 Cloves Garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp Fresh Cracked Black Pepper, fine ground
- 1/2 tsp Ground Cumin
- 1 Chili Pepper, extra-finely minced (with or without seeds)
Seed and skin the avocado and place in a medium sized bowl with lime juice. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. In another bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth then beat in the butter and sour cream. (Butter should be soft but not melted). Combine the cheese mixture with the avocados and beat until smooth. Add in the rest of the ingredients and whip up until thoroughly blended.
This is a perfect dip but it is also great as a spread. The next time you make fajitas or burritos, try spreading this on the tortilla before piling on the rest of the ingredients! It's also a tasty replacement for sour cream on tacos, taco salads and other Mexican dishes. Ole'
I hope you will give these recipes a try! They are delicious!! If you have a favorite recipe for using avocados, please add them to the comment section. I'd love to post them!
With Love in the Mix!
Shannon
Just Adding Another Avocado Recipe!!
Avocado Corn Salsa
- 3/4 cup frozen corn, thawed
- 1/2 cup quartered grape tomatoes
- 1 medium avocado, diced
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
- 2 teaspoons lime juice
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Toss avocados, tomatoes, corn, cilantro, lime juice and salt in a medium bowl. Make sure the juice covers the avocados so they don't turn brown.
Also try with minced chili peppers, thinly sliced garlic and/or pineapple chunks
