Avocado Salad

I actually got the recipe for avocado salad from my boss. She was eating it at work one day and it looked really good so I asked her about it. She told me she had it at a restaurant and it was so good she went home and recreated it. It's super simple but amazingly delicious. You can make a single serving for a light lunch or several servings as an appetizer for a get-together.

Avocado Salad

Makes: 1 serving

1 ripe avocado

3 - 4 paper thin slices of red onion

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp lime juice

pinch sea salt

• Cut the avocado in half and remove the pit. Cut each half into slices, then scoop them out of the shell. Place the slices in a glass bowl.
• Add the onion, olive oil, lime juice, and sea salt. Gently fold it all together with a spoon or rubber spatula.
• Serve on a bed of baby spinach, with some tortilla chips, or with a warm flour tortilla.

B.L.A.T.

That stands for Bacon, Lettuce, Avocado, & Tomato - in case you were curious! This is a classic sandwich that's great for a picnic, entertaining, or even just a lazy Saturday. For this sandwich, I used some ciabatta sandwich rolls, but you could also use a nice crusty bread cut on a bias. Most people like to put avocado slices on this sandwich, but I like to make an avocado spread to take the place of mayonnaise. As for the lettuce, I chose romaine lettuce because it's a little bit better for you than iceberg. Lettuce tends to be pretty nutritionally devoid, but in general the darker ones usually have more nutrients - romaine, green leaf, etc.

B.L.A.T.
Makes: 2 sandwiches

1 ripe avocado
1 tsp lime juice
1 small clove garlic, finely minced
1 tbsp olive oil
pinch salt
2 ciabatta rolls
4 strips bacon
2 roma tomatoes
4 leaves romaine lettuce

• Make the avocado spread. With a fork, mash together the avocado, lime juice, garlic, olive oil, and salt. Set aside.
• Cut the ciabatta rolls in half. Toast the rolls either on the grill or under the broiler.
• Spread some avocado spread on both halves of the rolls. From the bottom up, layer the lettuce, tomatoes, then bacon.

If you have any left-over avocado spread, feel free to dip some tortilla chips in there!

Classic Guacamole

I've got to be honest, there is absolutely nothing special about this recipe. It is just like the hundreds of guacamole recipes you'll find if you just Google the topic. However, sometimes a classic is just what you need. No fancy additions or spins on the original. Just pure and unadulterated. I love guacamole and it's super easy to make. There's no reason to buy the store bought stuff with all the salt and preservatives.

My guacamole is a mild recipe. I know what you're thinking, and no, I haven't lost my mind. I actually prefer a  mild guacamole. I like the avocado to be the star of the show, not the heat.

Guacamole
2 Ripe avocados
1 Clove garlic
1 Roma tomato
1 Jalapeno pepper
2 Tbsp lime juice
Salt

• Cut the avocados in half. Give the pit a good whack with your knife then twist. This is the easiest way to remove the pit. If this method makes you nervous, you can always just give the avocado a good squeeze instead.
• Scoop out the avocados with a spoon and drop them into a bowl.
• Toss the avocado halves with the lime juice so they don't start to oxidize and turn brown.
• Mince the garlic super fine - you don't want to bite into a large chunk of raw garlic!
• Cut the top off of the jalapeno then cut it into quarters. Scoop out the seeds. Lay each quarter flat on your cutting board then cut out the fleshy membrane that was holding the seeds. All of these steps will remove a significant amount of the heat. If you like spicier guacamole, leave the seeds and membranes on the pepper.
• Cut each section into 1/8" match stick size strips. Then finely dice so that you have a 1/8" dice.
• Add the garlic and jalapeno to the avocado and lime juice mixture. Mash up the mixture with a fork. You can make it chunky or creamy, depending on your preference.
• Cut the tomato in half. With a spoon, scoop out the seeds and fleshy membranes in the center of the tomato. You'll be left with two hollow shells basically.
• Cut each section into 1/4" strips. Then dice so that you have a 1/4" dice.
• Add the tomatoes to your guacamole.
• Add salt to taste. Matt and I prefer only a little bit of salt so I add about 1/8 tsp. You may need more, depending on personal taste.
• Run and hide so you can eat it all before anyone realizes you've made guacamole!

Note: you may want to put on gloves to cut the jalapeno. If you don't wear gloves, make sure that you thoroughly wash your hands afterward and for the love of God, don't touch your eyes or nose for several hours after cutting the jalapeno.