One last recipe before the year end. And here I sit in disbelief that I just typed “year end”. Truth be told, this is my least favorite time of year. The hype of Christmas has passed. The tree is still up but sits lonely and unlit in the corner. It’s trunk bare with opened gifts that have since found new homes. The sun shines brightly trying to uplift my disposition. But seems to do just the opposite as I wish for overcast mornings. For snow covered streets. For the quietness of winter. It’s not time for the bright and cheery. It’s not time to press restart again. Or is it? Read more
I had no intention of posting this recipe. Enchilada sauce? That’s so boring. But holy cow, after tasting this, I knew I had to share. And selfishly, I’m documenting this for further use. I have this tendency to concoct things and tell myself I’ll remember how to recreate it next time. Kinda like how I told myself I’d never forget high school Spanish. And like how I told myself I didn’t need a video of our wedding. Moral of the story—I can’t remember mucho. Read more
Last fall I froze a ton of fresh pumpkin, which is now sitting alongside the fresh cranberries I froze from the winter before. I have this tendency to think that I’m going to want seasonal produce year around. So I stock up like the overly zealous squirrels down the street. At the beginning of the month, I had 4 servings of pumpkin to use before I’d allow myself to buy more pumpkins. So I made pumpkin bread as soon as the summer temperatures dropped. And then [insert dramatic pause] I came across a recipe for pumpkin oreo tarts from Lauren’s Latest. Read more
I’ve departed from my normal flour, butter, and sugar gig this week. I hope you don’t mind.
Confession: I’m a mexican food junkie, and I eat way too much guacamole. But I wasn’t always this way. Sadly, my unrefined childhood taste buds didn’t crave guac until I was in college. I lost a good 20 years of consumption. However, I think I’ve made up for it in the last six years. Thank goodness for its health benefits.
Every time I make guac, I think of my mom. She first introduced me to it with a recipe called—Game Day Guacamole. I can still see it peeking out of her overly stuffed light blue checked recipe box. Excuse me while I reminisce. The fact that food has the ability to conjure up vivid memories makes me love it even more.
I wish I could say that I still use the Game Day recipe, but I don’t. Being the hard-headed person that I am, I had to come up with my own recipe. I blame it on the artist in me. I’m like a dog marking its territory. I have to put my stamp on everything. Knowing how I am now, I can only imagine what I was like as a child. My apologies Mom and Dad. But lucky for you, I have perfected my recipe. At least to my liking. So go ahead, and give it a try.
The best thing about this recipe—it’s not a science. Precision isn’t a must. Taste as you go. Follow your gut. And put your own stamp on it, or not.
Guacamole
recipe from yours truly
5 ripe avocados, peeled
1/4 c. chopped grape tomatoes
2 tbsp. chopped red onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped
3-6 jarred jalapeños, chopped
1 1/2 tsp. cumin
half of a lime, squeezed
sea salt
1. Add avocados to a large bowl and mash. Click here for a peeling how-to.
2. Mix in tomatoes, onion, garlic, cilantro, jalapeños, cumin, and lime juice.
3. Add Sriracha and sea salt to taste.
4. Taste. Add more where you see fit. It’s usually salt or cumin for me.
5. Press plastic wrap on surface of guacamole. This will keep oxygen from creeping in and turning things brown before you serve it.
