All About Avocados

Let's get this blog started off on the right foot!  Or is it the left foot?  Nevermind... :)

How about some yummy recipes?  Even better, how about a couple of recipes utilizing the perfectly ripe avocados sitting in your fruit basket?  Yeah yeah - I hear you dad - I know you don't like avocado.  But, for all the rest of you avocado-loving people out there, I have a couple of bright ideas for you!

First, homemade hummus.  If you have never made your own hummus you don't know what you are missing!  First, it is exponentially cheaper than buying prepared hummus in the store (my can of beans was on sale for $.88 and I was able to make 8-10 servings at 2T each).  Second, the sky is the limit when it comes to creative flavors!  So, get your apron on and get processing...

Avocado Hummus - adapted from here

1 can of great northern beans (drained but not rinsed)
2 heaping tsp of minced garlic
1/4 C tahini
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 scant C limejuice
1 avocado
2 large handfuls of spinach

Just put all of the ingredients into your food processor and let it run for approximately two minutes.  It will appear to be mixed after about thirty seconds, but the longer you let the processor do its job the creamier your hummus will get.  So let it rip...or should I say whirl?

I use great northern beans instead of chickpeas for my homemade hummus.  Maybe it is my food processor, but I can't seem to achieve the same creaminess with garbanzo beans.  I have also found that canned garbanzos can have quite a strong taste.  Whereas great northerns seem to adapt to whatever the flavor-of-the-day may be.  :)

Just look how pretty and green!

After making my healthy-green hummus I realized I still had one avocado that HAD TO be used today.  One more day and this beautiful baby would have been past its prime!  So, what to do?  Well, into the pantry I went, and lo-and-behold I found another can of beans, black beans to be exact (are you noticing a theme here?).  So, my mind starting working.

Hmmm....avocado - check.  Black beans - check.  1/4 of a red onion in the refrigerator - check.  I smell Mexican flavors!  So here is what I came up with:

Use-It-Up Mexican Salad

1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
2-3 T lime juice
1/4 C parsley, minced (cilantro would be even better!)
1/4 red onion, chopped finely
1/4 T EVOO
3/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/8 tsp pepper
dash of cayenne
1 avocado, chopped in small cubes

Putting it all together is very simple. 

1.  After you drain and rinse the black beans, add them to a medium bowl. 
2.  Chop and add the parsley, red onion, and avocado.
3.  Add the seasonings.
4.  Stir and chill for 30 minutes or up to three hours.
5.  Serve on its own, as a tortilla filling, or with chips.

These two recipes have ensured that I'm getting all my healthy fats for the next couple of days.  Not only that, they taste fantastic!

Tomorrow - a recipe with sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie spice...are you salivating yet?!

Question of the Day:

What do you do with your perfectly ripe avocados?

Blessings,
Ally and Bo