Holy Guacamole!

Rachel here: There are few things better than good avocados, I think. I've always loved them, but once I became pregnant with M I became kind of obsessed because they're a superfood of sorts. A superfood that is easy to eat? Sold. At some point during my pregnancy I began eating avocados sprinkled with a dash of salt nearly everyday. Anyway, fast forward to last night and we're not only in the peak of avocado season but M was in the midst of a hearty evening nap.


The stars rarely align so nicely. Anyway, John and I tiptoed away from our sleeping baby into the kitchen and I sliced into the avocados I'd bought earlier that day. One taste and I knew that I'd be forgoing a more involved guacamole in favor of the simplest version possible. These were the creamiest, most perfect avocados around.


I made a little side salsa with the ingredients I'd bought on the chance that the avocados weren't so wonderful. We popped open a bag of corn chips and a couple of beers and stood in the kitchen relishing the quiet and each other's company as the evening settled in around us. It was so simple and so wonderful.


ingredients
4 extra large avocados
1 medium white onion, diced
4 medium roma tomatoes, diced
1 small lime
1/2 a medium lemon
3/4 tspn. salt, divided

method
Scoop avocado into a medium bowl and squeeze the juice from one lime over it. Add 1/2 tspn. salt and mash with a fork (I like mine chunky). In a separate bowl (or the same one if the avocados aren't great), combine tomatoes, onion, juice from the half lemon and the remaining 1/4 tspn. salt. Mix and serve with the guacamole and chips. Enjoy!



Janet here: I don't make guacamole often for one simple reason: I would eat the whole damn bowl. Yup, I love it, especially guacamole that's got a little zing to it. Sadly in the Northeast, buying ripe avocados is virtually impossible so you have to plan ahead if you want to get your guacamole fix to give them time to ripen. (Another example of California's food superiority.)

Anyway if you want an avocado fix, this salad adapted from the Barefoot Contessa at Home does the trick quite nicely. It's easy to whip up and makes a nice side salad on a hot summer night when turning on the oven is the last thing on your to-do list.


Guacamole Salad
serves 4

ingredients
1/2 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 yellow bell pepper, diced into 1/2 inch pieces, seeded
7 oz black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup diced red onion
1 tablespoon minced jalapeno peppers
1/4 teaspoon lime zest
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 ripe avocados, seeded and peels, 1/2 inch diced


method
Place the tomatoes, pepper, black beans, red onions, peppers and lime zest in a large bowl. Whisk together the lime juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic and cayenne pepper and pour over the vegetables. Toss well.

Just before you're ready to serve, fold in the avocados. Check the seasoning and serve at room temperature.

Glorious Granola

Rachel here: My mom suggested making scones for this post (stay tuned for a future post featuring these), but I desperately wanted to make granola and so here we are. I've been eating it on-and-off for breakfast for years and, for about the last month, combined with some plain yogurt and fresh fruit, it's been my breakfast of choice. Anyway, there's really not much to say about it except that it is significantly better when homemade. And speaking of homemade, though the specific recipe posted below is my own concoction, it is very closely related to the granola I learned to make while working at the Homemade Cafe (they don't have a website, but if you ever find yourself in the Bay Area make your way over to 2454 Sacramento Street in Berkeley for a breakfast that most certainly won't disappoint...if you're lucky, John will be cooking). Enjoy!

Ingredients
4 c. rolled oats
1/4 tspn. salt
1/4 tspn. cinnamon
1/4 tspn. all spice
1/8 tspn. cloves
1 c. walnuts (broken)
1/2 c. almonds
1/2 c. pumpkin seeds
1/2 c. whole ground flax seed meal
3/4 c. honey
1/4 c. canola oil
dried cranberries

Method
Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Heat honey and oil on the stove until combined and pourable. Pour over bowl of dry ingredients and combine well (this will get stuck in your rings, so definitely take them off if you care about them at all). Spread evenly over a cookie sheet (I put my silpat down first, which makes cleaning up a non-issue). Place in oven, removing and stirring to redistribute granola every 10 to 15 minutes. If granola starts to brown before it is dry, leave oven door ajar. Remove granola once dry feeling (it won't feel completely dry, but will finish this process as it cools). Let cool. Add dried cranberries (or any other fruit you like) to taste. Personally, I like a lot so I threw in several generous handfuls. Place in an airtight container. Yum!



Janet here: I have basically been eating granola just about every day for, oh, decades. I mix it with yogurt and I am ready to start the day. I had never made granola, however, until today. I just assumed it was very complicated — all those ingredients! — and figured it was just something hippy dippy people did. I was a little nervous about making this, too. Again, I just thought it was going to be complicated and a flop.
I was wrong.
Simply put, I may never eat store-bought granola again. This homemade version is so superior it's like I don't even know what I was eating all those years. I created this recipe after trolling around on the web. It's a conglomeration of things I read on Chowhound under Best Homemade Granola and my go-to cooking goddess, The Barefoot Contessa.

Homemade Granola

Ingredients
4 cups rolled oats
1 1/2-2 cups nuts (I used sliced almonds, pecans and walnuts)
about 1/4 cup flaxseed meal
a large handful or so of sunflower seeds
1/4 cup canola oil
about 1/2 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup or so of dried fruit (( used blueberries, but I could see adding cherries, apricots, bananas, etc.)

Method
Heat oven to 300 degrees. Toss all the ingredients into a large bowl except the fruit. Heat the oil and honey in a pot and whisk together. Take it off the heat; add the vanilla, and then pour the liquid into the bowl and stir everything together. Place in two large roasting pans on one layer. Cook for about 40 minutes until golden brown, turning every 10 minutes or so. (I set the timer so I wouldn't burn it.)
After you take it out of the oven, mix in the dried fruit. Let cool. It will crisp up as it cools. Store in an airtight container. Delicious!