Quick and Easy Avocado Slicing

We are at peak avocado season right now, and to say I love an avocado is an understatement. When I was growing up, my mother and I would split an avocado for dinner. She would cut it in half, pour some Balsamic Vinegar into the center, grind pepper over the top and we would eat them with a spoon. Something about the smooth velvety avocado paired with the tang of vinegar is magic. One spoonful and I am twelve, standing at the kitchen counter next to my mom... no plate required.

As an adult, I cook with avocado a lot. We love them. They make a great burger topping, add something special to a salad, or make a scruptious cream sauce for pasta. Actually, I don't know if that last one is true, but I plan on finding out this week! Angela, at Oh She Glows, has posted many recipes with an Avocado Cream Sauce, and today's is just begging to be made: Vegetable and Edamame Pasta with Basil Cream Sauce. I am adding it to this weeks menu and will let you know what I think asap!

But as much as I like cooking with Avocado, many people find working with them dificult. So I thought it would be fun to include a quick and easy avocado slicing method here on the blog. This will speed up your avocado preparation by leaps and bounds!

So here goes...

Slice your avocado in half by running the knife through the avocado around the pit. Twist the avocado and pull apart.

This next part is fun. Take your knife and smack it into the pit. You need to give it a pretty good whack to make sure it sticks.

Holding the knife embedded in the pit in one hand, and the avocado in the other, give the knife a slight twist. The pit will pop right out! So simple and yet so satisfying. 

 Now, take the knife and slice the avocado top to bottom and side to side being careful not to go through the peel.

Take a spoon and scoop out your beautiful chopped avocado!

So simple! If you want slices instead of a chopped avocado only slice the avocado from top to bottom.

Here's to Avocado Season!

Black and Blue Chips

I am a big fan of Sweet Potato Fries. If we are having burgers... Sweet Potato Fries. Paninis? Sweet Potato Fries. Chipotle Sour Cream? Sweet Potato Fries. There are very few things that can't be improved by adding Sweet Potato Fries. So last night, when we were having burgers, I made:

Black and Blue Chips

I know it's confusing, but I had some purple potatoes to use up, and a gorgeous wedge of Maytag Blue just screaming my name.

Ingredients:

Purple potatoes

Blue Cheese 

Olive Oil

Cracked Black Pepper

Kosher Salt

Thinly slice your potatoes. If you use a Mandoline you can be assured of a perfectly thin, uniform slice. This is the one I use. This is the one I wish I used. It has a finger guard. More on that later.

 Beautiful, thin purple slices.

And if you use the Mandoline that I have, make sure you leave a little nub at the end...

 Or you will end up like this.

Drizzle the sliced purple potatoes with olive oil.

 Enlist a helper to toss them, since you sliced your finger on the Mandoline.

Spread in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Bake at 425 for about 10 minutes. Flip and bake for an additional 5, or so. Each oven varies, so keep a close eye. You don't want burned chips!

Sprinkle generously with blue cheese and put back in the oven for a minute or two, until it get's melty.

Sprinkle with cracked black pepper and kosher salt, and serve.

Notes:
1. I know I called these black and blue chips and the potatoes are purple, but is a bruise really black? No. It is purple, and blue, and green. Just be thankful I didn't use green potatoes!
2. I received these potatoes in the Specialty Produce Farmer's Market Bag. If you live in San Diego, I can't recommended this highly enough. For $20 you receive an enormous bag of fresh produce. You order by Sunday evening, and pick it up Thursday or Friday at Specialty Produce. You never know what you are going to get, but it is always fresh, seasonal and unique. You can add on other specialty items like grass fed beef, gourmet cheeses, and gluten free baked goods and pick it all up at the same time.
3. Make more than you think you need, because these are guaranteed to be snacking material!

Charlie and the Incredible, Amazing, Stupendous, Really Good Day

I took Thursday and Friday of School Vacation Week off. I wanted to spend some time doing fun things with Karen Ray. So when the phone rang on Wednesday, and it was a friend and her daughter asking if we wanted to go to The Wild Animal Park on Thursday, we jumped at the chance.

We packed lunches, stopped for coffee and were on our way. If you have ever been to The Wild Animal Park (now called The Safari Park) in San Diego, you know that once you get off the highway, the drive in to the park is gorgeous! There are orchards, vineyards, Ostrich Farms, Horse Ranches, and you are surrounded by beautiful , untouched mountains. The Wild Animal Park owns 1800 acres. Of that number they have set aside more than half of them as conservation land. Their conservation makes the landscape (just 15 minutes off the highway) feel like an entirely different world.

The best thing about the day though, was the company. Both mothers and both daughters enjoy a good food adventure. So between the four of us, we were quick to decide to see the park, but to also cut out early and enjoy the farms, orchards, and vineyards!

Enjoy the story, as it unfolds in pictures...

Charlie and the Incredible, Amazing, Stupendous, Really Good Day!

Start with good friends.

And wild animals.

Indulge your inner child.

Head off the beaten path.

Enjoy the view.

Follow in a friend's footsteps.

Value individuality.

Marvel at the bounty of our Earth.

Make memories.

Keep your options open.

Try not to pass out from sheer joy.

Realize that art can be made from the ordinary.

Play hide 'n seek when asked.

Because you won't always be asked.

Never give up.

You hold victory in your hands.

And it is magnificent.

Work together.

Look for creative solutions.

Put some elbow grease into it.

Shake your groove thang.

And always eat your vegetables.

Notes:
1. An Ostrich Egg is the equivalent of 23 chicken eggs. The flavor is the same (although Tim says it is a little meatier tasting). It is higher in protein and lower in cholesterol.
2. We made omelettes with the egg, as it would have been a little difficult to cook it over easy.
3. The Vineyard is Orfila. If you are headed out to Escondido, you should check it out. The wine was delicious, and they have a lot of fun events. We are headed back there for the grape stomp later this year.
4. The man that owns the Ostrich Farm, is a retired exotic animals vet from The Wild Animal Park. In addition to providing eggs, his ostriches have been used in many movies... including "Out of Africa". (You can't make this stuff up.) He was incredibly interesting to talk to, and he drove an egg out to the gate of his farm, when we couldn't find one at any of the local farm stands.
5. An enormous bag of organic oranges was $10, and reaffirmed my belief that fruit eaten in an orchard is twice as sweet.
6. And finally, the best plans are the plans you break... The proof is in the omelette.