Denise's Guacamole

Do you like creamy or chunky guacamole? Do you like flavorful guacamole with a little bite, or no bite? Do you prefer your guacamole simple and green, or bright and colorful? I like mine chunky and flavorful with a hint of Tapatio, and filled with delicious veggies for extra flavor, color, and nutrients!

Save a couple avocado seeds when you start to mash. Adding them at the end is supposed to keep the guacamole from turning a nasty brown color (oxidization). I like to add all my spices to my avocados before I start mashing. I add a lot lemon and lime juices (depending on what’s in the fridge-either can stand as a partial substitute for salt and offer vitamin C along with other important nutrients, and keeps the avocado for oxidizing too quickly), a couple dashes of Tapatio, salt and pepper, and a couple dashes of Lea Perrins Worchestire Sauce. This way, everything gets mashed in and you can add more as necessary. 

I don't add salt until the very end! Keep in mind.. the chips are salty! Remember, you can always add salt, but you can’t take it away, so be careful adding too much salt in the beginning. Mash your avocados with a fork, maintaining avocado’s thick consistency, and chunkyness. Don’t put it in the blender or it will be very creamy and lose all of its thick consistency.

I always put in A LOT of chopped cilantro, chopped tomatoes, chopped green onions, (sometimes white onions). I like my guacamole chunky and like to have quite a large helping of my guacamole on each chip.

I like to serve it in a clean bowl, topped with an avocado seed and a sprig of cilantro. For a healthy touch, I buy whole wheat tortilla chips, or choose the low-fat/lightly salted option. I also find that Wheat Thins and different kinds of healthy, whole-grain crackers are delicious with my guacamole, and knock off the calories that you put in your body. 



And of course, the best way to enjoy this guacamole, is with a frozen margarita, excellent company, and warm weather!

Lox and Bagles

Gravlax, literally translated to mean “buried salmon” is a method of curing involving “burying” a salmon in salt and spices (including dill) for a couple days so that it cures. This is not to be confused with lox, or commercially processed cold-smoked salmon.

Lox is generally eaten in the morning for breakfast on a bagel, or can be prepared as hors d'oeuvres for a dinner party. My family loves to buy cold smoked salmon from Sam’s Club. The quality and flavor is great, it’s economical, and it’s an excellent source of Omega-3 Fatty oils. I could just eat it alone, it’s so tasty!

We bought some whole wheat bagels (for added fiber and no dyed white bread), slathered on a layer of cream cheese (I used whipped- it looks like a lot of cream cheese, easy to spread, but less calories because its full of air), folded on some of the lox (the smoked salmon), and topped it with capers, and a sprinkle of cracked black pepper. We garnished with a thin slice of lemon. This was for breakfast.

In the picture I actually cut one of the bagels (the thicker half) in half and got a little more out of it. Bagels are full of calories and carbohydrates, and this is one way to spread the intake out a little, and then share with family. One for me, one for my Mom, and one for my Brother! Yum.  They are filling, even with a small portion because of the bagel!

For hor d’oeuvres, I would suggest small Wheat Thins or Triscut crackers (whole grains/fiber), topped with a small blob of cream cheese. (You can infuse/mix the cream cheese with dill- a spice that goes wonderfully with lox). Then fold over a small piece of the lox and top with 1-2 small capers or a sprig of dill. I love to sprinkle cracked black pepper over the top, and garnish the plate with thin slices of lemon. Use a white plate rather than a detailed plate so you can see the beauty in the little Lox hors d’oeurves!