Curried Avocado Soup

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I love avocados in any form. I will cut them in half and eat them as is, I will put them on toast or in salads, whip them into salad dressing, I have even made gelato out of them. I have a favorite cucumber and avocado soup that is pleasantly mild and flavorful, but I had never thought about the addition of curry. While perusing the July 15th issue of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, I cut out a recipe for Curried Avocado Soup, and had the opportunity to try it this week. I think this is one of my new favorite ways to eat an avocado. I seriously made moaning sounds with every bite. If you like avocado like I do, you need to give this a try.

Curried Avocado Soup

Slightly adapted from St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 15, 2020

2 medium-ripe Haas (dark-skinned) avocados

2¼ c. vegetable stock, divided*

1 to 1½ t. curry powder

¼ - ½ t. salt, or to taste

¹⁄8 - ¼ t. white pepper

½ c. heavy cream

2 T. fresh lemon juice

Split the avocados in half with a knife and remove the pits. Set aside one half. Scoop out the insides of the other 3 halves with a spoon and blend with 1 cup of the stock in a blender or food processor (I used the latter) until smooth. Stir in the curry powder, salt, pepper, cream and the remaining 1¼ cups of stock. Chill.

When ready to serve, garnish the soup with thin avocado slices that have been cut from the remaining avocado half and dipped in lemon juice.

*If you don’t have vegetable stock, chicken works as well.

Avocado Hearts of Palm Salad with Parsley Vinaigrette

We all have our favorite ingredients, those that we tend to use again and again. Two of my favorites are avocado and hearts of palm. My fridge is never without at least one avocado; my pantry is never without a jar of hearts of palm. Up until now, however, I had never combined the two. Wow! What an impact it made in this fabulously good and company worthy salad. The combination of the two, along with the peppery red onion, and fabulously tangy dressing made with fresh parsley from my garden makes this a total winner!

Avocado Hearts of Palm Salad with Parsley Vinaigrette

For vinaigrette

1 small garlic clove

1/4 cup fresh parsley

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

Few gratings black pepper

1/2 cup good olive oil

For salad

1 14.8-ounce jar Melissa’s Hearts of Palm, drained

4 ripe avocados

1 small red onion, sliced thin

1 large head Romaine lettuce, broken into bite-sized pieces

Make vinaigrette:

Toss all ingredients into a mini food processor, and process or 30 seconds until emulsified. I’m not kidding, if you don’t have a mini food processor, you have to get one. Get this one right here. I use it all the time, and it works beautifully for salad dressings in particular, because once it emulsifies them, they stay that way.

Make salad:

Slice hearts of palm into coins and avocado into cubes and place, with onion, in a large bowl with vinaigrette. Combine gently and mound on top of plates of lettuce.

Serves 6

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Pesto Cucumber-Avocado Soup

Remember last week when I told you to be sure to make the Lemon Basil Vinaigrette because you would need it again? If not, go back and look, I’ll wait. Here’s the reason that you need it, to add a wonderful fresh pesto taste to this delicious cold summer soup. There is nothing better on a hot day than a cup of cold soup, and this one is cooling, refreshing, loaded with nutrition, and lots of flavor. It’s like summer in a cup.

Pesto Cucumber-Avocado Soup

1 large, ripe avocado, peeled and pitted

1 large cucumber, unpeeled, and cut into large chunks

1½ c. homemade chicken stock (canned, if you must)

1 Melissa’s shallot, quartered

2½ T. fresh lemon juice

1 t. fresh lime juice

½ c. plain Greek yogurt

¼ c. Lemon Basil Vinaigrette

Pinch Kosher salt

Pinch red pepper flakes

Place avocado and cucumber into a large capacity food processor fitted with a metal blade, and process until smooth.  With machine running, gradually pour chicken stock through feeder tube; process until smooth.  Add shallots, citrus juices, yogurt, Lemon Basil Vinaigrette, and process until combined.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Chill for at least 2 hours (the longer the better). To serve, ladle into cups or bowls and top with basil chiffonade, croutons, or drizzles of the vinaigrette.

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Ricardo’s Avocado & Grilled Corn Salsa

The late Mr. O-P was from New Jersey. Every year when we’d visit his friends and family, we always planned our visits to coincide with the arrival of the sweet corn and tomatoes. He used to talk constantly about how good the corn and tomatoes were in the State of New Jersey, but, like everyone who loves their home state, I thought it was just talk. Boy, was I wrong! I've never had such good corn and tomatoes as I did during those trips. I won't be going back to New Jersey for a while, and, sadly, won't get to taste the wonderful mid-summer produce, but I have been enjoying our local varieties.

The corn crop seemed particularly good this year, and I have been fixing it in as many ways possible. Today's offering is for a grilled corn and avocado salsa, a recipe from Canadian chef, Ricardo, appearing in the summer issue of his magazine of the same name. Here, two of my favorite vegetables are combined to make for one delicious dish. Every bite is fresh, crunchy, and tastes like summer.

This is an easy one to put together, and if you don't have a grill, you can char the corn over a gas flame on your stove, or pop it into the broiler to replicate that great grilled taste. In addition to being a tasty dip for chips, crudités, and crackers, it also makes an excellent topping for tacos and summer soups. Try it! You know you want to.

Ricardo’s Avocado & Grilled Corn Salsa

2 ears corn, husked, grilled, and cut from cob

1 avocado, diced

2 T. lime juice

¼ cup chopped cilantro

1 scallion, finely chopped

½ jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Combine all ingredients and serve immediately. (If I'm feeling particularly playful, I'll add a pinch of cumin.)

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Amaze Me Monday

Busy Mondays

Art of Homemaking Monday
Make it Pretty Monday

Celebrate Your Story

How to Make a Delicious Veggie Sandwich

My mother had a lot of pithy sayings when I was growing up. One of them that I distinctly remember was, "For better, or for worse, but not for lunch!" Occasionally, my dad would come home for lunch during the workweek, much to my mother's dismay. She always said that she didn't mind making breakfast, and she didn't mind making dinner, but she hated making lunch. Lunch, she said, was always a difficult meal to come up with. She wasn't wrong. I don't particularly like making lunch either. Generally, soup, a small salad, or a sandwich makes a nice lunch, but which ones do you choose?

I like a good sandwich, and the late Mr. O-P was an excellent sandwich maker. I have been trying to make sandwiches as good as his since he passed away, and I’m seldom able do it.

The most difficult thing about making a sandwich is coming up with an idea. Once I had that idea in my head, I set to work, the sandwich was made, and boy, was it delicious!

I decided to make a vegetable sandwich, so raided the vegetable bin. As you know from my earlier post, I had prepared a red pepper and herb spread (that is absolutely yummy). Using that as a base on one giant slice of Italian bread that I got at Aldi. (Isn't this gorgeous? One slice, halved, makes a huge sandwich.) I got out my Griddler, and placed slices of zucchini and onion on top while I sliced a bit of cheese and cleaned some lettuce. Once these were suitably grilled, I added a few slice of avocado to the mix and I had one heck of a sandwich. This sandwich was a big meal, but it was delicious, unique, and intensely flavorful, not to mention reasonably healthy and Lenten suitable.

Let this post be your guide to creating an interesting sandwich for you and your family. 

Consider making this for dinner and serving it with a nice cup of tomato bisque. Doesn't that sound good?

This post is linked to:

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Cooking & Crafting with J&J

Amaze Me Monday

Busy Mondays

Art of Homemaking Monday
Make it Pretty Monday

Celebrate Your Story
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Avocado & Hearts of Palm Salad with Coriander Vinaigrette

When dad and I went to Aldi’s the other day (You do remember that story, right? If not, you can refresh your memory here.), in addition to picking up my weight in asparagus (So many delicious recipes are coming!), I also picked up bunch of coriander (cilantro) about the size of a small Buick. Cilantro is one of those herbs that people tend to either love or hate – no middle of the road with cilantro – and I happen to be one of those would love it.  Once I got home with it, and cleared a rather large spot in the fridge, I wondered how I was going to manage to consume it all. (It has a rather limited shelf…errr, refrigerator…life.) I was perusing epicurious.com, entering lists of the oddball things that I had on hand, and up popped this recipe.  I made the dressing as stated, but cut way back on everything else, using only 1 avocado, 3 hearts of palm that I cubed, and shaved a small handful of red onion on the mandolin until I got what I thought would be a suitable, but not overbearing amount. It made a wonderful main dish salad -- very tasty, satisfying, and surprisingly hearty.

The following day I used the extra dressing to dress a potato salad that I tossed together using baby potatoes cooked until fork tender, slightly cooled and sliced, along with 2 scallions, diced, 2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped, 2 ribs of celery, thinly sliced, some chopped red pepper left over from the Pimiento Toasts, and a bit of salt and pepper.  It was an easy and delicious side dish using, essentially, what was leftover in the fridge…and no one was the wiser.

Avocado & Hearts of Palm Salad

Slightly adapted from epicurious.com

1 small garlic clove
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup olive oil
1 14-ounce jar Melissa’s hearts of palm, drained
4 California firm-ripe avocados
1 small red onion, sliced thin
Boston lettuce leaves

In a blender purée garlic and coriander with lemon juice, sugar, and salt. With motor running add oil in a stream, blending until dressing is emulsified.

Cut hearts of palm and avocado into 3/4-inch cubes and in a large bowl with a rubber spatula gently toss with onion and vinaigrette until combined well.

Line 8 salad plates with lettuce leaves and mound avocado mixture on top.

This post is linked to:

Amaze Me Monday

Busy Mondays

What’s for Dinner?

Inspiration Monday

Avocado Cucumber Salad

Cooking was kept at a minimum during the last weeks. I opted for calm over chaos, quiet over noise, and clean, healthy eating. This salad was easy to put together, immensely satisfying, and absolutely delicious! The recipe is from the Smitten Kitchen blog, and you can head right on over by clicking here to learn of other variations for this salad. I will be forever grateful for not only being made aware of this simple combination, but also for this amazingly good dressing. When I first saw the ingredients, I balked. How could mayo, hot sauce, and lime juice be any good? Truth be told, I recoiled a little. As it turned out, if I were any other kind of person than the dignified one that I am, I'd have been licking the bowl! I cut the recipe in half to make one main dish portion. Perfect!

Avocado Cucumber Salad

3/4 to 1 pound seedless cucumber, washed and diced

1 large scallion, thinly sliced

1 large avocado, pitted and diced

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

Juice of half a lime

Salt and Sriracha to taste

Chopped cilantro to garnish

Combine cucumber, scallions, and avocado in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together mayo, lime juice, and seasonings, adjusting levels to taste. Drizzle salad with dressing and garnish with cilantro. Serve immediately. This recipe serves 2 as a main dish, or 4 as a side.

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Avocado Salsa Verde

I am queen of the salsas, and what would the week be like without my providing you with yet another must for your repertoire? I don't think either one of us wants to think about that. Today it is salsa verde with the wonderful, creamy, packed-with-nutrition addition of avocado.  Sound good?  It is!  It is also a breeze to make. Whip up a batch shortly after your guests arrive and serve it in the shell of the avocado.  Delicious and great fun!

Avocado Salsa Verde

2 pounds fresh tomatillos, husks removed, roasted*

1 medium Melissa’s serrano chile, seeds removed, minced

1 clove garlic

3/4 cup chopped red onion

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

¼ teaspoon cumin

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

2 large avocados, diced

Kosher salt, to taste

*To roast tomatillos, preheat your broiler, line a rimmed cookie sheet with foil and place the tomatillos on top. Place as near to the broiler as your oven shelves will allow and roast until charred. Flip over to the other side and char. Remove to a plate lined with paper towels to drain. You can roast the chile and garlic along with the tomatillos, but watch it as will roast more quickly. Do not remove the charred bits, they add flavor to the salsa.

Place tomatillos, chile, and garlic in food processor. Pulse until a coarse puree forms. Pour puree into medium bowl. Mix in onion, cilantro, cumin, and lime juice. Fold in avocado, and season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 4 hours ahead. Cover; chill in fridge).

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