Avocado Salad

Today's post is an actually an old entry (From January, 2009) that I never put on the blog because my previous my previous internet connection was so slow running hamsters could beat it. I was smart enough (or Type-A-enough) to save it. I am have a ton of housework to do today so writing has to wait until later this week. Which is actually good for my readers, since there will be two entries this week. That's a 100% increase :) Enjoy!

Oh, avocado, how I love thee. Those glorious fruits were on sale this past weekend, because of the Superbowl. So I bought 5 Haas (California) avocados and made up the Avocado Salsa that I found on EatingWell.Com. Which, by the way, has become my new favorite site for healthy n' tasty recipes. Those folks know what they are doing. As I was looking over the recipe and the ingredients, I thought that chopped red bell pepper and a bit of onion would be good additions (they were). I also did not have any limes one hand, nor did I want to buy any, so I just used a store brand raspbeery vinagrette. With the chunky cut veggies/fruit sitting in the bowl, it occurred to me that this was more of a salad than a salsa (which was a bit of a conundrum, because I had purchased a 1 lb bag of corn tortillas...I'll find a use for them eventually!). I let all of the flavors blend for about an hour and brought it the all-girls Superbowl party I was attending. I'm proud to say that the salad was a total hit! Yippee! I had a small bowl of leftovers this evening (that's all that was left) and I thought the flavor would be perked up by a touch of ginger...maybe 1/2-1 tsp and a splash of lemon juice. I didn't add either because I finished up the leftovers too quickly :)

Avocodos are bit of a pain in the neck to prepare, but totally worth it. Using a sharp knife, slice the fruit in half lengthwise, the through the skin and all of the soft flesh, all they way to the seed and stop at the seed. You'll never cut through it. Take each half in hand and twist your hands away from each other. This loosens the flesh away from the seed and one half will come away. On the half that is seed-less, run a large spoon between the skin and the soft flesh, all the way around the "rim," then start doing the same over the entire avocado halft. The flesh will eventually sort of pop out of the little skin. You'll get some avocado all over your hands. I won't tell if you lick them clean. For the other half, take a smaller spoon to loosen the remaining flesh from the seed, running it all around the seed, then kind of pop the seed out. Then use the large spoon as above. Use the knife to slice the avocado flesh into a rough chop.

Here's the recipe.

Avocado Salad, inspired by EatingWell.com
Click HERE for a picture of the salad.
Serves: 8

5 Haas avocados, roughly chopped
1 1/2 cups frozen corn, thawed
1 tomato, roughly chopped
1 tsp dried cilantro, or to taste
1 red bell pepper, cored and seeded, roughly chopped
1/2-1 tsp kosher salt
1 tbsp diced onions
raspberry vinaigrette, to taste

Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate for 30 minutes to chill.

Amount Per Serving
Calories 247.9 Total Fat 18.1 g Saturated Fat 2.4 g Polyunsaturated Fat 2.1 g Monounsaturated Fat 10.7 g Cholesterol 0.0 mg Sodium 359.8 mg Potassium 727.4 mg Total Carbohydrate 22.8 g Dietary Fiber 8.9 g Sugars 4.5 g Protein 3.5 g