A Whole New World

Sorry I’ve been away so long!

I’ve been awfully busy lately since joining the 9 to 5 club. I’ve found myself wholly unprepared for the abandonment of my blog, cooking, yoga and all the rest of life’s pleasures. I have been mourning each meal left uncooked and been drowning my sorrows (though not completely without joy) in happy hour drinks and appetizers known as the sustenance of the rest of the daily-grinders like myself.

Joining the working class has simultaneously left me depressed and elated. Elated at the prospect of earning money and potentially finding rewarding work, but, ultimately, staring at that turkey sandwich on wheat, baby carrots or banana, and my precious Diet Coke in the face each day for lunch frankly makes me want to drive that letter opener into my chest. Not even singing 9 to 5 by Dolly Parton makes me feel any better.

Thankfully, I have the greatest husband on earth who has a job that allows him to jump into the house-husband role. He makes dinners, cleans our condo and generally makes me feel that I don’t need to lift a finger once I get home. My eventual goal is to get back into cooking and manage my time a bit better than these past weeks. I did want to share one more recipe that Paul makes so incredibly well. Guacamole!

I haven’t included this recipe here yet because there are so many guacamole recipes out there, but I think Paul has tailored ours to perfection, at least for our tastes! The most important ingredient is the avocados, so they absolutely must be ripe. We all know how amazing guac is with the perfect avocados! We don’t include too much onion, garlic, or tomato, but lots of fresh cilantro and lime juice. Some people swear by Serrano chilies, but we discovered, by happy accident, that a few dashes of Tabasco sauce is what we prefer. It was pretty difficult to find fresh chilies while we lived in Paris, so we had to use Tabasco sauce instead, and we love the smooth aromatic heat that comes on the front of your tongue instead of chewing on one bite of chili. The Tabasco will get stirred in evenly giving the guac a cohesive flavor. Try it and you might just change your mind!

Guacamole, by Paul

4 ripe Hass avocados
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
½ large tomato (on-the-vine)
1 lime, juiced
¼ red onion, optional
Large handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
Coarse sea salt

Dice the avocados on a large cutting board. Place half of the chunks in a medium bowl. Smash the remaining avocado on the cutting board until fairly creamy. Add this to the bowl. Fold in the chopped onion, tomatoes, and cilantro. Squeeze ½ of the lime into the guacamole and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Taste and add more lime juice to taste. Serve with tortilla chips or as a garnish for enchiladas or tacos. Serves about 6 as an appetizer. We usually halve the recipe for the two of us.