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Friday 23 March 2007

Good-bye Dinner Routine!


I really admire all those food bloggers who not only throw one dinner party after another but are also able to create elaborate weekday dinners. Usually, on weeknights we'll have pasta/rice/gnocchi with some vegetable-based sauce. Not really exciting but not totally boring either.

A couple of days ago, I remembered having an almost overripe avocado in my fridge so I had to let go of my routine and think of something else for dinner. Unfortunately, I had trouble to think of something else than guacamole - are there any other well-known avocado recipes out there? The only other thing I could imagine was salad: some green leaves and cherry tomatoes, dressed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, garnished with diced avocado, strips of smoked salmon, and croutons (my favourite way of getting rid of leftover bread). This was a a rather nice break of our usual dinner routine. Sorry, no real recipe this time. It was more like throwing tasty things together plus adding lots of freshly cracked pepper - but it is more than easy to reproduce. Enjoy!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

That looks yummy, Eva. Did you know that you can make avocado shake? It's very common in Indonesia. I've seen it on the meny of an Indonesian restaurant here. But I was never a big fan of it because I find it to rich. In terms of cooking with avocado, I haven't been very creative or adventurous. One dish I enjoy making (& eating!): toss some chopped up avocado with pesto, penne (or pasta shells), roasted capsicum & sun-dried tomatoes. I throw in grilled prawns/chicken or roasted pine nuts sometimes. This can be eaten cold or warm. There is no need to add parmesan cheese because the pesto already has some parmesan blended in and the dish gets its creaminess from the avocado. - Nora

Eva said...

Your pasta salad sounds mouthwatering! And it seems to be quite practical, too, because most of the stuff you have already in your pantry. Wish I could get something like that for dinner tonight...
This avocado shake - is it sweet or savoury? I think I remember somewhat blurry having heard about it but I've never seen anything like that.
EVA

Anonymous said...

Avocado shake is sweet (it has sugar in it), and thick just like a milkshake or frappe. Apparently, it is also a popular drink in Brazil (makes sense since avocado is native to Central America), but they add milk (e.g. condensed milk) and it's sometimes frozen and blended. Interesting fact according to Wikipedia: "The Aztecs ate avocado as an aphrodisiac to become passionate and aroused lovers." Hmmm.... i never knew that!!!
- Nora

Eva said...

Maybe we should all start to eat more avocados...;-)

Tea said...

Hi, Eva--
I just wanted to say hi and thank you for your comments at Tea & Cookies. I am enjoying your blog--gorgeous photos! I believe Melissa posted a recipe for avocado shake on Travelers' Lunchbox last year--if you're wanting to try that. One of my favorite, non-guacamole, uses for avocado is Mexican tortilla soup. I have a recipe for it in my recipe index on the blog. It's one of those soups that make a meal (and yummy!).

As for those bloggers and their dinner parties and fancy weeknight meals--I don't know how they do it either:-)

Eva said...

Thanks very much! I'm definitely in for your Tortilla Soup with Avocado! Sounds as tasty as it is quick - another candidate to spice up our weeknight dinners.
However, I believe that I need to go on holiday in Bali before I can convince myself that avocado means dessert...;-) But if I stare long enough at Melissa's wonderful avocado shake photo - who knows...

Tea said...

Well, holiday in Bali is never a bad idea. Perhaps you should. A "research" trip, you know:-)