Avocado Feta Hummus Layered Vegetable Appetizer

Avocado feta hummus is a pretty and protein-rich vegetarian appetizer. Customize your platter with diced vegetable toppings and use pita chips or sliced vegetables as dippers.

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Being an intentionally seasonal eater means I get to eat amazingly delicious foods.  Fresh food--tomatoes, strawberries, even celery--just tastes better and I'm usually willing to wait out the winter months for those fresh tastes.  But if I limited my diet to solely local foods, I'd miss out on bananas, avocados, olives, shrimp, chocolate, salmon, tea . . . lots of stuff!


I compromise, of a sort, and think Kristy's idea of eating 80% local/20% other, as described in her podcast, is a terrific idea.  Every beet we eat is locally grown.  All the kale, as well. Much of the tomatoes and tomato-based products we eat are from my backyard and our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share. I make enough pesto to last us for the year.  I'm also good with garlic, between roasting my own crop and using the fresh stuff from the farm share.

Avocados are an area where I enjoy breaking out of the local foods mode. After all, no avocado trees grow in my backyard (although I did have a banana tree when we lived in Hawaii)! Several years of resolving to add more avocados to my life [this is a New Year's Resolution more should adopt--it's fun!] means I am happy to report that I've gone beyond guacamole and avocado toast.


As soon as I tried the combination of salty feta and creamy avocado in Maria and Josh's Avocado Feta dip I was hooked. I keep coming back to that combination. I shared an Avocado Feta Lemon Yogurt Dip, and today I've made it into a hummus.

I think this dip--with the green olives, yellow peppers, and red onion--looks like Easter egg colors.  I'm sharing it now just because I thought it would be a nice Easter appetizer, and I like to plan ahead.

Avocado Egg Salad Sandwich with Hummus and Watermelon Radish for #EasterWeek

A dairy free vegetarian recipe to use up hard cooked eggs, this avocado & egg salad sandwich is extra creamy thanks to hummus plus the colorful crunch watermelon radishes.

Welcome to day 3 of #EasterWeek hosted by Bernadette from Rants From My Crazy Kitchen!

This week we are celebrating Easter and Bernadette’s blogging anniversary with all kinds of delicious recipes and a giveaway! From appetizers to ham recipes, we have everything you need for a great Easter dinner or brunch, and one lucky winner will receive a $200 Amazon gift card.  Scroll down for more details!

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I'm a practical cook yet I tend to creativity in the kitchen. Planning meals is NOT a paper and pencil exercise, it's more me staring at the fridge and seeing what containers I can empty to create space. Turning bits of leftover meats into pizza toppings is one inspired way I keep our family's Friday Night Pizza Night interesting, as described in My Pizza Primer. Adding Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) produce to the family meals is a constant source of inspiration--actually the purpose of this website. Repurposing leftovers is yet another source of inspiration for me, and the reason for today's recipe.

Vincent and Simon are waiting for a crumb to fall. Any crumb. They aren't picky.

Fish Taco Naan Pizza

A fast and easy fresh tasting pizza this simple naan crust is topped with mahi mahi, sautéed Napa cabbage, avocados, watermelon radishes, and crumbled queso.

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If you're cooking, you will organically move to a healthier diet . . . and support farmers--Michael Pollan, last night during his talk at the University of Dayton. I'm paraphrasing the end a bit.

I'm sure I sound like a broken record at times, or maybe a scratched disc, but if you're going to the trouble of cooking you may as well cook more than you'll eat during that sitting and plan to repurpose the leftovers into a new meal. It's a great way to plan to use the produce from the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share. When the Spring weather is so conducive to being outside--someone I know calls it "productivity poison"--meals that you can throw together from previously prepared ingredients are just the best.

This pizza is one example, and a terrific way to enjoy long-storing farm share ingredients. As a matter of fact, since my photos are date stamped, I know I made this pizza 3 weeks after I picked up the last farm share of the Fall season. Cabbages and radishes store for many weeks in the crisper, and can be used into the winter for fresh crunch in your meals.

When I say many weeks, I will be honest. I polished off THE LAST WATERMELON RADISH OF 2015 on April 17th, 2016. We're talking 4 months in my crisper. Four months!

Fruity Green Gazpacho

Sweet peppers, mild vegetables, grapes and mint make a refreshing chilled soup with a bit of an edge.

Do you ask for recipes when you taste something yummy--and homemade? I sure do. Even a vague "well, I used a bit of this, a smidgen of that, and a handful of the other thing" is enough of a jumping off point for me. When I've got the right blend of vegetables from our community supported agriculture (CSA) farm share, it's time to grab the appropriate fruits and give it a whirl. Literally.

Last September at a Cool Soups for a Hot Cause fundraiser I had a refreshing green gazpacho. It was sweet, but had a bit of edginess to let me know it wasn't entirely a fruit soup. [I've got my family's Scandinavian Fruit Soup on the blog if you want an entirely fruit soup.] After my second helping--which came after tasting ALL THE SOUPS on offer--I asked how it was made. The generous cook behind the tureen told me it had white grape juice and mint, and that she'd used the recipe from The Silver Palate Cookbook(Amazon Affiliate link). I made a mental note to find it, but after googling a bunch I never found that recipe.

Instead, I found this recipe for a green gazpacho without white grape juice. That looks good, but not the sweet-with-a-bite soup I'd enjoyed. I kept on searching. This recipe has the grape juice, but also jalapeño and the soup I liked was not spicy. Alanna shares her recipe--a more precise version with honeydew and grapes--here.

In the end I cobbled together a few ingredients in the blender and hoped for the best. The result was cool and creamy, sweet and just a little bit edgy, and we enjoyed drinking it. I cannot find my paper with precise measurements yet I'm going to war with the troops I have so I'm deliberately vague in the recipe below. This is clearly one of those 'taste as you go' situations.

Avocado Queso Dip

Avocado blended with queso and salsa verde for a creamy smooth dip. An excellent base for another layered vegetable appetizer.

This is not a sponsored post, though it probably reads like it. It's just on my mind, coming through the pen, and eventually through the screen. There is nothing to disclose.

In anticipation of Earth Day my family spent Saturday morning at our community park. We dug out muck from a drainage ditch, spread mulch across a playground, and enjoyed the pleasant feeling of being tired from physical work. That sounds so snooty, but our workdays are not spent shoveling, raking, and hauling wheelbarrows. It's a nice change to work at something physically and have immediate gratification. We went home and kept on going. Spending a weekend doing yard work is very fulfilling for me, though I understand I'm in the minority. I can deal with that.

See, I've got a secret: I've got good tools.

Just like how sharp knives and pizza stones make my days successful in the kitchen, the right tools make working in the garden a dream. I've mentioned my daughter's peach trees before, but what I haven't said was that the semi-dwarf variety was sneaking up to the power lines. My spouse fretted, then researched and bought a pruner stick. This tool is amazing. After he lopped off the offending branches, my daughter took charge and completed her annual pruning with ease. She's taller than I am, true--but her success comes from this tool. [It's her tree, she's in charge, we just advise and assist as needed.] One success led to another and I decided to do something about the bush that was trying to take over the driveway.

Last year a rogue branch dove down and took root in the mulch, starting a new colony right next to the asphalt and that just wouldn't do. I grabbed a trimmer but got stuck on the whole 'T Rex arm lack of upper body strength' thing. My spouse suggested I try the pruner. Holy cow! That thing cuts through thick branches like butter! After I brushed off some dirt from the blade it went in my finger like butter, too. Don't be like me, treat this tool with respect. [I still have 10 fingertips, I'm healing fine.] I extricated dead shrubs with this workhorse before switching to a smaller tool to remove the spent raspberry canes and transplant some new starts to make a second raspberry bed. On a roll, I fed the strawberry patch a Spring breakfast of coffee grounds and leaf mulch, then decided to feed the rest of the garden beds as well. The kids mowed after I picked violets to make my next Wild Violet treats, and my spouse de-dandilioned the yard with his favorite Japanese tool before spreading mulch on the dogs' race track, re-banking Dead Man's Curve.

We're greening up our little part of the world. Here's a green appetizer for you.

For other recipes using avocados, please see my Avocado Recipe Collection, part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient. For other Awesome Veggie Apps and Snacks, please check out my Pinterest board of the same name.

Spicy Lima Bean Dip with Avocado

Lima bean and tahini dip with avocado for creaminess and salsa verde for spiciness. Top with more veggies and queso cheese for a tasty snack!

Ah, April. Everything is greening up outside. Our grass is enjoying the recent rains which, along with last Fall's snack of finely shredded leaves worked in with the mulching mower, results in a vibrant lawn I'd be proud to let a guinea pig nibble. Sadly after 5 years we are without guinea pigs to nibble grass. Instead, I have a posse of dogs who enjoy lying in the sun of an afternoon.

Vincent with the garlic bed.

I've planted peas and chard in the garden, and each day the garlic looks stronger and taller. Interestingly, there's now garlic appearing in 3 out of our 5 raised beds. I rotate my crops and apparently I have missed several bulbs over the years. If I get them out this time, I'm curious what a 'forgotten for 3-4 years' garlic bulb looks like. I'll share a photo on my FB page.

I wanted to green up our plates, as well. In the months leading up to the start of the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share season I bounce between using put up vegetables from the freezer and buying fresh vegetables from the store. It is a treat to buy avocados because I know I'll be able to enjoy them as soon as they are ready (they won't be preempted due to vegetable triage).

In this recipe, I decided to keep the green theme going and use some lima beans from the freezer. I grew up eating lima bean and corn succotash but my kids are not fans, so I was looking for another way to use them. The lima beans blend nicely in a food processor and make an awesome veggie appetizer.

For other recipes using avocados please see my Avocado Recipes Collection. For other recipes using beans, please see my Bean Recipes Collection. These collections are part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient, a resource to help my readers figure out what to do when they've got ____________ to use. For other Awesome Veggie Apps and Snacks, please see my Pinterest board of the same name.

Savory French Toast with Avocado and Egg

An easy meatless meal, a savory breakfast for dinner, a new twist on Fat Tuesday. No matter what occasion you prefer, this savory French toast with avocado and egg will be delicious.

My octogenarian parents tell me that Toast is a Thing. I really don't get the concept of high end artisanal toast [I mean decorating a cupcake takes skill, but making a piece of toast?] but I do like a nice piece of toast. I've never gone out for fancy toast like my trendy folks have, but I think I can say with certainty that

this is not high end artisanal toast.

This is my answer to Pancake Tuesday, or Fat Tuesday, or an easy meatless Monday meal, or a twist on Breakfast for dinner. Instead of using the milk & eggs to make pancakes [and whatever else it is we're supposed to make when everyone runs to the store at the threat of snow--have you considered a Finnish Oven Pancake?], why not make French toast? Who says French toast has to be sweet? If I'm not using eggnog in the batter (like my Pumpkin Eggnog French Toast recipe) then the components are just as savory as a fried egg sandwich.

A fried egg sandwich is one of the perfect comfort foods, and one of the first meals I fixed both my spouse and my brother upon their respective returns from Iraq. You know someone who needs some TLC? Fix 'em a fried egg sandwich. Or if they are of the canine persuasion, make this.

Using the magic of blog-time I made this last week. On Fat Tuesday, like darn near every Tuesday night of the school year, I'll be shuttling my daughter to sewing and hanging out writing/reading/knitting/playing solitaire on my phone. I will not be making this.
You could, though.

Beef Tongue Nachos

Wait wait! Don't run away so quickly after reading the title. The picture caught your eye, right? Have an open mind! Try something new! Hear me out. You might like it.

One cook's trash is another cook's treasure. It fascinates me that, across the world, certain foods are perceived as desirable in some ages or areas and seen as unwanted in other times or places.

• Wheat bread was seen as a peasant food in earlier times, and white bread was the bread of well-to-do folks.
• Yellow cheese (from pastured cows) is more desirable on pizzas in Asia, whereas white cheese is the desired pizza cheese in the US. The source of this fact is a fascinating article I recently read. You can find it here. My spouse also backs up the idea that pizza cheese in Korea was just different than what he'd been used to [before my pizzas, that is]. Now anything goes.

Beef tongue evokes strong reactions. Depending on experience folks either love it because they've tried it or cringe because it looks like, well, a tongue. In keeping with my philosophy that if you choose to eat beef, you might as well use all of the cuts offered, I am firmly in the "love it" camp. My kids are still cringing because beef tongue looks different than all the ground beef in tidy packages in the freezer (link to my Ground Beef Recipe Round Up).

Does beef tongue skeeve you out?  How 'bout Mashed Potato Casserole, that can be made the day before, and cooked in a slow cooker or baked in the oven? My recipe for Make Ahead Irish Mashed Potato Casserole is in a Featured Bloggers Favorites contest over at SavingStar. Voting enters you in a chance to win a $50 American Express Gift Card, and the winning blogger also receives a gift card. You can find the contest here.

The whole family pitching in to make beef tongue enchiladas. The recipe is coming.

Each time I prepare tongue, the flavor overcomes more of the cringe factor. By our next cow it should be quite commonplace. With this tongue we had enchiladas, sliders, and nachos because there was plenty of meat and I felt like experimenting. This recipe gets shared first because I love the colorful photos and I could go for a plate of nachos right about now.

Surimi Chirashi Sushi with Summer Vegetables

A filling main dish salad of surimi and summer vegetables tossed with sushi-seasoned rice

When it's hot out, my body craves lighter food. Eating seasonally, the kitchen pendulum swings [yeah, there's a pendulum swinging in my kitchen. that's why it's a mess all the time!] from hearty chili, stew, or casseroles over to simply seasoned piles of pretty vegetables.  Making a chirashi sushi is one way to keep it cool in the hot weather. Chirashi sushi means scattered sushi, which means I get to be lazy all the flavors without all the fuss of rolling your own.

I love to roll my own sushi, don't get me wrong. The other day I made a bunch of pretty, and tasty, Egg, Kohlrabi and Carrot rolls. Taking a page from Fusian we put panko over top and the flavor/texture contrast was really neat.

When I've got kohlrabi or cucumber I will make up a big bowl of chirashi sushi. If I've got salmon I'll add that, or Spam, Surimi, or just scrambled eggs rolled up in an omelette. My friend Lasar introduced me not only to chirashi sushi but also to the furikake my son and I sprinkle on top. [My spouse and daughter don't care for furikake, so I list it as optional below.]

This keeps for a couple of days and can be reheated gently in the microwave. I store the cucumbers/kohlrabi separate because I like them cool and crunchy.

Cold and Creamy Pea, Avocado, and Mint Buttermilk Soup

A tangy refreshing chilled soup of garden fresh peas, avocado, and mint in a buttermilk base

"This is my mom.  She has worms."

My daughter's scintillating introduction to her charges didn't dissuade me from my purpose--to share my worm bin with the young gardeners at our local historical society.  Some kids think it's cool, some kids think it's gross, but all kids learn a little bit about worm composting. The more folks--young and old--who are exposed to the myriad of ways we can decrease the amount of waste we create, the better.
I think early exposure to a variety of ideas and foods is important and can result in permanent behavior changes. After I shared my worms with the young gardeners I helped them in their plot. It reminded me of when my teens were in elementary school and I'd volunteer during class time, helping kids to plant, weed, and harvest vegetables.  Now, my daughter was in charge of the pea harvest--showing the kids how to snap off the peas without pulling up the whole vine. She also encouraged her charges to sample the harvest.

When I harvest in my own garden I just eat peas straight off the vine. They need no accompaniment, to me, which is why I haven't shared a pea recipe before. Usually I start snacking on peas while driving home from picking up our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share box, and I'll nibble a few here and there until they are all gone.

However, I screwed up with the peas in the farm share recently which is why I created this soup. After nibbling on a bunch, I set the pint on the shelf in the fridge and the peas froze. Oops.  Not one to waste perfectly edible food that is the result of our farmers' hard work, I searched for a soup recipe combining what I had on hand (peas, mint, buttermilk) with what sounded good (avocado).

If you don't like the taste of buttermilk [because your mom raised you to eat what was put in front of you and your friend's mom offered you a tall glass of buttermilk which you choked down--only to be given a second glass since you appeared to like it so much--my spouse's experience with buttermilk, not mine] I recommend trying this pea soup recipe.  Or this one.

Greek Stew Meat Tacos

Beef cubes, marinated in artichoke, lemon, and olive juices served taco style with avocado dip.

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One way to be a meat-eating local food eater is to buy a cow, or part of a cow.  We did, and that's how I got the cow that lives in the freezer.  One of the cool things about going in on a cow (ok, technically he was a steer), like I've mentioned, is that you get a LOT of cow parts that may be new to you.  And in cooking them, you learn new dishes that you love. Like tail.  I love me some tail!  You also get meats you may be less desirous of--thanks Dawn for bringing over the liver your family isn't fond of--we use it in meatloaf.  When you get a portion of cow all at once, you can find yourself with a package of stew meat tucked away in the corner of the freezer when you're not really interested in fixing a stew.

Just because a package says "stew meat" doesn't mean you need to make stew with it.  It just means that the meat needs tenderizing, either by long slow moist cooking, or by a long soak in a tenderizing marinade.  I opted for the latter this time.


This goes back to my mom wanting to use up the liquid left in the olive and artichoke jars because she never throws anything away without some sort of reuse.  (See where I get it from?)  When I made the Slow Cooker Greek Chicken Tacos the artichoke/olive juice marinade made for tasty meat--so I did the same thing with beef.  Note:  this has an overnight marinade!

For more recipes using avocados, please see my Avocado Recipes Collection. For more recipes using carrots, please see my Carrot Recipes Collection. For more recipes using olives, and artichokes, and other veggies in jars, please see my Recipes Using Veggies in Jars Collection. These collections are part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient, a resource for folks like me eating from the farm share, the farmer's market, the garden, the neighbor's garden, and great deals on ugly produce at the grocery store.


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Grilled Cheese with Guacamole and Corn Salsa

Guacamole, hummus, and corn & black bean salsa nestled into the middle of a grilled cheese sandwich.  A delicious leftover repurposed into a snack.

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Leftover guacamole is like a Christmas tree on the lot on December 26th.  No one wants it.  Sure, you can cover it with plastic wrap . . . or water (check out these terrific kitchen hacks) . . . to help with the oxidation, but the fact is it's a has-been.

Or is it?

I turned some game day leftovers into a yummy grilled cheese sandwich, and before Grilled Cheese month [who thinks of these things? Zucchini bread day?Apple turnover week?] ends I wanted to share it with you.

I'm glad to even the score between vegetarian grilled cheese sandwiches and those containing meat on this blog, as I think grilled cheese (and tomato soup) is one of those combinations that appeal to a wide variety of eaters.

Earlier this month we stopped for grilled cheese on the way home from a Spring break trip to have my phone stolen at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. [Am I the only one who is scouting the opposite side of the road for places to eat on the way home when we've just barely embarked on a trip?]  We were surrounded by multigenerational families, couples, and individuals all enjoying a grilled cheese sandwich. [We stopped at Fair Oaks Farms and bought gooey grilled cheese sandwiches on bread that managed to be both soft and chewy--must investigate different kinds of bread for my sandwiches.]

I think I ranted enough about using your leftovers the other day with my Taco Rice Tortilla Pizza post.  Today I'd just like you to enjoy a tasty, if a bit messy, sandwich.  And rest assured I've got some other grilled cheese ideas kicking around for next April!

For more recipes using Avocados, please see my Avocado Recipes Collection. For more recipes using beans, please see my Beans/Legumes Recipes Collection. For more recipes using corn, please see my Recipes Using Corn Collection. These collections are part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient, a resource for folks like me eating from the farm share, the farmer's market, the garden, the neighbor's garden, repurposed leftovers, and great deals on ugly produce at the grocery store.

I'm sharing more recipes on my Pinterest boards, follow me there. If you like a good peek behind the scenes like I do, follow me on Instagram. Need a good read? I'm sharing articles of interest on my Facebook page, follow me there. Want to know How to Use This Blog?

Creamy Avocado, Bell Pepper and Hatch Chile Enchiladas

A rich vegetarian dish, these avocado, bell pepper, and caramelized onion enchiladas are spiced with roasted Hatch chiles and covered in plenty of cheese.

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My New Years Resolution to add more avocados to my life continues.  [Ya think, since I've posted 2 avocado appetizers in the past month or so?] Since we like enchiladas I wondered about using avocado as the filling for a vegetarian dish.  Low fat or skinny this is not--it is rich!  Instead of a tomato-based enchilada sauce like I've used most recently in Confetti Turkey Enchiladas, or a tomatillo-based salsa verde, like in my Fish Taco Enchiladas, I made a spicy white sauce with Hatch chiles. 

Simon and I walked down to fetch freshly roasted Hatch chiles last summer.

In this dish I used bell peppers from my Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share plus roasted Hatch chiles from my local grocery store.  Both of these peppers can be frozen when they are harvested and thawed for using in baked dishes like I've shown here.  It's another way I feed my family local foods all year long. The caramelized onions are also freezer-friendly flavor boosters. I use both Dorothy's Slow Cooker Method or Alanna's Flavorful Slow Cooker Onions.

This is an involved dish, with multiple steps, so I'll skip any further chitchat and get to the chopper recipe.

Wait--one note--next week I'll share my recipe for the Cheater Margarita Smoothies shown in several of the photos. I rarely suggest wine pairings with my recipes, but I can say with confidence that a Cheater Margarita Smoothie--or two--goes well with these enchiladas.

Another note--if you want to boost the structure of these enchiladas, feel free to add 1 or 2 cups of cooked grains (rice, faro, quinoa, etc) to the vegetable filling. We ate ours with rice on the side.

For more enchilada ideas, vegetarian or with fish, chicken, or pork--hey, no beef, yet, huh--please enjoy my newest Clickable Collage of Recipe Suggestions below.  As always, Anyonita taught me this party trick via this tutorial.

Click on the top 6 photos to be taken to the recipe, the bottom row are "coming soon"!

Unagi and Avocado Rolls with Carrot Sushi Rice

Barbecued eel and avocado rolled up in colorful carrot rice for an amazing sushi roll

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Sometimes you just have to scratch your head and ask yourself 'now why didn't I think of that?'.  I was uploading photos to the food porn photo sharing site Fridgg when I saw colorful carrot rice, and I mentally smacked my forehead and wondered why I'd never done that while making sushi.
After all, I put finely shredded carrots in my Maple Teriyaki Salmon sushi, though I layered them with apples before rolling up.  And I've tossed cooked rice with finely shredded carrot while making chirashi sushi, seen on the blog in my Spam Musubi Chirashi Sushi.  So it's not a giant stretch to think up tossing the carrot with the rice, then using the result in my sushi rolls.

I've talked about some of the ways I put up our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share vegetables during the growing season, to feed my family during the winter (talking about this is kinda the mission of this blog).  I roast and freeze my garlic crop.  I turn the tomatillos (and freshly roasted Hatch chiles from the grocery store down the road) into salsa verde.  I keep the Strategic Winter Squash Reserve in a cold corner of my breakfast nook.  Carrots are a bit different.  I shred them using the fine shred disc on my food processor then freeze them in zip top bags.  I can take out just what I need and it thaws rapidly.  If you don't have a food processor with a fine shred disc--I'm thinking box grater?

What exactly do those spiky holes on the 4 sided box grater do, anyway?  I've only used the large shred hole side and the slicer side.  Those spiky hole things just snag my knuckles (or get gunked up with cheese when the kids are first learning to grate cheese) and are a pain to clean.  If you know, I'd love to hear it in the comments.  It's been a mystery to me for a while.

Next thing on my mind:  unagi.  Unagi, or barbecued eel, is one of my favorite items on the sushi menu.  When we lived in Hawaii, my daughter and I would splurge on a sushi lunch at the Aloha Sushi nearby.  I'd get a couple of unagi hand rolls--the combination of warm eel and warm sushi rice in a freshly-made hand roll is irresistible to me.  Getting cold, pre made unagi in the grocery store just doesn't cut it, and since I can eat my age in pieces of sushi it makes sense to make it at home.  For this reason I pick up packages of unagi from the freezer section of the asian market (you can see it below).  They are ready when I've got the rest of the ingredients on hand.

My first sushi post details a lot of the steps involved in making sushi, complete with step-by-step photos.  I'm not trying to rack up additional page views when I refer you to it--I'm trying to keep this post as concise as possible while showing off the neat photos I took (because I am absurdly pleased with them).  You can check out my How to Make Sushi at Home post here.


For more recipes using avocado, please see my Avocado Recipes Collection. For more recipes using carrots, please see my Carrot Recipes Collection. These collections are part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient, a resource for folks like me eating from the farm share, the farmer's market, the garden, the neighbor's garden, and great deals on ugly produce at the grocery store.

I'm sharing more recipes on my Pinterest boards, follow me there. If you like a good peek behind the scenes like I do, follow me on Instagram. Need a good read? I'm sharing articles of interest on my Facebook page, follow me there. Want to know How to Use This Blog?

Avocado Lemon Feta Yogurt Dip

An easy and versatile vegetable dip of creamy avocado, bright lemon, and salty feta in a yogurt base

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One of my New Year's Resolutions, for the second year running, is to add more avocado to my life.  I love in it guacamole.  I love it filled with corn and black bean salsa.  I love it smashed with some salt, spread on toast, and eaten with an over easy egg.

I got that idea off a BBC show about astronomy and the SOFIA project where I saw some German astronomers--working on the Very Large Telescope--who who were being interviewed over breakfast high up in the Atacama desert in Northern Chile. One astronomer was smashing an avocado with his toast and egg.  Try it--it's delicious. 

Avocado is just delightful--and no, I'm not being paid to say it. It's a New Year's Resolution that I'm able to keep, which is the best kind of resolution.

Brighten up a mashed avocado with a splash of lemon, add the salty tang of feta cheese, make it even creamier with yogurt, and you've got yourself a real winner.

This is the first of two avocado dips I'm sharing this spring.  My second is Avocado Feta Hummus. Both use the delightful combination of avocado and feta, first brought to my attention with Maria's Avocado Feta Dip and cemented into my palate with my Slow Cooker Greek Chicken Tacos and Five Layer Mediterranean Chicken Dip.  I like to serve these dips piled with vegetables and sprinkled with additional feta cheese, and we scoop them up with carrot slices, celery sticks, fingers, or pita chips.  I stumbled across this concept last summer, making my supper out of a Layered Vegetable Appetizer, and refined it during January's #AppetizerWeek when I made a week's worth of vegetable appetizers with a talented group of food bloggers.  You can see all our creations on the #AppetizerWeek Pinterest board.


Not into avocado + feta? How about queso? You can find my Avocado Queso Dip here. 

We've had a string of sunny days, which gives me hope that this winter will come to a close.  Amazing how wonderful time spent in a sunbeam can feel.  I think our dogs have it right--follow the path of the sun from East-facing windows to West-facing windows over the course of the day.  [That's when they're not napping on the heat vents.] This dip makes me think that Spring is right around the corner which, looking at the calendar, it is.  Hooray!