Cookish: Snacktime

Guacamole

3 ripe Haas avocados
1/2 medium tomato, chopped
juice of 1/2 lemon
grated onion
salt
pepper
garlic powder

Slice the avocados in half, remove the pit, and spoon the flesh into a bowl. If your avocados are not perfectly ripe, you can chop them, but if they're really ripe, they'll be pretty mashable just as they are. add the lemon juice (you can add more if 1/2 is not enough). Add salt, pepper, and a few shakes of garlic powder (or granulated garlic). Use your microplane grater and grate a couple teaspoons of onion juice in. (You can just add chopped onion, if you like. I don't really like chunks of raw onion, so this is my alternative.) Mash the avocados to the desired consistency and stir in the tomatoes. You can also add a few shakes of Tabasco. Serve with tortilla chips.

Cookish: What's for dinner?

Mom's Pasta Salad

So my momma makes awesome Italian pasta salad, despite being not even a little bit Italian. I am going to include her recipe below, and then list my changes below that.

1 bag/box rainbow rotini (16 oz)

1/4 head broccoli, chopped

1/4 head cauliflower, chopped

Parmesan cheese

1 package pepperoni, sliced

garlic powder

1/2 large onion, thinly sliced

1 can artichoke hearts, drained

1 jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained, marinade reserved

1 bottle Wishbone Italian dressing

Boil the pasta. Two minutes before the pasta is done, add the broccoli and cauliflower to the pot. When pasta is done, drain. Chop the artichoke hearts. Coat the pasta and veggies with cheese while hot. Add garlic powder. When cool, add the rest of the veggies & pepperoni and add the dressing.

My changes: I leave out the onion and the pepperoni. I also use a whole head of broccoli and a whole head of cauliflower to up the veggie quotient. I also add a few chopped carrots and chopped sun-dried tomatoes and sliced black olives. I used the sun-dried tomatoes that come in a package, not the ones in the jar. They're a little salty, so I chop them pretty small. I also add everything together--except the dressing--while it's hot. I add about half the dressing while its hot--mainly because I always want to eat it, even while it's hot. Then I let it cool and add more as needed. I also use reduced-fat, store brand Italian dressing because I am cheap!

I love this pasta salad. It makes a really large amount, so it's great for a picnic or potluck, but I love it so much that I always eat way more than I should. Leaving out the pepperoni, it will make vegetarians happy, and if you've got vegans in the crowd, I guess you can leave out the cheese--but what a shame that would be!