Speaking Of Avocados, Here's A Simple Salad That's Yum

This quick salad goes great with any entree.

1 ripe Hass avocado

1 medium tomato

1 small red onion, or 1/2 of a medium one

Olive oil, about a tablespoon

Salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Chop the veggies and combine all ingredients in a bowl. Mix well. If you like it hot, a few shakes of chili powder or cayenne pepper are good. If you like it not, just go with the basics. Chill. Generally serves two. Multiply ingredients by two if you're serving dinner for four.

Guacamole, kept simple and good

I've found that when it comes to good guacamole, less can be more.

This is all you need:

1 ripe Hass avocado, per person

Salt and black pepper, to taste

Now for the chile. Choose one of the three:

Muy caliente: 1 fresh serrano pepper per person/avocado, minced

Medio caliente: 1/2 fresh jalapeno pepper per person/avocado, minced

No caliente: a wedge of green bell pepper, minced

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mash/mix until you have a consistency sort of like mashed potatoes. Serve immediately. Don't make more than you can eat, and eat it all up while it's fresh. That's one of the secrets to this. You can refrigerate leftovers, but it's best fresh.

The recipe for fresh Sangrita

I'd promised this much sooner, but have been neglecting this blog. Will try to catch up.

You'll need a blender for this.

3 medium tomatoes, cut into wedges

A 6-oz. can of orange juice, or juice from 1.5 oranges

Juice of 1 lime

1/2 of a small onion, cut into wedges

1/2 a teaspoon of sugar

2-3 fresh serrano peppers (cayenne pepper or the hot sauce of your choice can be a substitute)

Salt, to taste

Put all ingredients in the blender and puree.

Serve as a chaser with tequila shots, lime wedges and salt (optional)

Note: You can also use a juicer to do this, and there will be less pith than with a blender.

Manifesto Joe's pot of red-hot Texas chili

Jack Jodell, a big bowl of this will warm you up, even on those below-zero Minnesota nights.

1 pound of very lean ground beef. Same amount of very lean stew beef works very well, too.

1 chorizo sausage, chopped or ground. A Kielbasa will do if you can't get chorizo.

1 large red bell pepper, or 2 smaller ones, chopped. Green ones are OK.

1 large can (29 oz.) of tomatoes, or 2 14-oz. cans.

1/3 cup of ketchup

1 medium onion, chopped

Several cloves of garlic, chopped

New Mexico chili powder, to taste. I recommend a lot.

Cumin powder, the same

1 teaspoon of dried oregano

Salt and black pepper, to taste. It might be wise to add table salt after cooking.

6 oz. of beer, or water

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 large can (29 oz.) of pinto beans, and 1 medium can (14 oz.) of black beans

1 stalk of celery, chopped

1 fresh habanero pepper, finely chopped (Optional, depending on how hot & spicy you like your chili. If you want it in the medium range of heat, substitute 1 fresh jalapeno pepper.)

6-8 dried chipotle peppers, ground to powder (Also optional, depending on your heat tolerance. Use 3-4 for the medium range of heat. The ones in cans, in adobo sauce, also work.)

1 tablespoon of paprika

Cayenne pepper, to taste, for those who like it hot

1 cup of beef stock

1 thick slice of bacon, or 2 thin slices, chopped. (Optional) Fry the bacon first if you want less fat.

1/2 teaspoon of allspice

1 tablespoon of Worchestershire sauce

1/2 of a poblano pepper

Quaker oats -- amount depends on how thick you like your chili. A lot will also cut the heat.

Juice of 1/2 of a lime

Combine all ingredients, except oats and lime juice, in a large stew pot and slowly bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for an hour, stirring occasionally and breaking up larger ingredients like meat and tomatoes. Add oats during simmer time to thicken, or water to thin, as desired. Add lime juice near the end of cooking to sharpen slightly.

Turn off heat and let it cool a bit. Serve with crackers or warm tortillas, chopped fresh cilantro and grated Monterey Jack cheese. (Mozzarella cheese works, too.)

After refrigeration and reheating, this is even better on the second day. Try to eat it all up by the third day -- it's perishable. Or, the leftovers can be frozen. It still tastes great after thawing.

PS: Meat substitutes, in appropriate amounts, work with this, too, if you're a vegetarian. I recommend a product called Soyrizo as a substitute for the chorizo sausage. It's yummy.

A Way To Work Greens Into Your Diet

Greens -- mustard, turnip, kale, beet, etc. -- are rich in Vitamin K and many other nutrients that guard against cancer and other diseases. Problem is, not many people like them. Here's a way you might like:

Start with a steak, whatever is your pleasure. 6-8 oz. will do for each person. I usually use something leaner, like top sirloin, London broil, eye of round. Put it on a microwave-safe plate.

Cover the steak with picante sauce. I usually use Pace hot, but any kind will do, and some of you won't like it as hot.

Then layer a slice or two of processed cheese on the sauce. I usually use fat-free slices so as to cut down on the saturated fat in the recipe.

Then put a layer of greens on top of the cheese. Cover everything very well.

The wax paper is next. The reason for putting the greens on top is so that the cheese won't stick to the wax paper, or at least minimally.

Wrap a good stretch of wax paper over the plate, covering the food.

Zap it all in the microwave until the steak is done to your liking (medium-rare, well-done, etc.)

The greens should be cooked (wilted). Let everything cool a bit.

Enjoy with the side of your choice. Oh, and like, actually eat the greens. That's one of the main points of the recipe. They should taste a lot better with all the other ingredients combined.