silentlucidity

Last night as I put my jerk chickens in the oven, I began wondering what else can go with it besides rice. I didn’t have beans, so rice and beans were out. I didn’t have potatoes so that was out too. As I was looking around, I caught a glimpse of the fruit bowl that sits on a wooden shelf beside the fridge. On it sat about half a dozen Orchard Crisp apples and 4 avocados. I had used some of the apples to make a simply and delicious apple pie earlier but what else can I make with them?! I looked at the brownish green avocados and wondered “what can I make with you?!” I figured I better use them fast or they will overripe and go to waste. They were on sale at $2.99/5 so I bought them to make hair mask which works wonder every time but other than that…I had very little use for them. They were still quite firm when purchased so I put them on top of the fridge the night before and by yesterday afternoon, they were perfectly ripe!

I first saw avocados in Amsterdam when I was 12 and on my way to join my dad in Canada along with my mom and 3 other siblings. On the way over, we stayed there for a couple of days. The first morning we went to have breakfast in the hotel’s breakfast room, and there they were among other fruits. I had never seen a fruit like that and was quite intrigued. I like avocados for their interesting texture and creamy interior but I find  them quite plain to eat and always struggled to find any other use other than a hair mask or an occasional guacamole.  This time, however I wanted to put them to good use so I began searching online. I figured a simple salad would go well with the spicy jerk chicken to balance out the heat. But alas! No recipe matched with what I had available in the fridge. Not the one to back down I got to work and came up with the following recipe. Since there’s only my husband and I, I made enough for two people and still had a little left over for me! Feel free to adjust the ingredients as needed.

Creamy N’ Cool Avocado Cucumber Salad

Ingredients:

2 medium sized, not too ripe avocados  

half an English cucumber 

1/4 red onion (white is perfectly fine)

coriander or parsley

half a tomato, seed discarded  

2-3 T spoon sour cream

salt and pepper to taste

1 slice lemon

Option: poppy seeds

Direction:

Chop avocado, cucumber and tomato roughly to same size. Put avocado in a bowl and squeeze lemon juice, toss to coat well. The juice will prevent them from turning brown. Add cucumbers and tomatoes. Chop parsley and red onion, add to the bowl. On a separate little bowl mix sour cream with salt and pepper and poppy seeds (if using). Pour over salad, toss to coat well. Taste and adjust S&P. Use immediately or see Make ahead tip below. Cover left overs with plastic wrap and use within one day.

Make ahead tip: Chop and mix everything except sour cream dressing. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.

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