Avocado Salsa

Well, I need to apologize for the lack of recipes this week. Life is crazy trying to get ready for the new school year (which starts next Monday!!!!) and I've been throwing myself back into my running schedule. This Saturday I am running a 5k with my sister. It is her first one and I am so excited for her! I really hope she can feel the same exhilaration that I do by just being there. I also do our neighborhood newsletter which eats up a lot of my time the 3rd week of each month, so we have been eating our normal "stand-by" meals.

For instance, last night we had tacos. I did however, dress it up with my favorite salsa. I love avocados and they are the main ingredient, so what's not to love? My husband likes to tell me that I should not eat as many as I do because they are a higher fat fruit. I always think they are better than eating a candy bar though, and now I have the info to prove it. For a complete information sheet on avocado nutrition visit this Healthy Living site. Here are some tips for picking out good ones from the grocery. I still get yucky ones, but my chance are better now that I know what to look for.

First, if you don't need them right away, get a slightly greener and firmer avocado. They ripen best off the tree, so this does not affect the taste. To speed up the ripening process, place the avocado in a paper bag with an apple. Put a few holes in the bag and store at room temperature. If you need an avocado for that day--look for one that is purple-black in color and yields to gentle pressure but that is not mushy. Once ripe, you can keep avocados in the fridge for about a week, then they turn brown inside and get stringy--yuck! Tip: to keep them from turning brown when slicing, dicing or whatever, rub lemon juice on the surface of them.

California Avocado Salsa (no picture, sorry)

• 3 large ripe avocados, peeled and cubed
• 2 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 1 chopped sweet red pepper
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro or parsley
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• (I add a pinch of dried red chili flakes)

In a bowl, combine all the ingredients. EASY! You can serve these with chips, they are great on fajitas, tacos, taco salad and in burritos. (Ok, here is my normal "I didn't have...so I used..." moment. I didn't have lime juice, so I used 2 tablespoons of pineapple concentrate with enough water to make it 1/4 cup. It is all I had! But it was really good. It gave the salsa a slight sweet taste that reminded me of Paul Newman's pineapple salsa.)