Favorite Recipes

I love food, always have. Food is comforting, whatever mood I'm in. Tired, stressed, happy, depressed, I have favorite foods for all my moods! I also love to create dishes, I seldom follow a recipe without adding my own little touch. Today I thought I would put one of my favorite recipes here.

Now, being from Minnesota (I say that with a Minnesotan accent, of course--long ooooo), you would think I can't make anything spicy. That's the generalization about us. I'm different because I love spicy--not just hot, but flavorful. LOTS of flavor! One of my favorite foods is Guacamole and mine has lots of great flavor. So here goes, and if you try it, make sure you get (or make) really good, fresh tortilla chips to go with it. A cocktail goes well with it too!

Keep in mind that all recipes are just "guides". Do what you want! If you don't like one of the ingredients, don't add it; add something else that you DO like! But make it sing with flavor. Life is too short to eat boring food!

Barbara's Guacamole

2 ripe avocado, mashed with a fork (leave some chunks for great texture)

Tomato, sliced into chunks for about 1/2 cup (I use Roma or grape tomatoes, something with sweet flavor)

Garlic, fresh or pickled (how much is up to you--I put in at least 6 cloves, but then we LOVE garlic! Please, please, please do not use the garlic in water that comes in a jar. There's no flavor in it! Don't waste your money.)

Onion, chopped, about 1/3 cup (use sweet onion, red onion, scallions, or a combination)

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

1 Tablespoon Lea & Perrins Worchestshire sauce (best in the world)

1/2 cup sour cream

Cumin to taste (I add at least 1 Tablespoon)

What else can you add? Try 1/2 cup of sliced black olives, jalapenos, banana peppers, whatever you like.

Mix all ingredients together carefully, you do not want to smash the tomatoes. Then--and this is the hardest part--let it sit a while in the fridge. It gets better the longer you let it sit. The flavors meld together to form the most delicious concoction you've ever tasted. But if you're like me, you're probably opening the fridge every 10 minutes to "just have a taste". Next thing you know, half of it is gone and you're deciding if you should just eat the other half and not tell anyone you even made it. (Make sure you wash the dishes so no evidence is left at the scene of the crime.) Or hey, make another batch!

There you go, this is my secret guacamole recipe! Enjoy! I did yesterday and it was fantastic!

On Being a "Maker"

A funny thing happened the other day...I was really, really stressed out because too many things were going on and I was being pulled in too many directions at once. I kept thinking to myself, "All I want to do is be alone with all my ingredients and create a coffee scrub...why can't I just do that?" It's my comfort zone--creating something. It's also my obsession. It often doesn't matter what I'm creating, just that I AM creating. It's the process, it keeps me going.

It also gets me in SOOOOO much trouble! I have issues saying "no" to people because in my mind what they ask will "only take me a few minutes". Hahaha, yeah right. My head knows better, but my heart always wants to help out. (So I can sleep later in the week, or maybe next week....)

I made it through that day and took care of the hundred or so things on my list, and the next day too. But the first open spot on my schedule was filled with the creation of a spectacular coffee scrub! I enjoyed every minute of it, looking like a mad scientist in her laboratory, adding a little bit of this, a little bit of that, sneaking in bites of really good chocolate to keep me going. So now I'm good for a little while.

Or so I thought...

This past weekend I bought a drop-spindle so I can make my own yarn from various types of fiber. I'm starting with alpaca and we'll see how that goes. I have to laugh at myself because I already have tons of crafty hobbies that I do not have time for...ah well, what's one more?