Green foods

In honor of St. Patty's Day, I will share a couple of my favorite green food recipes.

The first is Guacamole. Guacamole is one of my very favorite things in the world to eat. I like it on chips, sandwiches, salads; I even like it eaten plain with a fork! The trick to guacamole is garlic. And Salt. As long as you get these two right, you cant fail with your guacamole! Here is how I make it.

Guacamole

5-6 Avocados
1 small white or yellow onion, diced
1-2 garlic cloves
2 T. fresh cilantro, chopped
1 fresh jalapeno, diced and with a few seeds reserved
kosher salt
Lime

Scoop half of the avocados into a large bowl and coarsely mash them with a fork. Mince garlic and mash with the kosher salt, making a paste. I do this so the garlic isn't too bitter. Sometimes when garlic isn't cooked, it can be bitter, so making a paste to be mixed in with the avocado will help spread the flavors.

Stir in the juice of one lime, cilantro, onion, garlic & salt paste, and jalapeno. The spicier you like guacamole, the more seeds you will reserve. Usually I only keep a few! A little goes a long way when it comes to jalapenos. Scoop chunks of the remaining avocados into the bowl; stir lightly with a spoon. Season the guacamole with more salt as needed and serve at room temperature or lightly chilled. If you taste it and feel like it "needs something", it is almost always more salt!

**Tip for storing**
Keep a couple of the avocado pits in the guacamole to help keep it from turning brown. Remove before serving.



Another one of my favorite snacks is Edamame. It is healthy and delicious and my kids love it, too! Here's how I make it. Made this way, it reminds me of boiled peanuts. YUMMY!

Edamame

1 bag frozen Edamame, in the pods
Kosher salt
Soy sauce

Bring a pot of water to a rapid boil. Add Edamame a handful at the time. (Tossing them all in at once can cause boiling water to be splashed all over you. Getting 2nd degree burns can hinder you from getting to eat your Edamame. Not fun!) Bring back to a boil and cook for about 5 more minutes. Drain and toss with Kosher salt and soy sauce. I like them served warm, but you can also pop them in the refigerator at this point and then serve them chilled.