Happy March! What’s shakin’?

I’ll tell you what. My house, this weekend. The wind was so bad in the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic that people lost siding, shutters, roofs… no bueno. I made a few things in the last week, not all paleo/vegan but some yummy treats! Gluten free rice crispie treats, carne asada tacos, slaw, gluten free macaroni and cheese with pancetta…. The whole nine. I’ll get to food in a second, but I wanted to talk about March.

Did you know the month is named after Mars? The planet, not so much. The Roman God of War, definitely. Things you think about when you think of March are battles, conquests, adventures…. random last minute snowstorms because mother nature is funny like that…. you know. Just the normal stuff.  Also, March used to be the very first month of the Roman calendar, which also aligned with new beginnings of Spring and the continuation of life from the prior year, or era. Remember how February had only a new moon and no full moon? That was the suppression of things to prepare for your new beginning. Those plans you carefully crafted last month? Jump on them now. With the brunt of things almost behind us, the latter part of March leaves us with light, easy living and smooth sailing. It is what you make of it, though. Care for your business now to lighten your load later this month. 🙂

On to fun foodies. One thing that’s super important to parties, snack time, dinners etc is my guac. I’m not sure what about it makes it so special, but it’s probably my number 1 requested food when I have friends over. It’s simple, you can put it on anything… it’s all around just a good recipe to have on hand. Try it out! The one thing about making this recipe the best ever is really paying attention to the ingredients. You can use what you have on hand, but I like to find the perfect tomatoes, avocados, etc. Yum.

Best Guacamole Ever (Paleo, Vegan, everything)

Prep time: 15 min

Cook time: n/a

Ingredients

• 5 pretty ripe but still bright green avocados
• 1/3 of med-large red onion, -OR- 1 small-med yellow onion
• 1 red bell pepper, diced into very small pieces
• 2 ripe-but-not-too-mushy roma tomatoes (the oblong shaped ones), diced into small pieces
• 1 large bunch of very fresh cilantro, finely chopped
• juice of a half or whole lime, to taste
• salt, to taste (I typically start with 1/2 tsp and  go from there)
• pepper, to taste

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mash your avocados with a fork, gently. you don’t want to bruise them and turn them into complete mush.
2. Next, stir in your tomatoes, gently folding them into the mix, including any juices from the cutting board. Now add your onion, and bell pepper. Stir in your cilantro, as well.
3. Now add your pepper — just a pinch, and then your salt. Taste test every so often to gauge if you need more… some like their guac a bit more salty.
4. Lastly, add your lime juice. The idea behind adding your salt before your lime juice is that the enzymes in the citrus react differently to salt, so your flavors are much more vibrant if the lime is added last. I have no idea if that’s really what’s happening, but it sounded nice when I heard it.
5. Unless you have several hours until you serve your guac, cover with Saran wrap, pressing down against the guac to prevent any oxidation/turning brown. Remove from the fridge about 30 minutes prior to serving. If serving within the hour, leave at room temperature to let the flavors meld.

Enjoy!

-S