Classic Simple Guacamole


Date Published: July 24th, 2020 | Last Updated: July 24th, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: sauces/dips, easy, < 15mins, snacks, vegetarian, healthy
Serves: 1 large bowl | Prep time: 10 mins | Cook time: 5 mins (not including refrigeration)

Jump to recipe |

I love guacamole. LOVE. Seriously. The creaminess of the avocados with the freshness of the tomatoes and lime juice is pure happiness in a bowl. I could easily devour a whole bowl of it myself while binge-watching something. It’s quick and easy with no actual cooking required – just chop some ingredients and mix it all up. Try to make it a little ahead of time because it tastes so much better after a few hours in the fridge to let the flavours infuse. Trust me.

Avocados are quite fatty by nature so the bad news is that the calories tend to stack up when you have too much. However the good news is that it’s good fat and has numerous health benefits so it’s actually quite good for you (as long as you don’t pair it with too many chips 😅).

My favourite way to eat guacamole is to simply have it as a dip served with tortilla chips. It’s a simple, quick and filling snack – but of course it goes amazingly on so many other things such as nachos, fajitas, tacos, burritos…etc.

I think my guacamole obsession started back in my university years in Canada with my old roommate Taryn. We’d frequently go to Gryph’s Sports Lounge/Campus Bar above the hockey rink and always order nachos with a side of guacamole. I don’t know what they put in their nachos, but it was so simple and satisfying. No fancy meats or sauces – just good ol’ nachos, cheese, sour cream, salsa and guacamole. Even after we graduated we met up a couple times at Gryph’s just to get the nachos and catch up (although from memory the last time we went there they had changed their nachos 😞).

Anyways, without further ado, here’s the recipe!

Happy Cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

  • 3 large hass avocados – a tip on how to choose avocados: gently squeeze them. You want them to be firm but with a slight give. If they squeeze in too much then they’re over ripe. If you don’t plan on using them for a while, then buy them more firm and leave it out on your counter to ripen. Hass avocados work best in guacamole.
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 2 cups tomatoes, diced (~2 tomatoes)
  • 1 1/2 cups red onion (~1 medium onion), diced – you can use regular yellow onions instead but the red ones give a bit more sweetness
  • 1 Tbsp lime juice (or more to taste) – different limes will have different sourness, so taste as you go and add more if you need (if you accidentally go overboard, add some sugar or more salt)
  • 1/2 tsp salt (or more to taste) – salt enhances the flavour of the ingredients. If you’re not sure whether you need more salt, I’d recommend letting the guacamole sit in the fridge for an hour after the flavours marinate together and then taste it to adjust flavours
  • 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper (or more to taste)
  • 1 pinch ground cayenne pepper (optional for a bit of heat)
  • Optional: chopped cilantro/coriander

Directions:

Peel, pit and mash the avocados in a large bowl. I find it easiest to mash avocados by using a whisk as a masher. If you prefer your guac more chunky, stop mashing when you get to your desired consistency.

Mix in the rest of the ingredients to the mashed avocados (garlic, tomatoes, onion, lime juice, salt, pepper). Taste and adjust ingredients as needed. I find that different limes have different degrees of sourness, so start with a small amount (like half a tbsp) and then add more as needed – I’ve had to add up to 2 Tbsps of juice before. It’s better to start with a small amount rather than overdo it. If you’re having some trouble adjusting the flavours, you can let it chill for a few hours first to let the flavours blend together and season it afterwards.

Ideally refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving (overnight is better) to let the flavours marinate together, then taste and adjust ingredients as needed. The difference between letting it chill in the fridge for a few hours or overnight vs serving it right away is night and day. Trust me.

Enjoy! Serve on the side of burritos, fajitas, nachos, or even just with some chips and crackers as a snack.

If you have any comments or suggestions, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section! You can follow me on instagram, youtube and facebook to see all the recipes I post!

Summarized Recipe:

Guacamole

Date Published: July 24th, 2020 | Last Updated: July 24th, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: sauces/dips, easy, < 15mins, snacks, vegetarian, healthy
Serves: 1 large bowl | Prep time: 10 mins | Cook time: 5 mins (not including refrigeration)

Ingredients:

  • 3 large hass avocados
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 2 cups tomatoes, diced (~2 tomatoes)
  • 1 1/2 cups red onion, diced
  • 1 Tbsp lime juice (or more to taste)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
  • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper (or more to taste)
  • 1 pinch ground cayenne pepper (optional)
  • Optional: chopped cilantro/coriander

Directions:

  1. Peel, pit and mash the avocados in a large bowl.
  2. Mix in the rest of the ingredients (garlic, tomatoes, onion, lime juice, salt, pepper). Taste and adjust ingredients as needed.
  3. Ideally refrigerate for 1 hour before serving to let the flavours marinate together then taste and adjust flavours again as needed.

AbbyLeave a comment

Maple Salmon


Date Published: July 17th, 2020 | Last Updated: July 17th, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: mains, healthy, easy
Serves: 2-4 (serves 4 if you have sides) | Prep time: 35mins | Cook time: 25mins

Jump to recipe | Watch the video

If you ever need a quick and easy dish to impress, this is it. Seriously. This recipe always gets rave reviews and it’s so SO easy and there’s minimal clean-up – perfect for a last minute dinner party or a fancy night-in! Serve it with whatever sides you want. The sauce is sweet-savoury (kind of like a teriyaki sauce, but not?) and a little on the heavy side so I tend to pair it with a lighter side dish such as a salad or some steamed veg and mashed potatoes.

This recipe is easy and cooks up quickly! You can watch the video below to guide you through the recipe.

Ingredients you’ll need:

  • 1/2 cup maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/4 tsp salt (or garlic salt if you’ve got some)
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1kg salmon fillet – this would serve about 3-4 people with side dishes (or two people because Toby and I LOVE this salmon so much we would devour it every time). If you’re not planning on serving any sides, then I’d probably double it. The fish doesn’t shrink much when cooked, so you can just eyeball how much you think each guest would eat and shop accordingly

Directions:

Combine all the ingredients (except the salmon) into a bowl to make the sauce and mix well.

Place the salmon flesh side down into the sauce (try to submerge as much of the flesh into the sauce as possible). Refrigerate for half an hour to marinate the fish.

After half an hour, take the salmon out of the fridge and place it skin side down on a baking tray and pour the sauce over the salmon.

Bake the salmon at 200˚C for about 20-25 mins (cooking time will depend on how big and thick your fillet is) until the salmon is easily flaked with a fork. You can spoon the sauce over the salmon halfway through cooking.

Once the salmon is cooked, serve it immediately and drizzle the sauce over it. Alternatively, if you like your sauce thicker, you can put the sauce back in the oven (minus the fish) and let it simmer until it thickens then drizzle it over the fish. Serve!

Ta-da!

If you have any comments or suggestions, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section! You can follow me on instagram, youtube and facebook to see all the recipes I post!

Happy cooking!

Watch the Video Tutorial!

Summarized Recipe:

Maple Salmon

Date Published: July 17th, 2020 | Last Updated: July 17th, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: mains, healthy, easy
Serves: 2-4 (serves 4 if you have sides) | Prep time: 35mins | Cook time: 25mins

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/4 tsp salt (or garlic salt)
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1kg salmon fillet

Directions:

  1. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients (except the salmon): maple syrup, soy sauce, garlic, salt, black pepper. Stir well.
  2. Place the salmon flesh side down into the sauce and refrigerate for 30mins to marinate.
  3. Preheat oven to 200˚C.
  4. Once the salmon has marinated, place it skin side down on a baking tray and pour the sauce over it.
  5. Bake for 20-25mins until the flesh is easily flaked with a fork. Spoon the sauce over the fish halfway through cooking.
  6. Once cooked, serve immediately with sauce drizzle, OR alternatively, to thicken the sauce you can take out the salmon and set aside and put the sauce back in the oven for another 5mins until it thickens (you can do this over the stove in a saucepan as well). Enjoy!

Abby1 Comment

Easy Balsamic Vinaigrette


Date Published: July 4th, 2020 | Last Updated: July 4th, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: sauces/dips
Serves: enough for 4 big salads | Prep time: 5mins | Cook time: 30 seconds

Jump to recipe | Watch the video

Since moving onto Toby’s parents’ family farm a couple months ago, we’ve been cooking nearly everyday. They have an amazing small greenhouse here that has been booming with lettuce. As a result, we’ve been making salads nearly everyday! I usually don’t make much salad as part of our normal meals because I find it hard to keep fresh for long enough in the fridge and I also find it hard to pack for lunch and dinners when you have to keep the dressing separate (but maybe that’s just an excuse). Now that we have so much time off, I actually quite enjoy experimenting with different salads and toppings.

This balsamic vinaigrette is my go-to salad dressing. It’s super easy and comes together very quickly. The only real effort you need to put in is to mince a garlic clove (unless you’ve got a garlic crusher). The rest of the work is just to mix it all together which takes less than 30 seconds. The beauty of this recipe is that you probably have nearly all the ingredients at home already and you can tweak it to your liking depending on what kind of salad you’re making (ie. if you have sweeter ingredients in your salad like fruit, you can increase the amount of vinegar to offset the sweetness and vice versa if you have saltier or sour ingredients, you can increase the amount of honey). You can also make this dressing as fancy as you like by whisking in other ingredients (ie. crushed raspberries). My favourite variation is to mix in a tablespoon of softened goat cheese. 🙂

Anyways, without further ado, here’s the recipe! You can watch the video below to guide you through the recipe. If you have any comments or suggestions, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section! You can follow me on instagram, youtube and facebook to see all the recipes I post!

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup balsamic vinaigrette
  • 1 tsp dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp honey
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • salt & pepper to taste

Remember, this is enough dressing for 4 big salads. If you’re making small side salads, I’d recommend halving the recipe.

Directions:

In a bowl, whisk together all the ingredients together until combined. Done!

Drizzle over your favourite salad. You may not need the full amount depending on how big your salad is. Taste as you mix until it’s enough. As mentioned above, you can tweak any of the ingredients to suit the flavours of your salad to make it more sweet, sour or salty.

Watch the Video Tutorial!

Summarized Recipe:

Easy Balsamic Vinaigrette

Date Published: July 4th, 2020 | Last Updated: July 4th, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: sauces/dips
Serves: 4 big salads | Prep time: 5mins | Cook time: 30 seconds

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup balsamic vinaigrette
  • 1 tsp dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp honey
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. In a bowl, whisk together all the ingredients together until combined. Done!

Abby1 Comment