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)

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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.

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Spicy Asian Tuna Salad


Date Published: July 4th, 2020 | Last Updated: July 4th, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: sides/salads, <15mins
Serves: 4 | Prep time: 10mins | Cook time: 5mins

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Last weekend Toby’s dad took us deep sea tuna fishing with a fishing charter in Portland, Vic. My fishing experience is fairly limited but thankfully the charter set up all the rods for us, so all we had to do was wait until a tuna caught on and we take turns reeling them in. Luckily mine didn’t put up too much of a fight but Toby’s gave him a good workout. There was a limit of two tuna per person. We drove around for hours and caught some here and there, but alas we were two fish short of our max. We were on the boat for roughly 6 hours total. We took 4 fish home in total, ranging from 10-15kg (good thing Toby’s parents have a big freezer back on the farm). We youtube’d how to fillet a tuna and we filleted one tuna that night and have been eating it ever since. I’ve been scrambling to find some good tuna recipes and came upon some asian-inspired ones and played around with them. This recipe is the result of it! (I also used up some tuna in the salmon chowder recipe and subbed out the fish type – turned out delicious!)

This recipe has asian-inspired flavours. Some ingredients aren’t very traditionally asian (like the cranberries and raw carrots), but they have their role to play and I promise the overall flavour packs a punch! You end up with a mildly spicy, kinda sweet, crunchy, sesame tuna salad in the end. This recipe is easy and comes together quickly! You can watch the video below to guide you through the recipe.

Anyways, without further ado, here’s 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:

  • Dressing:
    • 4 Tbsp mayonnaise
    • 1 Tbsp sesame oil
    • 2 tsp light soy sauce
    • 2 Tbsp asian chilli paste or sambal (I like to use the Lao Gan Ma crispy chilli oil (drained), but any chilli paste should do – you may want to adjust the proportions if your chilli sauce is very spicy). You can even use sriracha.
    • 1 1/2 tsp honey
    • 1/2 Tbsp ginger, grated
  • 200g cooked or canned tuna, flaked and drained well
    • You can use canned tuna, but for my purposes I was trying to use up the tuna fillets from our fishing trip so I quickly cooked the tuna in the oven at 180˚C for 10mins and flaked it for this recipe.
  • 1/3 cup dried cranberries
  • 3 Tbsp green onions, chopped (~2 stalks)
  • 1/3 cup carrots, chopped finely
  • 2 tsp sesame seeds
  • 1/2 tsp chilli powder
  • 2 Tbsp lemon juice

I was quite conservative with the spice level in this recipe – just spicy enough to leave your mouth with a slight tingle. You can choose to omit the chili powder altogether if you’re not into spicy or even double it if you’re a spice fiend. The spiciness of your chili paste will also determine how spicy your tuna salad is.

Directions:

In a bowl, mix together the dressing ingredients: mayonnaise, sesame oil, light soy sauce, asian chilli oil, honey, ginger. Set aside.

In a bigger bowl, mix together the rest of the ingredients: tuna, cranberries, green onion, carrots, sesame seeds, chili powder and lemon juice. Once combined, add in the dressing and mix until incorporated. Serve!

You can serve this as a snack or appetizer or side dish. My favourite way to serve this is in some lettuce leaves as wraps. The crisp and freshness of the lettuce cuts through the heaviness of the salad. You can also have it with crackers or spread in a tortilla to make a burrito or even between some bread to make an easy tuna salad with a punch. I also like to serve it with lemon wedges for extra zing!

Watch the Video Tutorial!

Summarized Recipe:

Spicy Asian Tuna Salad

Date Published: July 4th, 2020 | Last Updated: July 4th, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: sides/salads, <15mins
Serves: 4 | Prep time: 10mins | Cook time: 5mins

Ingredients:

  • Dressing:
    • 4 Tbsp mayonnaise
    • 1 Tbsp sesame oil
    • 2 tsp light soy sauce
    • 2 Tbsp asian chilli oil (I like to use the Lao Gan Ma crispy chilli oil (drained), but any chilli oil/sauce should do – you may want to adjust the proportions if your chilli sauce is very spicy)
    • 1 1/2 tsp honey
    • 1/2 Tbsp ginger, grated
  • 1 1/2 cups (200g) cooked/canned tuna, flaked and drained
  • 1/3 cup dried cranberries
  • 3 Tbsp green onions, chopped (~2 stalks)
  • 1/3 cup carrots, chopped finely
  • 2 tsp sesame seeds
  • 1/2 tsp chilli powder
  • 2 Tbsp lemon juice

Directions:

  1. In a bowl, mix together the dressing ingredients: mayonnaise, sesame oil, light soy sauce, asian chilli oil, honey, ginger. Set aside.
  2. In a bigger bowl, mix together the rest of the ingredients: tuna, cranberries, green onion, carrots, sesame seeds, chili powder and lemon juice. Once combined, add in the dressing and mix until incorporated. Serve!

Notes:

  • You can serve this as a snack or appetizer or side dish.
  • My favourite way to serve this is in some lettuce leaves as wraps. You can also have it with crackers or spread in a tortilla to make a burrito or even between some bread to make an easy tuna salad with a punch.

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