Chips & Dips

Tonight we had an avocado that was getting very ripe so I made it into guacamole, cooked some black beans and served with soy sour cream and salsa and chips. For the black beans, I sauteed a little onion and garlic in olive oil for a few minutes, then added a can of black beans (drained), about 2-3 Tbs. veg. stock (you could use water), and 1 tsp. chili powder, 1/2 tsp. cumin and a little salt. I mixed everything together and partially mashed the beans with the back of a spoon.

You can buy soy sour cream (I think Tofutti is the best), but it's also easy to make it yourself. This is a recipe (with quantities roughly halved) from Peter Berley's great book, The Modern Vegetarian Kitchen: in a food processor, blend until very smooth half of a 12 oz. package silken tofu, 3 Tbs. olive oil, 2 Tbs. lemon juice, 3/4 tsp. cider vinegar, and 1/2 tsp. salt.

Recipes for guacamole abound, but I don't think you need to get too fancy. Basic guac can just be avacado, lime juice and salt. You can add onion, garlic, tomatoes, cilantro, chiles, etc. but I usually like to keep it simple and highlight the flavor of the avocado. Tonight's recipe was just 1 ripe avocado (a ripe avocado is a little soft to the touch and almost black) mashed with about 1 Tbs. finely minced red onion, 1 Tbs. lime juice and 1/4 tsp. salt. If tomatoes are in season, I might add a little chopped tomato, but that's usually it. And whatever you do, don't buy those packaged mixes for guacamole you see in the store. Too many ingredients you've never heard of.