Pea Avocado Dip not totally unlike Guacamole

My sister posted these cute cranberry heart shaped cookies today. I couldn't let her one up me, so I decided to actually get this post done. What's that you say? Heart shaped cookies beat veggie guacamole any day. Well this is true. Next time...

This is an Everyday Foods recipe. I'm not sure what the original title was, but I'm sure it had guacamole in it. My Texas brother in law says it is good, but you shouldn't call it guacamole. It is good. But it is not guacamole. If you expect it to be guacamole, you won't like it. I agree. The taste is reminiscent of guacamole mixed with a fresh taste that comes from the peas. This recipe is good if you are trying to get a few extra veggies into your diet. It is also good if it is the time of year that avocados are quite expensive. I'm not one of those cooks that routinely hides veggies in food. I don't put spinach in my brownies and tell you it tastes the same. I've never tried it, but I"m pretty sure spinach brownies do not taste "just like regular brownies". This recipe is good in it's own right.

I suggest reading the recipe correctly. I chopped 2 jalapenos before I realized that the recipe called for 2 teaspoons. I hadn't mixed yet and could still pick out the excess. Good thing, because it would have been spi-cay.

PEA AVOCADO DIP NOT TOTALLY UNLIKE GUACAMOLE

yield 2 c

INGREDIENTS

1 package (10oz) frozen peas, thawed

1 ripe avocado

1/3 c cilantro

1/4 c minced red onion

2 T lime juice

2 tsp minced jalapeno chili

coarse salt

1. In a food processor, puree peas until smooth. In a medium bowl, coarsely mash avocado. Stir in cilantro, onion, lime juice, jalapeno, salt and purred peas. To store, place a piece of plastic directly on the guacamole, refrigerate overnight.

Cheese Ball Variations

Here are a few variations on cheese balls. The one one the top is a cheese ball snowman. I made a cheese ball from my recipe. then I shaped two balls and held them together with a toothpick to secure. I frosted the snowman with whipped cream cheese. He has a pretzel and chex mix top hat, olive eyes, a carrot nose, pretzel smile, celery arms and raisin buttons. I was inspired by this post.
The one on the right is a football cheese ball for the super bowl. It is has whipped cream cheese stripes and stitching and is covered with walnuts.

Where have I been?

Well, I kind of lost my mojo. It's a three pronged problem. First, I have a chronic illness that has left me exhausted lately and unable to do much cooking. Second, I had been taking a medication that left me sick to my stomach much of last year. This seems to be getting better. Third, the medication seems to have effected my interest in food. For the first time in my life I don't spend much of the day obsessed with food. It's totally weird. Hopefully all three of these things will turn around soon. Once they do, I'll start cooking and posting on a regular basis.