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.

Halloween Spider Egg

My sister asked if I wanted eggs for breakfast on Halloween. "Sure" I said. She made me this cute spider egg with a cheese mouth and peppercorn eyes. My four year old niece had the same breakfast with cheese eyes. My sister can flips eggs by just holding onto the handle of the skillet and flipping them in the air. She's talented.

Fine Living Review Article

I finally picked up a copy of the Fine Living Review. I waited an entire day before I made a special trip to Bismarck to pick up a copy. Here I am, being a big ole dork and reading the article about my blog in the Fine Living Review in the parking lot of Dan's Supermarket. Actually it's dorkier then that. I'm taking a picture of myself reading an article about my blog for my blog in the parking lot. I confused people walking past my car. If you would like to read the article, you can pick up a free copy on your way out of Dan's Supermarket or at other local businesses.
I'd like to thank Tiffany who brought my blog to the attention of the Fine Living Review and Tiffany Bailey (different Tiffany) who wrote such a nice article about my blog in the magazine.

Here are a few links mentioned in the article you might be interested in:
The hot sauce popcorn in the article is a recipe I got from my neighbor Sue. Here is a link to my post about the cooking competition she was in. The Tomato Soup from Canned Tomatoes is my most popular post.
Date-Spice Chiffon Cake
Pisole (The spelling might be wrong, I don't speak Spanish)
Bulgur and Mushroom Pilaf
Hungarian Potato Salad
Popcorn recipes
The Bacon Fun Series (unusual bacon recipes)
My hat from a sweater on my other blog, I Know Other Stuff.
The Gorgonzola Steak pictured in the article was not as rare as it looked in my picture. I'm not sure why my picture made it look so rare.

If you are interested in other North Dakota food blogs, check out:
Rhubarb and Venison (Bismarck)
Busy Nothings (Fargo)
Busy Nothings hasn't posted too many recipes since they had their adorable baby last year. You can click on Recipe index on the navigation bar to view the recipes.

I'd like to thank all my regular blog readers and welcome any new ones. I started this blog as an easy way to share my recipes with friends and family. I didn't think anyone would really read it. Now I have followers from all over the world. It's surreal.

On an entirely separate note, I've borrowed my Dad's power cord for my computer. I ordered a cord and it should be here any day. Power is good.

Welcome Fine Living Review Readers

My blog, Lora's Recipes, was featured in the recent Fine Living Review. It's a local publication for the Bismarck, North Dakota area. It should be released Saturday and is available at Dan's Supermarket in the newsstand section and at other area businesses. I plan on writing a more complete post after I pick up a copy. If I don't post again soon, I've died of electrocution. My power cord for my computer, currently held together with electrical tape and toothpicks, is no longer charging my computer. I'll probably be offline until I get the problem fixed. Thanks for coming to check out my blog. Now, I have to use the power left in my computer to search for new power cords. Hopefully I'll update soon. :)

Grilled Pizza with Roquefort and Grilled Peaches

I made this a while ago, and have been slow in posting it. Sorry, I didn't write down amounts. I think you can get the idea. Peaches and bleu cheese on pizza? Where ever did I get that idea? Well, I was inspired by this post on A Good Appetite. I love the bleu cheese flavor of the Roquefort playing against the sweetness of the peaches. I wasn't sure if I wanted sage or not. I did a test section on the pizza. I think I liked it, but my sage test section wasn't large enough to really tell for sure. Follow the basic directions for pizza on the grill, then use these toppings

Grilled Pizza with Roquefort and Grilled peaches
INGREDIENTS
Sauce:
pizza sauce

Toppings:
1 peach
onion
green pepper
mushrooms
meat from one grilled chicken thigh

Cheese:
Swiss cheese
Parmesan cheese
Mozzarella cheese
Roquefort

Herbs:
thyme
parsley
chives
sage