Sophia's Favorite Sandwich

We all know Marlboro Man's favorite sandwich (which has since become Davis's favorite sandwich, and I'm sure every man's, since it's basically straight up meat and butter). But less well known, and to me yummier, is Sophia's favorite sandwich.

Drizzle some olive oil on toasted 7 Sprouted Grain Bread (I'm sure other bread would be fine too, but this is particularly yummy). Mash up a ripe avocado (when buying your avocado, make sure it is not too firm... this is turning into a Vegetable of the Week post, I can feel it) and mash it with a little lemon juice, freshly ground pepper, and sea salt. Spread the avocado on the toast and enjoy!

We went to the ADORABLE birthday party of my friend's three kids this morning.

I wish I had taken more pictures, because it was the cutest cowboy theme, but I was too busy wrangling my three calves. After a morning of chips and cupcakes, though, the avocado sandwiches were the perfect lunch! Henry just ate cubed up avocado and toast, because it was easier for me to throw on his high chair tray while I wolfed down my sandwich.

I miss good avocados from California. Sometimes it's hard to find them here - the ones at Kroger just don't taste as good. But at Whole Foods last night, they had rich, ripe, perfect avocados. If you buy an avocado that is still firm, just leave it in your pantry for a few days until it softens up. Don't refrigerate them. If you need to speed up the ripening process, put them in a paper bag.

Avocados are a fruit, of course, and not a vegetable. But never mind that. Avocados are full of healthy fats, which make them an ideal baby food - the girls got avocado mashed with breastmilk as one of their first foods, and Henry just got slices of avocado to gnaw on. They are also a great source of potassium (they have quite a bit more than bananas even), Vitamin B, and fiber. Oh, and they are oh so delicious!

The most common way I serve avocados as a side dish - often at lunch, but sometimes like a "salad" with a Mexican/Southwestern dinner - is just to cube them and squeeze a little fresh lemon over them. Yum!

Actually, I'm not sure there really are any complicated recipes involving avocado. There's this aaaamazing cobb salad, which I'm making for dinner one night this week. It's definitely a staple around here. When Henry was too little to get his own plate at restaurants, I often ordered cobb salads (especially from room service when the two of us were traveling buddies last fall) and give him my avocado and egg yolk. And of course there's guacamole. Here's how I make it:

2 avocados
1 small onion, finely diced
1 garlic clove, crushed
4 tsp fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp cumin
1 jalapeno, finely diced
dash of sea salt

Coarsely mash the avocado and mix with the other ingredients. Adjust the lime and salt to taste.

And that's your Vegetable Fruit of the Week