Brian’s Avocado Toast

It’s going to sound silly, but avocado toast is a completely new concept to me.  I’ve put avocado on sandwiches, on pizzas, on tacos, but never just on a toasted piece of bread.  It’s my new favorite snack/lunch/side dish!

The original recipe that inspired this version of avocado toast was from my Smitten Kitchen cookbook – it was called an Avocado Tartine with Cucumbers and Sesame seeds.  The cucumbers were tossed in rice vinegar and sesame seed oil, and sesame seeds were sprinkled on top.  I made it yesterday afternoon for a snack, and Brian suggested adding some balsamic glaze.  The addition of the balsamic was perfect!

On a side note, Brian is the tester for the first versions of a lot of my recipes.  He’ll eat just about anything (except mushrooms), and he usually has great suggestions for changes or additions – just like this one!

So I adjusted the ingredients a bit and added the balsamic glaze to create Brian’s version.  I almost want to call it an avocado bruschetta, and you could definitely add some chopped tomatoes to the topping if you wanted.  It was light and summery, and went perfectly with the beautiful weather today!

Brian’s Avocado Toast (serves 2 for a snack, for a lunch it might be a single serving)

• a 6 inch section of baguette, sliced lengthwise
• 1 avocado, sliced
• 1/2 cup English cucumber, peeled and chopped
• 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• balsamic glaze (I recommend Gia Russa)

Toast the baguette pieces.

Mix the cucumber, vinegar and olive oil in a bowl.  Add a generous pinch of salt and some freshly ground pepper.

Top the baguette pieces with the sliced avocado.  You could lay out the avocado slices all pretty on top, but I took a fork and lightly smushed them into the toasted baguette.  (It makes the avocado less likely to take a tumble off the bread while you’re eating.)  Top each piece with the cucumber mixture and finally, drizzle with balsamic glaze.

Eat and enjoy!

This post is linked to What’s in the Box?  at In Her Chucks.

Kohlrabi slaw and Luke the Cuke meets a new friend

Elyse made a delicious Kohlrabi slaw for lunch. Luke approves.

Luke also met a new friend, hairy tomato butt. Luke approves.

 

Playing with food

Salt&Pants meets Luke the Cuke. Poor Luke is the homeliest cucumber I have ever seen. Thursday’s haul was huge. We even got corn!

And so it begins..

This week was the first week we really had a taste of just HOW. MUCH. PRODUCE. we should expect.

This week’s haul included three kinds of peppers, yellow squash, a perfect eggplant, lettuce, kohlrabi, Swiss chard, spinach, green beans, tomatoes, snap peas, bok choy, and cucumber. Plus, there is always a sign for CSA members to “Help Yourself” to fresh herbs in giant pots outside the greenhouse. Don’t mind if I doooo.

Here’s a picture!

We’ve been warned by Dean’s Greenhouse that we will be getting more and more over the next 6-8 weeks. Kim, when is your canning class?