February 2023 – Avocado

Avocado Chocolate Pudding

Gloria Dougherty, Akron

• 3 large ripe avocados
• 1 large ripe banana
• ½ cup maple syrup or honey
• 3 tablespoons cocoa

Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend on high until smooth and creamy. Chill before serving.

Notes: You can use a frozen banana, or freeze the pudding for chocolate ice cream, stirring every 20 minutes so it doesn’t get icy, until serving time.

Easy Guacamole

Jennifer S., Ephrata

• 1 or 2 ripe avocados, peeled and pitted
• 1 small white onion, chopped
• 1 tomato, chopped
• juice from half a lemon
• juice from half a lime
• salt and pepper to taste
• Optional: 1 or 2 cloves of garlic, minced

Cut avocados and remove pits. Scrape inside of avocado out and into a mixing bowl. Mash avocado with a fork. Add onion and tomatoes, lime and lemon juices, and salt and pepper to bowl. Continue mashing avocado until all ingredients are combined.

Serve with chips, crackers, or on toast.

Note: One half of the avocado is enough for one piece of avocado toast.

Avocado Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Jeffrey L., Ephrata

“This makes an easy meal with soup or salad.”

• 1 ripe tomato
• 1 avocado
• 4 slices bread (homemade, whole wheat, sourdough or artisan)
• butter or mayonnaise
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• ¼ cup Parmesan cheese (optional)
• kosher salt

If you’d like, pre-toast the bread slices in the toaster (this makes sure to get them perfectly crunchy before grilling the sandwich).

Slice the tomatoes, place the slices on a plate, and sprinkle with kosher salt. Slice the avocado and sprinkle it with salt.

Spread butter or mayo on one side of each of the bread pieces. Heat a griddle pan to medium high heat.

Place two pieces of bread on the griddle, buttered side down. On each piece, spread ¼ cup mozzarella cheese, a sprinkle of shredded Parmesan, tomato slices, avocado slices, the other ¼ cup mozzarella cheese, Parmesan, a sprinkle of kosher salt and the other piece of bread (spread with mayo if you’d like).

When the bottom bread is browned, flip the sandwich and cook until the bread is toasted and the cheese is melted.