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Video: Vegan Garlic Strong Guacamole Recipe

We had a great time hosting an Amazing Holiday House Party that featured Avocados from Mexico, and thought we’d keep the fun going by creating a video of one of our favorite recipes. Guacamole is a simple food, but so many people avoid making it because they are afraid something could go horribly awry. We really want you to learn to put your cooking and baking fears aside and just dive into the experience. Even is something doesn’t turn out right, you’ve learned something from it, and you are only improving. We hope you enjoy our first step into the video tutorial pool.

Some interesting facts about avocados from Avocados from Mexico:

* Avocados are a fruit, not a vegetable

* Mexico is the only place in the world where avocados bloom four times a year.

* The word avocado comes from the ancient Aztec ahuacatl (meaning testicle, because avocados hang in pairs).

* Nutrients in avocados help your body metabolize food.

* Avocados can be used in place of oil or butter when baking. Its mashed pulp can substitute up to one-half the fact you’d typically use.

* On Super Bowl Sunday, Americans eat enough guacamole to cover a football field more than 30 feet thick.

* Avocados are climacteric. They don’t ripen on the tree. They actually ripen seven to ten days after they are picked.

 

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No Gutter Balls & Food, Inc.

Well, we did get two of our old gutters up this weekend. We are testing them out on the inside of our fence. While it probably wasn’t necessary, we put up a board behind the gutter just to give it a little more stability. These gutters aren’t going anywhere. The top gutter is lettuce, the bottom is spinach.

If I get ambitious I might throw a coat of paint on them, but honestly, I kinda like them just the way they are. I love remaining in a standing position while tending to my little seeds (and future plants). I love that the rabbits can happily continue to cavort through the yard (don’t let the lattice fool you, they aren’t stopped by it or the smell of dogs) without me wrapping everything in another layer of fencing.

A few happily transplanted spinach seedlings.

Happy seedlings in the gutter

One thing left to do is installing a mesh screen at the end of the gutters to keep everything in place. A very simple project and one that I look forward to building upon.

Speaking of edibles…

Food, Inc. on POV

Food, Inc. is playing on PBS tonight (April 21, 2010), as part of the POV series How cool is that?

I’ve yet to see it, so I’m very excited the opportunity to catch it on tv. If you happen to miss it tonight or want to see it again, it will be streaming online from April 22 – April 29.

There are some great activities centered around the movie being featured at PBS, you really should check them out.

Maybe you’d like to host a Food, Inc. potluck? They’ve got a great list of recipes to help get you started (complete with a large vegetarian offering). After you’ve had your great potluck, post your photos in the Flickr POV Food, Inc. Potluck group.  You’ll see some yummy goodness like Barbara Kingsolver’s dilly beans in jenyuie’s photostream. Can beans really be any lovelier?

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Potluck hosts, enter to win some pretty great swag when you provide some feedback on the event you so generously provided for your hungry friends.

Find out when Food, Inc. will air in your area.