Last night my friend Deb and I discussed our ideas and hopes for the new year and the incoming president.
Deb said she is moved to become a public school teacher. I shared with her that I would like to set up a gardening business for young people. I think it would be great fun to get a group of kids in their 20’s fresh out of school, looking for work and help them start a business in which they would grow vegetable gardens in people’s front and back yards.
They would charge by the hour for their services and their customers would get home grown food.
I like this business model as it promotes jobs, local economies and organic agriculture. Please, feel free to use my little idea and set it up in your own neighborhood!
When you think about how much time/money people spend having the flowers and lawns in their yards maintained and ponder ripping out just some of those ornamentals to replace them with functional vegetable gardens…well, all those little yards add up to a lot of self sustainable agriculture
.
We tore out a good part of our yard last spring and feasted on delicious home grown veggies into the late fall. The tomatoes were delectable and the kale (which my boys love to eat) just kept on coming.
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Anyway, while shopping for groceries at the health food store (our land is currently barren) I treated myself to 2 avocados and turned them into this delicious little dish. Hope you enjoy it!
Savory Avocado Spread
Ingredients
- 2 ripe avocados
- ½ cup packed herbs, chopped (I used basil, cilantro and parsley)
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- ¼ teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
Instructions
- Place avocados, herbs, lime juice, chili and salt in a food processor
- Process until smooth
- Serve
Equipment
This dish is based on a recipe in One Bite at a Time
; a book that was recommended to me by Bev at Pesticide Action Network. I spread it on crackers and use it as a dip for fresh veggies. It’s creamy, delicious and full of fresh healthy herbs.
Carin says
I served this avocado dip on Memorial Day to an enthusiastic crowd. It was yummy but it discolored very quickly. Any hints on how to prevent that? More lime juice, perhaps?
Thanks for another great recipe!
elana says
Hi Carin, an old trick I learned long ago is to put the pit of the avocado in the dip, this will effectively prevent discoloration. Hope this helps :-)
elana says
Alta,
Thanks for your great comment!
Elana
Alta says
Wow, I so want to dip my finger in that spread right now and taste it, it looks so yummy! I am with you there too, on the gardening thing! I keep wanting to start my own, but it seems like such a “scary” task, and I’m afraid I won’t keep up with it like I should (my husband and I also put in 50+ hours a week at the office). If I had someone to help nudge me in the right direction…that would be great! So if anyone in the Dallas/Fort Worth area knows of anyone who does this…please let me know! Thanks Elana!
Donna says
I’ve really enjoyed reading through your site. I’ve been gluten-free for almost 3 years, and it’s often difficult to find organic, gluten-free, vegan foods that are good for on the go. I recently tried the Omega Smart Pumpkin Spice bars and they’re awesome! I got them at my local health store, but you can also find them here: http://www.omegasmartbar.com/shop/home.php
elana says
Kim -Thanks. It would be great, wouldn’t it?!
Shirley -Good luck with your yard! I make kale chips every now and then, they are delicious. Have a wonderful Valentine’s Day party.
Thanks for stopping by!
Mike -Thank you. I too have been a proponent of edible gardens for quite some time now. Hopefully we’ll see more of them. This recipe is not for guacamole that’s why it doesn’t have salsa, etc., though your recipe for guacamole sounds lovely.
VeggieGirl -Always a pleasure reading your glowing comments :-)
Jim -Thanks for stopping by and for the permaculture class link.
Jim says
Great post, great business idea, and well, great recipe too. (I’d agree with Mike on the garlic…) Edible landscapes are the way to go. There is an urban permaculture class coming up in April that is worth checking http://www.livingearthcenter.org/?q=node/54
Jim
VeggieGirl says
Oh my, I ADORE avocados/guacamole-type dips, so that spread looks SENSATIONAL!!
Mike Taylor says
Good ideas in your blog. I was a landscape contractor and one of the first proponents of edible landscapes (at least that I was aware of). We used small lawns, and introduced so many people to strawberry and lemon Guavas in place of purely decorative shrubs, planted hundreds of avocado, citrus and other fruiting trees – and incurred the wrath of more than one Architectural Review Board in the process. It is heartening to see these ideas coming to fruition after all these years.
BTW, you forgot the important ingredients to your Guacamole – Garlic and onion… Salsa instead of of chili power adds texture, and mashing instead of blending makes each bite unique…
GFE--gluten free easily says
Greener yards and lovely green avocado spread–fantastic! I am a fanatic about abandoning all the baloney that is done on yards. I am just trying to convince hubby to give up on grass as we live in the woods and let nature take its course. So far so good for spring and fall. We don’t have enough sunlight for gardening, but we’re avoiding the fertilizer, lime, etc. routine. (Since we live on a lake, that always really concerned me.) I think the gardening is a fantastic idea. If people can buy decorative, flowering kale each year, why not the real thing that has a much greater benefit? (BTW, Melissa at glutenfreeforgood.com posted a terrific kale chips recipe this summer, http://www.glutenfreeforgood.com/blog/?p=388)
I had a half an avocado with almonds for breakfast. Delish. This recipe looks like a winner for one of the spreads/dips for our upcoming Valentine’s Day party–thanks!
Shirley
Kim says
What a fantastic business idea! I couldn’t agree with you more about lawns etc being a total waste of resources. Veggie and herb gardens are beautiful. Wouldn’t it be great to see useable gardens in every yard instead of grass! I love this idea!