BBQ Staples

For her recent birthday party barbecue, Kristine (that's her, above) asked friends to bring her favorite dishes to the party. She told me she couldn't choose between my guacamole (the award-winning guac, I am proud to admit) and the pesto. So I made both.

Sweet Guacamole
3 avocados
¼ cup Greek yogurt
1 Tbsp. agave nectar
1 Tbsp. crushed garlic
1 Tbsp. yellow onion, chopped finely
1 Tbsp. chopped cilantro
Juice of one lime
Juice of half an orange
Salt and pepper

Mix two avocados with the yogurt in a food processor to a smooth consistency. Chop the remaining avocado and mash it with a fork. Add the smooth avocado-yogurt mixture to the remaining ingredients and mix. Serve with avocado pit in the center of the bowl and lime wedges. Serve with tortilla chips; I love Have ‘A Corn Chips and the multigrain chips from Food That Should Taste Good.


Wild Arugula Pesto

This couldn’t be more simple and I give credit to a guy from the Farmers’ Market for suggesting I use the arugula in place of basil.

4 cups wild arugula
Handful of fresh basil leaves
Handful of lemon verbena leaves
1 cup raw walnuts
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup parmesan cheese
2 cloves of garlic
Juice of one lemon
Salt and pepper
Extra parmesan for serving

Blend it all in a food processor and toss with penne pasta. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and garnish with a few leaves of wild argula, basil and lemon verbena.