Guest Post: Frozen Avocado Bites by Charli

Four of my 24 years on this earth, I spent at Rose-Hulman. Technically, I was there to learn engineering (*yawn*), but I'm pretty sure it was so that I could meet some pretty kickass people. Luckily, that's exactly what happened, even though there was a bit of trepidation on my part at the beginning. You see, Rose sent out our freshman year roommate information a month or so before orientation so that we could chat with our future roommate, figure out dorm furniture, yada yada yada. Imagine my worry though when I, a liberal non-practicing Catholic, found out that I would be rooming with a conservative Texan Christian - eek! Yes, I know this response was completely unwarranted, but I was on pins and needles about college in the first place, let alone worrying whether I'd get along with my future roommate!

And luckily, it turned out that Charli was a pretty cool gal. In fact, we roomed together three of our four years, only breaking up the roommate streak because I had to live in our sorority's officer house my senior year. Needless to say, I still spent most of my time in her dorm room that year! And also needless to say, I was pretty bummed when I ended up in Wisconsin after graduation and she went off to Texas. One bright point though? Soon after I started up my little blog here, she started her own food blog at The Berry Bushel! So we can virtually bake together, even if we can't hang out as often as I'd like :)

Even more luckily? She was willing to guest post for me! So Charli, take it away!


Why did you decide to start food blogging?
I really love to cook and recently discovered baking, but sometimes I need a little motivation to keep trying new things. I am also enamored with photography. That coupled with a desire catalog my recipes led me to food blogging.

Where does your passion for food come from?
I have no clue. But maybe it starts with my taste buds.

What is your favorite post? Your most popular?
My most popular post by a landslide is the banana cream pie from Tuesdays with Dorie. It was a great pie, but I don’t know why it takes an order of magnitude lead.

The post that sticks out as the favorite is my cinnamon raisin muffins. The pictures aren’t great and my writing isn’t clever, but it was the first time I developed a muffin recipe that I really liked. Plus the olive oil works surprisingly well as an undertone in the muffins!

What's your "day job?
By day, I’m a graduate student in Materials Science and Engineering, focusing on biomaterials at Johns Hopkins University. It’s mostly centered around quantum dots and cancer research.

How much time do you spend on your blog?
This varies day to day and week to week. Some days I am overwhelmed and do nothing on the blog, others I might spend my whole weekend just cooking, baking, and blogging!

What are your favorite food blogs?
Before I even realized there was such a thing as food blogging, I found Simply Recipes and that remains one of my favorites to go to for any recipes. I also really like 101 Cookbooks and (especially since my recent move from Texas) Homesick Texan. This list could go on and on…
What is your favorite kitchen gadget?
My microplane—that thing is fun!

Favorite ingredients to use right now?
Goat cheese. I’m addicted to the stuff.

If we peeked in your fridge, what would we see?


What is your favorite cookbook right now?

This changes on a pretty regular basis, but right now I’m really enjoying Ratio by Michael Ruhlman because it gives me the tools to create my own recipes.

Frozen Avocado Bites
Is it just me or have avocado desserts been popping up all over lately? I’m not one to shy away from a trend just because it’s a trend, so I offer up these frozen avocado bites for you. The avocado imparts a delicious, almost nutty flavor to the resulting dessert, but the texture of the avocado here is what really shines. They’re perfect for the bold, end of summer days that are upon us. When I first started putting this recipe together, I was mid-move and my popsicle molds were nowhere to be found. I improvised, making them in a standard ice cube tray, and decided that this doled out the perfect portion size! So, while I had originally set out to devise an avocado popsicle recipe, I stumbled upon something I find even better. When I eat these dipped in a chocolate ganache, sprinkled with red pepper flakes, and ever so slightly defrosted, I think a little bit of heaven comes into my mouth.

½ c cream

2 T powdered sugar

1 ripe avocado

1 T sour cream

chocolate ganache (recipe below)

red pepper flakes (optional)

Using a whisk or a hand/stand mixer, whisk the cream until it begins to thicken (right before the soft peaks) and add the powered sugar. Continue whisking until the cream holds soft peaks. Cover and store in the refrigerator.

Cut the meat out of the avocado and put it into a bowl. Mush it up (I just used a fork) until it is broken down. Add the sour cream and continue mashing the avocado. When you think you have done all you can do, transfer the avocado mixture to a fine mesh strainer, and push the avocado through into the whipped cream. This gets rid of any residual avocado lumps. Gently fold the avocado into the whipped cream and transfer to ice cube trays (or popsicle molds). You can put toothpicks into the whipped avocado cream help make the unmolding easier—the toothpicks are usually easy too pull out of the cubes. Freeze for at least 3-4 hours (6 hrs-overnight for the popsicle molds).

To unmold, dip the mold in hot water for 5-10 seconds, remove the cubes, and refreeze. Meanwhile, make the ganache. Dip avocado cubes in ganache, and sprinkle with red pepper flakes (optional) while ganache is still hot. Either serve immediately or wrap and refreeze right after ganache hardens.

I prefer to pull these out of the freezer about 5-10 minutes before consumption, but they are also yummy eaten straightaway.

Chocolate Ganache

2.5 oz semisweet chocolate chips

¼ c heavy cream

1 T butter

Place the chocolate in a small glass or plastic bowl and quarter the butter. Heat the cream until just boiling and pour over the chocolate. Stir until chocolate is just melted; add the butter, and stir until all is combined.