Just a quick "Hump-day" post about our "local" produce stand, called.....The Fruit Stand. If you've ever driven on Morena Boulevard, maybe to or from Costco, you may have seen the signs.
Today the Missus decided that she wanted to make some Guacamole, so we decided to stop and grab some produce.
The Fruit stand used to consist of a group of stands sitting outside in the parking lot, but I think last year's rain kind of pushed them indoors. It also seems alot easy to not have to move all the stands indoors every night.
Now The Fruit Stand has expanded into selling nuts and dried fruits, as well as produce. Another great thing about the Fruit Stand is that much of the produce is grown locally.
On this visit, in addition to all the "fixins" for Guac, the Missus couldn't help but pick up 2 3-packs of locally grown strawberries.
This being a "drier" year, the strawberries seem to be much sweeter.
So support your local farmers, and go ahead and check out those neighborhood produce stands!
The Fruit Stand
4330 Morena Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117
Sorry, no photos of those avocados(camera-shy) or the Guac(laziness on my part). But here's the "quick and dirty" recipe:
The Missus's Quick and Dirty Guacamole
(All quantities are estimates)
3-6 Ripe Avocados
1/2 Onion Chopped
2 cloves garlic
2-4 Jalapeno Peppers - roasted till the skin is charred. Remove skin and slice. (For a milder Guac make sure to remove seeds and "veins"
1/2 tomato seeded
1/3 Cup fresh squeezed lime juice
1/4 Cup Chopped Fresh Cilantro
Salt to taste
1 - Combine onion, garlic, cilantro, tomato and jalapeno in a food processor and finely chop
2 - Remove avocado from skin and place in a bowl, and mix in chopped items from the food processor(you may want to do this slowly), and taste on occasion. Use a fork to mix the avocado for a chunkier texture.
3 - Slowly add lime juice and salt to mixture, and check for taste.
Refrigerate for 20 minutes to let the flavors fuse together.
mmm that guacamole looks really delicious!!! *drool* nothing beats making stuff from really fresh produce!
Posted by: Rachel | Thursday, 09 March 2006 at 12:16 AM
Thar sign about the avocados kind of makes me want to cry, as does your wife's guacamole recipe. On Friday I paid $3.57 US for a single avocado because I've been craving them so much. I put it on the shelf when I got home and intended to eat it for breakfast the next morning. I forgot about it, though, and now it's rotten. I'm stupid.
In Japan, my friend and I were eating them with just a little soy sauce and wasabi. Yummy! (They were a dollar each there, still expensive compared to yours there, but manageable.)
Posted by: Jenn | Thursday, 09 March 2006 at 05:39 AM
$2 for 10 avocados!!!! that almost makes Fed Ex worth it. my local market prices aren't as steep as jenn's ($1.29 for organic, EACH, and 89 cents for conventional), but still.... i make guac all the time but i've never tried it with roasted hot peppers! gotta try that sometime.
Posted by: stef | Thursday, 09 March 2006 at 06:34 AM
Hi Rachel - Nothing like locally grown fresh produce.
Hi Jenn - Oh, I feel bad about that super expensive avocado....My Mom would eat avocados with shoyu and sugar...just like green mango!
Hi stef - Roasting the Jalapeno's takes away the "green" taste that they sometimes have, and adds a bit of sweetness.
Posted by: Kirk | Thursday, 09 March 2006 at 08:53 AM
avacados with shoyu and sugar....tis' da only way. My credentials?....I grew up near two avacado trees. We didn't call them avacados though, but instead "pears". Well, one tree did produce the pear-shaped avacados, and the other had the round type avacados.
Posted by: RONW | Thursday, 09 March 2006 at 01:09 PM
Kirk,
I used to drive by the fruit stand all the time on my way to/from Costco, but that's not the closest one to me anymore! I had no idea that they moved indoors- probably a wise move! mmmm... guacamole... I might have to try your wife's recipe this weekend :)
Posted by: Joan | Thursday, 09 March 2006 at 03:37 PM
wooo! are they super busy on saturdays? i have to work all day tomorrow but saturday... I plan to make this guac recipe. Mmmm it sounds so good!!!!!! I'll take pics too..hee
(btw i started a pseudo food blog listed above soon i'll put some sd/la findings!)
Posted by: stacey | Thursday, 09 March 2006 at 07:37 PM
Wow, $2 for 10 avocados is a steal! And the strawberries look quite good too.
The guacamole recipe sounds interesting. I've never tried it with roasted peppers either.
Posted by: howie | Thursday, 09 March 2006 at 09:51 PM
Hi RONW - Until I grew up, that's the only way I knew to eat avocados...Mom called them "pears" as well. Great memories!
Hi Joan - It's just a real quick and dirty recipe - She first created for some burgers I was grilling.
Hi Stacey - Look forward to your posts! I don't think that they are very busy on Saturdays.
Hi Howie - Actually our favorite "produce stand" I think is called "Family Farms", on right off Friars as it meets Mission Gorge - I'll do a poat soon! Roasting the peppers gives it a more smoky-slightly sweet flavor, and gets rid of the "green" flavor they sometime have.
Posted by: Kirk | Thursday, 09 March 2006 at 10:24 PM
Avocados with milk and sugar was how I use to eat them when I was a kid. It's a little too rich for me now.
Posted by: Jack | Thursday, 09 March 2006 at 10:26 PM
Hi Kirk. Thanks for the post. I've been driving all the way to Carlsbad for fresh strawberry's because I didn't know of any good fruit stands near me. Now I know!
Posted by: J.P. | Thursday, 09 March 2006 at 11:56 PM
Hi Jack - sounds pretty rich.....
Hi JP - There are a few pretty good produce stands around the Morena/Linda Vista/Mission Gorge area. The fruit stand often will have Carlsbad Strawberries as well. It can be hit and miss though.
Posted by: Kirk | Friday, 10 March 2006 at 09:29 AM