I’m Back and I Made Roasted Garlic Guacamole and Fresh Baked Tortilla Chips

Happy 23rd birthday, Aud! (That’s my youngest prego sister.) I hope you eat everything you crave today in a careful manner. Remember, utensils are not a food group. Mind those spoons. I will see you and my nephew soon!

I’m still not feeling well. Greg came home from work yesterday to take me to the clinic. I had extreme cramping in my abdomen Sunday night and it got worse early Monday morning. I had maybe an hour of sleep and stabbing pains shot through my body all night, morning and throughout the day. Right after I wrote that little post yesterday, I suffered some more on the couch, bloated and miserable. Sleep wouldn’t come. Unfortunately, this happens to me more often than I can handle and every time, the doc tells me to go home and wait it out because my tests come back clear and free of anything harmful and it eventually goes away but this was the worst case.

The most recent doc, my first in Minnesota, reported that everything is good on all my tests but he suggested I get an ultrasound (I’m not pg).

While waiting with the elderly patients, the doctor came back to speak with us about our options after seeing we didn’t have insurance. He said that he had talked the case over with his associate and they now believed taking aspirin and a night-time version might be what I need instead of a $700 ultrasound.

I was hesitant because I am/was in a good amount of pain but I’ll try it and see what goes. I’ll return soon if I feel worse. He did state that it could take 7 to 10 days to feel better but holy moly, I hope not. Cooking doesn’t sound like much fun right now but I do feel slightly better today; I can stand upright and the sharp pains have dulled a bit.

Lucky for you, I have a few recipes that I wanted to share before but left for such days. Momma said they’d be days like this where your abdomen feels so bad that you wonder if you’re going to explode and wonder if by exploding you would feel much better. I don’t think my mom said that, that would probably gross her out.

Last week, I had a craving for guacamole and with all of the buzz, apparently everyone else did too. It could’ve been the Cinco de Mayo effect. I don’t know how I haven’t provided a recipe for guac. Avocados, lime juice, cilantro and a few other ingredients but the version I made I’d recently seen on Martha Stewart’s show from Rick Bayless, a chef specializing in authentic Mexican cuisine and host of one of the tv shows I enjoyed on the public channel until they apparently took it off (jerks).

This recipe doesn’t involve onions-both he and Martha thought their flavor was too harsh and poignant-but does have quite a bit of roasted garlic. I added diced jalapeno for a small kick and made my own tortilla chips with flour tortillas (corn are great too). It’s delicious and now in my top 3 guacamole versions.

Roasted Garlic Guacamole from Rick Bayless
Makes 4 cups

Ingredients:
6 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
6 medium, ripe avocados (2 ½ lbs.)
½ cup chopped cilantro
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
coarse salt
¼ to ½ large, diced jalapeno (seeds removed)
1 ½ to 2 lbs. tortilla chips (warming them or making your own is great-see below)

In a dry skillet, over medium heat, roast the unpeeled garlic. Turn until softened and blackened in spots, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and when cool, peel and finely chop.

Halve the avocados lengthwise, remove the pit, and scoop out the flesh in a large bowl. Add the garlic, cilantro and lime juice. Coarsely mash until combined and season with salt. Place in airtight container and refrigerate until ready to serve with tortilla chips.

Fresh Baked Tortilla Chips
canola oil
large bag of flour or corn tortillas (you can make these but I buy them locally)
salt

Preheat the oven to 325. Cut the tortillas into a chip shape and lightly brush each side with oil while placing them onto a baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until golden-keep an eye on these because they burn rather easily. Repeat until you obtain your desired amount of chips. Serve immediately.