Avocado Hummus & Blog Award Catch-Up
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I can’t remember now exactly why I started a food blog.
I already loved eating. I also enjoyed cooking. I already took photos of certain colorful platefuls that I was particularly proud of. (They weren’t good photos, but still.)
I suppose my girlfriend encouraged me to start this blog just because I seemed so passionate about food/cooking/eating and she thought I would enjoy it. (And I do!)
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Food blogging is basically what I expected, plus a LOT more time. (That and all of the rest of your beautiful blogs out there have made me start to care more about how my photos look– despite knowing little to nothing about photography– so add even MORE TIME on top of that.)
So far, though, the most surprising and delightful part of food-blogging has been “meeting” so many sweet and encouraging other food bloggers!
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The whole blog award, share-the-link-love, pass-it-on culture is one example of just how supportive and friendly this little virtual community that I’ve stumbled into can be. (Ok, it’s not so “little,” but it is so welcoming that it can feel that way sometimes.)
And since my little blog has perhaps been slow to gain familiarity among those outside the food blog circle, it’s been extra nice and heartening to hear the feedback of fellow bloggers, especially from those whose own blogs I most admire.
In fact, I am grateful that Spontaneous Tomato hasn’t floundered to a halt– as it easily could have done near the beginning– in what they would call a mikka bouzu move in Japanese (literally “three-day monk:” one who tries something out for a very short time before quickly giving up). And I think I owe that in no small part to my fellow bloggers!
So without further ado, let me proceed to thank some of these fellow bloggers by name for several blog awards that they have kindly chosen to pass on to me, before I pass them on to some others! (And I apologize for the long delay with some of these. Too many recipes to share; too little time…)
Since I last posted about (an avocado recipe and) a blog award, I have been nominated for 5 other blog awards. So I thought I’d share them here– with another avocado recipe, for old time’s sake.
(Also following on the heels of my slightly overwhelmingly complicated recipe slash ode to Masala Dosa, I thought I’d toss in a dish that is much more approachable and still so delicious… For the Avocado Hummus recipe, just scroll to the end of the post!)
- Choc Chip Uru of the creative, chocolatey, mostly-desserts blog “Go Bake Yourself” nominated me for the One Lovely Blog Award and the Addictive Blog Award.
- Shuhua of the lovely “One Picture, A Million Words” blog nominated me for the Blog on Fire Award.
- Dan from the incredibly impressive “Mon Food Blog” nominated me for the Versatile Blogger Award.
- And the fun, foodie family blog “The Farmers Taft” (from my homestate, Wisconsin) nominated me for the Inspiring Blog Award.
I know the rules of some of these awards dictate that you display the images of the blog awards or include some random facts about yourself, but since I’ve already waxed rambly and I still want to share a recipe, I will skip ahead to the part where I nominate some blogs I’ve recently discovered that I think you all should go visit! (And if I’ve nominated your blog, you can grab your award-accompanying image by following the link for it above.)
I’d like to nominate:
- 10th Kitchen (for the Lovely Blog Award)
- Crispy Bits & Burnt Ends (Lovely Blog Award)
- Keep Calm & Eat On (Addictive Blog Award)
- Kung Food (Addictive Blog Award)
- Peri’s Spice Ladle (Blog on Fire Award)
- No Such Recipe (Blog on Fire Award)
- Yumbolicious (Versatile Blogger Award)
- A Girl, A Fork and a Spoon (Versatile Blogger Award)
- Fine Frugality (Inspiring Blog Award)
- Big Sis Little Dish (Inspiring Blog Award)
And a big thank you to the awesome blogs that nominated Spontaneous Tomato in the first place!
Ok, it’s recipe time.
This Avocado Hummus, like the Asparagus Risotto I made a while back, is yet another gem from Linda
You can really go either way; add one avocado or two! It just depends on if you’d like your hummus to be avocado-y or your guacamole to be hummus-y. Pretty tasty either way.
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RECIPE:
Avocado Hummus
Adapted from Linda McCartney’s World of Vegetarian Cooking
(Serves 4-6 as an appetizer)
Ingredients:
~ 1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
~ 1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
~ 3 Tbsp. olive oil
~ 1-2 large ripe avocados (personal preference!)
~ juice of one lemon
~ 4-5 Tbsp. plain yogurt
~ 1 Tbsp. tahini
~ sea salt and white pepper, to taste
OPTIONAL:
~ ¼ cup fresh cilantro
~ ½ – 1 jalapeño, seeded
~ dash of hot sauce, to taste
~ cilantro, to garnish
~ olive oil, to garnish
How to make it:
1. Add the chickpeas, garlic, and olive oil to a blender or food processor, and mix. (To make things easier on your blender, you can add some of the lemon juice or yogurt at this point as well.)
2. Once the garlic and chickpeas have a head start, and are well chopped or smooth, add all of the other ingredients, and blend until smooth.
3. Garnish with some sprigs of cilantro or a drizzle of olive oil. Serve chilled with pita bread, chips, pita chips, or fresh vegetables, like carrots or bell peppers, for dipping. (Or spread on sandwiches!)
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Related posts:
> Pita Chips with Labne Olive Oil Dip
> Crema de Aguacate (Mexican Avocado Soup)
> Vietnamese Avocado Smoothie, two ways
Trackbacks
- Almond Cinnamon Baklava & a Giveaway! « spontaneous tomato
- Avocado Lemon Pesto « spontaneous tomato
- A Shower of Awards, Praise and Recognition « Peri's Spice Ladle
- Chana Masala | spontaneous tomato
- Homemade Pita Bread and Hummus | spontaneous tomato
- Beet Hummus | spontaneous tomato
- Roasted Tomatillo Guacamole | spontaneous tomato
- Quick-Pickled Jalapeños and Cilantro Jalapeño Hummus | spontaneous tomato
spontaneous tomato 
Thank you much for the recognition! I’m thrilled for sure!
You’re very welcome; I love your blog!
Thank you very much for nominating my blog and stopping by to read/comment on my daily rants. Your blog is one lovely blog as well!
Thank you! :)
That looks delicious and congrats on your awards!!!
Thanks!
Can’t wait to try this avocado hummus!
Yes, it’s so simple, but the avocado makes the hummus even creamier… I hope you like it!
All those awards and more are well deserved! I’m so glad you started a food blog. :)
Aw, thank you! I think of you as one of the very first on my blog’s virtual welcoming committee :)
Delicious recipe, the avocado hummus is very doable and a wonderful twist on one of my favorite dips:)
Congratulations on all the wonderful awards, so well deserved, I have been enjoying your posts and recipes and glad you took on this blogging journey!
And thank you for nominating Peri’s Spice Ladle for the Blog on Fire Award, the name has a nice ring to it:) Its wonderful to be recognized by a fellow blogger…
Thanks so much for your kind words!
Congrats on so many awards :D
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Thank you! I know you are no stranger to blog awards yourself ;)
I love how healthy but satisfying this recipe seems! When I get my hands on some ripe avocados, this is up next!
Awesome! I have to tell you, it didn’t even occur to me to think of this recipe as healthy (especially since I often eat it with chips), but you’re right! Plus I like to think of all the fat in avocados as good fat– I never worry about eating too many avocados :)
Aw, thanks so much! Congratulations on all the recognition you’ve gotten–it’s very well deserved!
P.S. Love the Japanese phrase. I very much enjoy learning little things like that.
Thank you! And I’m glad you found that Japanese expression interesting… As I was writing it, I was trying to think of a similar expression for that kind of quickly-giving-up-some-new-pursuit in English (there must be something like that!) but the phrase in Japanese was the one that kept popping into my head. It just felt the most fitting!
(There’s also a proverb-like saying in Japanese– literally “be on a rock for three years”– that basically means “you should try new things out for a minimum of three years,” which I think is interesting because in the U.S. we often have that same concept but it’s shortened to one year– e.g., many people try living abroad for only one year at a time, or people think it looks bad on a resume if you’ve worked at a job for less than one year, but after that it’s acceptable to change jobs… I guess in Japan it’s all about persistence!)
This looks delicious. I am a huge hummus fan and guacamole fan so this is great!
Thanks! And perfect; now you can customize it so it’s more hummus-like or guacamole-like depending on your mood. It’s a very simple recipe– especially compared to the ones that you usually conquer!– but super tasty.
Thanks so much for the nomination! Its super flattering that you think my blog is “on fire”…I must admit, I’ve been on vacation for the past week or so and have been neglecting it quite a bit (but not without a ton of guilt!). Thanks again for thinking of me and my blog and I always look forward to seeing new blog posts from you. By the way, where do you blog from?
You’re welcome, and that’s funny I’ve barely noticed that you’ve been neglecting it, I guess because certain posts of yours have stood out in my mind leaving me with that “on fire” impression :) …posting frequently isn’t everything!
Also I’m writing from Santa Barbara, CA, where I’ve been living for the past 5 years since I started my 7-year-ish PhD program in Linguistics. (But before that I was born & raised in Madison, WI, then lived for a while in Philadelphia and several places in Japan.)
Oh I love Santa Barbara. I’m from Northern California, but currently living in Portland, OR….Hey, you don’t happen to know anyone by the name of Arden Bullard, do you? She is a longtime best friend of mine, has been living on and off in SB for a few years now. I know it’s a big place but also small town feel and was wondering if you two have crossed paths…anyways, thanks for the support!
Nope, sorry! That would have been cool, though! And you’re right about SB’s small town feel. (But I mostly only know other grad students even though I’ve been here 5 years now…)
Congratulations on the blog awards! I agree, meeting bloggers and making good frienship is the best part of blogging experience. I love both hummus and guacamole, but I don’t think I’ve had combined one before. I’ll be addicted to this dip for sure. :)
Thanks, Nami! I think you are one of the most gracious, friendly, and successful food bloggers out there! I am so grateful to have started up this virtual food-centered friendship with you :) …and I hope you enjoy this hummus if you get a chance to try the recipe!
Thank you so much…and BTW…love the pictures!
You’re welcome! And thank YOU for posting about your award, and so quickly too! :)
congrats!! Avocado hummus sounds good. I am a big hummus lover!!!
Thanks! Me too, I love hummus– especially when it’s lemony and creamy. (And my girlfriend loves spicy hummus, which is why I got into adding a jalapeño.)
Congrats, Allison on your many blog awards!
So well-deserved, I say! :) Congrats on the others too!
I love avocado hummus. I make one, nearly every week & vary my spices, etc. I love your tasty recipe a lot! So good!
Thanks so much! That’s awesome that you make hummus so often. I used to make it about once a week too, when I lived in Japan (even though chickpeas were sooooo expensive there!) but lately I don’t make it very often… I should start that habit up again though (instead of sometimes going for store-bought hummus!).
Hi Allison,
Thanks so much for your nomination, I’m totally over the moon! And of course congratulations to you on your many awards, they are very well deseved! Also, avocado hummus = all kinds of YUM!
Thanks! And I love your blog! I think it’s my most recently discovered of those in the list above, but I decided quickly that it’s a new favorite : )
Thank you so much for the nomination! You’re always a welcome presence in my blog.
You’re welcome! I always really enjoy looking at your recipes and photos.