Kids Dish

J is for jalapeño! Jalapeños, as hot peppers go, are low to mild on the Scoville scale that ranks their heat. That means if you seed them and remove the white ribs (wearing gloves if you don’t want the heat to linger on your fingers!) they’ll have a nice flavor, minus the tingly hot.

Jalapeño jelly is a fun substitute for boring grape or strawberry on a cream cheese and jelly sandwich, or serve it with crackers, veggies and cream cheese for a fun afternoon snack. Jalapeño poppers, which are peppers stuffed with cheese, battered and deep fried (mmmm. deep fried) are on the appetizer menu at many restaurants these days. But my all-time favorite use for jalapeños, the reason why I’m growing them in my backyard (those are mine in the picture), is eating them chopped in guacamole.

Kids love to dip and Sam is no exception. Last week at happy hour (now that the bars in Philadelphia are smoke-free, happy hour is a family affair) we ordered a side of guacamole and Sam was too interested in dipping his chips into the extremely hot salsa then scraping the hot off of his tongue to bother with it. Knowing that it takes a couple of exposures to a food for kids to like it (Sam has clearly forgotten that avocado was his first food) when I saw avocados on sale at the grocery store I bought a bag. I’ve made guacamole twice since and Sam has caught on. He dips his chip in the guac, licks it off, dips it again, dips his chip back into the bowl of chips, licks off the guac, and dips again before taking a bite. (I know, I’ve got to teach him that double-dipping is anti-social behavior.) Occasionally he’ll reach over and offer his chip to me before yanking it away and eating himself. Such a tease, that kid.

If you’re avoiding the chips, guacamole makes a great dip for veggies, it’s a perfect spread for grilled chicken wraps and better for you than ranch dressing, and it’s a healthy mayonnaise substitute on sandwiches. Get your kids to mash the avocado while you chop the veggies and half the work is done for you.

Guacamole

3 ripe avocados, halved, pitted and peeled
1 small onion, chopped
2 small jalapeño peppers, seeds and ribs removed, finely chopped
1 small tomato, seeded and chopped
1 1/2 limes, juiced (or a couple of tablespoons of bottled lime juice)
1/2 cup of fresh cilantro, cut into smallish pieces (Do not substitute with dried. Yuck.)
salt and pepper to taste

Mash the avocado with a potato masher or fork then add the remaining ingredients, mixing until combined. Serve with tortilla chips.

A tip for storage: when using fresh, the lime juice helps keep the guacamole from turning brown in the refrigerator. An extra squirt or two of lime juice before storage helps, but a layer of plastic wrap directly on the guac works better. Fresh guacamole lasts one to two days in the refrigerator. That’s only if you don’t eat it all at once. We almost never have leftovers.

Jalapeños, recipe, guacamole