Photos © 2012 Curly Girl Design, Inc./Leigh Standley. all rights reserved.
I have a few consecutive studio weeks on my hands (also known as: the best part of my job) which puts me at home all day…and keeping less structured hours than usual. I work early in the morning or until late at night (which means I am up past my usual 9:45…) and I have less than structured eating habits. This can be a bit of a pitfall for me, so this time around, I am making an effort to get to the gym (via standing appointments with a trainer…yep!) and trying to surround myself with healthy snack options (truffle salt on popcorn counts right?). This can be a challenge, especially when the studio session is for holiday, and all I am thinking about is hot chocolate, homemade cookies and feety pajamas!
The superfood that meets all of my cravings almost all of the time is the avocado. I think if I were a fruit or vegetable, I would be an avocado. They are rich and creamy, filling, nutrient dense, high in healthy fats, and they go with just about everything. I could eat them all the time, but because they are a bit calorie and fat dense, I have to keep an eye on it.
When I was in NYC for the Stationery Show I had a long leisurely brunch with one of my nearest and dearest at Cafe Gitane in Nolita and had their avocado toast (on high recommendation) and was forever changed by it.
How could something so simple be so incredibly delicious? I have since dedicated myself to re-creating this magic, and think I have come pretty darn close. You will thank me later.
Insanely Good Avocado Toast (ala Cafe Gitane):
you will need:
1 ripe avocado
1/2 lemon
red pepper flakes
really good multi-grain bread (I use When Pigs Fly 6 Grain & Pumpkin Seed)
olive oil ( if you have a bottle with a spout pourer, or can use a basting brush, that is best)
sea salt
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Toast your favorite bread. While it is toasting, scoop avocado into a bowl, squeeze the better part of a half a lemon over it, add a pinch of salt and mash until slightly chunky.
When bread is toasted, brush with olive oil (or if you have a spout pourer, just hold it touching the bread and quickly drizzle the length of the bread …do not drench!). Spread the avocado mixture on the bread thickly. Salt the top and add another quick squeeze of lemon. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes. Be forever changed.
This should probably serve two, but nobody has successfully gotten close enough to me while I'm eating this to share it with me. I consider it a full meal.
Enjoy! Let me know what you think!
xoxo
