Green for St. Patrick's Day: Chilled Avocado Soup

St. Patrick's Day is pretty set when it comes to food in my house.  Thatboy isn't happy unless he has his corned beef for dinner.  And I made the mistake of giving the kids Lucky Charms for breakfast ONE YEAR and now it's become a whole thing. 

But that leaves lunch wide open.  Well for the grownups anyway.  Thatbaby has lunch made for him at preschool, and Thatkid is in charge of making his own lunch.  The good news about that is I can make things to eat that the kids wouldn't necessarily enjoy.

I learned my lesson the hard way that the kids don't like chilled soups.  I made a chilled pea soup and while they liked the flavor (since they love peas) they were highly unimpressed by the lack of warmth in the soup.  Which is fine, because as the weather warms up, a chilled soup makes a better lunch than dinner anyway.  Something very light and springy - and the green color is appropriate for both the upcoming season as well as St. Patrick's Day.

I don't think of avocado as having an especially strong flavor, so it's especially lovely with a little citrus and cream.

Chilled Avocado Soup

1 cup avocado

1 cup chicken broth

1 Tbsp fresh tarragon, chopped

1/4 tsp hot sauce (I used Green Dragon - to keep it as green as possible)

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup sour cream

1. Puree avocado in the food processor.
2. Heat the chicken broth in a small saucepan.  Press the pureed avocado through a mess strainer to remove any larger lumps and combine with the warmed chicken broth.  
3. Add the tarragon, hot sauce, and lemon juice and stir until combined.  Chill until cold.
4. Add the heavy cream and sour cream and chill until ready to serve.

Lunch Lessons

There are times when I'm such a mom it kills me. Take, for example, lunch. Every night I pack a lunch for Thatboy and I. I don't have to, I could make him fend for himself, but I pack myself a lunch, so it just makes sense for me to pack lunch for him too.

Rarely, I use leftovers. Most of the time I actually make a whole new meal for the two of us. I vary between the most basic of easy - sandwiches and fruit, and some form of Asian cuisine. Because it's also easy and reheats beautifully. There are curries and stirfries, classic dishes like beef and broccoli or sesame chicken, and of course, one of my favorite easy meals - fried rice.

I said I rarely use leftovers, however, upon reflection, I make use of some dinner components. I hate leftover rice. Refrigerated and reheated it never tastes quite the same. So if we have rice for dinner, I always use whatever is left to create fried rice for our lunches. Adding the egg, soy sauce and veggie somehow solves that whole reheating problem. And it contains almost all the basic food groups, which makes it a well rounded meal. (You can always add chicken, pork, beef, or even shrimp if you so desire) Toss in an orange, apple, or even a pear and you're completely covered!

Lunch Fried Rice
2 Tbsp oil
2 cups cooked rice
2 Tbsp green onions, sliced
3/4 Tbsp soy sauce
pepper
1 egg, slightly beaten

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet and add the rice, scallions, soy sauce and some ground pepper.
2. Cook for 5-6 minutes. Press to side of pan and add egg to the open space.
3. Scramble the egg, and once cooked, stir it into the rest of the rice so it breaks into smaller pieces. Remove from heat and serve.