Guacanara
Hey all!
I am so, so thankful for the incredibly intelligent answers I got to my last post. It’s always nice to be reminded of what a smart, thoughtful, and perceptive group of readers I have. I sometimes worry before I bring up topics that have the potential to stir debate, but I quickly remind myself that
1) Debate is good
2) All of my readers are exceptionally thoughtful and open-minded
and for that I am so, so grateful. I may very well send my thoughts to Self; stay tuned.
Once again, this has been a week of lots of eating out and not enough time in my kitchen! I really can’t wait for this more peaceful (I hope!) month to get underway so that I can get back to simple, homemade meals and quiet time. In the meantime, though, I did want to share a recipe from this past weekend, which was inspired by my friend Diana. I only had the good fortune of meeting Diana last week at Beam Green, but it hasn’t taken me long to suspect that we’ll be good friends. She’s a gem: funny, smart, ironic, and insightful, and I hope we’ll have many jus dates in our future!
In the meantime, Diana has inspired me with her recipe for guacanara, an ingenious marriage of Mexican and Italian, which she posted last week. It is exactly what it sounds like: a combo of raw marinara sauce and my classic guacamole. And let me tell you, it’s delicious. I served it over spiralized summer squash, but it would be every bit as great as a dip, spread, stuffing, or eaten by the spoonful!
The idea is simple. Whip up a batch of marinara sauce, hot or raw. I used my red pepper marinara, which I love. For time’s sake, you could use a cooked, storemade brand—I like Brad’s Organics and Seeds of Change. Next, whip up a batch of my classic guacamole.
Pour the marinara into the guac, like so:
And begin to mix:
As soon as you have a consistency that suits you (I had some leftover marinara), you’re ready to go! Serve it over spiralized pasta, stacked in between veggie slices, as a dip, a spread, or even on top of salad. I put it on my pasta:
But loved it so much that I also scooped some over my green salad.
And voila: a perfect dinner!
I’ve seen lots of experiments with my green guac lately, including Faith and miss GC today! I love it. So let’s expand our guac horizons to include guacanara: you guys won’t regret it!
Have a great night.
xo
Edited to add: The guac frenzy continues! Kath just made goat cheese guac.
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Not only does she have great advice when I am struggling, but her realistic approach helped me make major changes despite having no time and limited funds. Her recipes and ideas are for real people with lives beyond their diets, and they are great. Gena is down to earth and non-judgmental. She strikes a great balance between encouraging me to go a little father but to keep things in perspective and have fun with the process.
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So where do you get your protein?Ah, the million dollar question. I know that my fellow raw foodists are uttering a collective sigh of frustration with me. But it’s inevitable, so here goes:
I get my protein from a wide array of vegetables, sea vegetables, nuts, seeds, grains, and legumes. The notion that we need to supplement our diet with large amounts of protein, especially in the form of animal products, is mistaken: our bodies are capable of assembling amino acids from all of the foods we eat and building the “complete proteins” that we’ve all been told we need to get in a single sitting.
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Juicer (average $50.00 - $500.00)If you’re like me, and juicing is a crucial part of your lifestyle, then the cost of a juicer will absolutely be worth it! It will buy itself back again and again and again. The juicer I recommend is the Breville Two-Speed Juice Fountain Plus. It’s the only juicer I’ve ever owned, and it has never let me down. I recommend you invest in a juicer that has at least this level of performance in order to juice leafy greens.
Some of you have asked me whether it’s wiser to buy a juicer or a Vitamix.
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guac! can’t get enough!
Yummm! I was just going to make some of your guacamole today, but I think I’ll save it for tomorrow and add marinara sauce to the mix
. The spiralizer makes such beautiful “pasta”.
I definitely look forward to reading your response to SELF magazine!! Go for it!!
Guacamole + marinara sauce = two of my favorite toppings. Together?? As the cliché states, they are a match made in heaven.
Interesting combo!! I might just have to try that – I’m on the hunt for some more raw lunch ideas! (the California ranch wrap is my favorite of the moment
oh looks fab!
I love your guac. I love your red pepper marinara. I have no doubt I will love the guacanara!
yumm! I had zu-ghetti tonight for dinner I may have to try this topping next time!
HA! I had pesto zucchini pasta tonight, but the fam had marinara. I could have just made guacanara…what was I thinking?!?
Is Diana not a riot? I so wish I could meet her in person. The three of us could go for ice cream or jus, is it?
Haha, I, like Sarah, had pesto zucchini tonight but your guacanara looks far superior!
That sounds positively divine! I love having new raw recipes to try and you and Diana are GREAT resources
Hope you get the day off tomorrow and this can be your HAPPY FRIDAY!
sounds like a great fusion to me!
Ohhhhhh, Gena I’m so glad you posted that because I forgot about your leftover juice pulp post from earlier and I just bought a juicer!! I’m so excited to make juices, then use the pulp (wow, how my life has changed!).
My 2 favorite cusines combined..hmm..I am going to have to try this!
Looks and sounds great! Love your guac!
Ohhhhhhhh YEAH baby!
I am definitely going to give guacamole another shot – this looks so good!!
Oh my goodness, this looks delish! I’ll be saving this for the day when tomatoes make a welcome reappearance into my life
Hollaaaaa!!! Thanks for the shout, madam. I’m definitely going to have to do guacanara again soon. Or just the guac. Or just the marinara. SOMEthing delicious and fresh to give me some relief from the great kitchen purge! If nothing else, I guess one side benefit of this cleaning-out is that I will have a hard time looking a chicken in the boob for a loooooong time. You shoulda see the pile o’veg on my plate at fondue last night. Towering and formidable, just the way the veggies should be.
You call me up for a jus date any old time, ya hear?
Must. Try. That. Guac.
I just made your original recipe yesterday and LOVED IT!
Ok, these pictures are the last straw… I must have a spiralizer or a spirooli or something so that I can make raw summer squash pasta!!!! These pictures look soooo delicious… must make raw pasta… and then banana soft serve for desert… drooooool…
anything with avo in bulk deserves a try…i MUST make this!
guacanara! Mex meets Italy?????
I’m in. Where does one pick up a spiralizer?
I am so missing noodles.
So many possibilities!
Happy Thursday!
Girl, your ideas are inspiring!!!
I plan on making a raw marinara sauce with the leftover pulp. We’ll see how it goes. I already mixed my leftover pulp with some avocado and it was sooo good! It’s crazy all the things you can think of.
p.s. I’m so sorry I have no idea how many times my Mac Mail must’ve sent you that e-mail, but it has a mind of it’s own now :\ I finally got your e-mail though and thanks for the tips! I’ll pass them along to my mom.
Honey I only got it twice! No worries
I think you should absolutely send your thoughts to Self. I actually just sent mine concerning that same article. While I agree that the article was balanced for the most part, I was appalled that while the article decried dangerous cleanses and fasts, it featured an advertisement for Slimquick diet “cleanse” only a few pages before. What were they thinking??
Thanks!
Note to self: TO DO–1)Purchase a spiralizer 2) Use the above recipe as a perfect introduction to eating avocado (gasp!). I can pretend it’s not even in there…yup, just regular old marinara sauce….
Thanks, Emily! Really glad to hear your feedback.
gena, how did you become such a culinary genius? i can’t wait to make this! i think i could probably credit you for my current addiction to avocados. i’ve always liked them, but lately i’ve practically had to buy them in bulk, and i love it!
I am beyond flattered, Ms. Leslie!
That sounds awesome!!!! You should definitely send your thoughts to SELF. More people need to hear your sage like musings!
I want to get in on this guac action
I’m also sending you an email!
I am willing to try anything that results in two words fusing together into one cool word!
I just ordered a spiralizer from Matt Monarch’s website and I’m so excited to get it. Maybe I’ll try this combo!
Interesting idea! (I’ll have to check out Soap and Chocolate….). I guess this might be somewhat like adding rosemary to create an alternate guacamole, which I was initially hesitant about and loved. Recipe now bookmarked