• 1 pound baby spinach
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups plain full-fat Greek Yogurt (I use the 17.6 oz Fage Total yogurt)
• kosher salt
• few pinches dried mint (optional: for sprinkling on top of finished dip)
• handful crushed walnuts, for topping finished dip
• olive oil, for drizzling on finished dip

1. Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil.  Add a generous amount of salt, and then the baby spinach.  Boil for about a minute, until the spinach has completely wilted but is still bright green.  Drain well, and allow the spinach to cool slightly.
2. Put the cooled spinach in a kitchen towel and squeeze as much of the water out as possible. Chop fine.
3. Return the now empty pot to the stove and set the heat to medium. Saute half of your minced garlic in 2 tbsp olive oil and add the spinach. Add a pinch of salt. Stir for a minute or two. 
4. Remove from the heat, allow to cool.
5. In a large shallow bowl, mix the yogurt, the remaining minced garlic, and the sauteed spinach until well combined. Add salt to taste. 
6. Sprinkle with dried mint, crushed walnuts, and a drizzle of good olive oil.  Serve with pita chips.

Pita Chips

• 1 package good pita bread (I like Phoenicia, available at Central Market)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
3. Cut each pita round into six wedges, and peel apart the two layers, creating 12 wedges from one pita round.  Repeat for as many wedges as you can fit on your baking sheet in a single layer (I usually do two pitas at a time).
4. Toss the pita wedges with olive oil, and arrange in a single layer on the baking sheet.  Sprinkle with kosher salt and pepper.
5. Bake for 5-7 minutes, or until the chips are mostly golden and crispy.

Hi, friends! Don’t you just want to stick your face into this bowl of guacamole? No? Just me? Well, it really is delicious… Andy and I had this for dinner tonight along with grilled skirt steak fajitas and deep fried plantains with crema (!) It was a happy night in the ole Arizpe household. Side note- why was this the first time I’ve fried plantains? They are so, so tasty.

When I was growing up my mom would occasionally make guacamole with one of those seasoning packets they stock in the produce section next to the avocados, and oh man! We would go wild for it! Not to knock the seasoning packet, but this guacamole is so much better.  It’s loosely adapted from Rick Bayless, with way more lime and no tomatoes.  If you don’t have a go-to guacamole recipe, I humbly present this for your approval:


Guacamole

• 2 large avocados, diced large
• 1/2 small onion, diced finely (about 1/4 cup)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 jalapeno or 1 serrano, seeds removed, minced
• 1 handful cilantro, minced (about 1/4 cup)
• 3-4 tablespoons lime juice (from 1-2 limes)
• 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt (to taste)

1. Put the diced avocado in a small bowl and mash half-assedly with a fork.  You want it to be a little chunky so as to distinguish itself from the guacamole that comes out of the Taco Bell caulking gun.
2. Add in the rest of the ingredients (onion, garlic, jalapeno, cilantro, lime juice, and salt) and stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning.  If it seems flat, add more lime or salt or both.
3. If you’re not serving it immediately, press a piece of saran wrap onto the surface of the guacamole and refrigerate.

Also, just for fun, here’s the cast of characters and (bonus!) a hot little pic for you meat lovers:

In case you were wondering, this is just a piece of skirt steak, seasoned with kosher salt and pepper, and grilled until nicely charred over a charcoal fire.