Yesterday, I went to a friend's party where said friend had smoked all his own meat. Now, I'm not a meat eater, but I will have the occasional fish, so my friend smoked a salmon. Salty and smokey and delicious.

So for brunch today, I made a smoked salmon omelet. A little indulgent for everyday, but just right for a lazy Sunday morning. I made a regular omelet and filled it with the salmon and finely shredded manchego cheese and topped the whole thing off with carmelized onions. The onions were a perfect compliment to the salty salmon. I even made a little omelet (sans onions) for my dog. She loves salmon and eggs too, and I see no reason she shouldn't partake in a lovely Sunday brunch.

Posting this without putting up a whole recipe makes me feel like I'm indulging in food porn. But who can resist?

For lack of imagination, I call this dish Stuffed Peppers. It is based off a dish my friend's husband made on the fly. I've adapted it to my own tastes, but, I've got to say, it is really really delicious.

Stuffed Peppers

3 large poblano peppers, cored and sliced in half lengthwise

1 to 2 tbsps of olive oil
1 small red onion, diced
1 ear of corn kernals
1 can of pinto beans
1 tomato, chopped (optional)
1/2 cup of chopped cilantro (or to taste)
2 chipotle in adobe sauce, diced with two tbsps or adobe
3/4 cup of manchego (or other hard, salty cheese) (plus extra to sprinkle on top)

2 cups of shredded cabbage
1/2 cup mexican crema (or sour cream thinned with milk)
Limes

Serves 2 or 3 depending on how many stuffed peppers you want

Preheat oven to 350

Boil a pot of water. Parboil the peppers for about ten minutes, until flexible but not soft. Remove and place in a 9 x 9 inch pan (greased if necessary).

While parboiling, cook onions in olive oil until softish, Add the corn kernals, stir, and cook for 3 or 5 minutes. Add the pinto beans, tomato, cilantro and chipotle. Cook through. Salt here, but remember that you are adding salty cheese.

Turn off the heat and add cheese. Mix thoroughly. Spoon mixture into pepper shells. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake in oven for about 25 minutes.

While baking, shred the cabbage and separate it into bowls. Drizzle crema over cabbage. Squeeze lime over each plate, to taste.

Dish up the stuffed peppers over the cabbage. Lime and salt to taste. Enjoy!

In my search for new and exciting ways to use avocados, I created the Avocado Pizza a few years back. Instead of tomato sauce, I use whipped up avocado. I use a cornmeal crust to make personal size pizzas. (The cornmeal crust doesn't bake through if the pizza round is too large.) The toppings listed are how I like to make pizzas, but feel free to put on what you like.

Avocado Pizza

Crust:
1/2 cup of yellow cornmeal
1 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup of water (plus a few teaspoons as needed)

Pre-heat oven to 350. Mix together the dry ingredients then make a well for the liquids. Mix together to incorporate everything into a doughy ball. Place on a board and knead for five or so minutes. Roll out into 7 or 8 inch rounds. Place on baking sheets (either oiled or sprinkled with cornmeal). Pre-bake rounds for 5 minutes, just to dry them out a bit.

Toppings:
2 large avocados, mashed smooth
1 cup diced onions (sweet red is the best)
1 cup corn kernels (fresh if you can get it)
1/2  to 1 cup tangy greens, finely chopped (arugula or sorrel works) [Can be omitted]
4 small/medium tomatoes (sour is better than sweet here), sliced into slim half moons
2 to 3 cups shredded cheese (your preference, but avoid strong flavors, mozzarella is good)
salt and pepper to taste

With a spatuala, spread thickly the avocado mixture on each crust. Layer lightly onion, corn, and greens on each. Sprinkle salt over each. Add a light layer of cheese. Layer tomatoes (about one tomato per crust). Add an addition light layer of cheese. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly and starts to brown.

I tried the same recipe, added spinach and topped with shredded light mexican-style cheese and tomatillo salsa. Really good too!

Any chance I get, I use avocados. Fuerte is my favorite and the early fuertes are just coming into season. These types of avocados are very creamy, but without being too watery. They have thin skin, so are not the type you can get in stores. The sweetest, creamiest part of a fuerte is the heart--the place right at the tip of the seed. It is perfectly delicious.

I often put sliced avocado on top of scrambled eggs with salsa, but lately, more and more, I've been experimenting with cooked avocados. Creamy, salty, warm, yum.

So, Avocado Egg Scramble:
(one heaping serving)

olive oil
1/4 to 1/2 cup diced onions
small clove of garlic (optional)
2 eggs (one whole egg and one egg white)
splash of milk and water
salt, pepper
1/4 to 1/2 cup mashed tofu
1/2 avocado mashed fairly smooth
shredded cheese, preferably swiss or similar

Heat over medium a 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a pan (sauce pans, opposed to skillets, work well with this one). Add the onion (and garlic), stir, and let cook for a few minutes till soft. Beat the eggs, splash of water, splash of milk and salt and pepper. Doesn't need to get too frothy, just slightly bubbly. Mix in the tofu then add all of it to the pot and mix thoroughly. As with regular scrambled eggs, mix/stir often until liquidy parts are almost no more. Just before eggs are finished (maybe a minute or so left), add the avocado and mix thoroughly. Continue cooking, and stirring, until eggs look done. The mix will be a little watery.

Serve in a dish and top with shredded cheese.

Variation: Green Eggs--had 1/2 cup or so of defrosted chopped frozen spinach when you add the egg mixture.