Lunchopolis #27

There are some new things here! Plus a recipe! But more on that below. So: Multigrain chips, avocado salsa (recipe below), and rancheros-style refried pinto beans. Believe it or not, this hits all the high points nutritionally I usually go for: grains, vegetables, fruit (avocado counts), and protein. (Nobody has paid me for the effusiveness I display below.)

These chips are Utz brand, and I've never tried them before, but they taste really good! They're scoop-style, so they hold a lot of beans and salsa. They also have a bunch of different stuff in them, including the obvious (corn) and not so obvious (flax seeds).

The beans are Goya, and they were amazing. Canned refried beans usually aren't up to muster for me without some serious doctoring, but these are already doctored, I guess, with tomatoes and spices, plus they're vegan. This also makes an amazing bean burrito!

The salsa is homemade, and that's the recipe I'm going to give you. This is adapted from Dip It! by Rick Rodgers. If you're still swimming in CSA tomatoes like me, here's one option for getting through them.

Avocado-Tomato Salsa
Serves: About 2

1 cup quartered grape tomatoes
Salt
1 garlic clove
1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro (I used frozen cubes)
1/2 avocado, finely diced

1. Toss the tomato quarters with a bit of salt in a colander. Let drain for the amount of time it takes you to prep all the rest of the ingredients (save the avocado for later, though), about 20 minutes if you're like me and a very meticulous chopper.
2. Finely chop the garlic, then sprinkle with salt and continue to chop and smear the garlic on your cutting board until it forms a paste.
3. Mix all ingredients other than the avocado in a bowl and allow to stand at room temperature for a bit if you're going to serve it right away (maybe 20 minutes). If not, just pop in the fridge until you're ready to add the avocado.
4. Just before serving or packing, stir the avocado into the salsa.