the friday feed: avocado toast

It's between 6:30 and 7:00 a.m., kind of early, but I've always been a morning person. For me it's not hard to roll out of bed, drink a big glass of water, and go to the kitchen to make the morning pot of coffee. The smell of coffee offers the psychological "wake up" before the first sip. After the coffee has brewed and my cup is filled, it is then time to sit down, open my computer to read blogs, and play a few New York Times games. I'm not hungry when I wake up and need to wait a few hours for the hunger pangs to set in.

For the last couple of weeks I've been on an avocado toast kick: a slice of toasted seed-sational bread, 1/4 an avocado, and giardinara to top it. It's crunchy, creamy, and the giardinara adds a touch of spiciness. Many, many thanks to my Chicago family for introducing giardinara, Chicago's quintessential condiment, to me. Giardinara is rooted in Italian tradition, the Chicago version is distinct, featuring chopped vegetables (carrots, celery, and peppers), pickled in oil and vinegar rather than just vinegar.

The avocado toast trend took off in early 2010, fueled by the wellness culture, Instagram foodies, and endorsements from chefs. It became a symbol of trendy, healthy eating, especially among the Millennials. Well, it took this Boomer quite a few years (15 years to be exact) to get enthusiastic about avocado toast and most recently, when the grocery store had a good sale on avocados, that's been breakfast for the past few days. 

In addition to avocado toast, this has been a fun week in the kitchen. I've made beef with barley soup, manicotti topped with marinara and ooey-gooey fresh mozzarella cheese, a big tray of roasted veggies, and an Asian chicken salad with a rice wine vinegar dressing. Lots of good leftovers.