you know you have a problem when...

So we are touching up the paint in our home---fixing the dings, cracks and smears from fast and full living---and I needed to take inventory on what paint I had on hand, and what paint I needed to buy. And guess what I found? I found I have a problem. My paint colors are not normal. Either they hired a foodie to name paint, or I am like a bug to a light when it comes to food.

In this case, it appears that I think of paint as another venue for all things food. Here are the paint cans I found labeled, affixed to my pantry shelves: Bay Leaf, Pale Avocado, Caramel Latte, Split Pea, Dark Celery (seriously, I am thinking: coincidence?), Peanut Shell and Jack o' Lantern. Sounds more like something I would put on my plate rather than my walls, but hey: what can I say? Food warms my soul, whether it is in the sauté pan, on the grill or apparently, surrounding my every move, day and night, head to toe like a food fight gone out of control and now forever a part of every wall of my home.

I know, that is what I was thinking: no tomatoes? Next wall I paint better be Tomato Blossom, Heirloom Orange, or Roma Tomato. Or how about the color of the flesh of an enormous beefsteak tomato? And to be sure, I already have lots of 'dirt' on my walls: cremini mushroom brown, whole wheat brown, chocolate mole brown---hues bragging of their ability to cultivate, nurture and sustain. A pun to make my father proud: I find brown to be very grounding, indeed.

But back to the Pale Avocado: this color proudly adorns my kitchen walls. When not part of a wall, I love using real avocados for this very green guacamole. My lovely friend Kristen, from Portland, spliced this recipe together and I frantically wrote the recipe down. Now I make it all the time:

Guacamole 1/2 juice lemon 2-3 cloves garlic, minced big pinch kosher salt small green pepper (jalapeno, Anaheim, etc.) 3 avocados 1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Mash/blend together. I used my muddler and it worked beautifully. Kids---big and small---can also just mush it together with their fingers. Try not to flick any on the walls, or if you do and your walls are green, like mine, perhaps it will just blend...