STEEMIT IRONCHEF #16: AVOCADO TIME!

This 16th, and penultimate week of the Steemit Ironchef Competition features the avocado as the special ingredient!

Avocados are the tricksters of the plant world. They tease and tease for days, rock solid and nowhere near being ready to eat. And then, seemingly out of nowhere they ripen, and they are perfect, but only for a brief window of time. After that brief window of perfection, avocados become mushy, and bruised, and so so sad. Avocado timing is a form of scientific study that puzzles and befuddles.

Despite their finicky ripening schedule, I know life would not be the same without the avocado. The creamy flesh and subtle flavor can elevate any dish to luxury. One appropriate description of the flavor of avocados is 'vegetable infused butter' and I couldn't agree more. Let's avocado then!

To celebrate the avocado, I made flounder and avocado cakes, chilled mango and avocado soup, zucchini noodles (zoodles) with garlic avocado sauce, and chili-lime sweet potato and avocado.

For the flounder and avocado cakes, I combined flounder fillets, avocado, eggs, lemon juice, and breadcrumbs, formed them into cute little rounds, and pan fried them until golden brown:

For the chilled mango and avocado soup I simply blended avocado, mango, plain yogurt, and lemon juice until smooth and creamy.

For the garlic avocado zoodles, I steamed thin zuchhini noodles, and tossed them in a sauce made of avocado, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and liquid chlorophyll. The nest of zoodles is topped with crushed hazelnuts.

For the sweet potatoes and avocado, I simply steamed a sweet potato and arranged it along with avocado, and sprinkled it with lime salt and chili.