We go into Toronto quite often, mainly to visit bead shops, Kensington Market where I go to “Global Cheese”, China Town and other wonderful little places along the way. We like to just take it all in. I love the city, and as much as I would not want to live there anymore, there are times when I just need a good dose of Toronto.
Some of my favorite things to do in Toronto involve food – well, most of them do actually! I LOVE food. There’s no secret about it, I admit it freely, and I love to try new and interesting restaurants as often as possible. One of my favorite Toronto stops, is the Java House on Queen Street. The food is sensational, and they make one of the best Pad Thai’s I’ve ever had. Now, this place is by no means fancy. Quite the opposite in fact. I don’t think you could get any plainer if you tried – but the food! WOW!
One of my other favorite dishes at The Java House is the Avocado Salad. It’s a simple little appetizer salad, full of avocados, red onions, and lettuce, with a light vinaigrette. Yum.
While I haven’t made this at home yet, I figure it would be pretty simple to do. Tonight, while leafing through a cookbook I came across a recipe for an Avocado Salad, similar to the one I love at Java House. In my usual style, I have slightly altered it, and with any luck, I will make it tomorrow. I was at the grocery store this evening, and I “checked out” the avocadoes, but really, they weren’t ripe or overly nice looking. Maybe tomorrow there’ll be better ones…
Avocado Salad
1 head iceberg lettuce, torn
2 cups leaf lettuce, torn
2 ripe avocados, peeled and sliced
1 small red onion, sliced fine
1 cucumber, sliced
1 can Mandarin orange slices, drained
Dressing:
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup oil
2 TBSP red wine vinegar
1 TBSP sugar
1 tsp grated orange peel
1/4 tsp salt
Combine all dressing ingredients and blend well. Chill. Combine the two types of lettuce, and arrange in a large serving bowl. Arrange avocado slices, onion, cucumber, and Mandarin orange slices on top of lettuce. Serve immediately, and top each serving with dressing (avocados will brown if not served quickly – if serving later, dip slices in citrus juice to prevent browning)
