Meatless Monday!

Welcome to Carroll Gardens Patch's weekly column in the spirit of the Meatless Monday initiative, which promotes going without meat one day a week to reduce your risk of chronic preventable conditions like cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity.

Here we share favorite recipes submitted by neighbors and local restaurants in which vegetables are the main attraction.

Today's (belated!) recipe was contributed by a local resident, named Louisa. She writes, "This is one of my favorites to prepare for an appetizer. I can't think of anyone who doesn't like guacamole. You can eat it on its own with chips or use it as a topping for chili. It's versatile!"

Perfect Guacamole

Ingredients

6 ripe avocados
2 lines
3 jalapeños, cleaned and finely diced
1 Tbsp. cilantro, roughly chopped
1/4 cup red onion, finely diced
1 beefsteak tomato, skinned, de-seeded and diced
1/4 cup sour cream 
6 drops of Tabasco sauce
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method

1. Skin and remove core from avocados, then chop into rough hunks. Season with lime juice.

2. Add jalapeños, cilantro, red onion, and tomato. Mix lightly.

3. Add sour cream and Tabasco. Mix, but keep chunky. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Serve with you favorite Yellow Corn chips.

Yields: 1 Quart

Do you have a recipe you'd like to share with your neighbors? Send it our way with a photo! E-mail joanna.prisco@patch.com