Cucumber Avocado Salsa

I almost wrote all this out again just so I could omit cilantro. That atrocity aside, I can see this making a nice cottage munchie on a sunny cottage day.

Click on the image to enlarge.

 
Source: Tasting Table

Edit, Aug 2nd, 2026: Made a half version of this, and thought it went down well. The only part of the recipe I didn't follow was the (half) teaspoon of salt and the only "negative" feedback turned out to be "I hate to say it, but it needs more salt". 😐

But if there's someone in your household who hates avocado, and his name happens to be Jean-Guy, this is probably a good way to get him to take in some of that "power food". 

Carrot-based Pasta Sauce

A subscription to Odd Bunch (link at right) resulted in obtaining a few carrots the size of my femurs. 

To avoid waste, I looked up pasta sauces made primarily from carrots. After a few tweaks, I settle on the version below. Blender required. 🥕🥕

2 tbsp olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, diced

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 lb carrots, peeled and chopped

2 cups vegetable stock

1 can of tomato paste (156 ml)

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Parmesan cheese, as garnish

In a large pot or skillet, add olive oil over medium heat.

Add carrots and onions and cook for 10 minutes until carrots start to caramelize and brown. (Edit, Sept. 20th, 2026: I've taken to giving the carrots a head start by a few minutes and early results suggest this is the way to go.) 

Add garlic and tomato paste. Stir together for a minute.

Add stock and Worcestershire sauce and bring to a simmer. Turn heat down to low, cover, and continue to simmer until carrots are tender, probably another 10 minutes.

Let the sauce cool, then transfer to a traditional blender and blend until completely smooth. Transfer back to your pot and stir in the black pepper and red pepper flakes.

Most of the recipes I found served this over penne. We decided to try it with gnocchi, and that worked out great.

Add-on, Nov. 2nd, 2026: Adding water may be required for the blending part to work, so I made an extra cup of veggie broth for that process, but ended up not using the full amount. I was closer to 3/4 of a cup.

Lentil soup that tastes like it simmered all day takes exactly 30 minutes

This one is from a post on Threads, hence the wonky title. 😁

Making it easy on myself (and to give proper credit for a change), here's a screenshot of the post. 

I have yet to try it, so no personal recommendations for the moment. The exchanges below could be helpful, however. 

I want to know more about the coconut milk thing, so I asked "fillymeyer" how much she recommends adding. Hopefully she responds and if so, I will add her suggestion here. 

Gumbo Z'Herbes

I love that this is a gumbo, but almost nothing like my other (more traditional?) gumbo. The one I've been making for years is mostly rice, beans, and tomato, but this bad boy is mushroom, greens, and sausage. I'll need to find out if there are other varieties of gumbo. 

¼ cup + 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil divided

¼ cup all-purpose flour

1 yellow onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup celery, diced (about 2 stalks)

10 oz baby bella mushrooms sliced

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp smoked paprika

2 tsp porcini mushroom powder

6 cups vegetable stock

8 cups assorted dark leafy greens, chopped (or 2 cups each collard greens, mustard greens, Swiss chard, and kale)

2 tbsp soy sauce

3 sausages, sliced

Warm ¼ cup of the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.

Add the flour and stir, then reduce the heat to medium. Toast the flour in the oil until it turns a rich golden color.

Add the onions, garlic, and celery and sauté until the onions begin to turn translucent, about 3 minutes.

Add the sliced mushrooms, black pepper, thyme, smoked paprika, and porcini powder. Stir well and cook until the mushrooms soften, about 8 minutes.

Add the water and stock, then bring to a simmer.

Add the chopped leafy greens and soy sauce, then stir. Cook for about 10 minutes, or until the greens are tender, cooking longer if you prefer softer greens.

While the gumbo cooks, pan-fry the sausage. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in a skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the sliced sausage and cook for about 3 minutes per side, until browned and crispy.

Stir the sausage into the gumbo, then season to taste with salt and/or pepper.

Sausage: The first couple of attempts included a spicy Italian sausage, but with the paprika, it was coming close to being a little too hot. For the most recent, Bavarian was used and that was a better fit. 

Greens: Recommendations collard greens, mustard greens, Swiss chard, and kale.

Mushroom Bacon

I've tried mushroom bacon in the past, a couple of times, and enjoyed it a great deal. The two variations that I tried came surprisingly close to recreating the flavour.  I haven't made this particular one yet, but am storing it as a starting point to experiment from. 

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons soy sauce

½ teaspoon pure maple syrup

½ teaspoon liquid smoke

¼ teaspoon smoked paprika

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

4 ounces (about 120g) of portabella or shiitake mushrooms cut into ¼-inch-thick slices


In a large bowl, combine oil, soy sauce, maple syrup, liquid smoke, paprika, and black pepper.

Add the mushrooms and toss to coat. 

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Add the mushrooms in a single layer in the pan, then sauté for 5 to 10 minutes, or until golden.

Flip and continue to cook for another 5 minutes or until crispy.