Creamy Avocado Dip

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We've popped over to the Western Headquarters of the Circle B Kitchen to spend a few weeks on California's beautiful central coast.  And when I say popped over, I mostly mean a 3-day road trip with our 16-year old granddaughter who's more fun than a barrel of monkeys.  She hitched a ride with us to the west coast where she's attending a couple of volleyball camps.  In between camps we'll do some hiking and hang out on the beach with her while she gets reunited with her inner surfer girl.  Life is good.

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On our drive here, we made our usual stop at a produce truck just outside of Bakersfield CA and picked up a bag of local avocados (along with other locally grown mangoes, watermelon and grapes).  But these avocados... a bag of 12 for $5.  They were the small mini variety, all perfectly (and I do mean perfectly) ripe and the most flavorful, creamy avocados ever.  EVER!  Avocado season in California is better than Disneyland.  

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If presented with a perfect avocado for my own personal consumption, without hesitation, I would grab my bottle of Tajin chili lime seasoning, sprinkle this over every bite of avocado and my bliss would be complete.  One could never enjoy an avocado more than this.  Of course, I will never turn down a chip slathered with guacamole, but what I mostly want to talk to you about today is the "not-guacamole" avocado dip that I encourage you to add to your list of awesome things to do with a perfectly ripe avocado.  It's sublime in its simplicity, beyond delicious in its avocado-ness, and would very much like to be taken as seriously as guacamole.  And I believe it's good enough to hang out in such esteemed company.

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Granted, our list of ingredients could be seen as humble, but therein lies the beauty.  This dip is simplicity itself, which is a bit of a foil for its creamy deliciousness.  You probably already have the ingredients on hand to throw into a food processor, which means that in 1 1/2 minutes you could be enjoying some seriously good dippage with whatever you're in the mood for. 

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We're not going to limit ourselves to tortilla chips here either... crackers, chips, veggies, crostini; anything that might be up for a good dunk is welcome here.  Heck, a spoon would be just fine too. Here's the recipe...

Creamy Avocado Dip

Click here for a printable recipe

Recipe adapted from The Kitchn

2 medium ripe avocados
4 ounces fresh goat cheese
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Vegetable crudité, tortilla chips, crostini or crackers, for serving

Cut the avocados in half and remove the pits. Spoon the flesh of the avocados into the bowl of food processor or blender. Crumble in the goat cheese along with the lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Blend until smooth and creamy, 30 to 40 seconds.  If you'd like, add chopped fresh herbs of your choosing (parsley or basil might be nice).

The dip will keep for a day or so, sealed tightly in the fridge.