Receta Mexican Chopped Salad with Spicy Avocado Dressing
Several years ago, I stood in my client’s kitchen and prepared a Mexican Chopped Salad with Spicy Avocado Dressing. Although, the Mexican Chopped Salad I made that day did not contain bell peppers. My client was adamant he did not like bell peppers. Stuffed jalapenos and possibly Chile Rellenos yes, but bell peppers, no.
So, I scrambled around the refrigerator and the pantry to find additional tasty ingredients to add to this Mexican Chopped Salad. My client had some significant dietary restrictions, but at that moment I was willing to fudge those restrictions just to make him happy. This was usually the case when I was cooking for Bruce.
He was often a difficult person at best. An older man with a fiery personality that bordered somewhere between cantankerous and entertaining. However, as difficult as he could be at times, he could also be kind-hearted and thoughtful.
It would take an entire book to tell you his story and all the stories about the years I cooked for him. Which often felt like a Lifetime Movie of the week. I often think to myself, Mitch Albom had Tuesdays with Morrie, but I had Monday’s and Thursdays with Bruce.
I left his kitchen in 2013 when I moved to Oregon. But we kept in touch through mail and phone calls.
In June 2017, I heard my cell phone ring and the caller ID said “Bruce’s Home”. My heart leaped because Bruce rarely called me, I usually called him. I was worried something had happened and he needed to talk. I didn’t work for him any longer but we were still friends. Most of the time we communicated by mail with cards and letters, and on occasion a phone call to say happy birthday or merry christmas.
A tiny bit alarmed, because I knew he wasn’t in the best of health, I answered the call and heard his deep, gruff voice say, “Is this Chef Karista of Karista’s Kitchen”? I laughed and said, “why yes it is”! He replied, ” I’d like to order a Pasta Cortona for dinner delivery please”. That made me smile.
I realized Bruce must have seen the television segment where I prepared my recipe called, Pasta Cortona. I laughed again and said, “one order of Pasta Cortona coming right up”. I could hear him smiling on the other end of the phone as he told me how much he loved watching me make the pasta dish on television. And then he said, “wow, the tv host is tall”! I chuckled and replied, “well yes, she is very tall but it doesn’t help that I’m short”. We both laughed again and continued to talk for another ten minutes about my new work and life after cooking for Bruce.
Bruce was jovial that day, entertaining as always, slightly cantankerous and had a few more stories to tell me. But I could hear the pride in his voice for my bit of success. Something he rarely gave or acknowledged to anyone. He wasn’t one to dole out the compliments or give a pat on the back. However, I knew at that moment, he was proud of me. It felt like a gift. A very special gift I never expected to receive.
But we were friends, and he knew just as much about me as I knew about him. He knew how much I admired his success. Now, he was admiring mine.
We said our goodbyes and I heard him say, “I love you”. “I love you too Bruce”, I said.
That was the last time I heard his voice.
Every time I make this Mexican Chopped Salad with Spicy Avocado Dressing, along with many other recipes, I think of Bruce. I think of all our kitchen conversations while I cooked and he washed all the dishes. None of my clients ever washed the dishes! Except for Bruce.
Cheers to unexpected friendships, life lessons, delicious food and people who will wash your dishes.
Thank you for following this blog. I don’t say it often enough but I appreciate your support, your feedback, comments, and shares. You are why I write and post recipes. Hopefully, these recipes and stories will give you joy in the kitchen as you prepare delicious and beautiful meals.
Loads of Love!
Karista Print Mexican Chopped Salad with Spicy Avocado Dressing Serving Size: 6 The ingredient list looks long but truly, this is an easy recipe to assemble and serve. Add in additional ingredients that your family loves or substitute ingredients as desired. Chopped salads are dense in ingredients and chopped well for a mouthful of every ingredient in every bite. Enjoy! Ingredients ½ head red or green cabbage, shredded ½ head iceberg lettuce, chopped 1 orange bell pepper, diced 1 green bell pepper, diced 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved 1 cup sweet corn 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed ½ cup diced red onion ½ cup thinly sliced green onions ½ cup sliced black olives ½ cup crumbled cotija cheese, plus more for garnish 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped 1 cup diced pineapple or mango (optional) 1 small-medium avocado ½-1 cup salsa Verde (mild) 1 chipotle pepper, or more if you like it really spicy 1 clove garlic 1 lime juiced ½ bunch cilantro leaves ½ cup water, as needed Salt and pepper to taste Garnish with fresh lime wedges, toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds) and additional Cotija cheese Instructions 1. To prepare the dressing place the avocado, salsa verde, chipotle pepper, garlic, lime juice and cilantro into a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth, adding water as needed. Season to taste with salt and pepper. 2. In a large mixing bowl add the cabbage, lettuce, bell peppers, tomatoes, corn, black beans, red onions, green onions, black olives, ½ cup crumbled cotija, chopped cilantro and pineapple of mango if using. Toss ingredients gently to combine. If you're serving this immediately, add as much of the dressing as you like to the salad and toss again to combine. You can also serve this salad without the dressing and serve the dressing on the side. I personally like all my salad ingredients nicely laced with a little dressing. 3. Place the salad in a large bowl or individual bowls and garnish with additional Cotija cheese, toasted pepitas and fresh lime wedges. Serve with additional Avocado dressing. Recipe Management Powered by Zip Recipes Plugin 4.7.2.17 http://karistaskitchen.com/2018/05/03/mexican-chopped-salad-with-spicy-avocado-dressing/ Share this:Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Google+ (Opens in new window)Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) avocado dressingchopped salad recipeCinco de Mayo recipesMexican chopped saladmexican saladsalad recipespicy avocado dressingsummer salad recipe