Mmm. Guacamole. Just add chips or chopped up veggies.

But this isn’t your typical guacamole. This one is infused with the tart fabulousness of tomatillos, a relative of eggplants and gooseberries. It’s unexpected, but delicious all the same. We have a big crop of tomatillos growing in our garden this year, so I foresee a lot more Tomatillo Guacamole in our near future.

Recently I served this fun take on guacamole as an appetizer at a family birthday party and the bowl was completely cleared. Not a stitch of leftover guac. I don’t know who liked it the best: the kids or the adults. If you (or your kids) like avocado, guacamole and the like, then this is a fabulous thing to serve. Even if they don’t like avocado, this is delicious.

On a side note, kids do eat avocado. And like it. I know plenty of children who are practically addicted to it (and guacamole too!). But when I recently featured this recipe in my Tablespoon column, in a post about Kid-Friendly After-School Snack Ideas, I got a surprisingly negative reaction. I took some serious heat on Tablespoon’s Facebook Fan Page for suggesting that kids (or anyone) would enjoy this.

Guess what? Kids do eat this. They do. Not all of them (because seriously, everyone has preferences and tastes). But there are plenty who do.

When I spoke at BlogHer last month, I made the point that approaching food and eating with positivity is so important to getting kids to eat well — and really it is. Avoid negative statements (“I don’t think you will like this but..” “You usually don’t eat this …” “It’s okay if you don’t like it …”) and kids will be more likely to try things. Will this work every time for every child? Of course not! But even if it only works sometimes, it’s better than having your child married to a diet of white foods or whatever. Just my two cents.

What do you think?

Some more recipes you might like:

• Lime Guacamole
• Tomato Tomatillo Salsa

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I love when apple season rolls around. From apple picking to homemade apple goodies, it’s a lovely time of year. The cool temperatures are pretty awesome too.

This week’s basket was filled with quite a few of these beauties. If you can stop yourself from eating all the apples from your basket this week, here are a few apple recipes to use those delish beauties:

• Apple Turnovers
• French Apple Pie
• Apple Cake
• Sarah’s Spiced Applesauce

And just like that, summer ended.

I mean, of course it’s still technically summer. But this morning, as I woke Will from his peaceful slumber and got him fed, brushed, washed and dressed for school, summer was clearly over for us. We’re now entering the wonderful world of schedules that revolve around five-day-a-week schooling and assorted extracurriculars.

The free-flowing days of summertime, where we woke when we felt like it and giggled in bed until it was really time to get up are over. But that’s okay. We had a wonderful summertime, and now Will is super excited to be a kindergartener. Paige is just as excited to enter preschool.

Putting Will on the bus this morning, I was a ball of nerves. Would the bus come? Will he be okay riding the bus home? And in all my myriad thoughts, the idea of crying at his big, huge, mega-step was never there … until I turned my back on the bus and the tears sprung to my eyes.

That’s my baby.

Paige, who wore her PJs to the bus stop, held tight to my hand as she, Shawn and I walked down the hill to our house. She’s been so helpful today, following me around with frequent assertions that “I do it!” But this afternoon, I will take her to school too. She went to a casual program last year. This year, she’s off to real preschool.

My children are growing up faster than I ever imagined possible. In a blink of the eye, they have gone from little lumps cradled in my arm to thinking, caring, doing, intelligent children. And try as I might, I will never be able to force them back to their littler states. It’s exciting and sad all at once.

Right now, Will is just about finishing his lunch – the school lunch that I worried so much about. What did I end up packing for his first day? At his request, I whipped up a batch of Fresh Tomato Basil Pasta with Romano Roasted Shrimp and packed it with sliced nectarines and one Oreo. For snack time, he has sliced peppers and ranch for dipping.

But this pasta is the star of the day. When I recently made Fresh Tomato Basil Pasta with Romano Roasted Shrimp for dinner, Will adored it (so did Paige and I!). It’s a minimal cooking dish (cook the pasta, broil the shrimp, and that’s it), so it’s fabulous for when you are short on time. Or making a fresh lunch for school.

I just hope he loved it at school too … Read the rest of this entry…

Today, we celebrated my husband’s birthday (Happy birthday, honey!). The day started with a homemade breakfast of cheese omelets, homemade hashbrowns and chicken sausage. Then there was Will’s 5-year-old well-visit to the doctor followed by lunch (sandwiches from our fav deli), work and a special dinner with family.

It was a whirlwind.

So, I am keeping this post short today.

What to do with your produce:

• Nectarines – Nectarine Muffins @ Pinch My Salt
• Corn – 10 Fresh Summer Recipes for Sweet Corn @ The Kitchn
• Slicing tomatoes – A simple idea for heirloom tomatoes
• Tomatoes – Sundried Tomato Basil Hummus
• Cherry tomatoes – Whole Wheat Couscous Tabbouleh Salad
• Garlic – Grilled Marinated Steak Skewers

Enjoy!

P.S. Sarah’s Cucina Bella will be on hiatus until Sept. 7, 2010 so that I can enjoy my kids’ last days of summer. See you on the 7th!

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