Openers:
Tortilla chips and homemade guacamole
a bowl of chilled gazpacho soup

Main dish:
Tarragon chicken salad (deli) on slightly warmed pita bread
diced nectarine with squeeze of lime over the top.

Recipes:
Basic and Simple Guacamole, [i]:

1. Grind into a paste (5 minutes) using a mortar and pistil:

a. A heavy pinch or two of kosher salt;
b. 1 to 1-½  teaspoons of chopped cilantro;
c. 1 tablespoon of finely diced onions (usually white, but red works fine); and
d. 1 finely diced Serrano pepper*  

2. Prepare the avocado (1 minute):

a. Slice one small-medium firm but ripe avocado in half lengthwise;
b. remove the pit; and
c. slice the guacamole flesh in each half in a crisscross argyle pattern.

3. Mix the cilantro paste and avocado flesh. Add a squeeze of lime juice (1 minute)

a. Scoop the flesh out of the skins and mix with the paste in a bowl;
b. leave the guacamole slightly chunky after mixing; and
c. squeeze ¼ of a lime over the guacamole.

****

Gazpacho Soup (prepared two days ago; about 1 hour to prepare)  [ii]

1. Add 1 28 oz. can of whole tomatoes to a large bowl including the liquid.

2. Reserve 2-3 of the whole tomatoes, chop into ¾ inch chunks, and store temporariy in a small bowl.

3. Add the following to the tomatoes and liquid in the bowl:

• 1 cup of tomato juice;

• 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar;

• 1 toothpaste-sized or smaller squirt of Amore garlic paste;

• 3 tablespoons of olive oil;

• 1 teaspoon of Kosher salt;

• ½ teaspoon of sugar (raw); and

• ½ teaspoon of dried oregano (prefer Mexican oregano, but it's not important)

4. Puree these ingredients in large food processor. Set aside in a large bowl.

5. Add to the pureed liquid:

• the previously reserved and chopped tomatoes;

• 1 stalk of finely chopped celery:

• 1 small green chile, seeded and finely chopped. Serrano or jalapeno peppers work fine:

• ½ cup (72 gr) of peeled, seeded and chopped cucumber:

• ¼ cup (37 gr) of finely chopped red onion;

• ¼ cup (37 gr)of seeded and finely chopped green bell pepper; and

• ⅓ cup (55 gr) of sliced pimento-stuffed olives.

6. Cover and chill for 8 hours to 3 days.

Add garnishments of sliced avocado or chopped cilantro sprigs, as desired.

Notes and acknowledgements

[i]  As found in the New York Times and several other publications, most recently on July 1, 2018.
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1008-guacamole. I follow this recipe – sans tomato – and have for several years, having lost my original source for the recipe.

[ii] Basic recipe reference: Cooking A to Z, The Complete Culinary Reference Tool; California Culinary Academy; Horn, Jane, editor; The Cole Group; 1992.