I’ve just returned from a trip to Hartford Connecticut. I had the chance to hang out my amazing cousins at a bar mitzva AND I had  a chance to visit Trader Joe’s. The last time I went to a Trader Joe’s was in March 2012 while visiting Detroit.  Go figger that this is how I like to spend my spare time while visiting a city I have never been to!

Here’s a sample of my purchases:

–Shelf Stable Whipping Cream ($1.29) – Never know when I might need Whipping Cream last minute, right? Can’t wait to do a taste test and compare this product to refrigerated whipped cream. Stay tuned.

–Trader Joe’s Guacamole Kit: I coudn’t buy this kit due to restrictions about bringing in veggies over the border. But, don’t you think this is a brilliant idea? This contains all the ingredients you would need to make fresh guacamole. LOVE IT.

–Trader Joe’s Chile Spiced Mango:  ($1.99) I have no idea what I want to do with it but I know that I haven’t seen this type of dried fruit in Toronto. Right?

–Trader Joe’s Savoury Popcorn. ($1.99) This totally appealed to me as I’m all about flavour. Can’t wait to try it.

More items that I bought included: Beer $1.50 a bottle, a super amazing kitchen towel ($3.99), Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce $1.99, Crunchy Curls ($2.69), Chocolate bars (99 cents), Cheese and More. My bill was $81.44 to be exact. …so trust me, I did OK.

After my visit to Trader Joe’s, I sat at the pool at the Ramada to enjoy some sunshine. Also wanted to share with you that I purchased my hotel night using Hotwire and selected the Secret Hotel Optionl. I’ve done this only once before and had such a great experience that I did it again. Did I score? You Bet.  I scored a 3.5 star hotel in DOWNTOWN Hartford with a $63 a night room rate. #happiness

Next weekend: I’m off to Ottawa  to:

a) Celebrate Mother’s Day with my mom

b) See the Tulip Festival

c) Hang out at the Ottawa Farmer’s Market  on Sunday.

Can’t wait. So much to see – so little time!

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Celebrating with a Avocado Smoothie

I can’t remember eating a lot of avocados when I was a kid, but when I was studying at Tel Aviv University, avocados were cheap and delicious so I ate them A LOT. I also noticed that moms were feeding it to their babies everywhere. Apparently, avocados are one of the most easily digestible vegetables out there. Not to mention, it was portable. Moms just walked around with an avacodo in their purse, opened  it up with a plastic knife and started feeding it to their babies with a spoon. No fuss/no muss.

In honor of Cinco de Mayo (May 5th) and because I finished the Sporting Life 10K today – I decided to make an avocado smoothie.

This is what you need: one avocado, 1 1/2 cups milk, 3 tablespoons cane sugar, a few ice cubes. ps. huge thanks to Manotas Organics and Fine Foods for the cane sugar! Instructions; Put all ingredients in a blender. Blend till smooth.

Apparently in the Philippines ,their version of guacamole is a sweet not a savoury. So I tried it.

All you need is: one avocado, 1/4 cup of condensed milk.

Instructions: mash avocado with the condensed milk.

However I have to be honest. It wasnt a hit in our house. We still like it – plain or with a little salt and pepper.

Our favorite recipe for avocado is simply to use it for Taco Nite – which we have once a week. Ola.

For more avocado recipes: visit www.missavacado.com or follow @missavacado on twitter.

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