HOMECOOKINGCHRONICLES
Avocado ranch dip with crudité
BY BRIAN MEDFORD
Two seemingly unrelated events happened
over the past week. First, my eldest niece came
to visit from Seattle. Then, for two days in a
row, temperatures reached almost 90 degrees
in Astoria. I don’t believe in coincidences, so
I’ve tried to reconcile these two events. While
I’m not Agatha Christie, here’s what I’ve come
up with. It’s too hot to heat up the kitchen and
the universe is telling me to try another rec-
ipe from my niece’s favorite food blog, Half
Baked Harvest. Specifi cally, I decided to make
the avocado ranch dip for crudité.
With a few exceptions, the items I cook
from food blogs look like a fi asco. I mean,
are these even the same dishes? I know how
Rachel on “Friends” felt when she made a
trifl e with a ground beef layer. In Rachel’s
case, two recipes got stuck together and
she thought she was following a single rec-
ipe accurately. In my case, it’s probably that
I’m missing a professionally lit studio and
a food stylist. Still, I try, knowing my home
cooked version won’t be winning any beauty
contests.
Half Baked Harvest is a blog that I’ve
been fairly successful with from a styling per-
spective. While my recipe and the blog’s may
not be identical twins, most people would
assume they were at least cousins. Perhaps
that’s the beauty of cooking. Find something
you love, make your own version and delight
in the imperfections.
A crisp and fresh crudité platter is helpful
to have around when it’s hot for something to
snack on all day, or for when you’re attempt-
ing to keep ravenous dinner guests from ran-
sacking the almost ready protein from the
grill. Kate, I’m making this for you next time
you visit, just please don’t look at the online
version fi rst.
Avocado ranch dip
Very slightly adapted from Half Baked
Harvest
Add a bowl of homemade or store-bought
hummus with this dip to complete your cru-
dité platter. The crudité options are up to you,
add what you love, skip what you don’t.
• 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 ripe avocado, pitted
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
• 2 tablespoons fresh dill, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh chives, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 2 cloves of garlic
• Salt and fresh ground black pepper to
taste (start with 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt)
Crudité
• Greek olives
• Radishes, halved
• Sugar snap or snow peas
• Cherry tomatoes
• Cucumber slices
• Carrot sticks
• Caulifl ower (or broccoli)
Combine all avocado ranch dip ingredients
in a food processor and blend until smooth
and creamy. Taste and adjust the salt and pep-
per. Cover and keep stored in the fridge for
up to a day, or serve right away.
Brian Medford is the owner of Idlewild Bis-
cuits and Bakes in Astoria and delights in South-
ern cooking. He is a staff instructor at The Pantry
in Seattle. Contact him at blmedford@gmail.com.
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Brian Medford
Avocado ranch dip with a spread of fresh
vegetables.