We returned from Tucson yesterday. May we please have a moment of silence to mourn.

Alright, moment is over and life in Miami continues on. After being gone for two weeks the refrigerator and pantry are even more bare than normal. So grocery shopping is in order. There are essentially four options for shopping here: Publix, Winn-Dixie, Whole Foods and Presidente.

Publix is walking distance and the Winn-Dixie is in a center with the best Dollar Store, so those are some good pros. But the cost! I have begun judging grocery stores by the price of their red peppers. A very narrow way to judge, you say? Sure is, especially considering how infrequently I actually buy them. But for some reason the red pepper has become my litmus test. Publix and Winn-Dixie sell their peppers on average from $2.99 lb to $4.99 lb. So I don’t like shopping there.

Whole Foods. I have to cross a toll bridge to shop there, even though it is only a couple miles away. $2 round trip. Plus the cost of actually shopping there. To both my pocket book and my self-esteem. I am not thin enough, athletic enough, or socially or politically evolved enough to shop there.

That leaves me with Presidente. Where none of the grocery carts are actually from Presidente (today I bypassed the Toys R Us one to use the Publix one, as it just seemed more appropriate). It’s a small store, and caters mainly to the Latin America market, which is part of why I’m missing ingredients a lot, as they don’t always have what I need for one of my American/Thai/non Latin American recipes. But I love all the products and produce you won’t see elsewhere, and I especially love the cheap, cheap prices that this no frills store offers. Do not look for a Starbucks here. You’re probably better off not looking for a bathroom either. 😉

Today’s shopping included a coconut the daughter asked for, garbanzo beans in a glass jar (should I take back my no frills comment?), and a one pound bag of seafood mix for $3.99. That’s right, a seafood soup recipe will be yours shortly! Or a pasta. You’ll have to come back to see.

Today’s recipe, though, uses the avocados and limes I bought at Presidente ($1 and 4 for $1 respectively). I also used quinoa, as that is what I had in my pantry, and not the brown rice the recipe called for. I like the quinoa better, though, as I think it gives the recipe a lighter feel and makes it nicer to eat cold. I also like to make quinoa with soup stock, instead of water, as I feel it makes it more flavorful. And for stock I use bouillon cubes, as Presidente does not carry Swanson low sodium chicken broth. 🙂

Which is how we ate it. On the beach. While enjoying rum and passion fruit drinks. And that is why returning to Miami isn’t that bad.

So, the recipe as I made it:

Avocado Lime Quinoa

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup Quinoa

1 avocado, mashed

zest and lime of 1 lime

¼ cup fresh cilantro

1 avocado, sliced (optional)

Prepare quinoa according to directions, using the 2 cups of chicken broth in place of water.

Add the mashed avocado to the quinoa and mix well. Stir in lime juice, zest and cilantro before you serve. Place sliced avocado on top if using.

Enjoy!