Party Guacamole Speaks with the Language of Flowers

Our latest bimonthly Cook the Books Club entry is The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh, and hosted this time by Debra of Eliot's Eats.  If you'd like to join us, the party is open for your contribution until January 31st.  Everyone is welcome! Be sure to check out our Guidelines page if you have any questions.

From the Publishers:
"The Victorian language of flowers was used to convey romantic expressions: honeysuckle for devotion, asters for patience, and red roses for love. But for Victoria Jones, it’s been more useful in communicating mistrust and solitude. After a childhood spent in the foster-care system, she is unable to get close to anybody, and her only connection to the world is through flowers and their meanings. Now eighteen and emancipated from the system with nowhere to go, Victoria realizes she has a gift for helping others through the flowers she chooses for them. But an unexpected encounter with a mysterious stranger has her questioning what’s been missing in her life. And when she’s forced to confront a painful secret from her past, she must decide whether it’s worth risking everything for a second chance at happiness."



A totally absorbing read, with a unique and critically important story.  Though some of this novel was difficult going, at least for me.  The main character, Victoria, was not easy to like, or even sympathize with, despite her awful childhood, which let's face it, was mostly caused by her own behavior.  It's a fairly simple concept: how you act brings about certain reactions and consequences.  For someone with her basic intelligence and sensitivity to others, this should have been obvious early on.  We fostered a young boy a number of years ago and he was delightful, helpful and a great fit in our home. So possibly I'm naive about fostering in general.  However, I loved how Victoria finally found her way out, thanks to one special foster parent (before she sabotaged that relationship as well), who taught her all about flowers and their meanings, using them to connect and help others.

We had plenty of flowers with symbolism, but not a whole lot in the way of inspiring food.  However admittedly, that wasn't really the focus of her story.  It does take place in California, where there is plenty of fruit, including avocados, and we have avocados here at the moment. So I came up with this Guacamole, adding in some flowers and herbs with meaning.  It's a party dip in good time for Holiday gatherings, with lemon for the zest, allium (garlic and onion) for prosperity, dandelions for their rustic oracle touch and parsley for a festive contribution.

Party Time Guacamole

2 avocados, flesh scooped out
1/4 cup green onions, minced
1 small clove garlic, minced (optional)
juice of 2 lemons (or 1 1/2 if very juicy)
1/2 tomato, diced
1 red chili pepper (small) seeded and minced
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon dandelion greens, chopped and blossoms for garnish
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
Chips for dipping (I used a new hit with us - corn chips with quinoa and chia seeds)

Mash avocado and stir in all the remaining ingredients.  Taste for any seasoning correction. Garnish with parsley, dandelion blossoms and leaves. Of course, if you are preparing this for a gathering, you will need to double up or more on all the ingredients.

Love it with those chips especially!  This then, is my contribution to our latest Cook the Books round.  Plenty of time if you want to join in. I'll also be linking with Beth Fish Reads for her Weekend Cooking event and with Heather for the December Foodies Read Challenge. Be sure to stop by for good food and book suggestions.