Hello friends, family and strangers!

This week largely revolves around dip, as does much of my life. In this issue, we'll talk about picking consistently good avocados, making quick and delicious salsa and some tricks to build a better crudités platter. I'd also like to be upfront that I'm almost positive this will not be the last dip-centric newsletter issue you receive from me because I am very passionate about dip!!! 

Why, you ask?

I guess I love dip because I love eating with my hands, much to my boyfriend's eternal dismay. There is something so decadent about it. Have you ever eaten salad with your hands?* It's delightful! And what are crudités, but a socially acceptable hand salad? I don't want to get too existential about this. Maybe here is a good spot to remind you that now, more than ever (but hopefully not like, THAT much more than ever) you need to wash your hands before you eat with them. 

Right now, the weeks seem to blend together (like...a dip? I'll see myself out). But this week Cinco de Mayo was on Tuesday and I made a full-blown dip dinner replete with guacamole, salsa, queso laced with taco meat, refried beans and bottomless chips. Let me tell you, few things in this world are as freeing as knowing the point of the meal is to "fill up on chips." That, and a fresh batch of margaritas. 

*Does anyone else remember that insane Kim Kardashian ad for Carl's Jr. where she ate salad with her hands and then took a bath? I think about that all the time. 

This is how I pick ripe-but-not-too-ripe avocados every single time Wiggle that little nub of stem with your thumb. If it doesn't budge, the avocado isn't ripe yet (you can still give it a good home and allow it to ripen under your watchful eye). If the stem easily wiggles free, look at the spot where the stem used to be. If it's yellowy green, you have a perfectly ripe avocado. If it's brown or black*, the avocado is probably too far gone. The feel of an avocado is a pretty inconsistent barometer for over-ripeness, but you can use it as a preliminary check at the store before you remove the stem so you aren't doing it to to half their avocados.

*If you're checking an avocado you already purchased and it looks "too far gone," obviously still cut into it and see how much is usable. Don't just throw it out!

So cilantro tastes like soap to you (and up to 14% of the US population). Do I think cilantro is a vital component to guacamole? Absolutely. Do I think you need to use it even if you hate it? Of course not. Feel free to experiment with other herbs (Basil in your guac? Why not!) or just leave it out entirely. It won't be the same, but you also won't be miserable.

obviously this is salsa is the tops on chips but it would also be great drizzled over rice bowls, fajitas and as a taco salad dressing. I'd spoon it over grilled fish, too. 

it's not tomato season yet, but when it is make this recipe with sungold tomatoes for a bright yellow salsa and blend 1/4 cup mango in for some real tropical vacation vibes.

A few crudités ideas to chew on (sorry for that) I could talk at length about building the perfect dip on the fly (and one day I definitely will) but for now these are some dipper-centric tips for your next plate o' produce:

1) if it has some cute greens, leave them on Did you buy some little carrots or radishes with the tops still intact? Leave them (or a trimmed-down part of them) be! I like to let the radish greens drape over the side of the platter. It will look whimsical and unfussy, like The Secret Garden of crudités. You can remove any less fresh looking leaves - not every piece has to have them attached. If needed, you can put a little plate out for discarded greens as you would for olive pits (though they are mostly edible!).

2) mostly vegetables, but with a wildcard I often reserve one slot on my platter for something less vegetal - dip-sized pieces of grilled bread, sturdy potato chips, Ritz crackers or even boiled teensy potatoes or halved eggs. It can be as fancy or low-brow (I did once add tater tots to an otherwise sophisticated crudités plate) as you like, but the point is to add another texture and flavor profile to the mix!

3) go beyond the cliche Think spears of fennel or endive, leaves of small tender lettuces, colorful radish varietals, baby vegetables - if you like it in a salad and it can be cut in a dippable way, it will do the job nicely alongside your carrots and celery.

4) pick a color palette Admittedly this is my least-used tip, only because I have a tendency to buy produce in an unplanned, emotionally-charged way. But if you do use a palette, it can lead to some truly gorgeous platters. I reserve this for when I'm making a particularly striking dip and I really want to show off.  Here are a couple coordinated combo examples:

purple watermelon radish + purple/pink chicories + beet chips + French breakfast radish

green Persian cucumber + green daikon radish + baby lettuce leaves + pickled haricot verts

white fennel + little Japanese turnips + halved jammy eggs + endive 

5) it doesn't all have to be raw, you know Adding pickled or grilled/blistered vegetables can make your crudités instantly more interesting. However, this does require additional work so I like to do it when my produce at hand isn't super exciting on its own. 

6) variety of vegetables AND shapes you can create a much more varied situation just by cutting your produce differently. Have a ton of spears already? Leave endive leaves whole and separate them. Two types of radishes? Quarter or halve the small ones lengthwise (or leave them whole if they're teeny) and thinly slice bigger varieties into rounds or half moons. Cut carrots on the bias. There are no rules accept that it has to be functionally dippable.

If someone forwarded this newsletter to you and you'd like to subscribe, click here | If you missed last week, here it is | I developed this recipe on the Ithaca Farmer's Market website for a Mother's Day salad | I'll be grilling short ribs on this lil grill this weekend | My favorite (digital) spot to browse secondhand and out-of-print cookbook titles

If you need me, I'll be by the dip