BLT with Avocado

This classic sandwich is given a 99 Cent Chef twist with the additions of low-cal Turkey Bacon and luscious avocado. My BLT + A is made with warm toasty bread, bacon, tender tomato, creamy avocado, and crisp lettuce with all the textures that make up a great bite.

My local Latin grocery chain store, Superior Grocers, has been selling 2 small Avocados for a dollar. So I've been adding creamy slices to salads and every type of sandwich I make.

I would normally use real bacon for a BLT Sandwich, but when I saw Hickory Smoked Uncured Turkey Bacon by Applegate Naturals I wanted to finally try some.

You are getting a 2-fer today: a review of Turkey Bacon and this delish recipe!

Now, right off the bat, it does not compare with real Bacon, but it's not bad. I guess the best thing you can say about Turkey Bacon is that it's low-calorie.  

There is a smoky flavor similar to cured Bacon. It has the texture of fried baloney, but manages to crisp up fine. Although it doesn't crunch and shatter like well-done real bacon. Turkey Bacon shrinks very little, so you don't need to cook as much. 

For a lighter breakfast I would cook with Turkey Bacon again, but it's hard to beat the real thing of regular Bacon.

Lettuce and tomato are affordable. I even find small jars of mayo cheaply. 

Make a BLT & A with any favorite bread. Of course, I get mine from the day-old bargain bin at my local supermarket, Ralphs. Once you toast bread, it's hard to tell it' s day-old.

Toast seals the deal with a Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato, and Avocado Sandwich.

I usually fry my Bacon slices, but you can bake them as well. I learned to bake bacon at a lower temperature, about 325 degrees or less, so the bacon grease doesn't get all over the place (you could loosely cover the bacon with parchment paper, too.)

Frying Regular Bacon

How do you assemble your BLT & A? I put the lettuce against the mayo to keep the sandwich from getting mushy - a wet tomato slice would be too much, that's why I keep it in the middle of the sandwich. I finish with Bacon and Avocado slices for a crunchy and creamy finish.Any way you stack it will work! 

My video recipe is just a reminder for you about how tasty a BLT & A Sandwich is - go ahead and revisit a real American Diner classic, and don't forget the Campbell Tomato Soup...from the can (they are now low in sodium.)

Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato & Avocado Sandwich - VIDEO    ;       Play it here, video runs 2 minutes, 58 seconds.

My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, just click here.

Ingredients (one sandwich)

• Bacon - 2 to 3 slices. Enough to cover a slice of bread. Regular bacon or any favorite substitute.
• Bread - 2 slices. Any type you like. I toast mine.
• Lettuce - a leaf of lettuce, just large enough to cover the bread. Okay to shred or chop lettuce.
• Tomato - a couple of slices, depending on the size of the tomato. Enough to cover a slice of bread. Okay to use sliced cherry tomatoes.
• Mayonnaise - Apply on the inside of one or both slices of bread.

Directions

Start by frying or baking bacon slices. If you are using a substitute like Turkey Bacon then add a teaspoon of oil to a frying pan so Turkey Bacon does not stick to the pan. 

Fry bacon until crisp on both sides. Usually takes about 5 minutes in total.

As bacon cooks, slice tomato and wash lettuce leaf if necessary. Pat dry or shake off excess water from the cleaned lettuce leaf. 

You can toast the bread just before the bacon is done cooking. Toast bread slices as browned as you like.

To assemble BLT, just smear mayo on toast on one or both slices. 

Stack lettuce, tomato, and cooked bacon in any order you like. 

How do you stack your BLT & A? I put the lettuce against the mayo to keep the sandwich from getting mushy - a wet tomato slice would be too much, that's why I keep it in the middle of the sandwich. I finish with Bacon and Avocado slices for a crunchy and creamy finish.

How Does You Garden Grow?

 With the last overnight freeze hopefully gone, I'm planting tomatoes and other summer veggies in the month of April. So let's visit my local Nursery in Marina Del Rey, now called Flora Grubb Gardens (the original name was Marina Del Rey Garden Center).

 Last month, I replaced my topsoil with fresh compost that I make from used coffee grounds and veggie scraps. And in the last two weeks, I've made many trips to the Flora Grubb Gardens for tomato, lettuce, and herb seedlings.

And I especially like the variety of lettuce flats -- everything from Mesclun Mix to Red Buttercrunch and Gourmet Salad Blend. They also have a small orchard of budding fruit trees, some starting to bear fruit -- so you know your first crop is definitely on the way.

You can't get fresher produce than growing your own. And in my latest zany film foray, this green-thumbed budget horticulturist takes you on a tasty garden trek, with camera in hand. Now, you know this will not be a typical tour. Where The 99 Cent Chef goes, high jinx follow!

The Flora Grubb Gardens staff is knowledgeable and helpful, while giving you the space to explore on your own. You will see how the Cheapskate Forager takes full advantage of nature's bounty!

It's hard to resist plucking and tasting a tart Kumquat from a branch weighed down with the colorful fruit, and I'm sure everyone has snagged a Strawberry, Blackberry, or a Grape or two from budding bushes displayed for sale. But, no one has gone to the extremes that the Chintzy Gardener goes in this latest docu-comedy video.

This time around, I had some help from a couple of 99 Cent Players. Making her first appearance is Garden Master Elissa (a workmate & cool drummer), while the Omniscient Voice at the end is provided by my neighbor, and frequent contributor, Pete, a comedian and actor. Both Elissa and Pete provided additional camerawork, too. 99 thanks to them, and also to the Flora Grubb Gardens and all their nursery gardeners.

So sit back and let me give you a comedic tour of the Flora Grubb Gardens. It comes with a warning, though: don't try what you see here at your own local nursery -- I'd hate to have to bail you out of the slammer!

Dining in the Flora Grubb Gardens - VIDEO

Play it here. Video runs 4 minutes 45 seconds.

To view or embed from YouTube, click here.

Flora Grubb Gardens 

13198 Mindanao Way

Marina Del Rey, CA 90292

hours: 9am to 6pm. Open 7 days.

Phone: 310-823-5956

Website: https://www.floragrubb.com/visit-la

Please note: I brought my own fruit, veggies, and props to the Flora Grubb Gardens. I did pluck a grapefruit from the tree there, but used my own to eat from (there were a lot of grapefruits that had fallen to the ground, so I didn't feel too guilty picking just one -- which I left behind.) Finally, I bought the flat of lettuce used in the video. Although I must fess up to noshing a handful of kumquats during several visits to the nursery.

To make your own Wanted Poster like mine above, click here (and upload a photo.)

420 Celebration - High Times & Recipes

 Acapulco Gold, Texas Tea, Panama Red, Maui Wowie, Mary Jane, chronic, ganja, pot, weed, grass, kush, herb, joint, blunt, roach, cannabis, reefer, spliff, fatty, jay, doobie, and locoweed, are just some of the euphemisms for marijuana.

Click on any photo to see larger.

Many local pot shops have a green cross or green type somewhere on their building. This comes from when marijuana was first legal in L.A. for medical purposes only - I guess it's a play on the Red Cross?

420 Coast to Coast

Venice, Los Angeles

East Village, New York City

This month 420 is celebrated with pot shop gift bags (given with a minimum purchase) and free handouts. 

This year, Easter falls on 4/20 - eggcellent!

Here is my local marijuana dispensary, just down the street, where there's usually a line on this underground holiday. It's a cash-only business because banks will not service Marijuana dispensaries due to the Federal classification of Marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug, the same as hard drugs like heroin, cocaine, and LSD. I often see a security guard stationed at pot shops. 

I'm not the Wake-and-Bake type, and I don't blaze up every day and night.

Hemp products have a following.

If you're out of the loop, 420 or April (4th month) and day 20, is an international celebration of all things marijuana. The term "420" supposedly originated in 1971 here in California by a bunch of high school buddies who would meet at 4:20pm to smoke weed. You can read about it here.

Los Angeles marijuana shops are open to anyone 18 years or older with a government-issued ID. 

Rewards Cards

When California introduced medical marijuana legally in 1996 I waited a couple of years before I got a prescription. Like a lot of locals, I was paranoid about putting my name in a database of users. But after a while, I realized that I'm never gonna run for President or head the FBI.

FYI my medical condition was a pain in the...elbow.

Getting a prescription was a farce. Pay the doctor $100 bucks, pick your ailment, and walk out with legal papers. That song and dance is no longer played.

There are rules when entering an L.A. pot shop, besides showing your ID. First, no phones, although everyone carries one. That means no photography, but of course, that has never stopped me, yet!

I get it, but I had to think twice the first time I saw the sign.

Even man's best friend can be treated with cannabis. Not sure if they must provide a California ID?

Louisiana is entering the Stoned Age since decriminalizing Marijuana in 2021. I visited a Marijuana Dispensary in Baton Rouge, right down the street from a large Medical Center. 

The dispensary, Capitol Wellness Solutions, was like entering a bank or a high-end jewelry store with waist-high glass cases displaying all manner of marijuana packaging and paraphernalia. All the goodies are behind a pharmacist's counter. Every age of adult was there, from dyed to gray hair.

It's legal in Louisiana for medical use only...so far. And, this is coming from a State where Magic Mushrooms grow in cow fields and on the Mississippi levee. And buying pot was as easy as calling a "high" school classmate for a fat $10 baggie of "skunk" weed.

I've been a contributing citizen to the economy and a creative artist most of my life so all the boogeyman stories of reefer madness don't fly here.

When I was in high school, I primarily used it when listening to music, as it was the 1960's and getting high brought a heightened experience and meaning to the lyrical and sonic content of songs by The Beatles, Rolling Stones, The Kinks, Jefferson Airplane, Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan, etc.

And it was just a fun thing to do with friends on the weekend and long summer dazes.

Just watch my Mom's recipe for Tex-Mex Enchiladas to see my high school buddy Marvin and me have a 1960s flashback hanging out and listening to album rock in my bedroom.

These days, I like a cannabis-infused edible from time to time. They will last a couple of hours, just right for an art show, movie, or musical concert at the Hollywood Bowl. 

Like alcohol, cannabis has similar laws and penalties for public intoxication and operating machinery/automobiles.

Check out some of the concerts I've seen there, including a Willie Nelson concert where I've never smelled so much marijuana in my life!

I'll leave you with another recipe should you be in need of some munchies while celebrating 420  - that is, not my recipe, but one from my brother from another daddy, the Swamp Chef! Check out a tasty cheesy Cajun Nachos video made with nephew Zak!

Cajun Natchos calls for cooked crawfish tail meat, but it's easy to substitute small shrimp or any favorite protein.