All over the world, on a plate

Last night was kind of a crazy mixture of cuisines: South American Chicken and Avacado Salad served on Arepas if you have the time, or english muffins, German Hot Slaw and Curried Rice Salad. Somehow it worked.

Arepas with Chicken and Avacado

3/4 cup shredded cooked chicken

1 ripe avocado

1/2 cup minced onion sauteed

2 tsp minced garlic sauteed

3-4 tablespoons mayonnaise

Splash of lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

Peel and mash avacado with lemon and mayo, until smooth. Add chicken, garlic and onion mix well. Add s&p to taste. Serve with Arepas or English Muffins.

If you so desire, here is a link to making Arepas

http://southamericanfood.about.com/od/breads/r/arepasbasic.htm

Hot Slaw

1/2 head each green and purple cabbage, shredded

4 thick bacon slices

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp celery seeds

1/8 tsp cayenne

2 tsp salt

1 tsp freshly ground pepper

Hot pepper vinegar on the side (if you want)

In a deep pot, boil 3 1/2 quarts water. Add cabage and cook for 4-5 minutes. Drain well.

In a large deep skillet cook bacon until crisp. Remove bacon draining on paper towels, reserving fat in the pan.

Deglaze pan with vinegar (stand back while stirring) Add celery seed and cayenne. Add cabagge to the pan and stir very well, coating all the cabbage with dressing. Heat until cooked through. Serve with chopped bacon on top.

Curried Rice Salad

1 cup Jasmine rice (or basmatti) cooled al dente

3/4 cups mayonnaise

1 tbsn curry powder, more or less to taste

1 cup sliced almonds, toasted

1 cup raisins

1/2 cup red onion, diced fine

salt and pepper to taste

Blend all ingredients, chill until ready to serve. The longer is sits, the deeper the color will be.