Baked Avocados from the Salad Bowl of the World

There is a little town in California right on the coast between Monterrey and Piedras Blancas with vegetables as far as your eye can see. The sign that welcomes you to the town reads, "Welcome to the Salad Bowl of the World" and the vegetables grow right up to the roadside.

In the fields of greens between the pickers working in the California sun and the beautiful Californian coast sit roadside stands of fresh picked vegetables that nearly grow into their bins ready to be purchased.

If the location was not enough to beckon you in - the deals at the stands made it impossible not to stop and we filled our buggies with more vegetables than we could carry.

Avocados, artichokes, and grapefruits - my favorite foods on the planet were 10 for $1. Really. I almost caused a wreck pulling over as quick as I could.

As usual my eyes were bigger than my recipe book and although I love my avocados I am guacemole'd out! Thankfully, I discovered you can BAKE an avocado!

Baked Avocados.

Cut one avocado in half and play on small baking pan.  Discard the pit and preheat oven to 450F.

  In bowl, combine tomatoes, garlic, Parmesan cheese, lime juice, pepper, and basil. Spoon ingredients into halved avocado, top with bread crumbs (I used panko) and bake for FIVE minutes.

This meal is wonderful and fast. It is healthy and hearty and will definitely fill you up. The creamy texture of the warm avocado melts in your mouth as if it was warmed all day by the sunshine.

These are definitely a fun (and SO EASY) treat and I can't wait to try new ingredients for the toppings. Oh, so many possibilities. Your belly will be happy you tried these!