Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

In southern South America, including Chile, avocado is called palta. In Chile they also call "palta" the mixture they make that looks somewhat similar to guacamole, but the two mixtures are different. Avocado, in Chile, is mixed simply with lemon juice, salt, and salad oil. Guacamole is avocado mixed with garlic, tomato, a little jalapeno pepper, salt, and lime juice (though that can vary, a little). Palta and guacamole are not interchangeable in my opinion!

Chilean palta, all by itself on bread, is also delicioius, and is a common treat for the afternoon/evening onces.

I stumbled upon this blog earlier today. The descriptions of the Chilean sandwiches are making me even more eager for my return trip to Chile in July!

I have bought items from Penzey, but felt fortunate to find World Spice located in Seattle. The service is fast and personal and their products are above reproach. They have a unique way of selling - no credit cards taken - place your order, they pack and ship, usually the next day, and send an invoice with the order. You then remit a check. Their response is personal and careful. The owner - I think - is Tony Hill. He wrote an excellent book on herbs and spices. I refer to it often.

OTOH, I prefer fresh herbs when I can find the ones locally that I do not grow. Fresh dill comes to mind....

If you have an instant read thermometer you simply cannot go wrong. Once you begin using an IRT, you will find that the guesswork is taken out of a lot of things.

My brother tried many years ago to make beer bread and was very disappointed. We re-hashed the recipe over the phone. I was thinking out loud and said, "Well... Maybe you heated the beer too much..." He said he thought I was right because he burned his hands while kneading it!

If it's too hot for you to stick your finger in - it's TOO HOT for the yeast. 110 degrees is ideal.

Also, temp your loaf when done baking. Baked bread should temp at 190 to 200 degrees. If it's not near that - put it back in the oven. If it's getting dark, tent it with foil and put it back in the oven at 10-12 minute increments depending on how short it is from target temp.

Can't wait to hear about your victorious sourdough adventure!

Careful, Zach; I don't call them "crackareros" for nothing.

I am all about the works! There is a great little place in Boston's Downtown Crossing called Chacarero, and go figure, they sell chacareros. There is a line down the street at lunch time and they are only open during the week. So good!

Guacamole with sour cream or cheese??? :-O Where would that be? I'm ready to accept that there's variation in guacamole recipes throughout Latin American (i.e., it's not just Mexican); adding dairy sounds extreme to me, but I'm happy to be corrected.