Easy 5 Layer Dip

Snacks for guests? I've got the solution.

Ingredients

• 5 medium avocados

• 1 can (546 mL) refried beans, black (or whatever type you like)

• 1 cup salsa

• 1 cup sour cream

• 1/2 cup shredded cheese

• (at least) 3 tbsp lime juice

• salt to taste

• you'll need around 1L of volume, see notes (1)

Directions

1. Core and peel avocados.

2. Use a knife to chop into small pieces, try to avoid mashing it.

3. Add salt to taste and lime juice (see notes(2)).

4. Mix well (when you mix, they'll get mashed anyways).

5. Add your first layer and even it out.

6. Next add the refried beans, completely sealing in the avocado layer, see notes (3).

7. Add salsa layer evenly, then sour cream, and finally cheese.

8. Enjoy with tortilla chips. Store excess in the fridge for up to 5 days, see notes (4).

Notes

1. I suggest using several smaller containers, depending on how many guests will be attending. It keeps unused portions fresher for longer.

2. The avocado is a fussy fruit.You have to eat it while it's juuust ripe or else it will go bad. Using it fresh, you have to add more salt and lime than you'd normally use (not overly salty and sour though). These two things act as a preservative to prevent browning.

3. Browning is caused by oxidation, which happens when food is exposed to oxygen. The combination of salt and lime preservative and completely sealing in avocado layer prevents its exposure to oxygen (that is, until you eat it!)

4. I say up to 5 days because the food will be less fresh and will likely go bad after that time period. Also, DO NOT FREEZE this because the avocado will become slimy and watery and that's no fun. Just eat it fresh, my friends!

Chocolate berry cake

Bake your favorite chocolate cake recipe! Make a simple raspberry creme by folding raspberry jam into whipped cream as the filling. Cover the assembled cake with a dark chocolate ganache and top with berries and mint. Enjoy!

Peach mango cobbler

Ready in 1.5 hours | serves 10

Summer is one of those times when us Canadians get to eat fruit at a relatively cheap cost (comparing to the winter prices, but kinda disqualified because of the sneaky stealy carbon tax but we're not here to argue about that sooo anyways let's get back to it shall we?) Here's the perfect sweet treat for those who love sugar and for those who don't - this is the perfect harmony of sweet, tart, and scented. Inspired by my (second) favourite YoutTube chef, right after Gordon Ramsay. Check out the video at the end if you'd like :)

Ingredients

Filling

• 3 lbs peaches

• 3 mangoes

• 1 tsp lime zest

• 1 tsp orange zest

• 1 tsp vanilla

• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

• 2 tbsp cornstarch

• 1 tsp fresh grated ginger

• 2 whole cloves

• 4 pots cardamon

• 2.5 tbsp maple syrup

Dough

• 2 cups ap flour

• 1/2 cup raw sugar

• 1 tbsp baking powder

• 3/4 cup cold salted butter (or unsalted, but add 1/4 tsp salt)

• 3/4 cup whole milk

Topping

• 2 tbsp granulated sugar

• 1 tbsp cinnamon

Directions

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Filling

1. Blanche peaches to remove skins easily. Do this by boiling water, cut an X shape at the bottom of each peach. Let peaches boil until skin at the X starts peeling away from flesh. Take peaches out from boiling water and let sit in an ice bath until cool enough to handle. Skins should slip off without any effort.

2. Slice the peaces to 1/3" thick. Chop mangoes into cubes.

3. Use a microplane to zest lime and orange. Be sure not to scrape into the pith - it'll become bitter.

4. Use a mortar and pestle to crush cardamon and cloves as fine as you can.

5. Add vanilla, clove, cardamon, cinnamon, and maple syrup to the peach and mango.

6. Use the microplane to grate ginger into a paste and add into filling. Mix well.

Dough

1. Add flour, sugar, and baking powder to a food processor.

2. Chop cold butter into small cubes. Make sure they stay cold, so try to work in a cold environment, or else the consistency of the dough will not be right.

3. Add butter little by little to the dry ingredients while whizzing the processor. This will allow the butter to combine in small pieces evenly throughout the dough. This will give you a crumby texture.

4. Add cold whole milk to the dough, keeping the food processor on a low speed. Watch the consistency of the dough as it will be quite thick and you may need to use a spoon to loosen it up a little. Keep adding milk until it's a thick, stringy, slightly sticky dough.

Hannah Montana meets Miley Stewart

1. Pour peaches into a 8x11.5x2" glass baking pan. Even out so there's no large holes without any fruit. Whoever gets that piece will be very sad so don't let that happen.

2. Spoon the dough to cover the top of the fruit layer. It doesn't have to be perfectly touching the sides and covering the fruit.

3. Mix 2 tbsp granulated sugar and 1 tbsp cinnamon thoroughly. Cover the top evenly, all the way to the edges of the pan, covering any exposed fruit as well.

4. Bake at 350ºF for 45 minutes or until the top is crispy and crusty (not in the bad way lol I'm talking you can tap a knife on top and it'll ring like church bells, kinda).

5. Let cool for 20 mins and top with whipped cream!