KITCHEN ADVENTURES: PRODUCT PLACEMENT. Trader Joe’s Cuban Mojito Simmer Sauce.

It’s… ooohh. It’s bright and tangy and kicky and all those fun things. So far I’ve used it on my normal spaghetti sauce (= chop up garlic, plum tomatoes, mushrooms, and sweet onions) in place of olive oil, and that was great. Throw in cayenne, though, because this isn’t really spicy.

But the real fun comes when you get an avocado all up in there. Go and get yourself a black, very slightly yielding avocado–ripe but not squishy. You want an avocado that will kind of mash when you try to cut it. Then coarsely chop some garlic; simmer it in this awesome simmer sauce; chop yourself a tomato, this avocado you’ve found (a really ripe one is incredibly easy to skin and pit–just cut halfway through until you hit the pit, then cut around the pit, then cut around the rind or scoop out the innards), a medium-sized jalapeno, whatever else you want. Cookity cookity. Maybe a bit more simmer sauce. Chop up some asadero cheese: very melty, very yummy.

I’ve been having this with pasta, which I realize is unorthodox; for me, it worked out, and I’d suggest a pasta like fusilli or rotelle (not penne–too thin–or spaghetti), but others will prefer this as a spread for thick toast, or some other thing. The pasta dishes reheat brilliantly in the microwave. If you do this as a pasta topping, just cook the pasta; drain it; butter it significantly (don’t skimp! Butter makes it better!); mix in the asadero cubes; then top with this amazing avocado thing you’ve created.

It’s so good. I really want to try mojito-sauce beef chili. (And this!) I usually prefer to cook from scratch, but this is just exceptionally awesome and fun.