Avocados on Demand

When we were in Virginia it was a real trick to find a ripe avocado.  After living for years in California I sort of took it for granted that this luscious fruit was available everywhere ... but I learned differently!  In Hampton I would hit all the grocery stores -- generic as well as specialty markets -- in search of the perfect "tennis ball ripe" avocado.  Sometimes we were lucky, but more often we had to ripen them at home and wait for that process to take place.

What an absolute delight to walk into any market here in Sarasota and have a huge selection for squeezing to obtain just THE RIGHT fruit!

Now, how many ways can you use an avocado?  Oh baby let me count the palatable delights!!  I'm sure that all you fans have more suggestions, but here are my top favs:

1. First comes to mind the wonderful chip dip called guacamole.  So many variations, but tonight in my haste to chow down, I took an avocado, split it in half, scooped out the beautiful fruit into a small bowl.  Added a squeeze of lemon (fresh picked from the tree of course -- hey we live in Florida now!), squeezed a few cloves of garlic into it, added a few tablespoons of prepared spicy salsa and mushed it all up with a couple of tablespoons of mayo and some salt and pepper.  Then I had my own late-night party!

2.  Another favorite in the family is sliced turkey breast with mayo and slices of avocado.  Add bacon and bean sprouts for a real California style treat or just the avocado!

3.  Use the fresh avocado as a bowl for your favorite salad -- I've got friends coming for luncheon on Tuesday and will make chicken salad remoulade served in avocado halves.  Shrimp/crab/lobster salads are also totally elegant served in avocado.

Linda