Avocado Advocate

For most of my life, I had no idea what an avocado was or, for that matter, how delicious one is. I don't remember my first encounter with this delicious fruit, but I believe it was when I was well into my 30s, probably in the form of guacamole. Over time, I've become quite the advocate of the avocado. It's good on burgers, on BLTs (which then makes it a BALT in the Duffy household), with chicken, beans and rice...and so much more.

My biggest challenge was learning how to peel and slice an avocado. My first attempt was without any directions and resulted in a green, mushy mess. Later, I learned from a master--Martha Stewart--via my subscription to her Food Everyday periodical (before her "unfortunate incarceration") It's been a piece of cake since. Here's how to do it:

Proper tools are important here. I prefer a chef's knife to make this happen with ease. With your chef's knife, take your avocado and slice it lengthwise. With two hands, twist the two parts in opposite directions, like opening the top of a pickle jar. You should end up with two halves in the skin, one half will have the pit. Next, lightly whack (such a technical term, isn't it?) your knife into the center of the pit. Twist slightly and the pit should release from the fruit. Mine usually sticks to the knife which I then whack against the garbage can to release. With a large spoon, scoop out the fruit from the skin. Viola! Cut, slice, or mash your avocado as needed.

So, the reason for this topic is because tonight we are having BLTs, not BALTs--we're saving the avocado for guacamole. Daughter #1 requested it with chips as our side. I find it interesting that my children like food that I hated when I was a kid, and hate food that I liked. I didn't know about or like avocado, they do. I loved mac and cheese--they hate it. Asparagus seemed disgusting to me, but they devour it. A grilled cheese sandwich was fabulous to me as a kid. With my daughters...not so much. And another twist to that...I despised tomato soup growing up. They love it.