“Avoid fruits and nuts. You are what you eat.”
~ Jim Davis, comic strip artist of “Garfield” (1945 – )

Looking out of the kitchen window, spring is everywhere. There is a rabbit nibbling on the lawn and the bird feeders have countless guests. Even though the yard was under a thick blanket of snow little more than a week ago, last year’s bulbs have pushed through and a few have even bloomed into tiny white flowers.

The earth in the vegetable bed is still a little too wet to work, but I uncovered the herb garden this week to discover that the parsley, sage, oregano, and thyme are already growing. Sounds like a song brewing, doesn’t it?

In the mean time, my trip to the produce market this week yielded a bunch of avocados at bargain prices. They have a higher fat content than any of the other fruits and veggies, but it is the good kind of fat and eaten in moderation, they are a heart-healthy food. I’ll try for the moderation, but sometimes I lose control when it comes to these green gems.

If you’ve never purchased an avocado, as with any fresh fruit or vegetable you’d like to try, ask for the help of one of the produce managers at your market. They are always delighted to be asked for their advice. The first time I went to buy a mango, the manager cut one open on the spot so I could taste it, then showed me how to choose the best ones and suggested recipes. Another time, I mentioned to a worker stocking the bins that I was disappointed to see the poor quality of the lettuce. Not to worry. Faster than you can say “salad bowl”, he was back with a fresh, beautiful head of curly leaf lettuce, still dripping mud. It pays to nurture that relationship.

Back to the avocado (which, by the way, is a fruit)…

The avocado ripens after picking, which is why they are sometimes still hard in the grocery store. If you bring them home and put them in a bag with apples or bananas, they will ripen faster. To test for ripeness, gently squeeze them, looking for a bit of give to the pressure. You will soon learn how soft they need to be for your purposes.

Avocado is great in sandwiches, sushi, and salads, and as that very popular dip, guacamole; and I don’t mean the pre-made stuff from the grocery store. You can taste the “clean” in fresh, homemade guacamole and it is astonishingly easy to make. Try putting it out instead of the common ranch dip at your next party and stand back to receive the praise.

Guacamole, Plain and Simple

Figure 1 medium avocado + the juice of ½ lime (1 tablespoon) for every 4 people.

Peel and pit the avocado, then mush it up with a fork (never, never in the food processor) until it resembles green mashed potatoes. Stir in the lime juice.

You can call it quits right there, but if you like to spice it up, mix in some hot pepper sauce or minced chipotle peppers and chopped cilantro, a little bit at a time until it is right where you like it. Use as a vegetable dip, with tortilla chips, or as a spread on sandwiches in place of mayo. If you have other uses, please share them with us through the comments!

For nutritional information about these or any of your own recipes, Mosaic Kitchen reader Dr. Beth suggests logging into Lance Armstrong’s Livestrong web site (see link in Blogroll in the right column of this page) to access a nutritional calculator. You can put in a recipe and it will produce a label just like the kind you find on the side of processed food packages. It is fun to run through a homemade recipe and then compare it side-by-side with a comparable product from the store.

Have a great weekend. See you Monday, when we will inhale.