Avocados!

Those mysterious green bumpy oval nuggets
of absolute buttery deliciousness are one of my favorite foods!
As someone with high "bad" cholesterol who also has high "GOOD" cholesterol,
avocados are my friend!
They raise my "good" cholesterol to combat the "bad" in my arteries.

Have you ever been really excited about the guacamole you want to make
only to find that when you get home,
the avocados you painstakingly chose were black inside?

Are you confused about how to choose a good avocado?
YES, YOU CAN choose perfect avocados!

You DO need to pick them up & feel if they are soft.
You want the skin to be firm but the insides to give just a tiny bit to your touch.
(Don't always trust those "Ripe Now" stickers!)
It's kindof like when you hold a piece of citrus.
The skin is firm but I know you've felt the difference
between a rock-hard lemon & a juicy one...
You also don't want to feel any hollow pockets beneath the skin.
That's a guarantee that they are bad inside.
Also if the skin is squooshy like a beany baby, forget that one too.
It's TOO ripe & likely to be rotten inside.

I always buy an extra avocado (over & above what I really want) just in case too!
One time I was watching Emeril Live
& he was cutting open the avocados & the first 2 were rotten inside!
He was NOT HAPPY!
SO if it can happen to Emeril
(imagine what his people get paid to do his shopping!)
it can happen to us!

Next step is how to cut it, pit it & get the green goodness OUT of the skin!
The ONE THING you should NEVER USE with an avocado is a SHARP KNIFE.
Do I need to say that again? .....
Yes, I know that you have seen chefs on the Food Network cut around the skin,
twist the halves apart & then slam a long, sharp chef's knife into the pit...
Well that works to get the pit out BUT THEN look at what you are left to deal with:
you have that long, sharp knife embedded half-way
into a slimy, slippery little hard ball.
Think about how dangerous it will be to get that knife blade out of there!

The easy and MUCH SAFER way is to use either an Avocado Peeler
or a table knife to slice around the pit.
Twist the 2 halves apart & then give the pit half a gentle squeeze.
If your avocado is ripe, the pit will just pop out.
If it doesn't pop out all the way, you can at least loosen it with the not-sharp instrument
so that you don't hurt yourself!
Then take that not-sharp tool & dice the avocado right in its shell in your hand without
risking blood & stitches.
(Really, blood & stitches don't belong in the kitchen!)

I prefer the Avocado Peeler from The Pampered Chef over a table knife
because of the curled end which scoops out all the green goodness in one swipe.
(You can email me for more info on that.)

AND NOW FOR A RECIPE!
Want to take a normal Italian salad dressing & "kick it up a notch"?
(Thanks, Emeril!)
Whisk an avocado until it's creamy, not chunky & then whisk it into your Italian dressing.
OH BOY! You will really eat all your greens with THAT dressing on there!!

I love cheeseburgers!
When my family has beef burgers, I opt for a turkey burger.
It's not because I love turkey, it's that cholesterol thing again.
(9 grams of fat vs 23 grams of fat)

But here's what makes that turkey burger fabulous for me:
to my turkey burger,
I add a few juicy tomato slices,
half of an avocado
& then spread some green basil pesto on both sides of the bun.
WOW! I don't miss the bacon or the beef for a second!

2 STORAGE TIPS!
If you are only using half of the avocado at a time,
save the half with the pit & put it in a small zip lock bag.
Squeeze out all the air & refrigerate. It will last for a day or two.

If you have made guacamole & didn't eat it all at that meal,
cover the leftover guacamole with some tomato slices & then
cover tightly with plastic wrap or a zip lock bag.
The citric acid in the tomatoes will preserve the guacamole
for a few days. If you do see a little black on top of the guacamole,
scrape it off & underneath it will be bright green.
Eat the bright green part!!

Coming soon: BANANAS!