Ode to Avocado

Honey Mango Avocado Salsa, originally uploaded by miss.mallory.

Ode to Avocado

Oh, little avocado. So delicious and so shiny.
Sometimes when I crave you my voice gets quite whiny.
Your skin is such a lovely shade of green.
Your flesh is sweet, savory, and oh so clean.

Smooshed in a sandwich you are quite delicious.
Mashed in a bowl you are quite auspicious.
All the while remaining incredibly nutritious.

Oh little avocado, how I love you so.
Much more than a little fruit like you could ever know.

How about that? A poem, for an avocado. That should be one honored food, it's not often that I break out in poetic prose, period. For a girl who has only ever taken a seventh grade poetry class, which was, oh, about twelve years ago, that wasn't half bad, am I right?

If you haven't gathered as much, I love avocados. Very plainly, and with a fervor. I could eat them every day. They remain one of the most versatile and healthy foods available in your local produce section. They're good in just about any genre of food. Slathered onto bread, grilled and stuffed with shrimp or chicken salad, spears stuffed in sushi rolls, sliced thinly over leafy greens, blended with milk and sugar, and of course laden in the almighty guacamole. If you wanted, you could add this creamy green fruit to just about anything to greatly enhance color and flavor. It wasn't until recently I met a woman who had never tried and was very unsure of avocados. Needless to to say, I was shocked. It's always been a staple in my household, even growing up. When we'd head to the beach for the weekend, or out to a party, people were always requesting my mothers famous, veggie laden, guacamole. Sometimes she and I would eat a giant bowl of guacamole with white corn tortilla chips for dinner. So, I had never met someone who hadn't eaten an avocado. I guess I just thought it was one of those things everyone consumed and enjoyed. I'm not sure that she actually liked the avocado I served her. She was skeptical by what she believed to be an odd green color, and a mushy texture. It was actually an eye opener for me, maybe even refreshing to hear her thoughts on this little green fruit. I had always considered avocado to be the most beautiful color (hell, it's the color of my kitchen) and would never have described it's flesh as mushy, smooth and creamy surely, but not unappetizingly mushy. It really made me realize that everyone truly does see the world through different eyes, and that's a very good thing, even when we don't see eye to eye.

Last week I was hit with a grumbling craving for avocado. So, off to the store I headed. While there, this little box of honey mangos seemed to be vying for my attention. So, there the avocado and the mango sat side by side in my green basket when it hit me like some cartoon piano from overhead. . . avocado mango salsa. Sitting on my sun drenched deck, drinking a splash of lillet over ice, while snacking on avocado/mango salsa sounded like a perfect evening to me. To complete my salsa I grabbed a bushel of sweet grape tomatoes, a serrano chile, one lime, and a big shallot. Later on in the evening, partly at the insisting of the boyfriend, I roasted a red pepper and threw that, some cheese, and black beans between two small wheat tortillas. After cooking the dillas on a hot grill, we smothered the tops with a generous scoop of my avocado/mango salsa. Now, that was perfection.

Honey Mango Avocado Salsa, originally uploaded by miss.mallory.

MissMallory's Honey Mango Avocado Salsa

Ingredients:

1 large ripe avocado (a little trick, if you don't know it yet, to checking if a soft avocado is ripe or rotten, pull off the little 'seed' on the top, if the flesh is bright green you're good. if it's brown at all, set it down and walk away) diced
1 small ripe honey mango, skin removed, diced
1/3 cup of grape tomatoes washed and roughly chopped
1 shallot finely chopped
1 small green serano chile finely diced (do not touch your face after doing this until you wash your hands, because ow)
juice of 1/2 lime
salt and pepper to season
(this recipe would be super yum with some fresh cilantro too, keep that in mind)

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Season with s&p to taste. Viola!

That was most likely the least number of directions I've ever written. This guacamole is super simple, it's all in the prep (chopping veggies, squeezing juice etc.) So, find a nice sunny corner, grab a bag of chips and maybe a cold beer, and enjoy!

Honey Mango Avocado Salsa, originally uploaded by miss.mallory.