Avocado Memories (And a Recipe)

Tuesday is the Cinco of Mayo, and it's going to be a strange one where spouse and I live in upstate New York.  Why?  Although we are not party people, many people are, and it's going to be just a little difficult, between social distancing and (in our state) restaurants open


So maybe I will just reminisce a little about the time I truly discovered avocados.

In 1996 my spouse, my then young son and I flew from the Binghamton, New York area  to San Diego, California for a week.  During that time, we took several road trips through the countryside and saw avocado trees for the first time. Beautiful trees with glossy foliage, we also quickly learned that there were many varieties of avocados available in local groceries.

We also visited Tijuana, Mexico and had lunch in a restaurant which served us guacamole in this device.

Not a picture from that restaurant in Tijuana - but this picture was taken by me

So, when we have our little Cinco de Mayo party (just the two of us) we will have guacamole, and here is the recipe.

It is so simple - peel ripe avocadoes, mash (we like ours a little chunky), add chopped sweet pepper (orange, yellow, red), garlic, scallions, a little salt, a touch of homemade ground chili pepper (my spouse's own secret mix, so I can't tell you) and a touch of lime juice.



In a 2013 trip to Florida, we went to Ft. Myers and toured the ECHO demonstration gardens.

Again ,we ran into avocados and I recently found this list of some of varieties we saw:

Brogdon - 8 to 14 oz black skin July Sept

Choquette 24-40 oz smooth skin Nov-Jan

Expedition 24-34 oz dark skin Nov Jan

Hall 24-34 oz, pear shape Nov Dec

Lula 14 to 24 oz, pear shape Nov to Jan

Monroe 24 to 40 oz Nov-Dec

Nishikawa 8 to 14 oz, Oval, Dec to Jan

Oro Negro 16 to 32 o pear Nov-Jan

So why am I blogging about avocados?  Because, in our upstate New York stores, an avocado is an avocado.  But, this amazing fruit (yes, they are a fruit.) comes in many varieties.  Who knew?

You learn amazing things when you travel.  Your eyes are open to new experiences.  But....

Travel, now, is lost to us for we don't know how long, although some of us travel daily now in fear.  Others travel with anxiety. Some put their trust in faith.   But you know what?  Avocadoes can also be a sign of hope, a hope that one day we will be able to live in a world where we can get together with friends for a little guacamole on the Cinco de Mayo.

It won't be this year, but I hope that day will be soon.