Simple Food: Avocado Toast

Do you get moody and kind of mean if you don’t eat enough? … No? Me neither. (ahem)

But on the off-chance that you know someone who does experience this affliction, here is the perfect solution: avocado toast.

The crucial part of having this turn out swimmingly is, of course, good avocados. Years back, I worked a summer job at a sandwich shop, where avocados were one of the more popular ingredients. We’d get large cardboard boxes full of them and all of us gained an expertise at knowing the exact moment that an avocado was ready. Once you master this, you kind of feel like a superhero.

Picking the Perfect Avocado

If you push on the skin, you should feel the buttery fruit give way pleasantly underneath. But it should NOT feel mushy and you shouldn’t sense any air/empty pockets beneath the skin. If either of those two things happens, you can rest assured that the avocado has gone past its due date and has turned a funky brownish hue. Don’t buy it.

If you push the skin and the fruit barely gives, it is not ready yet. Be patient — if you cut into it at this point, it will be a little too hard and it will  range from tasteless to slightly bitter. Also, cutting it will permanently halt the ripening process, so if you open it too early, it’s a goner. (The pressure …) If you want to speed the ripening process, place it in a small paper bag. Sounds weird, but it works.

{By the way, if you get your avocado at the perfect ripened point, but you’re not ready to use it yet, you could place it in the fridge to stop the ripening. This works great for a day or so.}

If you are a seasoned avocado professional, then you know the drill and will delight in the easy recipe below. If you are an avocado novice, then you might want to enlist the help of an avocado mentor when you shop for your produce, mainly because the little guys tend to get pricey. But once you know what you are doing, the price is well worth it!

Also, as my sandwich shop boss always told us, take the little pebble like “stem” off the avocado before you slice it up. If that baby gets mixed it with the avocado meat and you bite down on it? You could be seeing the dentist before your six month checkup. The habit was ingrained in us, and I think of it every time. No sense taking chances.

This is a big go-to meal when 1) I’m in a rush, and 2) I have a busy morning and I know snacking opportunities might not come to pass. It’s downright mouthwatering plus the fat in the avocado fills my belly up in the most satisfying manner.

Optional add-ons:

crushed red paper, cut-up cherry tomatoes, roasted red peppers, sprouts, chopped cilantro, sliced red onion