avocado - the fruit, not the colour

Colour? I hear you saying it.
Who doesn't remember those oh-so-stylish avocado kitchens?

But this is about the fruit.

Many years ago, before avocados were the popular everyday item they are today, they were seen as "health food".  Back in the days when health food was something only the fanatics or hippies ate.
I read and was told they're good for you. Low calorie or some such.
You should eat them. They're good for you.
Try one, they're good for you.

I remember once a friend gave me a small chunk from the one she was eating.
I tried to eat it, which meant I put it in my mouth and immediately wished I hadn't.
It felt wrong, tasted awful. I spat it out and apologised to my friend.
Vowed to never try that again.

Now, we all know I've got a very sweet tooth.
I recall a steady childhood diet of heavily sugared cornflakes for breakfast,  plum jam sandwiches for lunch, baked beans on toast for dinner. I'm sure there were other foods, but that's what I remember most.

I've noticed though, that in recent years, beginning perhaps 15 years ago, I'm developing a taste for more savoury things. I'm eating salads more. Spicy things more. The main focus of my meals is no longer dessert.

Maybe it was time to try avocado again?
I thought about it for weeks.
Then I bought one.

It sat in my fridge for three days, I just couldn't bring myself to even cut into it, let alone eat some.
Until tonight.
I'd had dinner hours ago and wanted a hot milo before bed.
As I got the milk out of the fridge, I also took out the avocado. I made the milo first, in case I needed something quickly to get the taste out of my mouth.

Then I cut into this fruit. Not the way most people do, I just sliced off the tip.  I cut a very thin slice and nibbled at it. A teeny, tiny nibble. Held it in my mouth for a bit, and it wasn't so bad. I finished the thin slice by tiny nibbles and wondered how I could use up the rest of this alligator pear.

I decided that mixing it in with my usual salad ingredients was probably the best way.
So tomorrow, Friday, (well, that'll be today, because I'm scheduling this for the morning),  I'll buy some fresh salad leaves, and have it for dinner. Probably not the whole thing, just a bit of it. Mixed with greens, tomato, shaved parmesan.....

The latest buzz in health foods is beetroot.
I don't like beetroot......