If you have picked up this book, even to browse, then I can safely assume that you dig avocados. For a large part of my life, the only time I ever consumed avocados (or alligator pears, as they are also known) was in the well-known and ubiquitous dip known as guacamole. For years, I had no idea that there was much you could do with avocados, beyond mashing them and dipping things into their fatty flesh. In fact, my father often quoted his own mother, who told him in the ’50s that avocados were very fattening and should not be eaten too often. She went so far as to write “300” on the bumpy skin, to remark on its high calorie content. While it’s true that avocados can be high in fat and calories, they should not be looked at as something to avoid. (More detail on the health benefits of avocados and avocado oil can be found on page xv.)
In 2009, when I started my food blog, Guilty Kitchen, I often used avocados as a topping, in dips and dressings, and as a garnish for Mexican-themed entrées. As the years went on, my creativity surrounding this amazing fruit began to truly blossom. I give full credit to the wonders of food blogging for my interest in new and exciting things to do with avocados. When you have readers waiting for you to create recipes and leaning on you for knowledge, you begin to really delve deep into creativity.
I started to find out about using avocados to replace other fats in baking or in recipes that might usually involve sweeter fruits. I made a green pie. I freaked out about how good it was. I made more green things. I got my kids to grow their own avocado plants so we could have a little piece of the tropics right here in our northern climate.
My experiments paid off and this book was born. I truly hope it will inspire the creative chef in everyone by reshaping the way we think about a humble fruit we’ve come to take for granted.