Guacward Moments in Life
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
AVOCADOS
A BRIEF HISTORY OF AVOCADOS
The avocado is a fruit that dates back to around 7,000 B.C., and was considered an aphrodisiac by the Aztecs in Mexico. Guacamole was originally made with mashed avocados, chili peppers, tomatoes, onions, and salt. Not much different than today.
The name, “avocado” comes from a Nahuatl (Aztec) word, “ahuácatl” meaning testicle. “Guacamole” derives from “ahuacámolli,” and loosely translates to testicle sauce or soup. The Spanish turned, “ahuacatl” into “aguacate,” which, we in turn, changed to “avocado,” and “ahuacamulli” became “guacamole.”
On a health note, avocados are a good source of folic acid, potassium, vitamin C, phosphorus and antioxidants. It’s low in sugar and diverse in healthy fats like MUFAs (monounsaturated fatty acids), which help protect your body against heart disease and can lower LDL (bad cholesterol) and elevate HDL (good cholesterol).
RECIPE OF THE DAY:
AVOCADO MARGARITA
Yeah, I'm not gonna try this.
Ingredients
-
1/2 avocado, peeled and pitted
-
2/3 cup sweet and sour margarita mix
-
1/2 cup tequila
-
1/2 cup Triple Sec
-
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
-
2 tablespoons cilantro
-
3 cups ice
-
A pinch of margarita salt
-
A pinch of chili powder
Method
Place avocado, margarita mix, tequila, liqueur, lime juice and cilantro in a blender. Cover and blend until smooth. Pour into glasses filled with ice and rimmed with chili-lime salt. Garnish with lime and slice of avocado.
AVOCADOS IN ART
AVOCADO POETRY CORNER
What peaches and what penumbras! Whole
families shopping at night! Aisles full of
husbands! Wives in the avocados, babies
in the tomatoes!—and you, García Lorca,
what were you doing down by the watermelons?
—Allen Ginsberg
Coming Soon:
Masa Musings
AVOCADOISM
THE FRUIT THAT STARTED
OUT AS AN APPLIANCE
The Good, the Bad and the Green Appliances
I have noticed that the love and hate of avocado appliances depends on one’s age. If you are over 60, you experienced the greenish hue as new and innovative. Under 60, you remember the color as secondhand. Under 40, it is retro cool.
For me, avocados—both as a food and as a kitchen color—conjure up memories of my 1970’s childhood in Southern California. For my family, who aspired to be middle class, purchasing the appliances declared that we had made it. Oh, how I loved our avocado green refrigerator and how the edges were a slightly darker shade. It took my breath away.
As my Mexican parents watched TV with their American-born children, we were given sneak peeks into TV Land’s Anglo homes. The Brady Bunch and Bewitched had avocado green appliances in their spotless and clutter-free kitchens. My father would always point out the appliance and say, “You see that? That’s avocado green.” Only he would say it in Spanish.
A “Rear Window” view of the Stevens’ in their kitchen.
See Darren run by the avocado washer and dryer. Run, Darwood, run!
The Brady Bunch kitchen was accented with poppy orange. Not the ubiquitous harvest gold of the day.
Jeannie didn’t cook. She was the internet.
Mary Richard’s kitchen appliances remain a mystery.
Florida Evans was poor. Ergo, no avocado appliances.
Then the trend turned into an eerie Stephen King novella. The murky “meteor juice” spread through kitchens, absorbing everything in its path, including walls and shag carpets. By the mid-70’s, entire bathrooms were covered in a putrid green no longer reminiscent of our beloved ripe fruit.
As AVOCADOISM gained popularity, Mexican cuisine began losing its culinary authenticity. Mexican mothers, who always felt out of step in their new country, were convinced that their traditional dishes were not good enough to “reach the big table.” In an effort to fit in, some began adding processed American ingredients like white flour and cheddar cheese to their heritage dishes. Ironically, they were trying to replicate the Americanized Mexican food served in commercial restaurants, which caused many pre-Hispanic ingredients to vanish from home kitchens.
How many times did I hear one of my siblings whine, “I’m sick of Mexican food. Can’t we have Taco Bell?”
This cultural shift ties back directly to those avocado-colored appliances. Following the cancellation and subsequent syndication of popular television shows, Mexican cuisine underwent a major revival. By the early 1980s, chefs launched the nueva cocina Mexicana movement, which aimed to restore ancestral cooking techniques using authentic New World ingredients.
It is possible that this timing was not a coincidence. Or maybe the great chefs of North America watched those same syndicated reruns, finding a shared cultural solidarity through the screen.
For my own family, buying those avocado appliances was a status symbol. It was our way of announcing to the world that