… therefore, I shall eat

My best friend has an avocado tree in his backyard, and when it gives out fruits there are literally lines of baskets of avocados in the kitchen, so he just gives them away (i.e., I take most of them since I’m a good friend).

So naturally, when you have this much in stock, you’ll eventually wonder what to do with avocados. Guacamole is given, so is eating an avocado plain and with a little salt.

Here’s a few ideas of mine.

Avocado milkshake

The easiest — and my favourite — thing to do is whip up an avocado milkshake.

Get an avocado, peel and pitted, and process in a blender along with ice cubes, sugar, milk, and vanilla ice cream. If I don’t have a tub of vanilla ice cream on hand, that’s okay, it still tastes great, but the ice cream adds creaminess. Some add a teaspoon of lime juice, but I find it’s unnecessary. It’s up to you anyway.

I swear by this milkshake. The avocado is delicious and creamy and a wonderful light green colour. You can find this recipe for avocado milkshake in Allrecipes.

In Vietnam, it’s common to serve this as a chocolate avocado milkshake (mainly by adding cocoa powder and using brown sugar). Sounds equally delicious.

Salad

Avocado adds flavour and texture in a fresh salad. It also contributes to that vibrant look of the salad and is nutritious.

I know that a lot of people dismiss avocado as healthy because of its calorie and fat content, but that’s not the whole story. Avocado has a lot of nutrients and, in fact, contains more than 50% of the recommended daily allowance for fibre. Read more on why you should eat more avocado in Best Health Magazine.

What are some of your great ideas for salads involving avocado? I’m thinking prawn and avocado salad or a combination of avocado, mango, arugula, and walnuts.

But hey, we’re talking about salad here. Honestly it’s your pick.

The fresh salad I’ve made in the picture here has slices of avocado and grapes.

Avocado ice cream

Avocado is one of the reasons it’s worthwhile to have an ice cream maker at home. The avocado is naturally creamy, which makes it just perfect for this rich dessert.

The colour is also a wonderful light green, which reminds of other ice cream variants, namely, pistachio, basil, and green tea. (Speaking of which, have you had a basil or green tea ice cream? Those are other must-taste flavours!)

Avocado pesto pasta

I love meat, but this avocado pesto pasta from Chef Chloe almost convinced me to try being a vegan. Almost.

This pasta is an ingenious, delicious alternative to standard pesto, so if you’re looking for something different, I’m urging you to try this one. It’s made by combining basil, pine nuts (or cashews or wall nuts), lemon juice, garlic, and oil in a food processor. Season with salt and pepper and toss with the linguine. Top with sundried tomatoes.

This recipe for the avocado pesto pasta is originally posted by Chef Chloe, so be sure to check out her website.

Avocado sushi rolls

Thank you, Japan, for sharing the beautiful dish of vinegared rice with the rest of the world, notably in Australia. In sushi rolls, the buttery, mild flavour of avocado blends well with other ingredients in the sushi.

I know that some substitutes avocado with the raw fish because of the former’s fatty taste, but I like to combine the two — seafood and thin slices of avocado.

Other ideas:

• Yogurt
• Shrimp and avocado ceviche
• Sandwich
• Put on top of a beef or grilled portobella burger
• Guacamole — since you cannot have too many guacamole

PS: For other recipes, including nutritional information, one useful source I’ve found online is Australian Avocados.

What about you? What do you do with avocados?