Celebrate Cinco De Mayo with Avocados from Mexico!

I received an Avocados from Mexico gift in exchange for my post.

I love Mexican food!  So much that I wonder if somewhere in my lineage, I might find someone of Latin descent. I should do one of those DNA tests. I'm sure I'd find some Latino down the line.

How else can I explain my ability to eat tacos every day, literally?  Especially avocados.  Oh my!  Rich and creamy, I can eat them straight out the peel.  Add a little salt and ooh wee, that's some good eatin'! 

Of course with Cinco De Mayo right around the corner, I'll be planning a Mexican feast that includes Avocados from Mexico.

A few fun facts about Cinco de Mayo from Avocados from Mexico:

*During the week of Cinco, 33,892,841 Million Pounds of avocados are consumed. That’s enough to fill over 45 million standard Margarita glasses.
*Over 66 million individual avocados are consumed during the week of Cinco. Enough for half of the entire Mexican population to get their own avocado.
*The amount of avocados consumed during Cinco week is 51 times the population of Denver, the city that holds one of the top Cinco De Mayo Festivals, “Celebrate Culture” and 6 times  that of the entire Colorado population
*The avocado is also known as the “Alligator Pear”, Alligators weigh around 1,000 pounds each. The weight of the Avocados consumed would equal around 33,000 alligators. 
*The amount of avocados consumed during the week of Cinco would equal the weight of over 8 million average sized Spanish guitars similar to those used by Mariachi Bands.

But there is so much to know about avocados. How do you pick the perfect one?  I recently had the opportunity to ask Pati Jinich, host of the hit PBS cooking series “Pati’s Mexican Table, questions on behalf of Stacie Sayz So readers.  

Watch Pati Jinich below as she teaches us all things avocado, just for Stacie Sayz So!

How cool is that!  Thank you Pati. Now I'll be an avocado pro!  

Here's a fun recipe from Pati Jinich to try this Cinco De Mayo!

Pico de Guacamole

This is a delicious cross between a pico de gallo salsa and a guacamole, so I am calling it a pico de guac. It is mostly green in color, except for the red onion, which adds a welcome pungent note and a sprinkle of color. This pico de guac is also tart, but in a most delightful way and with different kinds of tartness: bright from the tomatillos, crisp from the green apples, and mild from the cucumbers.

I love to use it as a guacamole for an eye-opening appetizer. Yet, it is fabulous ladled as a chunky salsa on top of grilled fish, such as salmon. If you chop the ingredients into bigger bites, it makes for a saucy side salad. Have some left over? Spoon it inside of a chicken or cheese sandwich.

This pico de guac is versatile to no end.

Ingredients:

1 cucumber (about 1 pound) peeled, seeded and cut into small dice

4 tomatillos (about ½ pound), husked, thoroughly rinsed, diced

1 tart green apple (granny smith, about ½ pound), rinsed, diced

2 celery sticks, thoroughly rinsed, strings removed, thinly sliced

½ cup chopped red onion

1 to 2 jalapeños or serranos, seeding optional, finely chopped

½ cup chopped cilantro leaves and upper part of stems

½ cup fresh squeezed lime juice

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons kosher or sea salt, or to taste

3 ripe avocados from Mexico, halved, pitted, meat scooped out, diced and gently mashed

To Prepare:

In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well. Taste for salt, and add more if needed. Serves 6 to 8.

Do you celebrate Cinco Day Mayo?  Do you love avocados as much as I do?