100 Face Book Friends = 100 Free Avocados!

THANKS to YOU - we reached 100+ friends in about 2 weeks! Thanks to YOU we have shipped out 44 orders already!

THANK YOU!

To celebrate - the Diva would like to give away a YEAR's worth of our "Avocado of the Month" club (we send out 6 x 12 = 72...Oh rats, the Diva is NOT that good at math...)

So I guess we better figure out a way to give away another (counting fingers here) -- 26, erm, I mean 28 avocados! (Can you guess that the Diva is blond?!)

So to celebrate FURTHER -- she will give away a free MONTH of avocados to the next 5 people who sign up for the "Diva of the Month club".

To get your goodies -- do this now!

a. Comment below to AUTOMATICALLY be entered into our YEAR of FREE avocado drawing! Make sure you are also a "friend" (like) our Avocado Diva page on FaceBook (so we can let you know if you win!)

b. If you want to get a FREE MONTH - go to www.avocadodiva.com and sign up for the Diva Club - and we'll REFUND your first month!*

Thanks again for all of your kind support! Please pass along this info and let's get eating some heritage avocados!

The Diva
www.avocadodiva.com

* Here's the fine print - you knew there had to be some...right?! But SOME of it is GOOD news! ... read on...
A. There is NO purchase required to enter the free YEAR contest (yeah!) - just comment below AND be a FB friend. (FaceBook link)
B. To get the FREE MONTH of Avocados, well - we need you to sign up and BUY a month - and stay with us for at least 3 months. We'll refund your third month. Requires you to sign up for the monthly Diva Club ($24.95, includes shipping!) - go here for all the info: Diva Club Details
C. The Diva would really appreciate it if you also sign up for this blog - but its not required. ;-)
D. We'll do the drawing and alert the winner (via FaceBook) on July 20, 2011.
E. Winner must be 18 - live in the USA . No substitutions or cash value. Just avocados. That's it.

Happy and Healthy Birthday!

Twice this week the Diva has given avocados to someone for their birthday. Crazy?! Perhaps! But think about it. Avocados are the HEALTHIEST fruit you can get! They have high protien, loads of minerals, 3x the amount of potassium of a banana!

My DARLING niece turned one - and her mom had sent out an email saying they didn't NEED any more toys as the house was FULL! So -- I knew my little baby loves avocados -- and brought her some Bacons and some Pinkertons! I hear she has been gobbling them up all week. That makes me smile.

Next, a friend has a brother who moved away from California to the midwest. He misses California and complains they can't find avocados like we have out here. So, voila! She asked me to put together a six pack for him - and we wisked it off in the mail (priority) as soon as I got them from the rancher. I wish I could see the look on his face when he gets a box of rare, California, heritage avocados! That WILL be a unique gift!

How about you? Do you have someone you need to send a box of California sunshine to? Check out our various gifts - or let me know if you have a special request.

Taste Test a Bunch of Avocado Varieties!

Some people don't even KNOW that there are many varieties of avocados. They look at the Diva like she's a nut job when she goes on and on about the differences between a Gwen and a Fuerte. Or don't get her started on a really rare avocado (like the Edranol)...

Inevitably, someone will ask the Diva for a taste test -- and out comes whatever 2 or 3 varieties are in season (along with some wine or margaritas!) as well as lemons and her special salt.

Oh -- just like that you get a PARTY going on!

So someone (the Bergs) asked her to put together a "taste test in a box" -- they wanted to have their OWN party! What a great idea. Thus a new product was born.

So if you'd like to try 2 or 3 in-season California avocados side by side -- and compare and contrast the flavors, textures, skin feel, sizes, mouth feel, etc. --- and become like the Diva herself -- we recommend you head on over to the Avocado Diva site and buy yourself a tasting box!

When your box arrives, get some beer or margaritas, and get your OWN party going on!

Avocado Truffles

Oink - Oink! Truffles (the mushroom kind) are a highly sought after gourmet treat - the French use pigs to help them find truffles in the forest.

Chocolate truffles, on the other hand, are sought out by DIVAs, the world over! So we created some delicious, super moist, extra chocolately truffles by using the moist and delectible flesh of our best heritage avocados.

So the next time you want to bake up something EXTRA special - check out our truffle recipe here. Show those other mom's at the Bake Sale what is WHAT!

That's it -- from the Diva.

Yuck v. Yum! - Saving that other half of an avocado

If you've ever eaten just 1/2 an avocado (can't say that happens much to the Diva...) - you know how quickly it can turn from YUM into YUCK. Avocados oxidize quickly and can become an ugly, nasty black color. Within a day or so - they can also grow mold.

This photo shows 2 "Bacon" type variety avocados cut on the same day - one was refridgerated and stored in a nifty little invention called an "Avocado Saver" - the other just put on the counter. The photo was taken about 24 hours later. Obviously, the YUCK one didn't do as well as the one stored properly.

I kept the YUM one for 3 more days in the "Avocado Saver" and it stayed fine. By day 4 - it was starting to get brown... so... I ate it. ;-)

You can store avocados other ways too -- share with us all what is your favorite!

If you'd like to purchase the nifty "Avocado Saver" - you can find it in our store at the Avocado Diva Store.

The Hass are in the House!

Wow - It's HASS picking time in Ventura County! Usually the Diva is kind of alone roaming the beautiful back country roads of our area -- but everywhere I went this week - I was almost run over by a semi-truck full of Hass!

Don't get me wrong, I love Hass. However, 95% of the market (and for the most part, the only kind you'll find in grocery store) are Hass. The Diva's passion is avocados, and secondly, "heritage" avocados. But when the Hass are in -- its all Hass, all the time! And they are #1 for a good reason. They are delicious! Firm, nutty, yummy California goodness!

But the Diva turns up her nose at most Hass. NO WAY is she going to ship you those "regular" avocados. No tiny, ugly, "pit rattling in the middle", yucky avocados for us Divas! I'll only get you the BEST, the BIGGEST, and right off the rancher's tree, direct to your door.

So if you'd like the BEST of the Hass -- in your house -- order a 6 pack today. You deserve them!

Easy Ways to Slice Your Avocado

I guess the Diva takes it for granted that EVERYONE knows how to cut, peel, slice an avocado - since she grew up with an avocado tree in her yard. But imagine my shock to find out that some people don't know how! It is very easy actually -- especially with our Diva slicers.

So far - our most popular products have been the slicers as well as the heritage avocados themselves!

So here is a tutorial on how to cut up and enjoy your heritage avocados:

IMPORTANT NOTE: Unlike Hass -- SOME heritage avocados do better if you cut them "across" as opposed to the "regular" way (top to bottom). The avocados that are extremely "pear" shaped sometimes ripen more quickly on the long neck - so if you get a long neck type - then gently squeeze the top and see if its softer than the bottom. If it is - then cut across (take the top off baby!). Otherwise, follow these usual steps.

1. Using a sharp knife, start at the top (stem) and cut down to the pit, cut around the whole avocado (with your knife hitting the pit) and then gently twist the avocado in two. The pit will stay in one side.
   
   
2. If you have the "Avocado Diva's" BEST slicer - use the round loop to take the pit out. If not -- then people often hold the avocado (gulp) in their HAND and whack it with a dull knife. I would recommend you put it on a flat surface, with a towel underneath it and try the knife whack. The pit will stick to your knife. Twist slightly and pull it out.
   
   
3. You will now have 2 avocado halves, with a "pit hole" on each side. There are several ways you can proceed from here:

a. Use one of our Diva slicers - and cut through the flesh releasing even slices. These are great for sandwiches, salads, or just as is - with a squeeze of lemon and some Diva spice salt! ;-)

b. You can also use the slices for mashing into a guacamole! Yum.

c. You can leave it whole -- and fill the pit with delicious fillings - like tuna salad or salsa or whatever you wish. Delicious!

d. If you don't have a slicer - its common to peel the avocado and then use its flesh (thin skinned, Heritage avocados peel very nicely!)

e. Some people hold the avocado in their hand (use a towel - my recommendation for safety!) - then "score" the flesh with a knife into squares -- and scoop out with a tablespoon.

In ANY case -- get into this delicious fruit. Avocados are SO healthful, full of protein, and have MORE minerals than any other fruit. Try one today!

If you'd like to order our Diva slicers, please visit www.avocadodiva.com

Rattlesnake Avocados

Watch out for their BITE!

A "rattlesnake" is a tequila shooter - usually taken like this:

• Take a lick of salt
• Shoot a shot glass of tequila
• Bite a lime

This past weekend, the Diva was invited to a party with a "taco truck" as the menu. Yum! She was asked to bring an appetizer, but NOT guacamole (the taco guy had that.) So what to do?

She looked at her basket full of teeny, tiny, "mini avocados" (available online for sale here at the Avocado Diva) and decided to bring an aperitif. Thus the "Rattlesnack Avocado" was born.

She cut the tiny avo's in half, rolled their little edges in sea salt, and filled them with Jose's Gold.

What a hit! It was pretty and a delight to bite into lime AND avocado at the end. Yum yum!

Check out the mini avocado product page for a whole load of other ideas on how to use these fun, tiny avocados at your next party this summer!