Ventura County STAR newspaper Article

The Diva was quite honored and flattered all at the same time - to be on the cover of the Ventura County STAR newspaper - that lead to an article in the LIFE (lifestyle/food) portion of the paper.

Lisa McKinnon wrote all about the heritage avocados that grow here in our beautiful county - how the Diva got started, and how we can ship avocados right to you.

Ventura County STAR newspaper article.

It was "avocado day" at the Ventura County Fair -- so...

It was "Avocado Day" at the Ventura County Fair -- so... the Diva took one of her Mac Arthur avocados TO the fair. It had a good time.

Here are some of the things "Mac" did at the fair. If you'd like to see pictures - visit his photo album on the Diva's FaceBook page here.

1. Went on the "monkey maze" with the little kids. (Almost got thrown out by security-dude with no sense of humor nor idea of how blogs work).

2. Saw award winning avocados (tried not to be intimidated).

3. Looked at the cotton candy, decided against it when he saw the ingredient's list.

4. Skirted around Mike Nunez from Calavo - who was passing out free guacamole (shuddered at his close brush with fate).

5. Saw some varieties he had never seen before (Nabals!)

6. Learned of a new variety (Dickerson). (Diva must now find some).

7. Went on the "Zombie" tunnel of love - cuddled with his Diva. ;-)

8. Perused the award winning wines (made a wish list).

9. Checked out the "top 10 list" of crops for the County (avocados are #6!)

10. Looked at the 4-H pigs - and found one that started out as a piglet that the Diva's son helped "birth. (The Diva's son is in 4-H).

All in all - Mr. Arthur had a good time. He did not want to leave. So at the end of the day - we left Mac Arthur on the tire hub of a super-cool looking 1940's, restored, green truck - outside of the concert arena. He was last seen rocking out to the oldies.

5 Secrets from the Avocado Grove...

Did you always wonder how they get those avocados from WAY, way up in the tree? Or when does the grower know it's time to pick? How does an avocado ripen?

Read on for some "secrets from the grove" - (cue music that sounds like "secrets from beyond the grave").

TOP SECRETS:

1. GREEN: Avocados do not ripen until picked. That's right, they stay hard as rocks and bright green until picked.

2. NOT TILL I TELL YA! The growers are TOLD by the USDA when they can start picking (Hass at least...it's called a release date). Often growers want to be "first to market" -- but if they jump the gun, there are super secret ways (involving chemicals and science) for the USDA to tell if they picked early -- and then they get punished (e.g. - can't sell their avocados).

3. 499 AVOS ON THE WALL, 499 AVOS! (SING IT CHILDREN). Non-Hass avos aren't usually regulated (no release date). Since all the other 499 varieties only make up 5% of the market - the growers have to keep track of those "ripening" periods themselves (usually in a very weather-beaten little notebook -- from my experience). The Diva has a spreadsheet - so she know which farm/ranch has what variety and when I can contact them to DEMAND (uh - I mean request...) the BEST and FIRST fruit for my monthly customers.

4. Cool Tools: See the nice, friendly guy with the yellow picking tool? (Photo). He is using a special cutter that reaches WAY, way up into the tree. The metal ring usually holds a little bag to catch the avocados. The tool has a super sharp, nasty little cutter I like to call "don't cut my fingers off PLEASE". The pickers use this tool for those high up, remote avocados. This guy (doesn't he look happy?!) had to take the bag off - because the avocados he was cutting for the Diva were WAY too big to fit into the normal bag. They just got caught by the ring. Then he would plop them down to me (or some youth-group kids -- this is a church orchard! Holy Guacamole!) and we would put them in a wheelbarrow.

5. Keep it Short: Most trees are kept pretty short (topped) so that the pickers don't have to climb ladders. Avocado trees are often planted on hills - because the root systems like good drainage - which a slope provides. And slopes make for danger on a ladder. Also -- by keeping the trees short and stubby - the tree puts it's energy into make fruit, not growing taller.

6. Bonus Secret: The pickers carry big bags (they would make a cool purse for a Diva!) and clippers to snip the fruit off and throw into the bag (often held on their back - over their shoulder, with a big canvas strap). Those bags can carry 50, 60, 70 lbs of avocados! They can strip a tree of 400 to 500 avocados in less than 30 minutes. (Pirana of the orchards!) You can only imagine how hard working and strong they must be to carry that much fruit and move that fast.

So now you know more than 99% of most people about avocado picking and orchards! Share your wealth -- and raise a chip filled with guac to those hard working growers and pickers.

Avocado Martini

This little beauty was made just for the Avocado Diva (the martini, not the man...). ;-)

We went out to a fancy - schmanzy dinner to celebrate birthdays AND the fact that a friend from England had come to visit. He really wanted to go out to dinner at Cafe Firenze (Top Chef Fabio's restaurant here in little 'old Moorpark).

So we went -- enjoyed the "Chef's Table" and a special menu. Imagine our delight and surprise when Executive Chef John Paolone (he is also the EC for Firenze Osteria in Hollywood) had the "mixologist" team make the Diva an avocado martini!

Here is the recipe they posted on their FaceBook page:

ORA FELICE … 1oz Mango Rum 1oz Mango Vodka 2 Basil leaves 3 Lime wedges 3/4 oz simple syrup 1/2 avocado 1 slice of orange

This drink would make an excellent "palate cleanser" between courses. It was light, kind of creamy, full of exotic flavors of the tropics (mango, citrus, and of course, avocado). I can't wait to try it again!

Why not head on over to Cafe Firenze or Fabio Viviani's FaceBook page -- LIKE them -- and tell them the Avocado Diva sent ya?!

Ripe Bananas Work the Best...(to ripen Avocados)

We did a test this past week to see what works best to "speed up" avocado ripening.

[Please see this blog post for the exact details of how we did that.]

Bottom line: Yellow, ripe bananas worked the best. Next was the green bananas and then the apples.

All 3 of the avocados were ripe in the paper bag with the yellow bananas. The other 2 bags only had one of the 3 "sort-of ripe" after 5 days.

The one that DID ripen fastest was a Hass. The two others (a Pinkerton and a Lamb) were not ripened -- and are still in the bag. We will open them up tomorrow to see if they are ready. We hope so - we have a BIG tasting at a local community organization on Thursday night -- so -- we need those babies to be ripe!

In the mean time, we put the rest in with the yellow bananas and are keeping our fingers crossed.

Have you ever tried using the old "paper bag" trick? How about adding another fruit to ripen your avos quicker?! Let us know if you have special tricks.

Peace Out Friends!

How to Grow an Avocado Plant - Video

We finally got the video (well, really it is a snazzy slide show) done.

If you have always wanted to grow an avocado tree from a pit - this slide show will give you the info on how to do it.

Be aware, however, that it is pretty hard to actually grow FRUIT from a pit. That's explained in the slideshow.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zrIuyliJQ0

Hope you enjoy this! The Diva

Avocado Dreams and Wedding Bliss

This is a short and sweet blog post. The Diva's cousin is getting married next month over Labor Day weekend. Her grandmother (my mom's identical twin sister) held a beautiful shower under her avocado trees. How amazing is that?

Hope your best parties are as sweet as this.

And yes, we had guacamole.

Best wishes, The Avocado Diva!

Ripen Your Avocado Faster

Nothing is more frustrating than wanting to eat your delicious heritage avocado - and its not ripe yet! So here is a test we are doing at the Diva's office (we did this Friday, 7/29/11).

To ripen avocados faster - you put them in a nice, thick paper bag (we send you a great one with your order). To make it go even faster - you can put in a fruit that produces ethylene, like a tomatoes, bananas or apples.

So we were wondering what works BEST -- green bananas? Ripe bananas? or apples? We put 3 avocados into each of 3 bags -
(a) with ripe bananas
(b) with green bananas
(c) with apples

We'll open them up on Tuesday and see which ones are the ripest and let ya'll know.

BTW - are you ever worried if you order a box of avocados from the Diva that they will go to waste? No way - we ship them right off the tree - so they are very hard (don't get damaged in shipment that way). Then we send you detailed instructions as well as a "Diva ripening bag" - so you can stagger the avocados to ripen over a long period of time.

Order some today! They are beautiful, full of minerals, protein and DELICIOUS!

Picking an Avocado - TIP!

If you are lucky enough to have a tree -- or get to pick from a friend's tree -- you should always CUT the stem and not just "pluck" the avocado off the tree. Why? Because plucking rips the avocado off the tree and often rips open the top of the avocado - even if just a bit. And that makes it open to "intrusion" - from bacteria, mold, pesticides, bird doo-doo - you get the idea.

By snipping the stem and leaving a bit on it (like an "outie" belly button!) - you are just being that much more careful to not get "stuff" into your avocado. Also -- you will find that the avocado ripens more evenly and you don't get those nasty, rotten "strings" going through the viens of the avocado.

One other tip -- if you buy them from a road side stand or farmer's market, etc. -- if there are no stems... its probably a stolen avocado! Someone jumped over the fence or did a drive-rip-dash in the middle of the night. That's how come SOMETIMES you can find avocados at "3 for a $1" at a roadside stand or farmer's market. And that's not fair to the small farmers and ranchers who follow the rules.

Get your avocados from a reputable seller... Thanks friends!

New Recipe Alert! Cool, creamy pie for summer

Are you FRYING in this summer heat?! Try this easy, cool, protein filled dessert! It's from my mommy - The Diva

AVOCADO PIE

2 ripe avocados

1 can Eagle Brand milk

2 oz lemon juice

1 graham cracker crust

1 carton Cool Whip

Blend avocado, milk & lemon juice in blender until smooth.

Pour into crust and top with Cool Whip. Refrigerate.

(Can be frozen.)

What's Wrong with THIS Avocado?

Shall we play the "what's wrong with this avocado" game again? Note the "star like" scarring on this thin, green skinned avocado.

The answer is again - there is NOTHING wrong with the flesh of this avocado. It's perfect to eat. In fact, the scarring of this avocado happened while it was still a "flower" - in the bud stage. A mite chewed on the bud while it was tiny - and caused the fruit to grow out with this star-like scar.

What does that mean for you? A. It's an indicator that no toxic insecticide for mites was used, and B. It's ok to choose this avocado and eat it (even if it doesn't look "perfect") - like you might find in the store.

Does it mean it is "organic" - no. Organic means a LOT more (e.g. - no pesiticides, no herbicides, for years and years on the ranch - its very complicated). However - the "star scar" is an indicator that the rancher is probably smaller AND doesn't over-spray.

One other note - remember that ALL avocados should be washed before you eat them. Like all fruits - they have "stuff" on the skin that could get cut into the flesh when you open them. "Stuff" like pesticides, herbicides, etc. ALSO -- even if they are organic - they will have dust, bird poo or even mite droppings! So wash with soap for at least 30 seconds (they say "sing the ABC song" = 30 seconds) then rinse well with water.

To conclude - there's NOTHING wrong with this avocado's delicious FLESH - and maybe the star-scar is even a "badge of accomplishment" - this little guy survived a nibble by a mite and grew up to be a delicious fruit with less pesticides.

Would you buy a "star scarred" avo now?! Let us know!

The Winners of Avocados for a Whole Year Are...

Linda Wetter of Virginia and Staci Cook of California!

For everyone else - the Diva (who was in Santa Barbara all day...) authorized the IT staff to set up a special 24% off coupon code for 24 hours (starting now - 9pm PST).

Buy anything and everything you like at www.AvocadoDiva.com and get 24% off! Use the code 300LIKES at checkout - but only for 24 hours.

And for everyone who wants a little someth'n someth'n mailed to them - email your snail mail address to "diva@avocadodiva.com" in the next 10 days and we'll get those out to you too.

Congrats to Linda and Staci - and THANKS to ALL of you for being our FB Friends!

Post Number 2 - How to Grow an Avocado Plant

If you have been successful and got your pit to root and sprout - "Yeah for you!" (If you don't know what the Diva is talking about, see the blog post #1 for info).

Your avocado pit (after about 2 - 6 weeks) should look like these photos - with some white roots coming out of the bottom and a strong green sprout coming out of the top.

If it didn't work - throw it out and try again. Some people say you need to peel off the bottom brown skin OR change the water more.

Another common hint is to keep it in a bright, sunny room - but not in direct sunlight.

Once you get it to this stage - (or perhaps another week or two - with lots of roots) its time to plant it into a pot. Gather the following:

1. 6" pot with drainage hole(s) on bottom
2. a piece of broken pottery or a sea shell
3. 1/2 cup of stones or pebbles or marbles
4. 3 or 4 cups of potting soil
5. 1 or 2 cups of sand or perlite (or other recycled material that makes soil drain well - e.g. cut up egg cartons, cut up "peanuts" from a shipping package, etc.).
6. a plate or shallow pan to go under the 6" pot

Basically - remember that avocado plants are "exotic" and from tropical or subtropical places originally. They like moist air and moist soil - but they do NOT like to sit in water. So you need to MAKE a soil that drains well.

Take the pot and put a "chard" of broken pot OR a sea shell over the drainage hole - so that water can get out (e.g. - the pot hole is not plugged by a rock or marble). Next, put in the stones (pebbles, marbles) so the bottom is covered and water can drain easily out of the pot.

In another bowl or bucket - mix the soil and sand (or perlite, recycled materials, etc.) so that you have a very light soil.

Put the soil mixture in the pot on top of the rocks - fill about half way.

"Snuggle" your pit and roots into the soil (gently!) and fill it up the rest of the way (so the roots are covered) and the pit's "head" sticks out about 1/2 inch - as well as all of the green shoot. (The top of the pit should stick out of the soil).

Over the sink (or outdoors) - water the soil & your baby plant well and let it drain. Put the plate or dish under the pot so water can continue to drain. Water your plant a lot at first - but make sure it drains well. Keep in a bright, warm place - but not in direct sunlight. Always water from the top - don't let water sit in the plate.

When your plant reaches about 12" - you can gently pinch it back - and it will grow a couple of "side branches" which will be stronger. If you want it "bushy" - keep pinching the top back. If you want a taller plant or tree -- pinch off side branches (only keep 3 to 5 on it).

Once your plant fills up it's pot with healthy roots - you should repot into larger and larger pots. It's best if you can do this in the spring (when its hormones are strong and it will have a fighting chance to keep growing). In summer, use a liquid fertilizer every 2 or 3 weeks. Cut back in the winter to every 6 weeks. Always keep its soil moist but never let it "sit" in water (avocados hate that!). Keep it's leaves moist with a spray bottle (to simulate a tropical climate). They do like bathrooms and shower areas for this reason!

I'll put up another post soon about growing it into a tree, what kind of trees, pollination, etc. There's is a LOT to know about all that stuff... so keep coming back or sign up for the blog so you don't miss any!

The Avocado Diva (www.avocadodiva.com)

Winners of Avocados for a Whole Year will be posted later today!

Thanks to all of YOU - we have reached almost (almost!!) 300 fans on our FaceBook page - in less than a month of being operational!

The Diva will hand pick 2 winners to get avocados for a WHOLE YEAR later today - and we'll post the announcement.

She has also said - if we DO get over 300 on FaceBook today - she will allow us to ship a free little "something-something" to each and everyone of the people who entered.

So help us get to 300 today please! And keep an eye on the blog and FB page.

Diva Staff

Compare and Contrast "store" avocado to the Diva's AVOCADO

Twice this week I had a "skeptical" avocado discussion. These 2 people I know are dear friends and family (here in California) and each were wondering why anyone would buy an avocado online. So here is my response. "Size matters!" (Tongue in cheek). The avocado on the left (with the label) is a typical grocery store avocado. You can see that it is MUCH smaller - about 1/3 the size of the heritage avocado (a Bacon variety) on the right.

Now not ALL of the Diva's avocados are this huge -- some varieties (like a Bacon or a Lamb) are always very large, while others (organic, Mexican variety (from Cali - but a Mexican varital)) are always small. But the point is - the Diva's avocados are premium - large, robust, bright, right from the tree. You definitely get what you pay for.

Here's a list of other reasons that people might buy our premium avocados. Can you add yours too in the comments?! The Diva wants to know...

1. You can get unique avocados you won't find in the store.

2. They come right from the tree to your house.

3. We can get real California avocados - in season - (not from storage or foreign countries) all year round, because we source many kinds (not just Hass).

4.... what do you say?!... please comment.

Avocado Quiz

Hey Avocado Fans -

Here are three California avocados - do you know what varieties they are?

Post your answer in the comments and I'll send a treat to the person who answers correctly first.

Hint - all three are in season NOW.

I can source these all on Fridays from a local rancher (and 2 are organic!) - so place an order by Thursday and they could be yours to try.

New Recipe Alert - Avocado Butter on California Sourdough Bread

This is an easy and delish recipe for breakfast (loads of protein!) or as an appetizer.

Basically - you toast some San Francisco style sourdough bread.

In a bowl or platter - you mash up a creamy style avocado or two (Bacon, MacArthur, Edrinol, or Hass all work well). Squeeze a lime, sprinkle with Diva salt - and then spread on the toast.

For breakfast - this is quick and powerful. Keeps you full and satisfied until break time - because the avocado is full of "good" fats that keep your tummy full and happy. Avocados are a great way to keep your blood sugars level - because of the high protein levels. (Doctors even recommend them for diabetes patients to help them keep their sugar levels stable).

For an appetizer - it truly is delicious with bread straight from the grill - and using an avocado instead of garlic butter can save up to 75% of the calories! But they are so delicious - you might want to eat 75% more... so be careful!

What's wrong with this avocado?

Would you buy this avocado? What's wrong with it? What's wrong with us?

These are kind of trick questions - because this is a Bacon variety - so actually, there is nothing wrong with this avocado. The blemish is from rubbing against the bark of the tree. Yes - its pretty extreme on this one; however, the blemish won't affect the quality of it's flesh - because avocados are ROCK HARD while on the tree. Plus - almost ALWAYS Bacon avocados will have some blemishes on them (usually much smaller - but because it is so thin skinned, they always blemish).

But this avocado will NEVER make it to market. In fact, a Bacon probably won't make it to market ever - even if were perfect - because it's not "in style". Bacon's are lighter in oil and not as highly desired as Hass (the kind you see 99% of the time in grocery stores). There's nothing wrong with a Hass. There's nothing wrong with this Bacon either.

So what's wrong with us - that we don't know enough about our food to know when a locally grown product is even good or not? I'm not blaming you -- I didn't really know until I started sourcing and buying avocados that there WERE all kinds of them. I thought they were all the same! But there are over 500 varieties of avocados in California - and probably over 1,000 world wide! Biodiversity is important - to life, to foods, to the bees, to the growers, to other insects, to how we eat, to life!

So -- what's wrong with this avocado? Would you buy it? Tell me why or why not.

Sigh and signed -- The Diva

Eat Like a Cave Man (Cave Diva) Week

All Diva's seem to be constantly watching their figures ... and wanting to eat divine food at the same time, right? If you are a Diva - you probably have a fine man - and some beautiful children as well. So here's a tip from the Avocado Diva for YOU!

Establish a summer week to "Eat Like A Cave Man!" - your man will love it. Your kids will too. And YOU will secretly be including a lot of raw, yummy foods into their diets while improving your Diva curves for a week.

How? - Here's the basic plan. When we have "Cave Man Week" - we eat lots of foods that are in their most original form possible. This means loads of avocados (of course - remember that they are very high in protein and make for an excellent replacement of meat). We also eat lots of other fruits and veggies. We eat things like sunflower seeds, honey, grains, water (made into tea or infusions with simple leaves), etc.

Caveman week makes for an interesting discussion with the kids. They constantly ask the Diva-cave-woman "Is this raw? Is this processed? How could a caveman make that?! No way we can eat that!" It also opens your eyes to what kind of proteins a "caveman" would have had access to - more fish, less beef. More rabbit - less pork. Protein and fat from a fruit (like an avocado) would have been precious indeed! (No life threatening chase! No loss of arrows to get one!) Meat from a large animal would have been very rare indeed - saved for festivals - not daily consumption.

If you are lucky enough (like the Diva) to live near farms, the ocean, orchards and/or other fields - or very lucky - and grow some of your own food - these make for excellent discussion points all week. The kids and the Diva will drive out to the "pick your own" farm and select some veggies and herbs. We talk about how precious this food would REALLY be if we had to grow it ourselves for weeks and months before we could pick it and eat it.

We might go fishing at the ocean or clam digging - and eat those foods - and really appreciate the work that went into a small fish or handful of clams! (The "cave-son" really likes this part of caveman week...). We've been known to harvest a bit of kelp to put in a soup to add saltiness. Plus - my man likes it because we grill a lot (Fire! Cavemen love fire.)

So the Diva wants to know - what clever ways do you use to get your kids to eat a wide variety of foods? How do you help them connect to their "inner cave man". Leave us a comment or idea. Inquiring cave-women want to know!

(PHOTE NOTE: These are ancient "molecajetes" or grinding stones/bowls from local Chumash indians - the photo was taken at the San Luis Obispo mission museum.)

FREE: Avocado leaves to make your own tea!

Who likes iced team in the summer?! Raise your sweaty hand.

[Read the whole blog for a special offer at the end!]

If you are from the south, you like "sweet tea" (note: not "sweetened" tea - as I have been so kindly told by a friend from the south. Bless her heart.)

So here's a super interesting twist on ice tea for this summer - you can make it from avocado leaves! Yup! The Diva brewed up this pitcher for a pool party this past weekend. You need to use leaves from the Mexican variety (Persea drymifolia) NOT the cultivars from a Guatamalan type (Persea Americana). The easiest way is to get them from the Avocado Diva (here).

Anyway - you boil up a handful of leaves in a pot (5-7 minutes) - let it cool. Strain it out - and pour over ice. If you want to - you can add avocado honey (order here). The Diva likes to do this when the tea is hot - so it will dissolve well and mix in. Then serve with a wedge of orange. The flavor of orange mingles great with the avocado leaf taste, which is reminiscent of anise.

I made two pitchers of iced tea for the party - one with traditional black leaf tea bags and one with the avocado leaves. By the end of the party - all the avocado tea was gone! The other pitcher -- it was still full.

So here's a special offer for YOU -- order anything from the Diva in July and she will ship you FREE dried avocado leaves with your order. Try out a delicious ice tea for FREE!