Divine Intervention
Okay, goshdarnit, I'm sure the blankety-blank reservoirs are filled to overflowing by now! When the fearmongers on the TV news in California haven't mentioned the threat of drought for three months, I know the old water table is doing just fine. So, it's time to turn off heaven's spigot, already! We surrender!Whining over too much rain when the Middle East is exploding in revolution and the poor, stoic Japanese are staggering under a hideous one-two punch - not to mention other human and natural disasters happening around the world - seems downright childish.
Still, my spirits have been down a bit lately, what with all the news from afar and my own family concerns plus the unending rain, so I decided to reverse the trend by volunteering as a reading tutor at a local charter school, Richmond College Prep, and making an avocado salad. Small things, but I Iike to think they both make a difference.
And what a difference they made! If you've never been hugged by 15 four- and five-year olds in a delicious scrum of excited, wriggling little bodies, you haven't lived. And the shy smile on a child's face when you praise her improved reading is worth a million bucks. I am giving a little time; I am getting so much more.
Oh, right, this is a food blog! If you don't have time to volunteer for some heart-filling activity, try avocado salad instead. Get yourself a ripe avocado (Fuerte, if possible), slice it in half, take out the pit, fill the cup where the pit rested with supremes of pink grapefruit (which is just a fancypants way of saying grapefruit sections without the membranes that divide them) and squeeze the rest of the juice of the grapefruit over the whole thing. No dressing needed or, even, wanted.
The juice will keep the avocado from turning brown and the sweet-tart grapefruit is the perfect foil for the rich, unctuous avocado. You get a shot of Vitamin C for your whiny immune system and a pampering treat for your childish side, all in one sweet package. Eaten separately, they are delicious; eaten together, they ascend to divine. And we could all use some divine intervention right now, couldn't we?
Labels: avocado, grapefruit
posted by Zoomie at
5:04 AM
6 Comments:
To think of all the salads of avo and grapefruit I've tried to artfully compose on a plate, with lettuce and decorations and ugly and it never works.
This is pure simplicity.
I love that you help kids with reading, that's my when I win the lottery job, though I think I'd be better with adults.
Reading & avos, some of the great joys of life.
Cookiecrumb, my previous attempts that making that salad look good failed, too. Too many flat, pinwheelie things. This was easier, too.
Ms Mouse, I expected to prefer adults, too, so I tried with adults first (some time ago) and found that I had higher expectations of them (unfairly), so got impatient faster. I was apprehensive about the children since I don't have any and don't really understand them, but so far it is joyous both for me and for them. Go figure.
4 and 5 year olds in a program named "College Prep" is terrifying.
Evil Empress, actually, the vibe is more of "Mr Rogers." It's a cool place.
I was a teacher before I had kids and loved it. There is something so rewarding about it. I did 3rd and 4th grade but subbed in 1st and 2nd grade sometimes. Just adorable. For a few months, before we moved, my older son was in a co-op preschool. I didn't think I'd like working with that age but I actually LOVED my work days! That's great that you volunteer! :) And I'll be getting some grapefruit in my CSA on Saturday, will definitely try this out!
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