Don’t you deeply appreciate how avocados seem to be available all year? While it’s true that the California growing season lasts from approximately February through September (with peak output over the summer), Mexico's crop is pretty consistent year-round and eclipses Californian production by about 3:1. Thank you, Mexico!

And don’t you deeply appreciate how an avocado is not just good tasting, but so good for you? We hear all the time about its high fiber, great vitamin content, and healthy fat. This is truly an awesome food.

Then there’s its versatility. You can dish up your avocados on the savory or sweet side. And their texture makes them perfect for creating creamy puddings, smoothies, or pie fillings. This is because the avocado is so substantial. A pudding or pie filling using avocado doesn’t need cornstarch or flour (common allergens). And the avocado adds vitamins and minerals as well.

A perfect example of this would be a no-bake chocolate pie recipe I found years ago on the wonderful healthy-eating site, Whole Lifestyle Nutrition (www.wholelifestylenutrition.com). I’ve used this as a simple pudding and in trifle, when I didn’t have time for a full blown pie. It’s simply delicious!

AVOCADO-BASED CHOCOLATE PIE FILLING

1/2 cup coconut oil, preferably refined for no coconut taste

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate bar

1 cup coconut milk

2/3 to 3/4 cups pure maple syrup

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 ripe avocados

1 pre-baked 9-inch pie shell

1. In a small saucepan, melt the coconut oil and chocolate chips over low heat, stirring until smooth. Stir in the coconut milk, maple syrup and salt, and heat until warm. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.

2. Scoop out the avocado into a food processor (preferred) or blender. Pour the chocolate sauce over the top. Process on high for about a minute, or until smooth and no green flecks remain, scraping down the sides a couple of times. With a blender you need to turn the machine off to scrape down the sides every 5 seconds, as the mixture is very thick and you don’t want to overheat the motor.

3. Pour the chocolate mixture into the pie shell and smooth the top off. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours to set before serving.

4. Garnish with sweetened whipped cream.

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But on to the savory side, will there ever be a better role for avocado than guacamole? And this tried and true snack has more uses than just topping a crisp and salty tortilla chip, by the way. For instance, I puree guacamole with a whole medium tomato (or 5 or 6 cherry tomatoes) to make an oil-free, healthy fat salad dressing. And speaking of tomatoes, stuffing them with guacamole is just yummy. I also use guacamole instead of mayonnaise on my sandwiches and burgers.

And speaking of sandwiches, guacamole blends wonderfully well with tuna. Here again, it’s a super substitute for mayonnaise.

We’ve all had amazing guacamole, I’m sure. But I’m going to suggest a trick to making it even better. I found this on a favorite site, Pure Wow (www.purewow.com). The creator of this recipe said, “…you haven’t lived until you’ve tried this trick to make your guacamole even better.” I was skeptical, but I gave it a shot. You should try this—the author was right!

As far as fixings go, you just need the usual: avocados, salt and lime juice. Plus, the secret ingredient. It’s mayonnaise. Yup, guacamole works well substituting for mayonnaise, and mayonnaise works well as an addition to guacamole!

And there’s no fancy technique needed. It’s simple. When whipping up your guacamole, stir in one tablespoon of mayonnaise for every two avocados you use.

The result? The flavor is creamier and the texture becomes much smoother (no more avocado lumps). All the better to dip chips in, spread on sandwiches, and anything else your guac-loving heart desires.

I’ll conclude with a very helpful suggestion from www.oprah.com for those times when all you want are avocado slices (to adorn your turkey/bacon sandwich or tossed salad, for instance).

Fanned-out slices of perfectly green avocado wedges are a sight to behold. The trick to getting it right, surprisingly, is in the second cut. Go ahead and make that first incision from top to bottom; but then, rather than cutting back up the other side, rotate the fruit (yes, it's technically a fruit) a quarter-turn and make another top-to-bottom cut.

Continue around the avocado until you've segmented it into quarters; if the avocado is ripe, three of the quarters should fall away, leaving one piece with the pit attached. You'll be able to remove the pit with your hand, instead of attempting the feat with a knife. Starting from the top, gently pull off the skin from each piece.

Whatever you do with it, the result is always avocado awesomeness!