27 August 2020 - Plague Journal Day 167

Micah 6:8
Genesis 1:11-13
Yes, your life matters.

We all are still sheltering in place, but I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

First off, today marks the anniversary of one of my favorite changes in status. It was on this day quite a few years ago that I became a father. Happy Birthday, Christian!

Now for the bloggier stuff. This is the story Marcel and the Microwaved Avocado.
I will admit that I'm a Food Network junkie. I watch far more of their programming than I really should, but I enjoy most of it quite a lot.

Aside: I remember when the TV Food Network was first launching, and I thought it was a foolish project. Why would anyone watch that all day? Then I was sitting with Christian trying to find something fun to watch on TV one Saturday morning, and I asked him, "Isn't there a cooking show on somewhere?" Well, the light went on, and I got it (and they got me).

Anyway, we were watching one of the seemingly interminable list of cooking competition shows, this time it was the Tournament of Champions. In this competition, a "randomizer" assigned protein, style, sides, equipment, all kinds of stuff. The particular challenge I'm remembering included avocadoes and the microwave oven. Most of the chefs one sees in these competitions claim they never use microwaves, or at least that they avoid them as much as possible. (On occasion one will admit that "Chef Mike" is an indispensable help in the kitchen, but that's the exception.) Still, the microwave oven was the requisite piece of equipment here, and Marcel Vigneron boldly popped his avocado in the microwave for 30 seconds or so.

When he was asked why he was doing that, he explained that, much like blanching vegetables, microwaving the avocado would set the chlorophyll and keep it from browning. The reporter getting that story seemed unconvinced, but the avocado did look nice when it came time to plate and serve.

Well, we had to give it a try, and there's not an avocado that comes into our kitchen now that doesn't get the microwave treatment. It actually does work - for days and days after being cut, the flesh stays beautifully green and tasty. I don't know if Marcel knew that already or if he made it up out of desperation and it just turned out to be a great idea. Either way, try it - it's a great kitchen hack for a fruit that you don't want to waste.

Speaking of fruit, today is National Banana Lovers Day. I read recently that the banana is America's most popular fruit. Still, I'm pretty sure that All the nations like banana! (but don't buy the wrong bananas!)

Keep Calm and Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our lockdown and the pandemic are especially hard for people with depression. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has a 24 hour helpline: 800-950-6264.