The Clue in the Laundry Room

I have this memory of a book about house plants my first grade teacher Mrs. B. had. She was also growing an avocado on her desk, which was right next to mine. During Reading Time, I remember being interested in her book more than my own, staring fascinated at some sort of frilly greens on the cover. I can picture her too, with the gentle sunlight on her shoulders, as she read her book of plants. There was something so civilized about it, seems to me now. I was also quite curious about that avocado pit she had stuck with toothpicks and suspended over a glass of water.

Flash forward to roughly fifty years later. While perusing our building’s lending library in the laundry room, my attention was drawn to the spine of a book lettered in green. I felt a slight tingle. Investigating further, I saw it was Joan Lee Faust’s Book of House Plants, a title unfamiliar to me and yet, was it...? I suddenly thought it might the same book my teacher once had. I slid it out of the shelf, and noted it was published in 1973, just about the time I was in first grade. And there were instructions inside about how to grow an avocado from a pit!

I called my mother (a.k.a. the Miss Marple of my hometown in NH) who is still friendly with Mrs. B. Mom was happy to tackle the case and asked my teacher if she knew what book I was talking about. She did. It was certainly Joan Lee Faust’s Book of House Plants that I had gazed upon in the first grade. What are the chances of that? She still had her time-worn copy, too—and was more than happy to send it to me, perhaps somewhat astonished that I remembered the whole thing at all.

Although I have yet to grow my own avocado plant, I delight in this fresh as spring avocado and grapefruit salad a friend once made for me when I was still learning my way around the kitchen. It is so  simple to make, yet deliciously clever enough to truly impress your guests!

And just to be clear, homegrown avocados are great, but in this case, store-bought will do just fine.

Grapefruit, Avocado and Arugula Salad

Ingredients
1 small pink grapefruit (or perhaps a jar, if you’d rather)
1 small or 1/2 large avocado
1-1/2 cups baby arugula or mixed lettuces
2 tsp walnut or hazelnut oil
1-2 tsp aged balsamic vinegar
Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper

Method
With a sharp knife, cut off the ends of the grapefruit and slice off the peel and pith. Working over a bowl (it saves the juice and cuts way down on mess) cut into segments by slicing on either side of each piece of membrane to release the slices. If the grapefruit sections are very big, cut in half lengthwise. (If you’re doing this ahead of time, leave the segments in the juice so they don’t dry out.)

Just before serving, cut, peel and slice the avocado. Lay it cut side down on the board and slice into 5 or 6 slices.

To serve, divide the arugula or lettuce between two salad plates. Interleave the grapefruit and avocado slices over the greens (depending on the size of your grapefruit, you may have more grapefruit than avocado).

Drizzle with the oil and balsamic, then sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Do enjoy! (And thanks to Mrs. B., a wonderful teacher and a true inspiration!)