Avocado? In bread? In ice cream?

For a blog with avocado in the name, I've yet to post any recipes using that delectable fruit. Who needs another recipe for guacamole, right? And though I love avocados—their creamy texture, the enticing color, the fact that they have good fat—I haven't been very creative in my use of them. Occasionally I toss one in a salad or add slices to a turkey sandwich; otherwise I'm pretty standard in my use of them for guacamole.

So I was very excited to hear about Fallbrook's annual Avocado Festival which took place last Sunday. I'm a big fan of food festivals in general, having grown up with a mother who self-published strawberry cookbooks and trotted them out at festivals to make a sale. For me, a food festival is synonymous with running around in the dirt, petting farm animals, and gorging myself on homemade strawberry shortcake just to see who had the best. And, even better, stocking up on new recipes for innovative and unusual ways to use the food item being promoted.

Well, it seems the food festival circuit has changed. Now they seem to be more about Amazing All-New Garlic Peelers! and Fresh-Tasting Water Right From Your Tap! Not to mention scam vacation giveaways, new kitchen counters, and whatever bank or home developer has recently moved into the area. Suffice it to say that the avocado was the item least in attendance at the festival. Recipes? There was a women's club recipe pamphlet for $15. There were free recipes at the California Avocado Commission booth — for guacamole. (Though in fairness their website does list many more, which I plan to check out in more detail soon. But I didn't need to go to the festival for that.)

The Fallbrook Chamber of Commerce estimates that 75,000 people attended the Avocado Festival this year. It runs for several blocks down Main Street, which means that all foot traffic is compressed in a very small area. No carefree tripping from booth to booth; instead you traipse along behind the person pushing a quad stroller behind the person in a wheelchair behind the group of 15 taking up the entire width of the street. It's slow going, and sadly there's not much to tempt you out of the line to sample wares at booths.

The number of booths offering avocado-related food? Four. Holy Guaca-moly, selling the generous-sized but $6 serving seen above, a church selling delicious tacos topped with the green stuff, avocado ice cream from Cold Stone Creamery, and a Ventura bakery selling the avocado bread, seen below (sadly I threw away the packaging without writing down the name of the bakery). The other food—sausage and peppers, hamburgers, lemonade—was standard street-food fare. Evidently there was an avocado art competition as well as a contest for best guacamole, but those were held before the festival and there was no evidence of either on the day of.

One thing I really wanted to see was crazy avocado dishes. And though ice cream and quick breads certainly qualify, I was also hoping for avocado jam or avocado cream pie or avocado lip balm. The guacamole truly was excellent, with chopped fresh jalapenos (no seeds) and tomatoes. And though I enjoyed the bread and the ice cream, I don't think I would have picked avocado as the secret ingredient in a blind taste test. I'm anxious to create some of my own recipes where the taste is a little less subtle.

Am I ready to give up on food festivals? Not by a long shot. Somewhere out there is the kind of down-home, on the farm, homemade treat feast I'm looking for. I just have to find it.

Hello, Again

It's been a while; I've been off gallivanting on a much-needed vacation.

Typically a large part of the reason I travel—anywhere—is for the food. Not so this trip. This was all about national parks and state parks and wildflowers in bloom.

And road food.

Despite my snob status, I'm quite fond of road food. There's places along the road that are innovative for their um, architecture, or for THE BEST pizza or ice cream, or a Guinness wanna-be obscenely large food object. Road food doesn't necessarily have to be good—it's as much about the experience as anything—though it certainly helps.

But it should also know what it is, and not have any pretensions otherwise. So I feel quite confident in stating that the gyro at the Mad Greek Cafe in Baker, Calif. is actually NOT the world's best, despite the numerous billboards along I-15 claiming this crown. (Note: the food is rather salty, which means it's better to stop on your way out of the desert, since salt is so dehydrating.) But I've certainly had worse. And come on, the attraction here are the Greek faux statuary and the quips such as: "English. It's all Greek to me!" posted around the restaurant. This is big-time kitsch, baby, in all its blue-and-white glory. The milkshakes are supposed to be amazing; sadly I was all milked out from the date shake at China Ranch I had earlier in the day. It sounded so unappetizing that I just had to try it. The verdict? A little weird (what with all the chunks of chopped-up, sugar-crystallized dates), a little too sweet, and more like a Dairy Queen Blizzard than a shake.

I also learned I much prefer Coco's Cinnamon Roll French Toast to the wink, wink, nudge, nudge-named Grandma's Cinnamon Loaf French Toast at Carrows. (C'mon. We know Granny's not back there in the kitchen.)

Because I was camping, I knew the only way to eat—let alone eat well—was to suck it up and bring my own food. Here's a sampling:

Homemade trail mix for snacking in the car (Low-salt peanuts, no-salt sunflower seeds, dried raisins, dried cranberries, M&Ms. Mix.)

Cold cuts for sandwiches (A jar of roasted red peppers did the trick here, elevating DIY sandwiches from ho-hum to yum-yum.)

Steak (Make a quick marinade of Worcestershire, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper before you leave and let the steak absorb it all day until dinner at your destination)

Pre-made salad (Let's face it: unless you bring salad to eat the first night, there's little chance of seeing another leafy green until you return home.)

Frozen yogurt (Individual yogurt servings, frozen before leaving, helps keep the cooler cold. Eat one—still partially frozen—the first night for dessert; the others make satisfying breakfasts, especially when paired with homemade granola.)

Campfire-roasted sweet potatoes (Wrap in foil. Stick in fire until done.)

Pre-cooked rice and boil-in-bag Indian beans from Trader Joe's

Lots and lots of water

But I think the next trip will have to be a foodie destination.