avocado toast

Good morning, and welcome back to the kitchen. God has dropped another fresh Tuesday morning right into our laps, just like he does every week around this time. Let's capitalize and make some avocado toast to prepare ourselves for the day.

It's day two of White Bread Week, and boy, are my arms tired. If you're unfamiliar with the avocado on toast concept, you're probably either A. not from California or B. a real person who's more accustomed to eating normal things on toast for breakfast like eggs and cured meat. It's nothing to be ashamed of. I used to be just like you.

avocado

toasted bread

cucumber

tomato

cayenne

To somebody who's not used to working with vegetables this early in the morning, the most immediately intimidating part about this recipe is probably going to be the avocado. Fret not; I'm going to break it down for you, step-by-step.

Stick your knife into the avocado, the blade's edge, not the point, until you hit the pit. Gently work your way around until you can pull it apart in two halves. Choose which side you want to use.

Me, personally? In these wee hours, a giant honkin' seed is just not what I'm in the mood to deal with, so I put that half in the fridge. Cut the meat of the avocado into thin slices, taking care not to puncture the skin; this extra little precaution is going to help a lot with presentation. To be fair, I have never had anybody to impress before eight AM, but still. It's nice to make things nice for yourself sometimes.

Did you notice the spoon I deliberately included in that last photo but didn't mention or acknowledge meaningfully in any way? Its purpose was to foreshadow the next step: scooping out the insides. Run the rim of the spoon right along the inner membrane of the skin and release the flesh in one smooth motion.

Is that a slice of the bread I made yesterday? Yes, it is. Is it a bit more on the well-done side than it should be? Sure, but I can't complain. Some people like to mash the avocado into the toast, but I don't do it that way. I generally prefer most things un-mashed if I can help it.

In theory, you could stop right here; this is the point in the process where it officially graduates to being an avocado toast and not just a piece of burnt bread with no purpose in life. I'm not against this very rudimentary version; there's something so manly and rugged about keeping a dish like this simple and without frills. Makes you feel like you're really roughin' it.

Today, though, in traditional pinkbelly fashion, we're fuckin' going for it with some toppings for good measure. This specimen boasts slices of cucumber and tomato, with just a pinch of cayenne included to provide that subtle kick in the seat of the pants we all need sometimes. Especially around this time of day.

You could drink it with tea, but coffee is better. Something about these two together just feels so right.