Sweet Tea? Avocados?

Mmmmm, there is nothing quite like a sweet tea. I have always loved it. It is like hummingbird nectar of the candy store gods. In West Virginia it is an option at any cafe, restaurant or neighbors home; "it" is everywhere.

Then, we moved to California.

I walked into a bakery and the conversation went something like this.
Me: I would like a moon shaped sugar cookie and a sweet tea
Girl behind the counter: (Looking at me like I just grew a second head) excuse me?
Me: I would like a moon shaped sugar cookie and a sweet tea
Girl behind the counter: A what?
Me: A tea that is sweet.
Girl behind the counter: we don't have that but we have iced tea and sugar right over there.

Really!? Somehow she thought her response was acceptable. Anyone that knows anything about sweet tea knows that it won't taste like home if you put the sugar in while the tea is cold.

I asked for it at several restaurants only to be greeted with the same response every time. Finally, I stopped asking. Then I found out that McDonalds has sweet tea! Too bad I don't go to McDonalds often. Major first world problem. I hope this provides some clarity about my obsession with sweet tea. But at least California has avocados.

Quick Q & A:
Sweet tea? Is WV part of the south? 
Well, yes and no. The census bureau and some geographers consider it part of the south. However, WV decided to break away from Virginia during the civil war. In my mind that is kind of when North and South were distinguished. 
And thanks to wikipedia we have this information: 
The unique position of West Virginia means that it is often included in several geographical regions, including the Mid-Atlantic, the Upland South, and the Southeastern United States. It is the only state that is entirely within the area served by the Appalachian Regional Commission; the area is commonly defined as "Appalachia".^[9]

Long story short = Call it what you want.


Now for avocados. I was introduced to these alligator pears by Joe. I was 24 years old - how in the world did I live so long without trying something so good? Something so healthy? Something so buttery that isn't really even butter? I thought they were delicious. Until, I moved to California…they are even better here. For real. Even. Better. Here. On my last trip back to West Virginia I went to grab some from the grocery store. I picked up and squeezed at least 12 of them and I swear I think David used an avocado from West Virginia to kill Goliath. I bought a couple that should be ripe in a few months when I go back for a visit ;).

Since living here I have even attempted to make chocolate pudding using avocados. What the what? Okay, so in the effort of full disclosure it was during a time that I had decided to cut all excess sugar out of our diet (if you can't have sweet tea this should be easy). I lasted approximately 1 hour before I NEEDED something sweet - a quick google search landed me at Chocolate Avocado Pudding (sweetened with dates instead of sugar). After making this creation to get my sweet fix I questioned the worth of an avocado as a dessert. This would be the first and last time I will question the avocado - I am certain that the dates made the pudding a little nasty. It couldn't be the avocado, right?

Quick Q & A:
Will you ever make pudding from an avocado again?
Doubtful. 

So, what is the takeaway? I am a spoiled brat complaining about nothing important.

There you have it - Sweet tea and avocados….

These two don't seem to mind a moon shaped cookie with no sweet tea.