16 September: Guacamole Day

Today is Guacamole Day. Here are 10 things you might not know about guacamole:

1. Why celebrate Guacamole Day today, you may be asking? It’s because the sauce originally came from Mexico, and today is Mexican Independence Day.
2. Guacamole was first made by the Aztecs, who called it ahuaca-molli which translates as “avocado sauce”. The word Guacamole evolved from that. However, drill down a little further and you’ll find a more interesting translation. “Molli” means mashed or pureed. “ahuaca” does mean Avocado, but the Aztecs named the fruit after what it reminded them of – testicles. So ultimately, the word guacamole means “mashed testicles”.
3. Traditionally, it’s made by mashing ripe avocado with sea Salt in a pestle and mortar.
4. Modern recipes add Tomato, Onion, Garlic, Peas, Lemon or Lime juice, chilli or cayenne Pepper, Coriander, Basil and jalapeño to taste. Some also add sour cream.
5. A variation on the theme is Mantequilla de pobre (poor man’s Butter) which is avocado, tomato, oil, and citrus juice. It wasn’t, however, made as a butter substitute as it pre-dated the introduction of dairy Cows in the Americas.
6. 100gm of guacamole contains 160 calories. It contains a lot of fat, but it’s the good kind. There’s also protein, fibre, Vitamins A, C and K, iron, Potassium and magnesium.
7. Guacamole may turn Brown if exposed to the air for too long. This is because avocados contain a chemical called polyphenol oxidase which reacts with the Oxygen in the air to make melanoidin, a brown pigment. Storing it in an air-tight container or wrapping in cling film to limit how much is exposed to the air are recommended ways to avoid this happening.
8. It’s a popular dip in the USA and a particular staple of Superbowl Sunday when around 53 million pounds of guacamole get eaten.
9. The astronauts of Apollo 11 took guacamole into space with them, but it didn’t get eaten, because, according to Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, “that pig Buzz Aldrin ate all the chips before we even left earth.”
10. In 2013 a Guinness World Record was set when 450 students in Mexico prepared a serving of guacamole that weighed almost 3 tons. Which is around the weight of an Asian Elephant.

Killing Me Softly

Sebastian Garrett is an assassin. It wasn’t his first choice of vocation, but nonetheless, he’s good at it, and can be relied upon to get the job done. He’s on top of his game.

Until he is contracted to kill Princess Helena of Galorvia. She is not just any princess. Sebastian doesn’t bargain on his intended victim being a super-heroine who gives as good as she gets. Only his own genetic variant power saves him from becoming the victim, instead of Helena. 

Fate has another surprise in store. Sebastian was not expecting to fall in love with her.

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