It amuses me (though it took me a while to figure this out) that the so-called 'ripe & ready to eat' avocados you get in supermarkets in the UK are good for eating within around a 90-minute window of ripeness, before they turn to the dark side (goodness only knows what they're doing to them to make then ripen to order).

Whereas a non-ripened avocado grows old gracefully .

I ran across this on Yahoo, but have not yet tried it:

http://screen.yahoo.com/award-winning-guacamole-30897318.html

"Award winning guacamole"

Note to Padma:  A little lemon or lime juice keeps the avocado pulp from turning colors.  Test the avocado for ripeness with a little squeeze.  If it is too squishy, it is likely over-ripe.

Here is a recipe I like in the late spring, or early summer, when the strawberries are fresh from the local fields.

Strawberry and avocado salad

In each salad bowl:

1. Place about 1 cup of Spring Mix salad greens (these are usually baby lettuces of several varieties and baby spinach).

2. Top with 1/2 ripe avocado, peeled and quartered, and

3. About 4-6 fresh strawberries, quartered lengthwise.

4. Garnish with toasted candied pecans.

5. Serve with Poppy Seed dressing or a citrus-based vinaigrette.

Super easy. Prep time: under ten minutes.

Definitely someone who loves avocados... be it as guacamole, as filling for makizushi, eaten right out of the shell with either soy sauce or balsamic dressing, as part of a salad or... well, you know, the uses are endless.