Things I Wish I Could Grow

While snacking on some guacamole, it occurred to me there are a few things I really wish I could grow at home...

Avocados - I love guacamole in and on so many things... and frankly a slice of avocado on a grilled turkey sandwich or salad is pretty hard to beat too.  Of course I can buy pre-made guacamole and we do have avocados in the grocery store every now and then, but they're definitely not local so their flavor and ripeness is always a challenge.

Indian Mangos - ever since I visited India years ago, I have a mostly unresolved craving for a good fresh mango.  We do get the larger Mexican mangos here, but they don't have much flavor.  I suspect they are picked prior to being ripe.  Which makes them just unsatisfying.  I have been able to find a good substitute with Ceres Mango Juice that in imported from South Africa and occasionally I find a decent mango sorbet.

Oranges - There is absolutely nothing better than fresh-squeezed orange juice.

Olives - I love olives, olive oil, olive oil soap... I love olives.

Teff Grass Hay - My first hay buy when we moved to our farm was of locally grown teff.  It's a thin stemmed grass that the alpacas loved.  When it came to buy hay again, the farmer had gone out of business.  So I have been buying a different grass hay from the feed store.  It's more stemmy than the alpacas care for, so a lot is sent to the "spent hay" pile.  Technically I can grow Teff Grass here, but I don't have the space to make it worth the cost of haying.