Tim and Katrina of Barham Avocados

Avocado season has just kicked off in Southern NSW, and Tim and Katrina Myers of Barham Avocados are flat out - busy not only picking their 2500 avocado trees but this year for the first time, making avocado oil too. Oh, and they are just about to welcome their third child to this green world of theirs.

Katrina's family has been growing avocados here at Horseshoe Bend on the Murray river for four generations, each of them absolutely dedicated to growing, packing and presenting the very best avocados possible and widely recognised for their efforts.

Barham Avocados' main varieties are Reed and Haas but the range also features a good showing of Gwen, Bacon, Wurtz and my new favourite Fuerte.

I first met the Myers at the recent Delicious Produce Awards where they took out a medal for the second year in a row. Truthfully though, Katrina and Tim were just as excited about their own win as they were when it was announced that their local Koondrook-Barham farmers market was also recognised with a medal.

This is probably because these guys are serious team players, they are a vital part of their local food community and big believers in supporting the region that supports them. Among their many community commitments Katrina is a founding member of local Red Gum Food Group while Tim, also trained as a vet, is on the committee of the Local Health Medical Trust.

Avocado, pink grapefruit and tamari almond salad

This isn't really a recipe, rather a quick assembly job. Either way, it's just beautiful, the perfect balance of acidic citrus, creamy and delicate avocados and salty, crunchy almonds. You could add some crumbled fresh feta or goat's cheese but we didn't have any at home and it seemed pretty perfect just like this. Serves 2.

2 fuerte avocados, peeled and thinly sliced
1 pink grapefruit, peeled and segmented
1 small bunch of watercress
1/2 cup tamari almonds, roughly chopped

for the dressing - 3 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp dijon mustard, 1 tsp apple cider vinegar and seasoning to taste.

Combine salad ingredients on a platter, shake the dressing ingredients together and gently toss to combine. Done. Yum.

Barham Avocados are available online via Farmhouse Direct and/or during the season at the Koondrook-Barham Farmers Market. A full list of stockists can be found on the Barham Avocados website.

All images on this post (except the salad and two avocado pictures directly above) were taken by the very VERY clever Kate of HelloKateBerry (who, by the way recently launched a gorgeous new blog - Lunchlady)