Ham and Avocado Sandwich!

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OK, the next time I make myself some of these, I will take a picture and post it here.  For the moment you're going to have to use your imagination.  But I will help just a little.

By the way, this is not a fancy sandwich using French Bread and stuff like that, but you can make your own obvious variations; I'll make a few suggestions at the end.  This is the simplest, simplest --did I mention simplest?  Well, it is-- sandwich you could ever make.  Because we substitute avocado for cheese, I believe that it has fewer calories, and those few are healthy ones, than if you used cheese.  I strongly advise against using both cheese and avocado.  Here we go:

1 avocado, moderately ripe.  (Between $1 and $3, depending on where you live.)

3 slices of what we call carved ham over here;

they're irregular shaped slices of baked ham, with most of the fat carved out.

A teaspoonful (or less) of Dijon mustard.

Shake the bottle well before you take the mustard out.  We want it pasty, not runny.

2 slices of Oat bread.

Wegman's makes a vicious good oat bread; they might call it oatmeal bread in your part of the world.

A dash of cayenne, or white pepper.

Don't overdo the seasoning, or you'll cover up the taste of the ham and the avocado.

1.  Take out the pit of the avocado.  (Make a meridial cut all the way round the avocado, just deep enough so the knife just touches the pit.  Twist the two halves of the avocado in opposite directions and pull apart.  Remove the pit and discard.  You might have to use a spoon to pry it out, in which case the avocado isn't quite ripe enough; still, the sandwich will work, actually quite well.)

2.  Lay both halves of the avocado cut side down, and slice through them, skin and all, making thin slices; about a quarter of an inch thick, or maybe a bit thicker.  (Use a serrated knife, e.g. a bread knife.  Wash it afterwards; nobody will be any the wiser that you abused the bread knife.  Peel off the skin; any overripe discolored bits of avocado will stay with the skin, usually.  Keep just the good parts.)

3.  Toast the bread.  (This helps keep the sandwich from getting too soggy.)  Just until slightly scorched; don't burn it.

4.  Spread the mustard on one piece of toast, and lay the three slices of ham on it, and season very lightly.  Arrange the avocado slices to cover the other slice of toast; there should only be about a third of the avocado left.

5.  Put the sandwich together, slice diagonally, and eat.  This one is not for sharing; it's too delicious :)

Variations:

The obvious one is a slice of bacon, fried until just crisp, and cut in half.  This would make the sandwich unhealthy, and completely submerge the delicate tastes of avocado and ham.  Not recommended.

Watercress, to provide a little crunch.

A thin slice of tomato, not too juicy.  Too much juice will make the thing fall apart, and you'll be sorry.

If you absolutely must, a ring or two of hot peppers, with the oil or vinegar carefully drained off.

Enjoy!