Holy Guacamole!

Fresh Guacamole. I love it. Is there anything better? (that doesn’t include chocolate?)

Is there anything worse than craving guacamole (like today) and finding that all of the avocados at the store are hard as rocks?

The trick, apparently, is to plan ahead for cravings such as this. Buy those grenade-like avocados and put them in a brown paper bag on the counter (or in my case, near the bananas) and in a day or two they will be just slightly soft to the touch and ready for this awesome guacamole.

There are many great ways to make guacamole and I almost didn’t post this recipe but Jim said that he’d never made homemade guacamole before he met me. So here it is…

Gus, the black cat in many of the ingredient photos, apparently thinks that where there is guac there is likely to be chicken fajitas.

Here’s what you need:

Ripe Avocados, Tomato, Onion, Garlic, Jalapeno Pepper, Lime, Cilantro, Cumin, Salt & Pepper.

Click here for a Guacamole Shopping List

Peel, remove the pits, and slightly mash 4 nice ripe avocados. My favorite mashing tool is the potato masher because with just 2 -3 mashes I still have some pretty good sized chunks of avocado.

Helpful Hint:  I just recently learned that you can put ripe avocados in the refrigerator and it will slow the ripening WAY down buying you a couple of extra days if your avocados are ready and you’re not.

Precise measurements are just not part of guacamole to me. Feel free to adjust the amounts (or make substitutions) to your own preferences.

Chop 1 medium tomato into very small dice and toss it in the bowl. Add about 1/4 cup of finely minced onion and 1 clove of garlic that has been squeezed through a garlic press or very finely chopped.

Making guacamole is one of the few occasions where I take the garlic press out of the drawer. Usually I just do the chopping with my knife but for guacamole I don’t want to bite into a piece of garlic. Also when you use the garlic press you get a bit more of the good garlic juice to flavor your dish.

For a little heat, I’m adding 1/2 of a seeded jalapeno pepper that has been minced or finely chopped. If you like things spicy, feel free to add the whole jalapeno. If you like things really spicy, add the seeds too.

Cilantro. I love it so I add a good 1/2 cup or so. If you hate it, skip it or use parsley.

Squeeze in 1 or 2 nice juicy limes. I usually start with 1 lime and almost always end up adding a second one after I’ve seasoned and tasted the guacamole.

Season with salt, lots of freshly ground pepper, and about 1/2 teaspoon of cumin.

Stir it all together, taste and adjust the seasonings, then dig in!

Eat it right away so it doesn’t turn dark. If you have to store it, I’ve found that the best method is to put a piece of plastic wrap right down on top of the guacamole (not over the rim of the bowl) to keep the air out. Some people save the pits and put them in as a way to keep it from browning but I’ve never noticed that method actually making that much of a difference.

This should really be enough guacamole for about 4 people but it never goes that far in our house. On many occasions, we’ve managed to snarf down the entire bowl for a guacamole lunch.

Just say NO to that weird green canned guacamole in the store and make your own.

Here’s the recipe:

Guacamole