Guacamole my way.

I get asked to make guacamole a lot.

Not exactly sure why it always falls on me to make the guacamole, but I'm always happy to oblige. To be honest, I don't like other people's guacamole nearly as much as my own anyway, so it's pretty win-win... especially when i can get someone else to pay for the ingredients.

Having recently made and photographed a few batches, and having no glamorous entree or ridiculous salad to write about, I have decided to finally share my recipe.  You'll notice I like to have about a one-to-one ratio of avocado and other ingredients. If you live in the Midwest or a similar area where avocados are prohibitively priced, you can substitute cooked, mashed, whipped, and cooled peas for a few of the avocados... but I would recommend that instead of doing that, you just stop being a cheapskate and buy the extra avocados.  My own solution to this issue was simply to move to California. Over time, my increase in cost-of-living will balance out with my not having to spend 3 dollars for every avocado I buy.

Anyway, on with it!

ingredients
6 medium-to-large avocados
1 medium red or yellow onion
3 limes
1 jalapeño pepper*
1 medium-large tomato
3 cloves of garlic*
large handful of cilantro
salt & pepper
cumin


*Nelson family unit conversions:
1 jalapeño = 2-3 jalapeños
3 cloves garlic = 5 cloves garlic


instructions
There is one critically important part of the guacamole-making process (in my opinion): Combine the lime juice and avocado FIRST!  This will prevent the avocados from turning brown, which will also prevent the guacamole from turning brown. Brown guacamole, while still just as tasty as its green counterpart, is a failure in my book. Fortunately it is incredibly easy to prevent by simply starting with these three steps:

1) Squeeze your limes into a medium-large mixing bowl. Don't leave the peel in the bowl, I just left it in for the picture so it didn't look like some random pale yellowish liquid.

2) Cut up the avocado. I like to take a butter knife and pre-dice each half of the avocados and then just scoop them out into a bowl.

3) Mash the avocado and lime together until you get a good blend between smooth and chunky. I like to just wail on it with a fork for a while...  Follow these three steps first and your guacamole will stay green until the last bite.

4) Dice up the onion and tomato and mix into the bowl.

5) Mince the garlic, jalapeño, and cilantro and mix in.

6) Add cumin, salt, and pepper to taste, mix and serve.







Repeat this process at least once every few weeks for maximum satisfaction.

Avocado