Guacamole

Summer wouldn't be complete without making guacamole.  I'm not talking about a green paste you squeeze out of a bag, or scoop out of a tub, or mix with a powder.  This is the real thing.  Fresh ingredients, lovinginly (or at least carefully) hand-chopped that make something so delicious you will never be able to truly enjoy something from a bag or tub again.  I warn you: if you don't want to stop eating guacamole from a powder mix, then don't try this recipe.

My grandfather has been making this recipe for as long as I can remember.  He likes things spicy, so he adds about 5 or 6 extra jalapenos (okay, maybe not that many) when us wimpy kids aren't around. My dad has also become a master guacamole maker, so I ask him for tips as I am learning to perfect the recipe.  It's a bit of a taste-it-and-add-a-little-more-of-this-or-that-to-suit-your-tastes type of recipe, so feel free to tweek it - especially when it comes to how spicy you like it!

If you would like to do the prep work a day ahead of time, all the ingredients can be chopped and mixed together and covered the day before you plan to serve the guacamole except the avocado and tomatoes.  The day of, just dice up the avocado and tomatoes and add them to the vegetable mix and you're ready to go! 



Guacamole
4-5 ripe avocados
2 seeded and finely diced plum tomatoes
3 green onions, finely sliced
2 large cloves garlic, minced
2 anaheim peppers, seeded and veined, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and veined, minced
1/2 serrano pepper, seeded and veined, minced
3/4 bunch cilantro, chopped
juice of 2-3 limes
salt to taste, about 1/2 - 1 tsp.

1.  Dice and seed the tomatoes. It's important to seed the tomatoes or the guacamole will be runny. Put in a medium size bowl.

2.  Finely slice the the green onions and mince the garlic. Add all to the bowl.

3.  Vein, seed and finely dice all peppers, making sure to finely dice the serrano (a little bit spicier than a jalapeno) and the jalapeno - they are spicy and you don't want someone to get too big of a piece in their guacamole!  The anaheim peppers are not spicy, just flavorful! Add all peppers to the bowl.

4.  Before chopping cilantro, use the blade of the knife to roughly slice the leaves off the stems as much as possible.  Take off about 3/4 of the leaves off the bunch, and then finely chop the leaves. Add to the bowl.

5.  Dice the avocados and add to the bowl.  It's important to do this at the end so they maintain their bright green color. Avocados can brown easily once sliced; the lime juice, added next, will help them stay bright green.

6.  Juice 3 limes.  Pour 2/3 of the juice into the bowl.  Add a dash or two of salt and mix all ingredients together.  Taste the guacamole and add more lime juice and salt if necessary until it reaches the desired taste (careful not to add so much lime juice as to make the guacamole too runny!). You may find that you'd also like to add more spice - feel free to dice up some more serrano or jalapeno to do this!

I like to enjoy guacamole with chips - but it is also tasty with burgers, pita chips, or just about anything, really.  It also pairs most deliciously with a margarita, another summer essential.

Makes about 4 cups of guacamole.  Enjoy!