Holy Guacamole!

Tacos were one of the meals that my mom often served when I was growing up. She even served guacamole, which was always a favorite with my little bro. All things considered, it was very exotic of my beloved mom to try guacamole on her picky kids! Especially circa 1988! She made the guacamole using packaged mix that she'd add to mashed avocados. I was never really wild about the guac. Now I know why.

May I introduce you to one of my very best friends? Guacamole, meet my friends. Friends, guacamole. If you haven't ever made guacamole from scratch, it's ridiculously easy (almost as easy as making it like my beloved mom did) and so good that you'll want to eat it for breakfast!

Here are the players on Team Guac.

Avocados, Roma tomatoes, onion, lovely cilantro, garlic, kosher salt, lime, a teensy bit of cayenne, and (oops, forgot to place it in the picture) garlic.

First off, you'll need to mash your avocados. To do so, slice them in half down the middle and chop at the pit with your knife (carefully!) to "grab" it out of the avocado half. Discard.

Use a normal spoon to scoop out the avocado. Instead of mashing by hand, I use a potato masher. It helps if you place the avocados in a bowl or dish with a flat surface, like this Pyrex one I used.

Mash away, but not too much. Guacamole tastes better with a bit of texture, but leave it as smooth or chunky as you desire. Juice half the lime, reserving the juice. Add 2 teaspoons of the juice to the avocado, along with 3/4 teaspoon of kosher salt. Mix in thoroughly. You may add more salt and/or lime juice later if needed. We don't want the guacamole to get soupy.

Next, you'll need to get chopping. I started with cilantro. Grab a nice big handful---I use about 4-5 tablespoons total. And I use a mezzaluna to chop herbs. Makes life much easier.

Get to work chopping the onion in a fairly fine dice, and then the tomatoes, making sure to get all the seeds/membrane or it will make your final product too wet.

Add the cilantro, onion and tomatoes to the game.

Then toss in 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic. Don't tell anyone; I almost always use this minced garlic in a bottle because I'm lazy and can't be bothered with a garlic press.

Team Guacamole is in the final inning. At this point, I add a couple gentle shakes of cayenne pepper. I don't like things hot, so a couple shakes (less than a pinch, really) just adds depth of flavor. If you fall into the "Some Like it Hot" category, add more. Or chop up your favorite hot pepper and add it to the mix. Then taste your creation. Add more lime juice or salt if needed.

And there you have it!

I promise that, if you make this guacamole, you won't regret it!

Holy Guacamole
by Mostly Mom
3-4 ripe avocados
3/4 - 1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 lime, juice reserved
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 medium onion, about 1/2 cup finely diced
4-5 TB Cilantro, chopped roughly
1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
Cayenne Pepper, to taste (I use less than a pinch!)

Pit and mash 3 avocados with a potato masher into a course mash. Add 3/4 tsp. salt and 1-2 tsp. of the lime juice. Mix gently. Chop the cilantro, then dice the tomatoes and onion. Add to the avocado mixture, along with the 1 1/2 tsp. minced garlic. If desired, add cayenne pepper. Taste. Add more salt and/or lime juice as needed. Serve quickly. If not serving immediately, cover tightly with plastic wrap stuck directly to the surface of the guacamole. Best if used within a few hours, if it lasts that long!