Holy Guacamole!

I love certain foods I used to hate. Mayonnaise. Cilantro. Avocados. Okay. Maybe love is a strong word. Especially when it comes to cilantro. But I now use these foods often whereas I once disdained them. My mother used to tell me this would happen when I got older–especially when she was serving liver for dinner. For the most part, my mother was right.

I disliked avocados for their texture and bland taste. In fact, I still can’t eat them plain–scooped from their skins and eaten like fruit. An avocado still needs a lot of embellishment–salt, some lemon juice and even a dash of cumin. In fact, guacamole is pretty much a staple in my fridge these days. I eat it with corn chips and Mexican food, of course, but I also like it in wraps, on BLTs or even a scoop of it on my salad.

To make 3 cups of guacamole you need 4 avocados, preferably the Haas avocados from California. Make sure they are ripe; they will just give to the touch when you press them. I find most of the avocados sold in the supermarket hard as rocks, so I put them in a paper bag overnight to accelerate the ripening process.

Cut the avocados in half and remove the pits. Score each half by running a knife vertically several times down the length and then diagonally; this will give you a nice, chunky guacamole. Turn out into a large bowl. Immediately add the juice of one freshly squeezed lemon and toss.

Seed 1 medium-sized tomato and cut into small dice. Cut 1 small red onion into small pieces as well. Add these to the avocados, along with 1 minced garlic clove. Toss with about 1 tablespoon each of salt and pepper and 1/2 teaspoon of cuminpowder. You can also add a few dashes of tabasco sauce if you like.