Avocado...

Is better than none.

Here's my recipe for the guacamole I'll be servin' on super Sunday.

Ingredients:
2 ripe avocados
1 small onion, chopped fine
juice of 1 small lemon
1 small garlic clove
salt
chili powder
hot sauce
(optional)
sour cream

First off, do you know how to pick ripe avocados? They should be a dark green, and feel like a well-packed beanbag. If it's brown, it's probably overripe. To be sure, I use a 'perceived' squeeze test: If I think that, with a little bit of effort, I could pop the avocado open with a firm squeeze, it's ripe. If I think that it wouldn't open, it's underripe. If it feels like it's about to burst open by itself, it's overripe.

Preparation:
First: get out a medium-sized (1 quart) glass or ceramic bowl. Metal could be used, but I reccomend a non-reactive material.
Break open the small garlic clove, and rub the entire interior surface of the bowl with the juice of that clove. I mean paint it. If you're really frugal, you could chop up the clove and use it for another dish, but that's all the garlic we're gonna use for the guac, so save it or toss it, but we're done with garlic.

Using a chef's knife, slice open the avocados, and remove the stones. An easy way to get the stone out is to lightly 'chop' the knife blade into the stone, and remove it by twisting and pulling the knife. It pops right out. Use a tablespoon to scoop the avocado meat into the garlic-coated bowl, add the onion a pinch of salt, and lemon juice* and mix it up with the tablespoon, or with a potato masher if you have one. Mix it for about a minute, making sure you break up all the big pieces of avocado.

Add a sprinkle of chili powder and a few dashes of hot sauce** to taste, throw a dollop or two of sour cream on the top if you want, and it's done. Serve with tortilla chips, or as a condiment on grilled meat.

Avocado oxidizes pretty quickly, and will turn an unappealing shade of brown, so I don't reccomend making it ahead. However, if you must, a good trick is to spread the sour cream completely over the top of the guac, to a uniform thickness of about 1/8". This essentially seals out all the air, so the cool green color will be mainained for a while. Then cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and stick it in the fridge until ready to serve. Then, unwrap, and if you want. swirl the sour cream into the quacamole for a really cool swirly look.

Yeah, sometimes I do go overboard on this stuff. What's your point?

Share and enjoy.

Yeharr

*Fresh lemon juice vs. reconstitued lemon juice: Yes, in side-by-side tests, it is possible to tell the difference between freshly-squeezed lemon juice and the stuff in the plastic lemons. But are you doing a side-by-side taste test? I doubt that not more than one person in 100, when given a chipful of guacamole, can tell if you squeezed the lemon yourself or not. If you think one of those person's coming to your party, and if you think your use of fresh lemons will make him or her think better of you, and if your own sense of self-worth is so small that their opinion actually matters to you, then by all means squeeze the lemon yourself. Or, if you already bought the lemons, or have a lemon tree right outside your window, or ya just plain old want to, go ahead and use the real stuff.***

**My favorites for this recipe are (of course)Jump up and Kiss Me Smoky Chipotle, or Cholula. Depending on whether I'm feelin' smoky or not.
***If you have the lemon tree, send me your address. I'll be right over.