A Taste of Home--Guacamole

I grew up in southern California, the land of sunshine, warmth, and fresh produce. I grew up with avocados, and I didn't realize until I met my husband that many people didn't. His family can't even eat them because the texture is so foreign to them. But in my family, a family gathering was not a gathering without guacamole. My recipe is a mix between my grandmother's, my mom's and my grad-school roomie's recipes. And really, it's not a precise recipe (as most of mine aren't)...adjust flavors to fit your needs. Do you like more or less spice? Add or take away some of the chiles. Do you like Tex-Mex? Add more black pepper, lime juice and smoked chiles.

In the version I made the other day, I couldn't find fresh jalepeños, but I did have some Thai chili paste on hand, so I added that for some heat. In fact, I liked it so much, I might forgo the jalepeños in the future and continue with the paste...

Mindy's Guacamole

3 medium-sized avocados
1 small tomato
1 small onion
1 small jalepeño (or other spicy chile)
Juice of one lime
Cilantro to taste
Salt and Pepper to taste

Halve the avocados, remove the pit, and scoop out the flesh into a food processor or blender. Roughly chop the tomato, onion, and jalepeño and add them to the avocado. (I usually put about half of each of these in to begin with and add more if the flavor isn't balanced later.) Squeeze a generous amount of lime juice into the mix and add a handful of cilantro. Add a little salt and pepper and blend. Taste, add ingredients as needed, and blend again.

You can blend this to a creamy consistency or if you like it chunkier, blend some of the ingredients first, withholding some finely chopped avocado, tomato and onion and adding those at the end to create a chunkier texture. I like both ways, and since I'm lazy, I just blend them all together.

Enjoy with tortilla chips, veggies, or other dippables. I personally like mine on tacos, burritos, and on a south-of-the-border burger.