Favorite Recipe Friday: Guacamole

I grew up thinking I hated guacamole. I didn't like avocados, and any guacamole I'd ever had at a Mexican restaurant was sickly brown-green and tasted disgusting. This might have had something to do with the quality of the Mexican restaurants I frequented, but I digress.

So around the time I was pregnant with my first child, my mom started making homemade guacamole. I was highly skeptical, but I tried some to be polite, and I fell in love. It was amazing! The perfect balance of flavors, saltiness, everything. It was perfect. I swear it tasted green (I also swear I don't usually go around tasting colors). I knew I had to start making it for myself. I made it by hand, mashing the ingredients together with a pastry blender, but the texture was chunkier than I really liked, and it was waaaay too time-consuming for someone with a baby who wanted to be held all the time. So one day in Wal-Mart I saw a food processor on clearance for $30, and my love affair with guacamole has continued unhindered. Except when the food processor is dirty because I forgot to wash it. This happened a lot before we got a dishwasher.

Anyway, this recipe can be scaled up or down as desired; the quantities below are the small size I make for myself and my daughter to eat. It can be made by hand if you like a chunkier texture, or in a food processor if you like it smooth. You can even add tomatoes if you want. I know some people like them in guacamole, but I have a hate/hate relationship with tomatoes in their basic form, so I leave them out.

Guacamole

2 overripe avocados (You want them a little soft. Not super squishy, because then they're usually bruised)
1 T. minced garlic (I like a lot of garlic)
1 T. lime juice
1 T. dried cilantro
1 t. salt
1 slice onion
1/4 Anaheim pepper (optional; since my daughter started eating this with me, I usually leave it out)

Slice the avocados in half, cutting around the pit. Remove the pit and scoop out the flesh with a spoon. Combine avocados and all other ingredients in food processor and process until desired texture is reached

If processing by hand, mash all ingredients together in large bowl using fork, potato masher, pastry blender, or other tool  until desired texture is reached.

To keep guacamole from turning brown , pat it down smoothly in the bowl and make sure there are no air pockets (air is what makes it turn brown; stupid oxidization). Take a piece of plastic wrap and press it down gently into the surface of the guacamole, making sure there are no air pockets under the plastic.