Food on Fridays: Simple Guacamole

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Food on Fridays with Ann

One time I whipped up a bowl of guacamole, and a teen who was visiting said his mom gets a big tub of it from Aldi’s. “It’s way cheaper than buying avocados and making it yourself,” he observed as I squeezed the lime juice. “And easier, too,” he added.”Ah,” I said, “but does it taste better than fresh?”He nodded. “I think so.”Suddenly my humble bowl of guacamole made from scratch seemed a little lame, but I continued to mix in the spices and served it to the kids. I noted that they ate it all. Quickly.I make a very simple version:Cut a soft avocado in half, remove the pit, and with a spoon, scoop its flesh into a bowl. Repeat with as many avocados as you have and mash in a bowl with a fork.Using a garlic press, mince one or just half a clove of garlic (depending on the strength you prefer and the number of avocados you have) and mix into the avocado. Use a small amount and add more later if needed.Shake in some cumin and chili powder. Sometimes I add turmeric, but don’t worry if you don’t have any. Cumin is more important. Add some salt.Squeeze in the juice of half a lime if you only have one avocado. Squeeze a whole lime (or more) if you used two or three or four avocados. Add a little juice at a time and decide how much lime flavor you like to taste.Chop up fresh cilantro and mix in.That’s about it for the basic guacamole.The kids prefer it simple like that, but sometimes I’ll spoon some of it into a smaller bowl and add diced tomatoes into that portion for variety.Most people dice onions to mix into guacamole, but I can’t digest onions, so I just leave them out.Aldi’s is about a half-hour drive from my house, so I wouldn’t drive that far every time I have a hankering for guacamole. But another reason to continue making guacamole fresh, at home, instead of buying a tub at Aldi’s: I can control the ingredients, avoiding the onions and adjusting spices to my taste.I actually had to stop everyone from eating, scrape together what was left and artistically arrange it in this small wooden bowl to give you a visual. It was completely gone just seconds after I snapped my last photo.

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Photos by Ann Kroeker. “Pin” these images in a way that links back to this particular page, giving proper credit.

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