PONY'TUDE Gets Cooking - Guacamole

IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN, FOLKS!

I know y'all have missed my occasional food posts, so now that we are in the heat of summer, it's time to make some guac to go with those frosty margaritas you're sipping post-horse show.

True Confessions: I could probably live off of guacamole for the rest of my life. I love guac. There is just nothing like it, and fresh guacamole is so simple to make. And it's good for you! It's just smashed up veggies! Avocados are also supposed to be really good for your ovaries, or something. Guacamole is the perfect snack, party food, light lunch, or compliment to Mexican main dishes. GUAC ROCKS.

So let's treat our ovaries right and make some guac!

Alli's Stupid-Easy Guacamole 

This recipe serves 2-4 for snacks, or just me for lunch. It doubles, triples, and quadruples easily for parties!

2 Ripe Avocados
1/4 of a Large Onion, finely diced
1 Small Tomato, diced
Fresh (or dried) Cilantro
1 Lime
Salt

The lineup.

First, let's make sure we know what a ripe avocado looks like, because hard avocados are disgusting and crunchy, and if you let them get TOO ripe, they start rotting from the inside out.

Gross.

Ripe Haas Avocados are very dark in color - almost black. They should feel quite soft, and easily dent when you squeeze them gently. To avoid an over-ripe avocado, flick off the nubby stem on the top. If it's green underneath, you're good to go! If it's brown, the avocado is too far gone and will probably be brown and slimy inside. Eww. The skin should feel pliable and not brittle or like the flesh of the avocado is starting to pull away. The more you work with these weird little fruits, the better feel for ripeness you'll have.

On to the guac!

perfection.

Slice those bad boys in half! Work your way around the large inner pit with your (sharp!) knife, then twist the halves apart. Drop your knife into the pit, twist, and the pit pops right out! Peel the skin off with your fingers or scoop the flesh out with a spoon and into a bowl.

Grab a potato masher or large fork and mash those suckers up. The chunkiness or smoothness of the guac is up to you. Personally, I like mine a little chunky.

THE SMASHULATOR

Finely dice the onion and tomato, and add to the smashed avocado. Again, size of veggie chunks is up to you. Add a pinch of salt and the juice of one lime, as well as a small handful of chopped cilantro. If you're one of those people to whom cilantro tastes like soap, you can leave it out. If you don't have fresh, dry cilantro also works in a pinch, but fresh is best.

Mix up the ingredients with a fork, and you're done! Serve with tortilla chips or alongside tacos, burritos, enchiladas, and the like. Or eat it with a spoon. I won't judge.