Guacamole Goddess

What I have discovered is, for me anyway, trying to blog once a week is hard. Work, outside work commitments and life in general makes one’s schedule very busy. So, I will try and keep this up and schedule time in to write – which in itself is a learning experience for me.

We headed off in a group of 7 to my friend’s “cabin” in Packwood aka Elk Trail Lodge for a skiing weekend. The theme was Mexican and I was requested to bring guacamole. How many avocadoes does one need to make for 7 guac lovers? The answer is 15.

I have often been asked for my guacamole recipe. “Sure!” I say, but it is not that easy as I don’t use a recipe, just a list of ingredients. Avocadoes, ripened to the point they just slightly give under your thumb. (If you need to ripen your avocadoes, put them in a brown paper bag with an apple or a banana for a few days. The fruits emit a gas that helps to ripen avocadoes.) Shallots and garlic, both minced; fresh cilantro, chopped or torn; fresh lime juice; green jalapeños, seeded and minced; salt and pepper. Quantities all depend on how much guacamole you are making and then everything is to taste. Admittedly, I do have a secret sauce that I add as well – but that’s an ancient Chinese secret.

Mash everything in a bowl – potato mashers work great. Start with small quantities of everything, including the avocado – don’t put it all in there at once. The primary reason for this is because you need to taste along the way and after adding more of each ingredient; you need to mix/mash again. Personally, I like my guacamole a little lumpy so that is why I reserve some avocado to add in later.

I know you’re probably wondering about quantity so here is an example: for the 15 medium avocadoes used, I added one large shallot, 4 cloves of garlic, one large jalapeño and about a tablespoon each of cilantro, salt and pepper. This made about 8 cups of guacamole.

Did we eat it all? Yes, we ate most of it that night and polished off the rest the next morning. Yum.