Guacamole

I remember the first time I ate an avocado. It was at my aunt and uncle's house in Rigby, Idaho. I was about 13 or 14. My aunt split it in half and gave me a spoon to scoop it right out of the shell. It was over-ripe and disgusting. I don't remember when I tried again, I know it was as an adult, but avocados are now one of my favorite foods. Mildly nutty, creamy... I'm drooling as a I type. My husband and I love guacamole. During the summer we make it a couple times a week to snack on while watching a Rockies game.
When it comes to guacamole, I am a bit of a minimalist. Too many people ruin the beautiful taste of the avocado by putting too much crap in it; sour cream or cream cheese, jalapeno, tomato, then they puree it to death. It should still be a little chunky. Sometimes I will put a little finely diced onion or tomato it, or maybe a little cilantro, but not very often. Here's my recipe:

Guacamole

• 3-4 ripe avocados
• 1-2 tsp lime juice
• 2-3 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste

Slice avocados in half and scoop flesh out into a medium bowl, discarding the pit. Lightly mash avocados with a potato masher. Add remaining ingredients and stir gently to combine. If desired, cover with plastic, pushing plastic all the way down to rest right on the guacamole and squishing out any air, and leave at room temperature for an hour or two to allow the flavors to blend.

The variances in the seasoning ingredients is because avocados are different sizes and will depend on how many you use. Start with the smaller amounts first, and then add more if needed. If you're just going to be using it as a dip for chips, you may want to decrease the amount of salt since the chips will lend their saltiness to the guacamole. The lime juice not only adds flavor, but helps protect against browning. A trick I discovered one night after adding too much lime juice, (I don't often measure) add more cumin. It covers up the overpowering lime flavor, but doesn't add an overpowering cumin flavor. Browning doesn't affect the flavor, but it looks a little like... never mind. It's just gross. If you have leftovers, (we rarely do) rather than store in an air tight container, cover with plastic, pushing the plastic all the way down on top of the guacamole so that there is no air left.