Guacamole

It's the quintessential Mexican food accompaniment, and a certain chain restaurant charges $1.99 per quarter cup. You know me: I want healthy food with great flavor that doesn't break the bank. Making homemade guacamole takes a little effort, but it is not expensive-- and it's a crowd-pleaser!

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Guacamole starts with a ripe avocado. I always look for one with dark skin, and you want to press it to make sure it gives a little. (Nothing thwarts guacamole efforts like a too-hard avocado.) To open the avocado, I use a trick I garnered from many hours watching Food Network. I use a nice, sharp knife and cut through the skin to the pit. I keep the knife inside the avocado and turn it so that the cut forms a circle around the fruit. I then remove the knife and twist both halves until they pull apart. Here's the tricky part: I hold the half of the avocado that contains the seed, and I carefully stick it with the knife (holding the knife as if about to cut something, blade down). When the knife is stuck in the seed, twist until the seed pulls loose. Sometimes it will come out, still stuck to the knife. Sometimes I have to use a spoon to coax it out. (If all else fails, since you're going to squish the avocado anyway, you can just use a spoon to pull it out bit by bit.

The next step is to use a spoon to scrape the flesh out of the skin. Add finely chopped onion and tomato (if you like them), a dash of salt and pepper, the juice of a lime (if you have one), and some dried or fresh cilantro. Any of these ingredients can be omitted or substituted. I have used lemon juice instead of lime, and it came out fine, just slightly different in terms of flavor. But the citrus does add a kick to the creamy, earthy avocado. And cilantro tends to be a controversial herb, so if you don't like it, leave it out. The final step, of course, is to mash the avocado and to mix everything together.

Avocado is a fabulous fruit (the seed technically makes it a berry, according to sources). It contains so-called "healthy fats" that may actually help to lower cholesterol. It also contains lots of potassium and folate. Besides that, it tastes great. If colors can have flavors, then green tastes like avocado.

Ram and I ate our guacamole with a taco pizza (chicken prepared with taco seasonings, onion, and tomato atop a small naan). It was a delicious casual dinner, perfect for our traditional Friday movie night. The 'guac' was my favorite part of the meal, and I hope you'll consider crafting your own-- with fork in hand.