Guacamole

It was for my friends' housewarming, I first tried making my own Guacamole dip. The theme of the dinner was healthy vegetarian food. It was a big challenge for me because I didn't really have much experience on preparing good vegetarian food. Because it was a housewarming and not a big dinner, the food must be simple and yet appetizing for the guests (who mostly are not Vegetarians) to enjoy and eat comfortably while mingling with each other. So I proposed a fresh vegetables/ fruits salad with Guacamole dip as the finger foods. My friends agreed to that and the feedback from the guests was good.  

Guacamole is a dip made from avocados and is originally from Mexico. The name is derived from two Aztec Nahuatl words - ahuacatl (avocado) and molli (sauce). The trick to perfect guacamole is using good, ripe avocados. Check for ripeness by gently pressing the outside of the avocado. If there is no give, the avocado is not ripe yet and will not taste good. If there is a little give, the avocado is ripe. If there is a lot of give, the avocado may be past ripe and not good. In this case, taste test first before using.

Ingredients 

• 3 ripe avocados (2.1/2 for mash and 1/2 for dice)
• 1-2 red chili, stems and seeds removed, minced
• 2 tbps cilantro leaves, finely chopped
• 1 tbps fresh lime or lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp salt
• A dash of freshly grated black pepper
• 1/2 ripe tomato, seeds and pulp removed, chopped (optional)

Serve as a dip for vegetables salad or with tortilla chips.

Method
1 Cut avocados in half. Remove seed. Scoop out avacado from the peel, put in a mixing bowl. 
2 Using a fork, mash the avocado. Add the chopped onion, cilantro, lime or lemon, salt and pepper and mash some more. Chili peppers vary individually in their hotness. So, start with a half of one chili pepper and add to the guacamole to your desired degree of hotness. Be careful handling the peppers; wash your hands thoroughly after handling and do not touch your eyes or the area near your eyes with your hands for several hours.
Keep the tomatoes separate until ready to serve. 
3 Add the diced-avocado to give the bites-feeling. 
4 Cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface of the guacamole to prevent oxidation from the air reaching it. Refrigerate until ready.
5 Just before serving, add the chopped tomato to the guacamole and mix.

Serves 4-6.

Variations

 For a very quick guacamole just take a 1/4 cup of salsa and mix it in with your mashed avocados.
Start with this recipe and adjust to your taste by varying the fresh ingredients.