In honor of the impending springtime and slow reentry of a wider variety of fresh produce into the supermarkets, I thought I'd make something fresh and green... And easy... Guacamole.

Now listen... I know you're out there. I know there are some of you out there who are afraid of using fresh avocados. Something about their bumpy, dark skin makes you shudder just a little bit, and you'd just as soon rather not go there. And then if you did, how would you deal with getting at all the green goodness inside anyway?

I'm here to show you how.

And it's easy. It's so easy.

They're much more cooperative than they look, unlike, say, mangos, who are much more ornery and always seem to irk me when I try to deal with them in their fresh, unaltered state. I avoid fresh mangos like I avoid a colonoscopy... Even though I know they're good for me, I'd rather not endure the whole situation.

But avocados, despite their somewhat menacing appearance, are about as easy a vegetable to work with as you can get.

Did I just call avocados menacing? I've got to get out more.

To get started, all you need is a spoon, a paring knife and of course, an avocado...

 

Use your paring knife to cut the avocado in half (working around the pit inside) from top to bottom...

Use your spoon to scoop out the pit. What you do next depends on what you want to use it for. If I want cubes or slices of avocado (like for a salad or to garnish a burrito), I slice it with my paring knife while it's still in it's peel before I scoop it out, but if I'm just using it for guacamole, I simply scoop it out as is...

Obviously, I'm making guacamole, so I did the latter option.

I have to be honest about something: I'm a bit of a guacamole snob. I don't like the stuff that you get pre-made in the store. It just doesn't do it for me. Guacamole is one of those things I like to eat fresh, and I like to use all fresh ingredients to make it.

Let's get started!

(Oh, you thought I got started way at the top of this page? Sorry, no... That was just the preamble. Or 'pre-ramble', in my case.)

Guacamole 4x6 Recipe Card - Coming Soon!

Ingredient List

• 4 Fresh Avocados, scooped out of their skin
• 1/2 Cup Fresh Diced Tomatoes
• 1 Clove Garlic
• 1/4 tsp. Salt
• 2 tsp. Fresh Lime Juice

To your freshly scooped avocado, first add the tomatoes...

Then add the garlic, salt and fresh lime juice...

Use a fork to mash the avocado and stir all ingredients together. Serve on your favorite burger, on your favorite enchiladas, the old-fashioned way with tortilla chips, or wherever else your imagination takes you!