Guacamole and the Frozen Avocado

Guacamole

Guacamole is always a welcome addition to the menu for my family and friends. It is so easy to make and you can tweak the flavors to suit your own taste. The hardest part of making guacamole is timing the avocados to be ripe when you need them. I have been in the position of being at the store looking for ripe avocados the day I needed  them only to find every last one of them hard as a rock. Another time I decided to get them early but the avocados at the store were all very soft and would never hold a few more days. Or there is that pit in the stomach moment when you cut open your soft, ripe avocados to discover they have gone brown inside. What a lot of people don’t know is that you can freeze avocados. You just scoop perfectly ripe avocados out of their skins, dip the halves in lemon juice and seal in a freezer bag. Squeeze all of the air out so the fruit won’t discolor. To use, just defrost, mash and make your guacamole as usual. I do this when they are on sale so I always have a few on hand. Here is my recipe for Guacamole. I sometimes add some sour cream, too.

Guacamole

3 ripe avocados, peeled and chopped
1/3 c. minced sweet onion
2-3 T. lemon juice
2-3 cloves minced garlic
1 T. olive oil or 2 T. mayo
1 T. chopped cilantro, optional
1 t. cumin
½ t. chili powder
½ t. cinnamon
dash hot sauce
salt to taste
1 large tomato seeded and diced
As you slice and dice avocado place the pieces in a bowl with the lemon juice and toss to keep from discoloring. Add remaining ingredients, except the tomato and mix well. Chill until ready to use. Stir in tomatoes when ready to serve. About 2 1/2 cups.