My cousin Kelsey (she’s actually my cousin-in-law, but you get the idea) grew up with avocado trees in Carpinteria, Ca where avocados are a natural part of the culture. I’m not exaggerating, the town holds an annual Avocado Festival and this year marks AvoFest’s 30th year. The festival lasts 3 days and is one of the largest free festivals in California, boosting fabulous food, live music, and, yes, lots of avocados. The local brewery even makes an avocado beer. So let’s just say she’s my local expert in all things avocados and guacamole.
Kelsey also happens to be fabulous in the kitchen, so that is also why I asked if she would share her guacamole recipe with me. And even though she usually eyeballs it, she wrote out a recipe just for us. Yippee! And I gave it my best shot in the kitchen and I must say, it’s pretty darn good.
The two main tips I think this recipe reveals: 1) use red onion instead of white, I think there is just something so wonderful about red onion 2) gut your tomatoes, seems so simple but I think it’s probably something most people don’t do! You’ll see what I mean below.
Ingredients
- 6 ripe avocados
- 2 tbsp. fresh lime juice
- 3 medium tomatoes, gutted and chopped (Gutted means to remove the seeds and slimy liquid on the inside. You essentially just chop the outer layer so your guacamole doesn’t get runny.)
- 1/2 red onion, chopped
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
- 1/2 tsp. chili powder
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
Directions
- Half the avocados and remove the pits. Scoop out the avocado meat into a large bowl. Use a fork to smash the avocados.
- Pour in the lime juice and add all the seasonings. Stir until creamy.
- Add the tomatoes and onions. Stir everything together.
- Taste your guacamole and add more seasoning to your liking, if needed.
- Transfer your guacamole to your favorite serving bowl and keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
And of course you need drinks! Pacifico is a fab Mexican cerveza and a fun alternative to the standard margarita is a Tequila Sunrise. I posted a recipe here.
The party quickly moved to the coffee table!
A big thank you to Kelsey! I just adore being her cousin and friend. This is Kelsey and me back in 2012 for Memorial Day Weekend. I believe this was Kelsey’s welcome into our family. We were immediately best of friends. Love this girl to pieces. So happy she picked my cousin Aaron to marry (wink)!
