Exhibit Guacamole

So, the final art exhibit was on Friday (although it is on display for the next two weeks), and the theme that I explored was "Our Changing Relationship with Food".  No big surprise there, right?  Anyway, one of the assignments was to make an artist book, which is a work of art in the form of a book.  They are usually one of a kind works.  For my artist book, I made an avocado from clay and documented the history of the cultivation of avocados through altered maps.  So, of course it was only natural that I was automatically nominated to bring the guacamole to the party!  Luckily it turned out to be a hit since I was also named the "resident foodie" of the group.  The second avocado in the picture above is my version of a seedless avocado of the future.  One of the ideas I explored was real food versus fake food.  You will notice the difference between the real guacamole and the fake guacamole chips in picture below.  All in all, the course was a great experience, and I met a lot of great people, but I am definitely glad to have another class completed and under my belt - only one more to go!

I'm not sure how many this serves since it was all gone before I even got any, but I'd say it made about 4 cups.

Ingredients:

5 - 6 ripe avocados, finely chopped
1 tomato, seeds removed and diced
3 Tbsp red onion, finely diced, soaked in cold water for 10 minutes, and drained
2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1/4 - 1/2 jalapeño, finely diced
juice of one lime
1/3 tsp sea salt

Directions:

1. Basically, just mix everything together in a bowl and adjust the salt and lime to taste.  I stir it around and mash it a bit with a spoon so that it is a bit mashed but still chunky.  I like to keep it chunky so that it does not look like the slop from the store.  It's best to do the mashing before adding the tomatoes...

2. In order to remove the seeds from the tomato, cut it into six to eight sections (depending on how big it is) and stick your thumb in the seed part (over the sink) to push them out.

3. I soak the onions in cold water to lessen the bite, but that is a personal preference of mine.

4. Be careful not to over-salt the guacamole because the tortillas that you will most likely be eating it with are also salted.  Therefore, taste the guacamole on a tortilla, not by itself.  Enjoy!!!

Shopping Tips:

1. Ripe avocados are hard to find in the store, and if they are ripe, they are usually bruised from being poked too much.  Buy your avocados two to three days before you need them, allow them to ripen on the counter, and then put them in the fridge when they are ready.  Putting them in the fridge will hold them at that stage of ripeness for several days.  For that reason, I always have a couple ready to go.

2. There are many strategies and myths for keeping guacamole from going brown.  Because it has just oxidized, it is still safe to eat when it is brown, but it is not very appetizing.  The acid in the lime does a pretty good job of keeping it green for a few hours.  I have also heard from several people that placing the avocado stone in the guacamole will keep it from going brown as well.  I'm not sure if that is a myth or not, but those who do it swear it works!