Guacamole & Totopos!

My earliest memories of enjoying guacamole & totopos is as a very young child. I wanted guacamole over baby food, lol! Really the only real memories I have of food as a baby are fideo, scrambled eggs, rice with beans and guacamole, of course. Then I learned to enjoy menudo and barbarcoa, lengua, ha, ha, ha! I could only eat menudo if it had plenty of maiz(hominy), a lot of lime and a bolillo to dip into the broth.

Avocados Were And Still Are A Staple In My Kitchen!

I cannot specifically say why I enjoy avocados so much, but I crave them all of the time. On a tostada, warm tortilla, toasted bolillo, in soup, on a chip or on a spoon! With a little sprinkle of salt, of course. They also make the creamiest salsa for taquitos and homemade chips. Addicting! Several years back I tried my first breaded and fried avocado wedges. Oh, man! The problem with preparing guacamole is that I want to eat it all. Just one more chip. After 10 more chips, I have to force myself to stop!

Of Course It’s Easier To Chop All The Ingredients!

Yes, it is easier to just chop all of the ingredients instead of using a molcajete. Most days that is what I will do, but the flavors are just more pronounced when you grind garlic, chiles and cilantro and all those wonderful oils and juices come out and get mixed with the avocados. I will confess that I did not grow up with garlic in guacamole, but I enjoy it.

Keep It Fresh And Simple!

A few weeks back someone on social media was trying to convince me to add cumin to my fresh pico de gallo and guacamole. I am not saying it would be horrible. But since I grew up with just the fresh ingredients and a touch of lime, the thought of strong cumin in there didn’t sound good to me. Believe me, I get enough feedback when it comes to adding cumin to certain dishes. Mom used it sparingly, but it was always there in the cupboard. Now, if I am preparing a sauce, then that’s a different story all together.

Fiesta Friday’s For One Whole Year!

A couple of years back, I found myself cooking a Friday Mexican lunch at the local kitchen store. Now when I think back on it, I don’t know how I managed to do it. The kitchen was so small and it would get so hot! I would go in on Thursdays and begin the prep. First job was to fry all of those tortillas for chips. A lot of them! The nachos, taco salad and queso blanco dip were popular and in high demand. I know a thing or two about frying chips after that, lol!!

How Do I Pick Good Avocados?

There is nothing worse than slicing that perfect looking avocado open only to see that it’s al bruised inside. Worse thing is that it probably wasn’t cheap either. The last few years, I have have had really good luck with the mini haas avocados that come in a netted bag. As soon as they feel slightly soft, I refrigerate them. So far, every one I have sliced has been good! They last a long time in the refrigerator too. I don’t have as good luck with the larger haas avocados. I preserve my cut avocado by placing it in a plastic storage bag with a cut onion. It’s still going to darken slightly, but not as bad as with no onion.

In My Experience, The People Who State That They Hate Guacamole Is Because…

When I was teaching cooking classes years ago, many of the students would shy away from eating the guacamole. When I would convince them to try the fresh prepared guacamole and totopos, you could see a slow, but big smile begin to appear on their faces. The thing was that their only experience with eating was from the local Mexican restaurants. Unfortunately, the area was small town upstate and the Mexican restaurants often served food service or previously frozen guacamole. Not good, compared to freshly prepared.