Guacamole - and other things I don't tell my pediatrician that I let my 9 month old eat

My first child was always opinionated about food.  Even with relatively healthy choices, he let me know what he liked.

Sweet potatoes - YUCK

Watermelon - YUM

This face clearly says STAY AWAY from my watermelon!!!

Currently, he is on a semi-hunger strike and only gets excited about eating bread dough and Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia ice cream (he gets that from me).  I try not to worry - according to my mother, my sister Clair ate nothing other than apples and cheese for approximately 4 months, and she survived :)

The face my son made when I convinced him to try some guacamole

The baby, on the other hand, will eat almost anything... as long as it's not baby food.

Yummmm..... Leaves!

Which brings me to the guacamole...

He doesn't like plain mashed avocado - too close to babyfood, I guess.  But throw in lime juice and tabasco, and the baby loves it:

He grabbed the spoon when I put it down to take a picture

The other reason I'm making guacamole is to finally use these tomatoes that still linger on my counter from the garden.  Yes, it's January.  And I have tomatoes from my garden.  I also went running yesterday in a sleeveless shirt and shorts - and tomorrow it's supposed to snow.  I live in Louisiana.

Not the prettiest tomatoes I've ever grown, but it's January.  I'm not complaining.

To make delicious guacamole (even in January), you will need

3 large ripe Haas avocados

1 1/2 Tbs fresh squeezed lime juice (approx. 1/2 large lime)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 jalapeno, seeded and diced

1 small ripe tomato (or 1/2 large), seeded and diced

5 dashes Tabasco

1/2 tsp coarse kosher salt

1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

Peel and pit the avocados. 

I saw Tyler Florence on the Food Network say that the easiest way to get the pit out of the avocado is to chop the pit with your knife, then twist... He was right - it came right out, leaving me with a pit on the end of my knife.  A slippery, round one that I COULD NOT get off without seriously jeopardizing the tips of my fingers.  Finally I beat the thing against the cutting board until it split in half and rolled on the floor, where William immediately tried to eat it.  Again, it's not baby food and therefore must be delicious.  Dixon thought my whole avocado experience was done exclusively for his entertainment.  There must be a better way.

Chop into very large cubes and place into a mixing bowl.  Squeeze the lime juice over the avocados as you place them in the bowl, so they will not turn brown.  Add all other ingredients and stir until just combined – avocado should still be chunky.  Serve chilled or at room temperature with tortilla chips.  Also great on fajitas and hamburgers.

I really like chunky guacamole, so I chop the avocados into 2 inch cubes.  Mash with a fork if you like it creamy, or add 1 Tbs sour cream. 

I love serving in this pretty blue bowl - my husband used to make these, back when he had spare time :)