who doesn't love guacamole?

i absolutely love guacamole. it's one of those things that we almost always have in the house, whether i've made it fresh or we've had to settle for store-bought. obviously, fresh is better, and it's definitely not a complicated thing to make. this is a recipe you should be able to make in about 10 minutes.

many grocery stores sell guacamole packs - pre-selected ingredients all ready to go. these are great to use, but be careful to check each ingredient in the pack to ensure its freshness. an avocado is ripe if it feels about as firm as the tip of your nose. you can also pull off the stem and check the underside of it - you want it to look green and ripe, not brown.

you will need:

2 ripe avocados

2 tomatoes

1-2 small onions

1 jalapeno pepper

2 small cloves of garlic

1 fresh lime

1 tsp chili pepper flakes

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1 tsp fresh parsley, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

cut each avocado in half, remove pit and peel and place fruit into bowl. mash with a fork until you get it to the desired creaminess - this is really up to you. i like it somewhere between perfectly creamy and fairly chunky, but everyone is different and it all tastes good.

you can chop the rest of the ingredients by hand, but i prefer to use a food processor for a smoother texture. roughly chop the tomatoes, jalapeno pepper, onions, and garlic and place everything into the food processor.

chop until smooth (again, or desired consistency) and add to avocados.

cut the lime in half and squeeze all the juice into the bowl, along with the chili flakes, cilantro, parsley, salt and pepper. stir well and serve with your favorite chips - i prefer blue corn tortilla chips myself.