September is the month where we see photos of leaves turning, autumn crispness in the air and sweaters being pulled out of the closet. Well, at my house September means avocados, pineapples, and bananas all rolled into one!

Our favorite is the fresh made guacamole. Through the years I have come to learn some of the best recipes for guac! and also some neat tricks to use so I that I can enjoy fresh guac all year long. 

First of all, Florida avocado trees bear LARGE round fruit. This fruit comes on after a tree is 8-10 years old and stands about 25 feet high. So after the long wait, the amazingly sweeter taste of avocado is much appreciated. 

The tree acts as a refrigerator for the fruit. The fruit will not ripen until it is picked. But, some of the fruit will start to fall to the ground and then you know the tree is peak.

Once picked, the fruit needs to ripen in a window for about 3-5 days until the skin turns darker and the fruit is soft to the touch. They will also loose their ‘shine’ on the skin and become a bit bumpy. The Florida avocado is also a sweeter meat than the smaller Haas avocado and has a creamier texture. 

Now, let’s chat guacamole….

I love to make fresh guac! It is a wonderful side dish with potatoes, eggs, chips, tortillas, toast, sandwiches, or just anything you can smear it on! Here’s how I make my guac….

4 large avacados

1 small valdalia onion finely chopped

½ head of cilantro finely chopped

5 large cloves of pressed garlic

Juice of 2 key limes

2 roma tomatoes finely chopped

Salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste

Cut the avocado in half and remove the large pit. Using a spoon, you should be able to run the spoon around the inside of the skin and remove the meat of the fruit.  The avocado pit can be thrown away, or if you are an avocado farmer as we are, you can potentially grow the pit and propagate a new tree for the future. Usually about 20% of the pits will grow.

After you have the meat of the fruit in a large mixing bowl, squeeze the lime juice over it. Then add all of the other ingredients. The citrus will help prevent the rapid oxidization. That means it wont turn brown as fast as it would without the citrus.  Plus it adds so much flavor. Using your hands, mix all of the items together squishing the avocado pieces as you go.

You now have amazing homemade guacamole to enjoy. Let the mixture sit and meld for an hour or so. When storing the mixture, place a piece of plastic wrap on the top of the container and then push the wrap down to touch the guac and seal it. Place the lid on as normal.  This will also help the guac not to brown as fast.

Now go and enjoy your simple and healthy side with some baked potatoes, tortillas, or as a spread on sandwiches.