Have you ever noticed that all Americanized Mexican food contains the same list of ingredients? Cumin, lime juice, meat, tomato, cheese, sour cream, chile powder, peppers, cilantro, onions.
OK maybe not every single one of those, and maybe a few others, but enough that if you have leftover ingredients from one dish, you can probably use them up in a different dish.
When cooking for the print version of Loaves & Dishes, I made an avocado salsa to go with this week’s Chili-Spiced Skirt Steak Tacos (Check out the Food section Wednesday). The salsa called for one avocado, but I bought two to be safe.
The salsa was great, and I didn’t need the other avocado. While scrounging around for something to make for lunch yesterday, I found that and was instantly ravenous for guacamole.
In addition to the avocado, thanks to the tacos recipe, I also had everything else to make some. We even had tortilla chips to dip.
I had no desire to also scrounge around for a recipe even to use as a guide, so I winged it. It made about a cup of wonderfulness, none of which lived to make another serving.
Hard-core L&D fans might remember a guacamole recipe from years ago that left out the mayo and included tomatoes. This is a quick and dirty version, sans tomato, since I didn’t have any.

WING IT GUACAMOLE
1 ripe avocado, peeled and seeded
1 tablespoon light mayonnaise
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon any chili powder
2 tablespoons minced onion
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1. Mash avocado. (I used my hands) Stir in the rest of the ingredients except cilantro. Put a sheet of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the guacamole to prevent browning. (If it browns anyway, it won’t affect the taste.)
2. Do something else for 30 minutes or so, to let the flavors blend at room temperature.
3. Fold in the cilantro and serve with tortilla chips.
Note: You can also add a clove of minced or pressed fresh garlic or 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder. I was already eating a ton of garlic in hummus I ate earlier, so I didn’t want any more.

Some of my Loaves & Dishes recipes just stick in my head. Tomato Basil Pie, Sausage and Barley Soup, Blueberry Cheesecake Yum, I could go on.
We had a fiesta of sorts in the office today, with a taco bar complete with guacamole. I’d forgotten how much I love guacamole. Avocados are hot, hot, hot right now in restaurants (think Subway, think fine dining, think celebrity chefs) in food and health magazines, on TV cooking shows.
Trust me. Avocado growers are rolling in green.
Thousands of guacamole recipes crowd the Internet, and pretty decent prepared versions are showing up in supermarket produce sections, but this one, from Loaves in 2007, remains my favorite. Co-worker Sherry makes it all the time and she said people always ask for the recipe. She credits me, bless her, though I took it straight off of Allrecipes.
No matter its origin, its destination is always the bottom of my tummy.
GUACAMOLE
3 avocados — peeled, pitted and mashed
Juice of 1 lime
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup diced onion
3 tablespoons chopped fresh
Cilantro
2 roma (plum) tomatoes, diced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 pinch ground cayenne pepper, optional
1. In a medium bowl, mash together the avocados, lime juice and salt. Mix in onion, cilantro, tomatoes, and garlic. Stir in cayenne pepper.
2. Refrigerate 1 hour for best flavor. Serve with tortilla chips.
Makes 3 cups
Per 1/4 cup serving: 78 calories, 6.7 grams fat, 3 grams fiber, 1 gram protein, 5.1 grams carbohydrate, 4.2 milligrams sodium
– www.allrecipes.com

Sangria waiting for me in my fridge right now …

Meanwhile, back at my desk, I learned today about a summer series of cooking classes headed up by Mercyhurst North East pros. Thought I’d pass it along.
The series starts Tuesday night with Vegan-style Summer Soups and Salads, taught by Katherine Miller, holistic health counselor and master whole-foods chef of Kosmic Kitchen.
Other classes will include
July 24, Recent Voyages to Greece and Italy, with Chef Chip Magalhaes
July 31, Stressed? It’s Just Desserts Spelled Backwards, with Magalhaes
Aug. 7, The Good Food Gourmet – Everyday Favorites Lightened Up, with Chef Beth Ann Sheldon
Aug. 14, The Making of a French Dinner, with Chef Dennis Dunne.
All classes start at 6 p.m. and run for approximately three hours. Cost is $75 per class or $300 for the series. Payment can be made at time of class with cash or check.
For reservations, contact Sheldon at 725-6318 or by email at bsheldon@mercyhurst.edu.

Meanwhile, back in my kitchen, I stumbled over this recipe for Guacamole Eggs today. It’s one of those slap-my-forehead, why-didn’t-I-think-of-that? recipes.
Think deviled eggs with guac instead of yellow yolk mush. Not that there’s anything wrong with yellow yolk mush. I like that, too. But if you fill the egg halves with guac and top them with a drop or two of Tabasco, I’ll stand there and eat the whole dozen, or would that be two dozen? Whatever.
Guacamole is usually a one-sitting kind of dish, since it starts to turn brown like apples. But with me in the room, there will be no risk of leftovers.