I have a new favorite holiday, which I wish I had known about when my kids were small because they loved food holidays – all green food for St. Patty’s Day, all ready for Valentine’s. Had I known about National Guacamole Day (September 16 this year), we would have had guac — a favorite family dish — for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
The day celebrates, duh, guacamole and coincides each year with Mexican Independence Day. However, let me clarify that the first guac recipes came from the Aztecs sometime between the 14th and 16th centuries when they lived in central Mexico. In fact, according to Timeanddate.com, the word dip comes from the Aztec word Nahuatl, which means guacamole sauce.
Another reason to celebrate guac day? Avocados are a good source of Vitamin K and some types of vitamin B. Not to mention this fun fact: avocados are also known as alligator pear owing to the texture of the fruit’s skin. Looking for more reason to mix this creamy fruit into your meals? Bring out the alligator pear to celebrate National Avocado Day in July!
Every avocado-loving family has their version of the perfect dip. My mother passed her recipe to me, and I passed it to my kids. It’s one of the few I’ve encountered that includes lettuce, which bulks up the dish to make it go a little further and sneaks a little more fiber into young bodies.
Grammy Cherry’s Guacamole
4 ripe avocados (the big Hass avos)
½ medium sweet onion finely chopped (hold if you’re kids scoff at the raw)
2 ripe red tomatoes (Roma are good, but she also used cherry tomatoes)
¼ head of iceberg lettuce finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic minced (more if you love a garlicy dip)
Juice from 1 lime
½+a smidge salt
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp. Paprika
Optional: As much chopped cilantro as you like (keeping in mind that for some folks, it tastes like soap)
Directions:
- Smash the avocados in a bowl, but leave some chunky bits
- Add in the garlic, lime juice, salt, paprika, and black pepper and mix well while trying not to smush too much
- Fold in the lettuce
- Gently stir the tomatoes
- Serve with chips
