A tasty variation on traditional pico de gallo salsa & guacamole, my guacamole salsa has been a favorite at community gatherings for many years.

5 or 6 large ripened avocados (they should still look green and feel soft but not mushy when you squeeze them)

2 -10 oz cans undrained petite diced tomatoes

2 cloves of garlic

2 Tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice

1 cup of roasted, peeled, diced green chiles

1 or 2  jalapeños  (I like spicy;  you may prefer only 1 jalapeño)

½ cup of diced onion

¼ cup of fresh cilantro leaves

1 Tbsp salt

To make the salsa base, put garlic, onion, jalapeño, cilantro, lime juice and salt in a food processor or blender just until well blended. It will look kind of grainy, not chunky. (I do this because my family doesn’t like the texture of diced raw vegetables like jalapeño or onion, or the leafy texture of cilantro.)

Next wash the avocados and slice long up-and-down slices through the skin and to the seed, like longitudinal lines. This makes it easier to peel the avocado without destroying it. Carefully pull each section from the seed and peel off the skin, then cut avocado into smaller, chunkier sections.

Finally, mix the avocado, diced green chiles and undrained tomatoes into the base mixture.The salsa is best eaten the same day, but will last a 2-4 days in the refrigerator because the lime juice keeps the avocados from browning. Another trick:  leave a couple of the avocado seeds in the salsa to further prevent them from browning or getting too mushy.

Serve with homemade tortilla chips made from corn tortillas cut into triangles, sprayed with oil, salted then baked until crisp.

Fun language fact: An avocado is actually a fruit . The avocado’s name in North America has evolved from indigenous Nahuatl tribes of Mexico. The way we say it in Mexico is “aguacate”, a a variation or mispronunciation of the Nahuatl word “ahuacatl”. In Nahuatl, aguacatl means testicle, either because of it’s shape, or because it was believed to have aphrodisiac properties. Hmm…:).