Garden Guacamole

During the late summer months, I tend to have way more garden vegetables and herbs than I know what to do with. This past summer I decided to pot a red and an orange cherry tomato plant, a jalapeno plant, and a fresh oregano plant. There were other plants that I'm leaving out (lavender, basil,  rosemary, etc..) but that's because I couldn't deny that I had the perfect ingredients for a fresh guacamole! I have to say, out of all my years mixing up a batch of great guacamole, I had never added oregano (fresh or dried) into my guac, and I have to say I was missing out. Once I tasted the fresh oregano this time around, I found myself adding a little more, and then even more, because it added such a great and vibrant flavor to the mix!

Now if you're not an active gardener during the summer months, or if it's currently snowing outside, no need to worry! You'll be able to find the fresh garden ingredients in your local grocery store. You can usually find a small package of fresh oregano at the store, or you can easily opt for dried oregano, which you might already have in your spice cabinet. Either way, I hope you enjoy this spiced up summer version of my favorite year round snack!

Make it Gluten Free: This dish is already gluten free!

Ingredients

• 2-3 Ripe Avocados
• 1/2 Medium Sweet Onion
• 2 Garlic Cloves - pressed
• 1 cup of Cherry Tomatoes
• 1/2 Jalapeño
• 1 Tablespoons of Oregano
• 1 Lime
• Salt & Pepper

Steps

1. Remove the avocados from their skins and place into a bowl. Make sure to save one of the avocado pits to add to the guacamole at the end (to keep fresh). Mash the avocado a bit with a fork before adding the remaining ingredients.

2. Dice up the onions and mince the garlic, and slice the cherry tomatoes, then add to the avocado and mix. Remember in this case, the amount of each the ingredients are ultimately up to you.

3. Take one jalapeño and cut in half.  I use about half for this recipe, but if you like your guacamole really spicy, feel free to use the whole thing. Slice the half you are using open, and remove the seeds to control it's heat. Dice up the jalapeño and add to the bowl.

4. If you're using fresh oregano, clip a few sprigs of oregano and rinse to make sure it's clean. Then separate the leaves from the stem and dice to bring out the fresh flavor before adding it to the bowl. If you're using dry oregano, measure the amount of oregano desired and add to the mixture.

5. Now it's time to squeeze the juice from one lime into the bowl and mix it all together. Afterward add salt and pepper to taste.

6. Enjoy!