Ann Hodgman's Guacamole, Homemade Pita Chips, and Cucumber Apple Mint Coolers

I made the perfect summer meal last night. Everything came together so well.  I was a little nervous about the Guacamole because I really didn't want nachos with it and I had no idea what to serve it with.  My friend brought up the idea of pita chips and it worked so well.  I went a little crazy and added some chipotle powder to some of them, red pepper to others and a lot more.  You can find the Pita Chip recipe here: Homemade Pita Chips.

Anyway, as far as the Guac goes, I was under the misconception that it is something you can whip up in a few minutes and serve to your friends and voila! You are master chef.  Not the case.  At least not for me anyway.  Ann Hodgeman's Guacamole recipe had a lot of ingredients in and was a lot of work if you ask me, but it was really worth it. Not to mention I FINALLY got a food processor.  I realize this is the nerdiest thing to get excited about ever but I mean, when you make carrot cake and have to grate a pound of carrots by hand, you begin to appreciate things like food processors.

This might be the best Guac I have ever had.  And then of course, I was flipping through this the June 2010 Cooking Light magazine and saw this recipe for Cucumber Apple Mint Coolers.  Everything went together great and I loved all the green...so pretty. 

ann hodgeman's guacamole.
2 large cloves of garlic, chopped
1 large jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
3 avocados
1 large tomato, diced
1 small red onion (I used white, I can't tell the difference between onions though)
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
salt to taste

1. Turn food processor on and while it is running (obviously you need to use that tube at the top, or whatever it is), add the jalapeno and the garlic; chop until it is as fine as possible.
2. Add one of the avocados and the lime juice and process until the mixture is smooth; scrape into a medium sized bowl with a spatula.
3. Add the other two avocados and coursely* mash with a fork.
4. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir until combined.
5. Tightly cover with plastic wrap** and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour before serving. 

*Coursely isn't a word. I tried to look it up on dictionary.com b/c I didn't know how to spell it. Hahaha. 
**If you cover this really really tightly, it won't turn brown.  I left mine in the fridge overnight and it is still bright  green! Neat.