With warmer weather finally here, it truly feels like spring. Spring to me means enjoying long walks outside (something rare here in Texas), fresh produce, and longer days. It’s just the right time of year where the heat is bearable, the vegetation isn’t sun-wilted, and the working man or woman is able to enjoy family time a little longer after work since the sun doesn’t set at 6pm.

One of my favorite springtime foods is fresh, chunky guacamole. All of the vibrant ingredients are a true representation of spring. Earthy greenness of avocado, jalapeño, and cilantro meets with bright citrus, juicy tomatoes, and snaps of chopped onions. What chip could resist?

After enjoying one of our walks in the local park one evening, I pulled out Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia Table cookbook to whip up her batch of guacamole. I’m inclined to agree with her kids in that dipping a chip in salsa and then plunging it into guacamole is indeed a great way to enjoy guacamole. Chips and salsa and guac are surely synonymous with Texas after all. However, her recipe for guacamole can definitely stand on its own.

The guac was the usual guac one is accustomed to, but the quiet sizzle of the jalapeño in the background and the creamy, lush avocado with bits of flavor ribboned throughout made this at the same time comforting and extraordinary. There’s not a thing I would change about this recipe. It may not win a Michelin star or anything, but it was an ideal representation of what guacamole in Texas should be.

What is your favorite springtime appetizer?