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For some, homemade guacamole is made with one scoop of guacamole, one quart of serving bowl, and a four-hand grip of tortilla chips. Step 1: dip and devour.

Creative types show us new and better ways to heighten this party essential without abandoning the charm. Two of my favorite additions, championed by friends, are sour cream, just a dollop, and cumin, just a bit. Both have made their way into our guac version and never left. And then an even better way emerged…

I’ve been obsessing over True Food Kitchen’s kale and avocado dip that rivals guacamole, but with less heat and lime. Instead, they use pink grapefruit and roasted poblano and yet neither is present to taste. The operative ingredient, however, if you haven’t guessed by the name, is kale. By blanching kale leaves for a minute or two and then chopping into small pieces, kale is present but not present, if you know what I mean. The kids will eat it.

One note, if you haven’t gone the homemade guacamole route until now – buy your avocado ripened and use the same day. Admittedly, I have caused the death of many a neglected avocado on my countertop, who once was someone’s dream of guacamole, but then day after day, her family, eating breakfast at that same counter, watched it darken, weaken, grey and then when they weren’t looking, she tossed it out with her cooking ambitions hoping this isn’t a metaphor for how they will treat her in the later years.

Speaking of ambitions and obsessions, TFK used to serve kale and avocado dip with feather light flax seed crackers that barely withstood my deep scoops – really what cracker would? Although I couldn’t find any recipe on the intersearchweb for this cracker, I went with Alton Brown’s seedy crisps, for which I recommend thinly rolling out and salting before baking. We loved them, but buying a box of crackers might be more crunchtime logical.