It’s that time of year. It’s the end of another guacamole season.

You know what this means. It means that as far as me and Guacamole Gregorio are concerned, I’m done making it until the 2009 season begins in early spring. Sure, you can try making guacamole between now and then; just don’t expect me to help you out of a crisis during the off-season.

We achieved a lot in 2008. We had another guacamole showdown, had some laughs, learned some new tricks. But perhaps most notably, in 2008 I gave my recipe to the world after years of hoarding it. It took a lot of soul-searching to reach that point, but I know that open-sourcing my recipe was the right thing to do.

So at the close of this season, I’m left wondering, What else is there to achieve?

Therefore, I feel obligated to let you know that I am considering guacamole retirement, Bret Favre style.

What does this mean? It means that, during this off-season, I will toy with retirement. I will let the world speculate on my future. I might announce in January that I have decided to retire, only to reverse that decision in February. Then, in late March or April, as the 2009 season is about to begin, I will make a final decision. Then again, maybe I won’t. Maybe I’ll decide to sit out the season, only to return in 2010.

Until then, Casa Sanchez makes a real nice salsa.