Fresh and Easy Salsa

 

 

It's Tuesday, yo! I don't know about you, but here in San Diego, that can only mean one thing... Tacos! Taco Tuesday is a legitimate event. A reason to eat, create, and cook delicious tacos. Traditional tacos, crispy tacos, corn tortilla tacos, lettuce wrap tacos.... Ground beef, chicken, pork, lobster... You name it, and San Diego puts it in a taco. There's no stopping the creativity, taste, or options, and for this reason, it's incredibly easy to celebrate taco Tuesday each and every Tuesday without ever getting bored. 

 

Tonight's menu includes a self-serve topping bar, flour tortillas, and traditional ground beef. It's an incredibly easy to prepare meal, that is high in flavor. And at the epicenter of all that flavor? Homemade salsa.

 

There are so many different iterations of salsa. I make several different ones, depending on my mood, and what's on that day's menu. This is by far, not only one of my favorites, but also the most versatile. It's even a great base, from which to build more complex salsa's. And, it pairs perfectly with ground beef.  

 

Ingredients

 

3 vine ripened tomatoes, quartered

1/2 of a large jalepeno

1 small red onion

the juice of 1 lime

1 tsp cracked black pepper

1/2 tsp kosher salt

 

Directions

 

6 hours prior to service (letting your salsa sit for a minimum of 6 hours, intensifies the flavor profiles, and creates an even tastier salsa) grind all above ingredients in a food processor for about 30 seconds. Refrigerate.  

 

 

Seriously, that's it. Simple, easy, fresh. There will be no turning back.

 

Tastes of Fall: Apple Cinnamon Sangria

So a couple of years ago, we had the summer of Sangria. And what a summer it was. Multiple recipes tested, tasted, and repeated. Sangria continues to be a staple of summer.

But what about now? Fall has set in, and just like with food, I'm starting to crave something a little less light and crisp, and a little more filling and homey.

Enter the perfect season changer: Apple Cinnamon Sangria.

Made with Hard Cider, instead of wine, and maple syrup instead of honey or sugar, it's a heartier version of the summer favorite. And every bit as drinkable.

Ingredients:

6 Fuji apples, core removed and sliced
2 oranges, sliced
1/4 cup real Maple Syrup
1/2 cup Jim Beam Bourbon Whiskey
1 cinnamon stick
33 oz of Hard Apple Cider
Unfiltered apple juice

Directions:

8 hours before serving combine all ingredients except for apple juice in a large pitcher. Mix to combine. Refrigerate. Couldn't be simpler to enjoy fall in a glass.

When serving, fill glasses 2/3 full with Sangria and top with cold unfiltered apple juice.

Roasted Garlic Salsa

Ingredients:

1 head of garlic, top sliced off to expose cloves

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 red pepper

3 large poblano peppers

2 TBSP fresh cilantro leaves

1 large heirloom tomato (beefsteak tomato size), cut in large pieces

1 shallot

Juice of one lime

Juice of one lemon

2 tsp cracked black pepper 

Sea salt, divided uses

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450. Place garlic head in center of a tin foil square. Pour a generous amount of olive oil over garlic cloves, and gereously salt the top. Wrap garlic in tinfoil, bringing up edges and crimp closed. Place tin foil bundle on top shelf of oven. Place bell pepper next to garlic. Bake for at least 30 minutes, until garlic is soft, turning pepper over periodically to blister all sides. Add poblano peppers during last 10 minutes. 

Remove from oven, cover and let cool. 

Squeeze garlic cloves out of their peel into a blender bowl, along with any olive oil that pooled to the bottom of the tin foil. Remove stem, skin and seeds from red bell pepper, and add to blender. Remove stem and seeds from poblano peppers and add to bowl. Add tomatoes, shallots, cilantro, 1tsp of salt, pepper, and citrus juice. Combine all ingredients using high pulse. Salsa should have texture without being chunky. Taste for additional salt. Salsa will be relatively mild. 

Sweet and Tangy Brussel Sprouts

So Brussels weren't part of our FMB this week- but when your three year-old points them out at the store, and squeals in anticipation- you buy them. As, I did.

Always experimenting with different ways to do Brussels, since they are a commonly requested side 'round these parts, I tried a new marinade before roasting them...Delish! Tangy and sweet, you are sure to love it as much as we did.

Ingredients:

30 Brussels, washed, cleaned, and halved

2 TBSP Extra virgin olive oil

2 TBSP Apple Cider vinegar

1 TBSP honey

Salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread Brussels evenly on sheet. Drizzle olive oil, vinegar, and honey over the top. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the top. Using your hands, toss Brussels, distributing liquids, and reposition evenly.

Place sheet in top quarter of oven, and roast 20-25 minutes, until Brussels are fork tender.

Simple Summer Strawberry Salad

Are we loving the alliteration? No? Just me then... So, in last week's FMB loot, I received some amazing fresh Stawberries (or Strawbs as my Aussie friend Alex is want to call them), Red Romaine, and leftover spring onions. Perfect for a BBQ side salad!

Ingredients:

1 head Red Romaine Lettuce, washed and torn

1 head Butter Lettuce, washed and torn

1 carton Fresh Strawberries, sliced

1 bunch (about 6) spring onions, primarily the light green part 

1/2 cup pistachios, shelled 

For the Dressing

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Pomegranate Vinegar

1/3 cup Vegetable Oil

1-2 tsp sugar, adjusted to taste depending on sweetness of vinegar 

Pinch of sea salt

Directions:

Combine dressing ingredients in a lidded container. Shake to blend.

Place lettuce in a large bowl. Toss with just enough dressing to coat leaves. Sprinkle strawberries, onions and pistachios on top.

Grilled and Chilled Veggie Pasta Salad with Basil dressing

This was a fun one! It's super simple to replicate, and easy to change up depending on what you have in your fridge and your pantry. You can use the basil dressing as a marinade, to coat lettuce for a green salad, drizzled over fish, or eaten straight out of the bowl with a spoon (yes, I have been known to do this...shhhhhh). I used orzo, but any small bite sized pasta would work just as well. 

To start, bring a large pot of salted water to boil, and add in one package of orzo. After cooking for about 7 minutes, remove pasta, rinse with cold water (I only rinse my pasta if I am going to chill it, the cold water helps the pasta not stick together in one large pasta blob, otherwise it's a no-no). When pasta reaches room temperature, remove from cold water, drain and place in bowl. Drizzle a small amount of grapeseed oil over pasta, toss, and refrigerate.

For the dressing:

Ingredients:

10 large basil leaves

2 cloves of garlic

1 Tablespoon honey

1 heaping teaspoon Dijon mustard

A dash of salt and pepper

1/2 cup white balsamic dressing

1/3 cup grapeseed oil

Directions:

Combine all ingredients except for oil in a blender. Blend until combined. While blender runs on low, slowly drizzle in oil, only until mixture is combined.

Reserve at least 1/2 cup of dressing, and refrigerate. Toss pasta with just enough dressing to coat, and return to fridge. Let pasta sit in fridge for a bit to absorb flavor. 

For Veggies:

Ingredients

4 assorted varieties of summer squash, thinly sliced

6 green onions

1 bunch of pencil asparagus

1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup grapeseed oil

Directions:

In a large ziplock baggy add vegetables, oil, and vinegar. Sprinkle in a dash of salt and pepper. Close bag and shake to coat. Let vegetables rest for at least 30 minutes at room temp.

Heat indoor grill pan to medium. Grill veggies until barely tender, about 4-6 minutes a side. Veggies should have slight-brown grill marks, but not be falling apart. Cool. 

Cut asparagus into bite sized pieces, squash into strips, and slice the green onions.

To composes salad. Chiffonade 10 fresh basil leaves, and add to pasta. Add veggies to pasta. Add leftover salad dressing to pasta dish, 1/4 cup at a time, tasting I between additions, to make sure that salad is not overdressed. Refrigerate until serving time.

Avocado Aioli

Ingredients:

Avocado
1/2 cup mayo
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
1/4 tsp granulated garlic
1/4 tsp sea salt

Directions:
Scoop out the avocado flesh into a metal bowl. Add mayo, lemon, salt, and garlic. Mash together using the back of a fork, until ingredients completely combined.

Sugared Strawberries

Sugaring fruit, and letting it sit, helps it to release it's natural juices. (It's similar to salting eggplant or cucumbers to  release excess water). I use this recipe for strawberries, over everything. Shortcake, vanilla ice cream, vanilla pudding, and tonight? Over Pancakes for dinner.

Ingredients

1 basket of fresh strawberries
1 1/2 TBS granulated sugar
1 tsp almond extract

Directions:

Stem and slice your strawberries. Sprinkle sugar over them, and add almond extract. Gently mix to coat all strawberries. Set in the refrigerator to chill and juice, at least 1 hour before serving, no more than 4. Serve.

Au Jus

This is a basic Au Jus that can be adapted after cooking any type of roast, utilizing the brown bits and flavor that accumulate at the bottom of your roasting dish. After cooking, remove the roast from the baking dish, and set aside to rest.

Ingredients:

4TBS of butter
1 TBS of flour
1 cup of red wine
3 cups of beef stock

Directions:

Melt 4 TBS of butter in the roasting pan. Whisk in 1 TBS of flour on high heat for at least 3 minutes. You want to do this at a relatively high heat, whisking the entire time, to make sure you cook out the taste of flour. Add in the red wine, whisking to bring up all the brown bits stuck to the bottom from the roasting process. Add in beef broth. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to medium-low. Whisking frequently, allow liquid to reduce, about 30 minutes. The au jus should be thick, but still more liquid than gravy.

Roasted Brussels

Brussels, Brussels, and more Brussels. We are a Brussel Sprout family. In order to satiate all of our brussel craving, it takes at least four bags of brussel sprouts per meal. And even then, someone (usually me, since everyone else has no shame in stealing them off my plate, while I'm up getting something for someone else) is never feeling like they had enough...

I do a version of them like this quite often, but today I'm going to talk about simply roasting them. It's a lot easier than you might think... the hardest thing about brussel sprouts is the time it takes to prep them. First off, the smaller the sprout, the more tender and sweet it is. To make cleaning/prepping a little easier, what I do is cut of the very bottom of the stem (this removes a little of their bitterness), and then slice them in half from top to bottom. When you do it like this, you will see that their outer leaves will just fall off, saving you the hassle of peeling the outer layer. It also allows some of the inner leaves to fall off, and/or separate from the base of the sprout-- which you want, if like me you are partial to the crispy leaves created by roasting. The crispy leaves are my favorite part about roasting brussels... it's almost like a kale chip in consistency.

A big mistake that people make when cooking brussel sprouts, is not salting them a lot. The salt helps counter the bitterness and, just like the sprout's cousin the cabbage, salt really brings out the flavor.

To roast, preheat your oven to 425. You want a higher oven temp to help crisp them up. But don't worry, they won't get too crispy, the insides will be nice and tender-- and, if you don't want them crispy, you can follow the same steps, just lower your oven to 400.

After you've prepped your brussels, toss them in extra virgin oil, salt (use a heavy hand like mentioned above), and pepper. pour them out on a parchment lined baking sheet, and roast for 20 minutes. That's it. That's all there is to it. Don't be afraid to play around with the length of cooking time, to get the level of crispy/tenderness you desire. And most of all, enjoy them!

Vegan Tomato Soup

Ingredients:

8 large tomatoes, cut in large pieces
2 red bell peppers, cored and sliced in 4 large strips
Splash of balsamic vinegar
3 Tbs vegetable oil, divided use
1 sweet yellow onion, diced
1 cup of chopped carrots
2 ribs of celery, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3 cups of vegetable stock

Directions:

Preheat Oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Toss tomatoes and bell peppers in enough vegetable oil to barely coat, about 2 Tbs. Salt and pepper, and add just a splash of balsamic vinegar. Pour onto parchment paper and roast for 40 minutes.

In a large sauce pan, saute onions, celery, carrots, and garlic in 1 Tbs of vegetable oil. When soft and translucent add roasted tomatoes and peppers. Add chicken stock, and bring to a boil. Turn down heat to low. Using an immersion blender, puree ingredients together. Serve warm.

Roasted Cauliflower

I'm pretty sure Cauliflower must be one of the most underused vegetables around.  Most people think of cauliflower as the 'white broccoli' and that couldn't be further from the truth.  Cauliflower was my grandfather's favorite vegetable, and as a result it was served quite often in our family.  It's perfect by itself, simply steamed over boiling water until tender.  It's fabulous pureed, and almost tastes just like mashed potatoes when milk and butter are added. However, my most favorite way to have it? Roasted.  It's an easy side dish, and has a buttery quality to it, that makes it seem more decadent than it is.  Roasting brings out the flavor and when done right, will make it melt in your mouth.

Ingredients

2 Heads of cauliflower
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 400.  Cover the bottom of a jelly roll pan with tin foil. (Why? Because I'm lazy and like to avoid cleaning a pan... and it also helps you to avoid staining your pan with olive oil, keeping your pan looking clean for when you need to use it for a Texas sheet cake).

Peel leaves from the cauliflower, and cut into bite sized 'trees', place in bowl.  Using your hands toss cauliflower spears with olive oil and a generous amount of salt and pepper.  Spread cauliflower on tin foil, being careful not to overlap pieces.  Bake until slightly browned... about 20 minutes.

Vanilla Bean Pancakes

When my eldest were little, they were diagnosed with severe milk and egg allergies. We went completely milk and egg free for the better part of two years... until they were retested, and had aged out of the allergies (very common where milk and egg are concerned). But for two years, I cooked and used all types of substitutes, and recipe variations. Most have been abandoned as we introduced milk and egg back in our diets, many were resurrected when my youngest two faced the same issue... and a select few made it into our cooking arsenal for good.

This pancake recipe I developed is one of those I still prefer to use today. Although we cook with actual milk and real eggs these days, I prefer the batter consistency that the recipe gives by using rice milk.  I will use real eggs, but only because it's easier. Weird I know... but oh so good! If you want, you can use real milk and/or the eggs substitute... but really, try it this way once, and you just might not go back.

Ingredients:
4 c. flour
5 T sugar
1 t kosher salt
2 1/2 T baking powder
1/2 cup grapeseed oil
1 box Rice Dream (or 4 cups of whole milk)
1 t vanilla
1/2 vanilla bean, split and seeded
(if you don't have vanilla bean, or you want to make your life easier- substitute 1 t vanilla paste in lieu of both vanillas)
2 eggs (Substitute:  3 T veg. oil, 3 T oil, 2 t baking powder, whisk before adding)

Directions:

Preheat griddle over medium heat.

Whisk together flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. In a separate bowl whisk rice milk, vanilla, vanilla bean seeds, oil, and egg. Whisk until blended.

Turn griddle to medium low. Using a 1/8 measuring scoop up mixture drop on ungreased griddle. Flip when top is completely bubbly.

*If you use real eggs, increase the amount of baking powder from 2 1/2 to 3 T. No other changes are necessary.