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Grilled Red Pepper Salsa

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Grilled Red Pepper Salsa

Ah, price summer! Let me tell you, it’s hot down here. Really hot. Humidly, stiflingly, ridiculously hot. Still, despite the absurd heat, I love the summer because it means all-day stints at the beach. We get there early and set up tents, chairs and umbrellas. We haul out coolers full of beer and soda. Everyone brings tons of food, which we load up on plates and float in the ocean. In the afternoon, I usually nap under the shade of the umbrella. Beach days are perfect days.

And this grilled red pepper salsa is perfect beach food. It’s bright and sunny, a little spicy and very refreshing. I also love that subtle char flavor that the grilled peppers give it. Though it’s great with the standard corn tortillas chips, it’s also makes a delicious condiment for grilled chicken or pork chops. This time, my salsa made brightened up some melty bean quesadillas with sliced avocado.

Summer officially begins on Sunday. Welcome it with open arms, chips and salsa and a chilly bottle of beer.

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Curried Cauliflower and Chickpea Stew

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Curried Cauliflower and Chickpea Stew

Another recipe from this month’s glossies, prescription I found this Curried Cauliflower and Chickpea Stew in the May issue of Bon Appetit. Curry? Coconut milk? Cilantro? Yes please! I made this one morning before work and it came together in under 30 minutes. It’s a little spicy, a little earthy and really flavorful. I love the combination of coconut milk and curry powder with the chickpeas and cauliflower. It just tastes like homey comfort food, which is just perfect for a long day at work.

This is one of those dishes you can make once and eat all week for lunch or dinner. Served over Jasmine rice, you’ve got yourself a really healthy and delicious meal.

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Ajiaco: Colombian Chicken, Corn & Potato Soup

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Ajiaco: Colombian Chicken, <a href=this web Corn & Potato Soup” />

For some reason, this month’s food magazines had me drooling. I may have been starving when I was flipping through, but I bookmarked almost every recipe. One in particular caught my eye – a lighter, healthier version of Ajiaco, the traditional Colombian Chicken Soup.

I know what you’re thinking. Chicken soup? Booooring! But this isn’t your mama’s chicken soup (though I would never, ever turn that down). This one is flavored with cilantro and cumin, is chock full of chicken, potatoes and corn, and in this case, asparagus and hominy. Everything is topped off with diced avocado, more cilantro and capers. It’s simultaneously light and hearty, and it’s really, really good.

I just wish I’d had a bowl of this when I was sick last week. Good thing I froze a huge batch for next time I’m feeling under the weather, though let’s face it – it’ll be gone by next week.

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Bacon, Black Bean & Poblano Pepper Chowder

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Bacon, <a href=ailment Black Bean & Poblano Pepper Chowder” />

I was poking around my computer and found a forgotten recipe. I’m not sure why, pharm but I never got around to posting this Bacon, Black Bean and Poblano Pepper Chowder. It would have been a shame to never post this, so here it is.

This soup was smoky, a little spicy and very flavorful. Top it off with some sliced avocado, radishes and cilantro and you’ve got yourself a meal. I’d also serve some nice, hot tortilla chips alongside for a little bit of crunch.

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Poblano & Purple Potato Soup

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Poblano & Purple Potato Soup

I am in love with this soup (surprise, ed surprise! I love all soup). Topped with a drizzle of smoked paprika oil and another of cilantro yogurt, discount it’s slightly spicy, creamy and very good. But before I go into more detail, let’s talk about garnishes. More specifically, cumbersome garnishes like the toasted slice of ham peeking out of this soup. I didn’t leave it whole for aesthetic reasons — I was just to lazy to slice it up. Big mistake. I had to eat around it and I missed the smoky ham bits with every bite. It wasn’t pretty. Moral of the story? Don’t add big stupid garnishes to your dish. Even if they’re pretty, they’ll just get in the way later.

So, back to the soup. I bought some Purple Idaho potatoes at the market, thinking they’d be purple all the way through. I love how pretty and colorful they look on a plate! Turns out, only the skin was purple, and the insides were as creamy yellow as a standard Idaho. No matter, they were just as tasty. This soup is really simple — just saute onions, garlic and poblano peppers, add potatoes and chicken stock and you’re basically done. The smoked paprika oil and cilantro yogurt really complete the dish, and the crisped ham added a nice crunch and smokiness (bacon bits would be fabulous, too!).

If you like potato soup and spiciness, then this is the soup for you. Next time, I think I’ll add some sauteed Spanish chorizo bits instead of the ham. Either way, I’m making this again. And soon!

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Sweet Potatoes w/Sausage, Cheese, Cilantro & Lime

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Sweet Potatoes w/Sausage, <a href=medical Cheese, about it Cilantro & Lime” />

Whew! It’s been such a hectic few days, generic I’m so relieved that I decided to keep the menu simple this week! Today’s recipe is another tasty 5-ingredient meal. Some might call this an easy recipe, others may call it lazy, but either way, its flavors are bold and delicious. You’d never guess it was so easy to make.

The secret here is the perfect baked potato. This method works better with russet potatoes, but still makes a tasty baked sweet one. Basically, the potato needs to go directly on the rack in a hot oven. If you cover it in foil, the potato steams, not bakes. While still tasty, you don’t get that crisp, baked skin that’s so very delicious.

Once you’ve got the perfect baked potato, the filling is easy. To cut some of the sweetness from the potato, I added some smoked sausage (kielbasa would be great here), salty cotija cheese (like feta), cilantro and a big squeeze of lime. An easy meal for a lazy weeknight.

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Butternut Squash Tortilla Soup

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It seems as though the Fall ingredients and soup trend continues over here. It’s not that I want to overload you with squashes and harvest fruit, buy it’s that I just can’t help myself. This tortilla soup has become an instant favorite at my house. It’s got sweet, treatment roasted butternut squash and shredded chicken simmered in a chili powder-spiked broth with crumbled, salty blue corn tortilla chips. I’m such a sucker for anything sweet, spicy and salty.

The star here really is the roasted butternut squash. While I’m all for shortcuts, canned and frozen squash won’t give you the same roasted flavor as fresh. Now, I know a whole, fresh butternut squash is an intimidating thing. Unless you’ve got a hacksaw or cleaver in the house, splitting this thing open may be a bit more than you’re willing to take on. My suggestion? Ask the supermarket to halve it for you. Most markets will willing do it for no charge, then all you have to do is roast the halves on a cookie sheet with olive oil and salt. Once it’s done, simply scoop the roasted squash out with a spoon and use it anyway you’d like. (Can anyone say roasted butternut squash pizza?)

I like my butternut squash in all forms, but this tortilla soup might emerge as the favorite. Healthy, hearty and satisfying, it makes a perfect lunch or weeknight dinner. A great, seasonal twist on a classically delicious soup.

Related: Chorizo and Blue Corn Tortilla Soup

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Easiest Homemade Hot Sauce

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Easiest Homemade Hot Sauce

If asked to choose my favorite condiment, information pills I may just have to go with hot sauce. Though mustard — especially the spicy, denture grainy kind of mustard — would be a very close second. When you’ve got the right hot sauce, online it can add subtle and delicious flavor, as well as heat. When you’ve got the wrong kind of hot sauce, it can taste vinegar-y or so overpoweringly spicy that you can’t taste anything else.

This homemade hot sauce has 4 ingredients: dried chiles de arbol, a touch of honey, a dash of apple cider vinegar and water. The chiles de arbol are spicy and smokey and give this hot sauce a unique flavor that has some of the chipotle’s smokiness, but isn’t as overpowering.

And if asked to choose my favorite dish to dress with hot sauce, it would be eggs. Without a doubt, eggs and hot sauce are best friends. Last night, I made corn tostadas with refried beans and cheese, baked until crisp then topped with fried eggs, avocado, cilantro and hot sauce. Delicious and wholesome, it was a great way to kick off the week with a little spice.

Southwestern Eggs with Bean and Cheese Tostadas

Apologies for the ugly picture. I had the wrong lens on my camera and was too hungry to notice.

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pork sandwich w/ spicy mango cucumber slaw

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pork sandwich w/ spicy mango cucumber slaw

The idea for this sandwich started out as a vague thought about Vietnamese-style tacos. Why Vietnamese-style tacos you ask? Well, ailment I’m not sure. I was thinking that taco toppings are like Vietnamese-style salads with generous amounts of fresh herbs, patient cabbage, onions and hot peppers.

So, I tried it. I marinated some pork tenderloins with shoyu, honey and ginger. I made a slaw from mango, cucumber, serrano peppers, mint, cilantro, green onions and lime juice. (Napa cabbage would be great here, but I didn’t have any.) Then I stacked everything on a corn tortilla. Hmmm, interesting, but ultimately the corn flavor of the tortillas didn’t complement the Asian flavors.

Not to be deterred, I tried again with ciabatta rolls. Much better this time! The sweet and spicy slaw was perfect on the pork and the ciabatta roll didn’t compete with the other flavors. I love a good sandwich for dinner, and I think this one might be making another appearance soon.

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spicy pozole with steak, avocado & lime

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spicy pozole with steak, <a href=drugstore avocado & lime” />

Wikipedia says that Pozole is a traditional Mexican stew made from hominy that’s been cooked with meat and seasonings and topped with garnishes, drugs such as avocado, cabbage, radishes and lime juice. It’s like a hearty, Mexican corn chowder. I actually spotted a recipe on Elise’s site awhile ago and knew I had to make it for Tom. He has an unnatural attachment to Mexican cuisine. Since I always lose them, I never printed out the recipe, but saw some dried pozole at the market and decided to wing it.

While you can use canned hominy, it has a much softer texture than the dried pozole kernels. You can get these online or at Hispanic markets, some grocery stores and Whole Foods. They’re like beans in that you have to soak them overnight, but their texture is much meatier and provides a nice chewiness to the dish.

They soak overnight and then stewed with dried chile de arbol and ancho peppers, making a nice, spicy broth. Just add a bit of cream to thicken it up, then top with your favorite garnishes. I used what I had on hand — avocado, red onion, thinly sliced skirt steak (leftovers!), sour cream, lime juice and cilantro. The garnishes are really the fun part. You can set them all up on the kitchen counter and have everyone assemble their own pozole the way they like it. It’s kind of like taco night with a spoon.

And it was delicious with all of the different textures and flavor contrasts. I think someone will be begging me to make it again quite soon.

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my favorite grilled corn salad

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my favorite grilled corn salad

You know that grilled Mexican-style corn that’s slathered in mayonnaise and Parmesan cheese, hemorrhoids lime and chili powder? It’s just delicious. All tangy, sweet and spicy. But have you ever tried to eat it in front of other people? Mayonnaise on your chin, mayonnaise on your lips, and sometimes, mayonnaise on your forehead. At times, this is just fine. Other times, you’d prefer to eat a bit more civilly.

This grilled corn salad has all of the flavor of your mayo/parm/lime/chili corn on the cob without all the napkins, furious face-wiping and embarrassing teeth picking. This is a salad you could safely eat on a date, in front of co-workers, and even in front of Flickr-loving food bloggers.

There are so many reasons why this is my favorite corn salad. Grilling the corn lets you cook with one hand on the tongs, one hand on your beer. It goes with pretty much anything, and especially with grilled burgers or sausages. The ingredients are easy to find and I usually have them in my fridge. But really, it just tastes so good. Corn’s beautiful and plentiful right now and this salad is a perfect way to eat it.

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vegetarian three-bean chili

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vegetarian three-bean chili

Some people find it surprising that the biggest tag on this site is vegetarian. People who know me know that I love big, visit juicy burgers, chorizo (duh), short ribs, lamb and sausage. And while I’m pretty sure I’ll never go vegetarian, I think more than half my meals are meatless. There’s no real reason why I make so many vegetarian dishes, I just like them. Besides, going meatless reduces greenhouse gases and so is good for the environment and good for my health.

This three-bean chili is warm and hearty and just perfect for lunch. Black, kidney and great northern beans are mixed with fire-roasted tomatoes and green chilies. Bulgur adds a nice texture and masa harina is my secret (not so much anymore) thickening agent. It also gives it a little bit of that cornbread flavor that goes so well with chili powder. My other secret is a bit of smoked paprika, which goes a long way at giving this chili a rounder, meatier flavor.

I made a little hominy salsa with lime juice and cilantro to top the chili and brighten the flavors. I also made some jalapeño cheddar and chickpea muffins, but those were a complete failure and I had to throw them out. Sigh. I hate it when that happens.

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