farmer's market lunch. farmer's market salsa

I've been making my own salsa recently. I use it sometimes as salad dressing and sometimes when I make a couple corn tortilla chips for a midafternoon snack. I've used canned diced tomatoes because I had tons of them, but it's obviously great with higher quality tomatoes, especially those that are about to be a little too ripe to enjoy on your salad. 

The farmer's market today was crazy with peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers and of course peaches. One stand was giving away cucumbers! Sliced salted cold cucumbers is one of my favorite summer snacks so I will certainly be enjoying that this week...

I had a little over a pound of tomatoes in my bag so they threw in a handful more to make it at least 2 pounds, though I'm sure it was more, and gave it to me for an even $2. I will be baking them in big slices, maybe attempting a summer tomato feta tart similar to this one, this one or this one, and of course eating them raw with salt and pepper and enjoying them in this salsa I just made. Yessss.

Salsa is flexible. Throw in whatever you have. I had onions and tomatillos already so I used:

the ripest tomato in the lot + one and a half tomatillos + a fourth of a large white onion. I also seeded and added half a jalepeno + a half a serrano pepper + fourth of a poblano pepper. Plus a dash of white vinegar + a dash of lime juice + a few generous sprinkles of salt. 

Process it all in a food processor. Eat.

It turned out pink! I really like the taste of tomatillos in salsa, Chuy's uses them. When I asked about cilantro, they said it's dried up in the heat, as had mine. So no cilantro in my salsa.

 

If you've never shopped a farmer's market, you're missing out! If nothing go for the experience. It's really fun to see and talk to the people who live and work around the food they produce. Oftentimes families are there selling their goods. You'll find great fresh juices and baked goods such great breads and baked goods handmade soaps, cheeses, herb mixes, candles. Samples of it all galore and of course great produce. I think a gentleman literally gave me the equivalent of a loaf of bread in all his variety of samples he was enthusiastically explaining and handing out. So fun. 

Some of it may be more expensive than the grocery store, cantelopes and watermelons were today, but a lot of it isn't and it's all much better and more fresh, my huge $2 bag of tomatoes, $5 bin of peaches and $2 bunch of kale for example. Plus it's fun to support the people who grow food locally and now that it's moved right down the street from me, I need to go more. I'm suuuuper excited about my farm fresh eggs! They were $5 a dozen, though, so part of me hopes I don't like them too much...

quesadillas. a tutorial.

this is for hallie and macey.

{quesadillas}
serves 1
INGREDIENTS
2 good tortillas 
a big handful of grated cheese {monterey jack is usually what you find in mexican food quesadillas but any cheese is good. feta, cheddar, parmesan... use whatever you have}
shredded chicken from a rotisserie chicken
or rinsed and drained black beans from a can of black beans
or some chopped baby spinach
1 tablespoon of butter
tools needed:
a skillet {non-stick is easier to deal with, but i think regular skillets make better quesadillas}
a spatula {any kind will work. i use a wide, rubber spatula}
a pizza cutter is recommended
DIRECTIONS
heat the skillet on medium high on the stove top, about a 7. on a plate or cutting board assemble your quesadilla, layering half the cheese on one tortilla, adding beans, meat or whatever else, then sprinkle the rest of the cheese. it's ok if it seems full, when the cheese melts, it won't be. leave a little border around the edge of the tortilla so the cheese doesn't ooze out while it's cooking. and top with the other tortilla. 
place the butter in the skillet and swirl the pan or stir it around until it melts. when the butter starts bubbling a bit, place your quesadilla in the pan. as that one side cooks, press down on the top tortilla with your fingers, especially around the edges, this will make it easier to flip. cook about 2-3 min, or until the bottom starts looking crisp and brown in spots.
  
then flip. slide a spatula under it, hold it with the top with your hand and flip in one quick motion. if it splatters or the tortilla folds it's ok, fix it. it may be messy but it will still taste good. press down a bit with your fingers and cook 2-3 min on this side, till tortilla is brown in spots. remove, allow to cool and cut. i think it's easiest to cut quesadillas with a pizza cutter.

{to make it extra good, and to be sure the second side doesn't stick, you could take the quesadilla out, place another tablespoon of butter to melt in the pan, then flip it.}

good luck!

cilantro pesto & the grown up gringo's green chicken tenders

pat on the back for creativity.

a tomatillo?

the grown up gringo's green chicken tenders with cilantro ranch dip

serves 2

INGREDIENTS

for this recipe you’ll need a skillet with a lid and i used a non-stick one.

2 T. butter

2 T. olive oil

2 chicken breasts cut in half lengthwise into strips and pounded into even thickness

3 tomatillos, roughly chopped

1/3 - 1/2 c. corona beer

1 c. flour + seasoning salt + onion powder + cumin + paprika

1/4 c. cilantro pesto, see recipe below

1/4 c. ranch dressing

DIRECTIONS

marinate chicken breasts in 3 T. cilantro pesto, coated evenly, for at least 1 hour. 

combine remaining pesto with ranch dressing to make cilantro ranch dip. to taste.

heat butter and oil in skillet to medium high until bubbly. dredge pesto covered chicken cutlets in seasoned flour and brown in skillet about 4 minutes each side. remove from pan. add tomatillos to pan and cook, stirring occasionally till browned and softened, about 3 minutes. add beer to skillet, reduce heat a bit, and stir till reduced to about half the original amount. return chicken to pan and cover, cooking about 3 minutes on each side or until internal temperature reaches 170.

serve with cooked tomatillos, saucy bits from the pan and chopped avocado. spoon cilantro ranch dip over tenders or serve on the side. would also be good with this.

{cilantro pesto}

yields approx. 1/4 c.

4 c. cilantro leaves (the leaves from 2 bundles of cilantro)

1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped

1-2 T. olive oil

1 T. cumin

3/4 T. garlic powder

1 T. white sugar

combine all ingredients in food processor. freezes well.

this pan cooked chicken, albeit confusing with its mexican flavors, turned out really good and helped me use up some cilantro pesto i'd made last week, with no clear intention regarding its usage. this was also my first time cooking with tomatillos, and i thought the way the beer cooked and caramelized them was SO yummy. they were sweet and a little spicy at the same time. awesome. 

cooking smaller pieces of chicken in the skillet helps everything stay crispy and flavorful. i think a non stick skillet with a lid is the best way to cook chicken here in our grill-less apartment life.

::chipotle black beans::

i had made this before so i don't know why it wasn't on here. perhaps i made it before {vittles} was in place. it's a good, easy and versatile dish. you can control the heat with the amount of chipotle peppers, sauce and their seeds.

Chipotle Black Beans
INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 c. onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 c. chopped red bell pepper
5-6 cups cooked black beans or canned black beans, rinsed and drained
2 seeded chipotle chiles in adobo, minced (set 1 tablespoon of adobo sauce aside)
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon honey or sugar
fresh cilantro, minced
DIRECTIONS
Heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and peppers, and cook until translucent.
Turn heat to medium and add garlic, cumin, paprika, cocoa, salt and minced chipotle peppers. Sauté for 1-2 minutes, then mix in reserved adobo sauce. Stir to combine, then add beans immediately.

When the beans are hot, add vinegar and honey or sugar. Cover and simmer over low heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

 Sprinkle with fresh cilantro before serving over rice.

i did all this in a casserole dish in the microwave. i don't know how you fell about that but it was a quick, one pot dish from prep to service to storage, and that was nice. . . Adjust peppers and sauce according to taste.

{image belongs to foodpeoplewant}

drunk spicy shrimp

drunk spicy shrimp
INGREDIENTS
1 dozen peeled and devined shrimp
1 cup beer (I used Shiner)
2 tsp paprika
1 tablespoon minced cilantro
juice from one lemon
1 to 2 tablespoons red pepper flakes
1 clove garlic, minced
dash of cracked pepper
dash of salt
butter
DIRECTIONS
Combine all ingredients except butter in shallow bowl with lid or a ziploc bag and marinate refrigerated for 30 minutes to and hour. I imagine longer wouldn't hurt but I did not have time for that business. Heat 2 tablespoons butter on medium high heat and begin to add shrimp from the outside in. Each side only needs about 1 to 2 minutes so begin to flip the outer ring of shrimp almost as soon as you've placed the middle ones.

Try this on kebabs on the grill too!

{image belongs to tommywilliams}

love that sangria wine

I was introduced to Sangria when I studied in Spain. I'm supplying you with the way my Spanish "madre" there made it for us. And this is of course, in my opinion, the best way to make it. Sangria is a refreshing summer drink made with red wine, carbonation and citrus. It was my experience in Spain that it was drunk like a cold beer, glass of lemonade or tea would be on a hot summer day. Many recipes I found make it with brandy or rum or another alcohol. Feel free to add that if you want, but I think then it becomes more like a mixed drink and less of a light drink you can drink in the middle of the day and just pour from the pitcher multiple times....
Rosa's Authentic Sangria
INGREDIENTS
1 bottle medium or light-bodied red wine such as Syrah, Red Zinfandel or a fruity Merlot
1 small can of limeade concentrate
24- 32 oz (3 - 4 cups) carbonated orange soda
the juice of 2 lemons, or 1/2 c. bottled lemon juice
1 orange
1 lemon
1 lime
{optional}
2/3 c. triple sec (an orange flavored liquor) or other citrusy liquor.*
DIRECTIONS
Into a large pitcher, pour lime juice concentrate and wine. Squeeze the juice of 2 lemons, careful not to get seeds in it! A mesh strainer works well here. Add half the orange soda and any alcohol. Mix well with long spoon. Slice orange, lime and remaining lemon lengthwise, to form circular slices about 1/4 of an inch thick. Remove any seeds. Add to liquid mixture. Cover pitcher with lid or plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours. It just gets better the longer it's had to sit and chill. I usually make it the night before serving it, or at least earlier in the day. Add the rest of the orange soda to taste and stir before serving to give the carbonation a boost.

Allow fruit slices to fall into individual glasses when serving or reserve a few to place in glasses individually. Fruit may dye red so fresh slices in the glasses may make for a better presentation.

This is a very flexible drink to adapt to your taste and preferences. I know it's a little different each time i make it, but the essentials are: red wine, lime, lemon, orange flavors and carbonation. I think the best thing Rosa did was to accomplish both the orange flavor and the carbonation simultaneously. The orange soda is a fun, easy and unexpected secret ingredient.

*I think light rum or triple sec would be the best addition to this if you're looking to amp up the alcohol. More or less than 2/3 cup is a taste preference too, depending on how much you want it to be a mixed drink versus a lighter, daytime summer sip.

(image belongs to thesunblog}

tex mex summer salad

Wondering what to do with that avocado now, since you only used 1/6th of it for your sandwich on Saturday? Make a scrumptious little salad! Depending on how generous you feel like being with that avocado, and whether or not you want to add black beans, this could even be a meal.
Cast of characters, minus a few of the flavorings.

tex mex summer salad
INGREDIENTS
1 large avocado
2 roma tomatoes
juice from one lime
1 1/2 cup corn kernels (I used canned)
1 1/2 cup cooked black beans (I'd use canned...but had none)
2 tsp. yellow mustard
1/4 to 1/3 c. finely chopped cilantro
2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
3 tsp salt or seasoning salt
2 tsp chili powder
DIRECTIONS
Dice avocado and tomatoes and add to medium sized bowl with corn and black beans. Add lime juice, cilantro and spices and mix well. Cover with plastic wrap and chill 30 minutes to a hour before serving.

Perhaps you can tell that my avocado was quite ripe. Great for below sandwich, still tasty but a little mushy for this salad. Chilling this before serving not only enhances the refreshing aspect of the salad but also allows the flavors to blend. Obviously this is quite flexible and I suggest you taste it as you add spices... diced peppers like red or jalapenos would be another great addition. Squeezing a bit of orange into it would probably be really good as well. This could also be a yummy topping for fajitas or grilled shrimp tacos or even salmon. So easy, so versatile, what's not to love?

beef empanadas

Cooking for two, I inevitably have leftovers. Instead of incorporating all three chicken breasts in that package or the entire pound of ground beef into the same dish, I try to cook the meats separately so that I can set 2/3 of them aside to freeze for two additional dishes. Otherwise, if I use the entire defrosted package, Tay would be eating the same meal out of the same 4 quart Coringware for an entire month.

I know you were dying to know the background about why I was so excited to find another new entree to try that incorporated ground beef! Furthermore, this involved making a pastry, biscuitish dough, and since I'm trying to bake more breads then I knew I had to try this.
There they are, people. Be sure that you fold and pinch the edges really well. All but one of them popped open and commenced oozing.

And there's the ground beef, mixed with the canned tomatoes and a few bits of cilantro. I wasn't brave enough to add a significant amount of cilantro so I don't think we could taste it. Consequently, I didn't include it as an ingredient in the recipe, but feel free to throw it in. Also, to be honest, I don't remember how much I threw in there so I have no accurate measurement to provide you with. Just Rachel Ray it.More cheese wouldn't have hurt. My hubby doesn't like strong cheeses, but, if I'd had my way, I would have put goat cheese in this. Someone on Smitten Kitchen's site suggested blue cheese which also sounds great to me but not really authentic, not really true to the regional category in which this dish resides. But who cares, really. Try it and invite me over. Really.

I halved this recipe and ended up having almost enough dough for five. Since it should have made six, I must have rolled the dough too thick. Giving measurements is hard, really how can you measure these type of things? 1/8th to 1/6th of an inch? Slightly thicker than a tortilla? Look at my picture above and make it thinner.

Beef Empanadas
adapted from SmittenKitchen
Makes a dozen 6-inch empanadas
INGREDIENTS
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
salt and pepper
3/4 pound ground beef chuck (though I used lean)
1 (14-ounce) can chopped tomatoes in juice, drained, reserving 2 tablespoons juice
1/2 to 1 cup cheese such as monterrey jack or goat cheese
1 package frozen empanada pastry disks, thawed (or homemade, recipe follows)
1 egg beaten with 2 teaspoons water
DIRECTIONS
Cook onion in olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until softened. Add garlic and spices and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in beef and cook, breaking up lumps with a fork, until no longer pink, about 4 minutes.

Add about 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and tomatoes with reserved juice, then cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid is reduced but mixture is still moist, about 5 minutes. Spread on a plate to cool.

Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 400°F. Lay a large sheet of plastic wrap on a dampened work surface (to help keep plastic in place), then roll out an empanada disk on plastic wrap to measure about 6 inches. Place 3 tablespoons meat mixture on disk. Sprinkle with cheese. Moisten edges of disk with water and fold over to form a semicircle, then crimp edges together well. Make more empanadas in same manner.

Lightly brush empanadas with egg wash and bake in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until golden, about 25 minutes. Transfer empanadas to a rack to cool at least 5 minutes.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Empanada Dough
INGREDIENTS
4 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (when I halved this recipe, I used 1 1/4 c white and 1 cup whole wheat)
3 teaspoons salt
2 sticks (1 cup or 8 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 large eggs
2/3 cup ice water
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
DIRECTIONS
Sift flour with salt into a large bowl and blend in butter with your fingertips or a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal with some (roughly pea-size) butter lumps. Beat together egg, water, and vinegar in a small bowl with a fork. Add to flour mixture, stirring with fork until just incorporated. (Mixture will look shaggy.) Turn out mixture onto a lightly floured surface and gather together, then knead gently with heel of your hand once or twice, just enough to bring dough together. Form dough into two flat rectangles and chill them, each wrapped in plastic wrap, at least 1 hour. Dough can be chilled up to 6 hours total.

This dough was really good!

breakfast tacos made easy

The key to good breakfast tacos is a good tortilla. I'm sorry if you don't live in Texas (let me know if you want me to export these to you) but these HEB tortillas are my new favorite thing (thank you demographics). It's a package of uncooked tortilla dough. So I can take the bag out of the freezer, allow it to defrost for a few minutes then place the rounds on a skillet. Instant tortilla amazingness. I would not lead you astray. Please go find these right now. They can be found in the refrigerated section near the dairy and eggs.

The pictures are deceiving because what I most sincerely recommend is not documented here. I suggest using your favorite hot-as-hot, big and chunky hot sauce and whisking it in with the eggs before scrambling. For Taylor this morning, I mixed in some cheese and cooked ground taco meat with the egg. Or you could dice a potato, seasoning salt and pepper it and cook it in a skillet with butter or olive oil like you're making homefries. Then add that to the eggs before scrambling.
Look, three minutes to tortilla heaven. Hold me back. Add to skillet, flip when bubbly.
Breakfast Tacos
yield 2
3 eggs
1/4 c. grated Monterry Jack cheese
ground pepper
3 tablespoons milk (optional)
GOOD tortillas!
{suggested additions}
hot salsa
cooked ground beef or sausage meat
1 diced, cooked potato (with skin on recommended)
sauteed onions
sauteed green peppers
canned chopped jalapenos
(ok I'm getting carried away)
DIRECTIONS
Cook HEB tortillas according to package directions. Or heat 1 tablespoon butter on medium heat and warm and toast prepared tortillas in skillet, about 2 minutes per side. Store under foil.

Whisk all desired taco ingredients together. Pour egg mixture onto nonstick skillet, or well greased stainless skillet, on medium to medium low heat. Allow to cook untouched about 1 minute then begin scrambling by mixing and flipping with large spatula. Remove to prepared tortillas as soon as they look done, about 3 minutes.

I don't recommend using larger than a 10 inch skillet as egg mixture will spread out too quickly. But I'm probably just weird.

Behold, tortillas.Don't forget to add salsa if you're like my husband and opposed to scrambling it with the eggs. You're missing out. But this has been a very opinionated and regionally limited post so I'll withhold further judgments and recommedations. Contact me with questions or taco addition assistance.

Just find those tortillas!

easypeasy chicken enchiladas

Oh man, Taylor loved these. I put together a bunch of recipes from All Recipes.com and it seemed like the good reviews coincided with the ones that were more casserole-y involving Cream of Chicken soup. So I didnt resist. Here's what I came up with and Taylor loved it.



Chicken Enchiladas
INGREDIENTS
1/2 c. onion chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced, or 1/2 tsp. garlic powder.
1 tsp cumin
1 1/2 cup cooked chicken, cubed or shredded
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can green enchilada sauce
1 cup grated cheese. (I recommend monterrey jack and sharp cheddar)
6 flour tortillas, warmed so they're soft.
DIRECTIONS
Oven to 350. Lightly grease large baking dish. Heat oil in skillet on medium and saute onions about 4 min. Add soup and combine. Transfer 3/4 mixture from pan into small bowl and stir in the enchilada sauce. Set aside.

To the remainder in the pan, add chicken, cumin, garlic. Mix well. Lower heat and add half the cheese and stir to melt.

Pour enough of the set aside sauce mixture into the baking dish to cover the bottom. Fill each tortilla with the chicken mix from the skillet. Line filled tortillas in baking dish. Pour the rest of the sauce over the top and top with remaining cheese. I put about 5 green chili peppers on top. Bake for 30 min or until cheese is bubbly.

That's that! next time I may try more things in there, like peppers or spinach or a more interesting cheese like goat or feta, and perhaps corn tortillas.

{image belongs to vivamex}