Green Salsa

For most of the people anything spicy is good on any food, but, for me it seems like depending on what I'm eating varies the kick i need, if I'm eating tacos, my favorite is the spicy and creamy one, or the avocado green salsa, you may call it guacamole, but, for me guacamole is more like a fresh salsa with avocado, here i am about to teach you how to make different salsas, that depending on what you are craving is what you will need.

My personal favorite is the classic green salsa, flavorful, spicy and with so many possibilities.

the basic recipe is:

6 tomatillos
1/3 onion
1 glove of garlic
3 serrano peppers
cilantro
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of chicken bruillion

in a deep pan boil the tomatillos, onion, garlic and serrano peppers, add a little bit of oil and salt to the water, enhances the flavor and helps to cook our ingredients just right. boil for about 20 min, or until the tomatillos completely change color to a lighter tone. strain most of water (we need a little bit of liquid to make the blender's job easier). now blend the mix from the deep pan together with the rest of the ingredients, and there it is, a delicious green salsa that goes well with green enchiladas, tacos, chips, or whatever you feel like spicing up.

now there's a couple more things you can do to completely change this basic green salsa and make it completely different.

1.- the "green salsa guac" with the basic green salsa in the blender, add a whole avocado, and the juice of one lime. now it's a creamy citrus mix that is one of my favorites

2.- the "creamy green" with the basic green salsa in the blender add a whole avocado and add 1/4 cup of whipping cream, this makes the creamy green dressing like the one from cafe del rio.

Another one of my personal favorite is simple, citrus and pure evil. this is my wake up call, when i really crave pure spicy.

5 habaneros or 5 serrano peppers
(depending on how permanent you want the damage, habaneros are hotter than serranos i respect both)
juice of 3 limes
salt to taste.

in a Teflon pan, roast the peppers till they have some black in them, then grind or blend them with the lime and salt, and there you go, salsa al naturale! enjoy

TAMALES

When talking about authentic Mexican food, we go as far back as the Aztecs making corn dough to make tortillas, and making different spicy dishes to go with the delicious home made tortillas, but when it comes to making a lot of food for a lot of people tamales is the answer, you can make a lot of them fast and the only thing that takes time is letting all the tamales cook slowly in a steaming pot for a couple hours while other food cook and prepare, then food is ready.

Tamales are pretty simple, dried corn husk as the shell, corn dough which consist of some corn flour, lard and salt, and some amazing recipe to give it flavor, such as chicken in green salsa, pork in red adobo sauce and jalapenos and cheese. If what you have is a sweet tooth then sweet tamales are amazing as well, strawberry, pineapple, and raisin are the classics.

The traditional way of eating them would include a hot and steamy atole, which is a hot creamy drink that can be made of any flavor, my personal favorite are: chocolate, vanilla, strawberry and caramel.

I recently went to Anaya's Market, which is a local Latino Market located at 1550 West and 7800 South in West Jordan, just down the street from gardeners village, and this place has a peculiar difference, in the parking lot there's a Tamale stand, which might be a new concept to you, but there's an authentic Tamal stand, it's located at the east corner in the same side as the market. sells them in the evenings all week, from 5 pm. to 10 pm.

This place brings back so many memories from me growing up in Mexico, they are made just right, they are only $1.25 a piece and the atole is the same price, they sell different flavors, chicken in green salsa, pork in red adobo, rajas con queso ( cheese and peppers ), even the sweet tamales i talked about, this place has it all.

Throught my life I've had a lot of Tamales, and for the longest time I thought only my mom knew how to make them, well, this place makes them just right, moist, flavorful and with lots of filling.


For that affordable price you've got to go get some!!!  enjoy.

breakfast crepes

I love eating breakfast, but it seems like going out to eat breakfast at the traditional food chains get's more and more expensive every time, some of my favorite classics are: pancakes, crepes, eggs, sausage and bacon.

I personally love crepes, i think they're delicious and yes you need about 5 of them to fill you up, but, they're amazing and the fact that you need several of them to fill up your sweet teeth opens the door to making four or five different creations, my favorite toppings are: strawberries, bananas, mango, blueberries, raspberries, whipping cream, sweetened condensed milk, caramel, cream cheese, ready whip, powder sugar, etc... (you get the picture)

here I would like to explain to you how to make one of my favorite, crepes:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup water
•  2 tablespoons butter, melted
•  1/4 teaspoon of sugar
•  1/4 teaspoon salt
•  1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

mix all the ingredients in a blender and let it sit for about 30 min.

heat a pan for 5 min, on medium temperature, slightly butter the pan, and drop enough mix to cover half the pan, then pick the pan off the stove and spin the mix until it covers all of the pan, cook for 12 seconds, then flip, if the edges are not sticking to the pan, then is ready to flip.

then place on plate and in one quarter or the crepe apply desired toppings, then fold the rest in half twice to end with a nice triangle, or simply roll it like a tortilla, then top it off with some fresh fruit, make some fancy lines with sweetened condensed milk, and some powder sugar. mmm.... and bon appetit!

Ponche de frutas

Growing up in Mexico there where a lot of seasonal drinks and meals that i remember, starting with the celebrity of the day of the death, which is on November second, is pretty much like Halloween except is more like a day to remember those who have past the way, visit their graves, make a couple rituals and make and eat some homemade candy in the shape of a human skull. i remember the smell of the sacred Aztec flowers (Tagetes erecta, the Mexican marigold, also called Aztec marigold), and the incense, and a guy doing an old ritual dance venerating those who were no longer with us.

I remember that in school they would have a special party with lots of food and treats, today I went to the Mexican store with my cousin, and to my surprise I found some deliciously fresh sugar cane stick, I haven't had this for a long time, but i remember exactly what i tastes like, it looks like bamboo, you cut it in pieces, then peal the green layer, then chew and spit the resting fiber without any sweet juice in it.

A six foot stick was only $2.50, and it was an offer I couldn't pass on, so I bought myself one, and I can't wait till I get home and get to work.

 

A popular Mexican drink that i enjoy, is kind of like a tea. a fresh fruity tea, I've had a big variety versions of it, but i enjoy mine the old fashion way, and the more fruit in the better.

And if you are a tea drinker you are going to love this.

 I looked around in the internet for a good recipe, and this is the best one I found:

it's from this address:

"http://www.soyfashionista.com/refrescos-y-mas/articles/ponche-de-frutas-hot-fruit-punch.html"

1 pound tejocotes (Mexican crab apples, in season now)
4 pounds caña (sugar cane)
3 pounds pears, peeled, seeded, and cut into eighths
3 pounds fresh guavas, peeled and halved
3 pounds granulated sugar
2 pounds raisins
3 sticks (1 foot long) cinnamon
1 orange peel, diced
2 whole cloves
7 quarts water (1 quart separate use)
Rum to taste

Bring the extra quart of water to a boil. Add the tejocotes and bring back to a boil. As soon as the pot boils, remove it from the heat. Remove the skins, hard ends, and seeds from the tejocotes.
Bring the six remaining quarts of water to boil in a large pot. Meanwhile, peel the sugar cane and cut it into pieces approximately 1" long and 1/4" wide, and prepare the other fruits.
When the water boils, add the tejocotes and let them boil for 45 minutes or until tender.
Add the pears to the boiling water. Be sure that you have cut away the heart of the pear and removed all seeds.
After a half hour, add the sugar and return to a boil. Add the diced orange peel and the cinnamon sticks, then the raisins and the cloves. Allow the mixture to simmer for approximately 15 minutes longer.
Add rum as desired to each person's cup and serve the punch hot. Be certain that each cup contains some of all of the fruits.
(You can serve this punch with tequila or charanda instead of rum.)

And if you are a tea drinker you are going to love this. You must remember that tequila and rum are a huge part of the culture and they are very proud of their quality and taste, however, in the church I belong to we don't drink, so you can skip the last line and the last ingredient.

When served we would leave chunks of fruit in it and always a tiny stick of sugar cane, this both helps you stir and decorates it in a harmonious way.

I recommend eating it with a Tamal, or a fresh bakery piece from the Mexican store, or plain, is healthy and delicious. enjoy.

fruit smoothies

I love fruit smoothies, I just don't like the entire idea of paying six to eight dollars for them, with the fall season right on us, the cropping of fresh home grown fruit is at hand, i have neighbors that have fruit, from grapes, apples, raspberries, peaches, etc... i got a hold of a lot of fruit, and i knew that if i was to froze some of this fruit it would hold it's nutrients and chill my smoothie with more fruit and less ice, i froze some fresh pineapple, bananas and some grapes, and then blended all the fresh fruit i could find in my fridge, i ended up with a creatioin that i think is worth sharing:


one banana (frozen)
one cup of green grapes (frozen)
one kiwi
one peach (without the pit)
one apple
one pear
half a cup of strawberries
half a cup of papaya (frozen)
half a cup of orange juice

blend it all for 4 min and there it is, fresh healthy and delicious...

 
if you want to make this a double healthy elixir, you can add ( at your own risk)

flax seed, alfalfa sprouts, oatmeal, protein powder, yogurt, granola, spinach, carrots, etc...

i love fresh fruit and i hope this mix pleases your wildest taste buds :)

i think this is a great way to get a healthy meal without having to spend a lot of time, and allows me to have breakfast while driving, and i remember growing up i was told to have at least a fruit serving per day, even though some days I have twenty at a time, i do enjoy some healthy greens too :)