We opened this jar of chipotle chilis in adobo sauce and they were way spicier than we were expecting. We used one in a puree for our tamales but needed a way to use up the rest of the can so we created this yogurt sauce to tone it down but still get that amazing flavor and just enough heat.
My aunt has serranos coming out of her ears (not literally) and gave us a big bag full of them. They were all shades of green, orange and red and SUPER hot. To ensure this concoction was edible, we seeded some of them. We prefer things on the spicier side though so if you’re not so inclined you can totally tone it down by seeding more (or all, depending on the heat of your peppers and your tolerance for heat).
2 dozen serranos
4 medium sized tomatoes
2 elephant garlic cloves or 12 normal garlic cloves
1/2 a white onion
salt/pepper to taste
drizzle of olive oil
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/2 can fire roasted tomatoes
pre-heat oven to 350º F
halve and seed some of the peppers (depending on how hot you want it), drizzle w/ olive oil on a half baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes
line another baking sheet and lay out the rest of the peppers, tomatoes, garlic (leave cloves in their skin) and onion (halve but leave in skin), drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake for 50 minutes
remove and let cool
in a food processor blend roasted chiles, tomatoes, garlic (w/out skin), onion (w/out skin), vinegar and the canned tomatoes until fairly smooth then taste and season to taste w/ vinegar and salt and pepper
This is another kitchen-sink kind of salad. Salads don’t have to be boring as long as you have some good ole pantry staples. Avocado doesn’t hurt either. Or a healthy dose of red pepper flakes. You could even throw a fried egg on top for some serious salad snazz.
{this recipe is for 1 salad with a lot of leftover garbanzos}
for the garbanzo-sardine mash:
1 can garbanzos
1 tin sardines in harrissa olive oil (if you can’t find them, you can sub sardines in olive oil and add a bit of harissa*)
1/2 cup pine nuts
a few generous shakes of red pepper flakes
salt to taste
2 cloves garlic
1/2 lemon
for the salad:
2 handfuls spinach
1/2 avocado
heat a medium sized skillet and toss in the pine nuts, shaking the pan a few times until the nuts start getting a little brown and smell good, then remove from pan
drain some of the olive oil from the sardines off into the pan
mince garlic and add to the pan
drain the garbanzos and rinse then add to the pan
break sardines into pieces and add to the pan and start mashing garbanzos with a fork, turn down heat, salt to taste
add the pine nuts back in and take the pan off heat, squeeze lemon juice into the pan
serve over spinach and under avocado
*trader joes sells these little suckers for the low price of $1.29, a steal of a tasty protein deal for a college student, or anyone trying to conserve beer/travel money
The other day I felt myself starting to get sick so I ran over to Whole Foods and bought up all of the immunity boosting things I could think of. And it worked!
3 cloves garlic
3 cm piece fresh ginger
1 carton chicken broth (low sodium)
2 portobello mushrooms
2 tbsp soy sauce (low sodium)
2 tbsp sesame oil (you can sub another oil if you need to)
Chilaquiles are one of those quintessential Mexican dishes and while they may seem like a thing of dreams (especially on a cold sunday morning) they’re really not too hard to perfect at home. The secret is mastering the perfect wet-but-but-not-too-soggy chip consistency. We think the secret may lie in using somewhat stale chips..and if you’re getting your bulk tortilla chips from Costco they could be month(s) old.
serves 2
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 yellow onion
3 large tomatoes
1 jalapeno
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp cilantro
1/2 cup diced chicken or meat of your choice (optional)
3 handfuls of tortilla chips
queso fresco
2 eggs
salt/pepper to taste (and jalapeno salt doesn’t hurt. ever)
1/2 avocado
dice onion, tomatoes and jalapeno (seed first)
heat olive oil in a saute pan over medium high heat then add the onion, tomatoes and jalapeno
mince garlic and chop cilantro (with stems) and add to pan
cook for about 10 minutes or until all veggies are softened, let cool for a minute then transfer to a vitamix or other blender
blend until smooth, then transfer back to the pan over medium low heat, add salt and pepper to taste
My mom has been making this salsa for as long as I can remember. After Thanksgiving she always makes a big batch of it and then cooks up the leftover turkey in the green salsa for a taco or enchilada filling. It’s one of the tastiest and healthiest post-thanksgiving meals. The tomatillos make it slightly tangy and you can adjust the spiciness depending on how many chiles and what kind you use.
20 medium sized tomatillos
3 cups chicken broth
1 jalapeno
1 serrano
1 bunch cilantro
3-4 garlic cloves
salt
peel tomatillos and quarter, chop a jalapeno and a serrano in thirds
put tomatillos and peppers in a medium sized pot and add enough chicken broth to cover tomatillos
bring to a boil then bring it down to a simmer (uncovered) until tomatillos are soft, remove from heat and let cool
remove the big stems from the cilantro but otherwise you can leave it intact, wash
clean garlic and put cloves in a Vitamix, along with the tomatillo mixture and the cilantro
blend until fairly smooth (a few of seconds), then add salt or more chilis to taste
Last week we had excessive amounts of jalapenos and I was going to visit my grandpa (Nonno) who is jalapeno’s number one fan so I decided to spice up some zucchini bread with jalapenos and add some cheese in for good measure. He approved.
4 jalapenos
3 large eggs
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup grated zucchini
1/2 cup grated asiago
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp nutmeg
pre-heat oven to 350°F and line a bread pan with parchment paper or butter or cooking spray
whisk eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla extract in a large bowl until smooth
whisk flour, salt, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and nutmeg
make a well in center of dry ingredients, add egg mix and slowly combine, then fold in zucchini
de-seed jalapenos and dice them, then add them into dough along with grated cheese
bake for about 70 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean
