"Venere"

Dark foods are not for everyone. However, there are some that are just succulent. Like Venere rice, a rare variety product of a combination between Chinese black rice and Italian rice, that renewed my love with 'wild rice'. The taste is nutty, aromatic; the texture, with a soft crunch. I prepared it by chopping a shallot, a clove of garlic, and olive oil before adding water/stock, then cooked it for 40 min.
If you see it, get it and give it a shot!

"Summer Stopped By"

Tonight, for some reason I felt like preparing a pasta dish that reminded me about summer. Light, lemony, fresh tasting. I just julienned zucchini and mixed it with the cooked pasta, added olive oil, salt, lemon zest and oregano. Super fast and tasty!

"Purplicious"

Purple is not only a color of this season, it is a color that you can include in your diet. Whether it is red cabbage (actually purplish), Kalamata or Gaeta olives, and even cauliflower. And it is exactly this last one the one I want to talk to you about.

First of all, look how beautiful it is. It not only has great taste and texture but it is also packed with flavonoids that give it that amazing purple color.

So, go ahead and get a couple of these beauties; break them apart and remove the core in order to get the florets ready to be roasted--Yes, we are roasting these guys. Toss these in olive oil and salt while you pre-heat your oven to 450 degrees.

Once oven is ready, put cauliflower florets in a baking sheet, preferably on a layer of foil or parchment paper. Roast them for about 20 min, until they brown from the bottom. While that is going on prepare any citrusy dressing of your choice. One of my favorites is below:

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1`medium garlic clove
5-6 Pitted Olives (Gaetas or Kalamatas)
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
Juice of half a tangerine
1/2 tsp of lemon or tangerine zest
1 Tbsp of (finely) chopped parsley
1 Tbsp red Wine vinegar or sherry vinegar

Heat olive oil over medium heat, add the garlic a few minutes later making sure it doesn't get too warm, add the garlic clove and enjoy the aromas in your kitchen...toss it around and remove after 2 minutes or so; add in the olives and turn it off. Remove from heat. Mix in all remaining ingredients and adjust to taste - salt, pepper, more vinegar, etc.

Once you remove the cauliflower from the heat, put it on a serving dish and pour in the dressing. The dark purple, the aromas of the dressing are delicious, 'purplicious' actually.

"A Cultural Treasure"

This week, UNESCO declared Mexican Cuisine a cultural treasure --Patrimonio de la Humanidad - como decimos en Mexico. I read it on twitter, on newspapers, then, I felt the need to share it with my friends...and tonight I realized that even though I did not need a reminder, it made me feel proud of my country, and my roots.

And although, for many people Mexican food equals "cheesy" and "creamy" dishes; it is certainly more than that. When I see both of my kids eating home-made tamales and beans like there is no tomorrow - I feel awesome; I see myself in them.

So, whatever your favorite dish, go ahead and try something new; something that perhaps you have never tried. Or something that you don't try so often. My current 'affair' is with beans. Yes, beans - think beyond pinto. The nuances in texture, aromas and flavor are incredible. It all started when I was at the Ferry Building in San Francisco a couple of years ago, and I saw a kind of bean that I had never seen before, Ayocote Morado. It had a dark purplish color and was bigger than pinto or red beans. When I cooked them, I discovered a delicious creamy texture; and a very thin bouillon that reminded me when growing up I would dip bread into the bowl (en el caldito).

So next time you want to eat beans, give new beans a shot.