"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.

"El Camion en Seattle"

Today, my teammates from Seattle took me to a place called "El Camion". A traditional Mexican street food place in Seattle's SODO neighborhood. http://www.elcamionseattle.com/

Their menu is pretty broad for the space in which they operate. From a variety of tacos, mole, chipotle shrimp and even tamales to a nice variety of salsas including habanero and salsa verde.

It is exciting to taste authentic Mexican food, no matter where it is. If you happen to be in Seattle and want to experience something close to what you have had in Mexico, definitely stop by.

My lunch was such a treat; 2 tacos de carne asada, 1 taco de lengua y una mulita de puerco - a quesadilla concoction with avocado and pork. Ahh, delicioso.

"Loving Goat Cheese and Poblanos"

Although I don't remember exactly when was the first time I had goat cheese, I know it is one of my favorite things to eat.

Last night, I prepared chiles rellenos with veggies and goat cheese and they turned out to be delicious. Althoug roasting the chiles is probably the most labor intensive step, the rest is super easy.

Recipe below is for 3 chiles. Because two per person could be too much and because one is not enough! Keep in mind that poblanos that are darker are the ones with the richest flavor.

3 Poblano peppers
1 medium onion
1 yellow bell pepper
1 small zucchini
1 Tbsp of olive oil
1/2 tsp of salt
1/2 tsp of pepper
3 Tbsp of goat cheese

Roast the poblanos on a hot skillet and turn them so they get roasted evenly. They should get grill marks all over before you take them off the heat. However, you can always use your oven by placing the on a baking sheet and roast for 10 min (approx) at 350 degrees. They should be soft but not flacid.

Once they are off the heat place them inside a folded kitchen towel so they can "sweat" for about 10 min. Take them out to seed and devein each of them. Make a cut in the middle and take seeds out with a spoon. Gently run warm water through them to get all the seeds out.

Okay, the rest is really easy. I promise. You might want to reward this "hard" work with a glass of sauvignon blanc that will go great with this dish.

Chop the onion, bell pepper and zucchini. Turn on one of your burners to medium heat, then add olive oil and heat for a bit - but not smoking.

Add onion and toss it for a while until it gets transparent, add bell pepper, salt and pepper and cover for 10 min. Add zucchini turn off the heat and cover again for another 10 min. The zucchini will have a soft "crunch".

Turn your oven on and set it to "broil", this will melt the cheese nicely. Almost done...stuff the poblanos with the vegetable mixture then add a spoon of goat cheese to each - don't over do the cheese, although we all are tempted.

Put them in a ceramic dish and into the broiler for 5 minutes or until they get the cheese melted to your preference. Listo, a comer!

The image used above was originally posted to Flickr by Daxiang Stef and it is licensed under the creative commons atributions license.

"It's Creamy, But Very Spicy"

Ah, that is what I felt the first time I tried this salsa at a friends place in NYC many moons ago. Then the next question, who made this? and how can we get more. It turns out that it was from a neighborhood restaurant - that I became a fan until my taste buds were able to tell me what was inside this magic potion called Habanero-Roasted Tomato Salsa.

This Habanero-Roasted tomato salsa is my interpretation of that salsa. I have to say that I have played with it for years but I think I am at a point where I can share the recipe.

This salsa is definitely on the "hot" side of the spectrum. Though you can adjust the level of tomato and Habaneros according to your taste preference.

5 Roma tomatoes

1 Habanero pepper (I like the orange ones for this recipe)

1/4 medium onion

1 garlic clove (a big one)

1/4 cup heavy cream (ambient temperature)

A couple of grape or cherry tomatoes

1 Tbsp of olive oil

1 tsp of canola oil

1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper (adjust to taste at the end)

Turn your oven to 350 and place your roma tomatoes, habanero pepper, garlic and onion on a baking sheet for 20 min or until they have some strong roasted look. Peel tomatoes and add them to blender with garlic, salt and pepper. Press pulse 5-6 times for 3-4 seconds each time.

In a pan, add canola oil turn your burner to medium heat and just before it hits the smoking point, add salsa to the pan. Let it warm up for 2-3 min over low/med then add cream and stir quickly. Turn it off. Taste for salt and adjust accordingly.

To finish up, finely chop the grape/cherry tomatoes then put them on a hot skillet with the olive oil for about a minute over medium heat. Top your salsa bowl with this aromatic tomato mixture and get ready to enjoy.

This salsa is a great companion to carne asada tacos or your favorite filling. I also like to eat it with burritos that have avocado inside; it helps balance the heat. If you have a favorite salsa, feel free to share it. It doesn't have to be spicy!

"Tacos de Pescado"

We all have had an awesome "fish taco" experience. I recently went to San Francisco where I stopped at Mijita, a Mexican restaurant at the Ferry Building owned by Chef Des Jardins. There, the taco is deep fried and served on a double corn tortilla with a Jalapeno crema. Mmm, I can almost taste it again. You probably wouldn't expect good Mexican at the Ferry building; however, you will be surprised. Next time pay a visit http://www.mijitasf.com/

Tonight, we had Mahi-Mahi fish tacos. Instead of frying them. We baked them. Same process you follow to get them fried, just baked. 25 min @ 350 degrees. We served them in corn tortillas and enjoyed them with sliced avocado and hot sauce. I missed a good lager or pale ale to make the meal even better --XX Dos Equis anyone?

Let me share with you a quick salsa that goes extremely well with tacos de pescado: Salsa verde de tomatillo y jalapeno. For a quick look at tomatillos http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomatillo

5-6 green tomatillos
1 jalapeno pepper
1/4 medium onion
1 garlic clove
1/3 cup of chopped cilantro
salt and pepper to taste

Peel husk off from tomatillos, clean them and throw them in hot water. Add onion, garlic clove and jalapeno to the water as well. Leave it there for 15 min or so; until tomatillos change to a bright green without bursting in the water. Add everything to the food processor or blender and pulse intermittently 5-10 times until desired consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste then cilantro and pulse a few times.

If you like some crunch in addition to the avocado and the fish, chop some cabbage very thinly and add a little of lemon juice and red wine vinegar to get it nice and tangy.

Now get ready to enjoy...warm up your tortilla put the baked mahi-mahi, then add some chopped cilantro, couple of avocado slices, a little cabbage and as much salsa as you want. Finish with a light squeeze of lime juice and salt.

Salud!

"There is nothing in the fridge"

How many times have you said that? Then turned to your favorite take-out menu and said "oh well, let's get the usual". Dial tone...

While I also enjoy my Asian take-out and pizza from the joint a few blocks from our place, there is nothing like a quick home-made meal that tastes good.

Last Friday, I was facing exactly this moment. Not to mention that our fridge went kaput a couple of weeks ago. So there wasn't a lot to choose from.

So here's the deal, I always keep my pantry stocked with stuff that I like; capers, olives, and well I was lucky to have 3 small Roma tomatoes...and cooked a pasta sauce inspired on a puttanesca recipe --the original has anchovies and uses crused tomatoes.

First, I minced a shallot and smashed one garlic clove and put it on the pan with a little olive oil....then while that was sizzling (without burning) I chopped my tomatoes and added them to the party. Finally, I added some pepper and about half a cup of chopped olives (I like pitted kalamatas or gaetas but throw in whatever you have) and a teaspoon of capers --- a little red crushed pepper will add a spicy touch. Cooked for 6-8 min over medium heat while boiling thin spaghetti ; when pasta was ready, I drained it and mixed with the sauce in the pan, tossed over and finished with a drizzle of olive oil. I like to reserve about a 1/3 cup of the pasta water and add some to the pan while you toss the pasta. It makes a better consistency.

If you have 3 more minutes you can complement it with a mixed greens salad and a quick dressing. I like mixing 3 table spoons of olive oil with 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, salt and pepper. Just whisk it and adjust to taste - I like my dressings a little on the acidic/lemony side.

And that was it. Spaghettini Puttanesca with mixed greens. Oh well, and little red wine, of course. Cheers.