Absolutely Delicious..... and Healthy, too!

Lately, I've been having quite the experience with Spa and healthier cooking versions of dishes. No, it doesn't mean I've abandoned my sauces and other tasty tidbits, it just means that I've been working on "other" things to add to my repertoire...... If you're familiar with the Canyon Ranch Spa and other such culinary tendencies, then you know what I mean.

Converting beloved dishes, or trying to if you're into this, into lighter / healthier versions can be a challenge, especially if you've got dietary or nutritional requirements to incorporate into this at the same time, like Diabetes, Hypertension, Salt-free, Gluten-free, Vegetarian, Vegan, Raw Foodists, etc, etc, etc.... and while more than ever before there are options for all of these, sometimes it's very hard work to try and come up with satisfying and tasty results. If you've been reading the news of late it seems that more and more vegetarians are abandoning their lifestyle and once again joining the ranks of us "animal eaters", (or as a cooking school chum liked to call us "cruel cooking types"), due to the "cruelty free" production of meats, fish and seafood that are now available. So, wherever your tendencies lie, there is an answer for you!

But getting back to semi-normal kind of cooking (organic & natural, healthier and lighter versions), here are a couple of recipes you might enjoy trying. I can state that they are high on flavor and deliver very satisfying results and easy to make. Intrigued?

Vegetable Lasagna with Parmesan or Garlic Sauce.- Thick, tasty sauce with plenty of vegetables. You won't miss the meat or anything else. Wonderful presentation too. Vegetables used are just a guide, change them for any you prefer, this is a very versatile recipe.

4 cups cooked vegetables (choose your favorite), I like Portobellos & Asparagus.....
4 1/2 Tbls Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Spread (or butter)
1 medium-large onion, chopped
Salt & Pepper as needed
1 pkg No-boil Whole Wheat Lasagna Noodles (or your regular ones, cooked & drained)
2 1/2 cups milk substitute (Rice Dream, Almond Milk or regular milk)
1 cup chicken broth (from organic chickens or your choice), low salt
6 garlic cloves, smashed with the side of a knife (or see Garlic Sauce)
4-5 Tbls flour (gluten-free, Rice, Whole Wheat or your choice of thickening agent), natural
1 1/4 cups grated Parmesan cheese, organic
1/2 pound Fontina (or provolone) cheese, grated (2 1/2 cups), organic

Have your vegetables ready, they should be cooked and seasoned and taste good on their own. Asparagus should be blanched, Portobellos stir fried, etc. Reserve. I cook Portobellos with onions and garlic, S&P.....

Heat 2 Tbs. butter over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add onion; cook until soft and golden brown, about 5 minutes. Set aside. (This is optional if you like, I just add it to my veggies)

Mix 1 1/2 Tbls salt and 2 quarts very hot tap water in a lasagna pan. Add noodles and soak until soft and pliable 8- 10 minutes. Drain and stack loosely. Noodles tend to stick together as they dry, but pull apart easily, I prefer to leave some liquid instead.

Make Parmesan Sauce: Heat milk, broth and garlic until steaming hot. (slowly heat in saucepan over medium-low heat.) Fish out garlic; discard. (I leave it in...) Melt 3 Tbls butter over medium heat in saucepan; when foaming subsides, whisk in flour and continue to cook, whisking constantly, until well blended. Pour in milk mixture all at once and whisk vigorously until sauce is smooth and starts to thicken. Stir in 1/2 cup Parmesan, 1/4 tsp. salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat; place plastic wrap directly on the sauce's surface.

If you're making Garlic Sauce instead: In saucepan, melt some butter & flour in the same amount, I use 4 tbls each and stir over med-high heat (watch it) for at least 2-3 min to cook the flour taste. Have 6-8 garlic cloves, through a garlic press, ready. Once the butter mix is ready, add the pressed garlic cloves and stir 1-2 min but don't allow to burn. Add the hot milk and whisk to prevent clumps. The mixture will thicken soon, keep whisking. Once it's thicker, add salt and pepper, taste and insure seasonings are good.

Adjust rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 400-425 F. Put 1/4 cup of the sauce on bottom of baking dish. Place noodles to cover bottom, 2/3 cup sauce, 1/4 of the onions, 1/2 of one of the cooked vegetables (alternating layers), 1/2 cup Fontina and 2 Tbls Parmesan. Then do it again using the other vegetable. The final-top layer is remaining noodles, sauce and cheeses. You can see how many variations of this you can make, with or without meat, poultry, fish or seafood too. Change out the cheeses, etc.....

Seal with foil and bake until bubbly, about 35 minutes, you're just reheating mostly. Remove foil, then broil until cheese is golden brown, 5-7 minutes longer. Let stand 10-15 minutes before serving. (This is a must or it won't serve well). You can also do it all ahead, freeze and bake when you're ready, it will take longer in the oven of course and I would lower the oven temperature some if you do this...).
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Crispy Asian Vegetable Salad with Ginger-Carrot Dressing.- This can be a main dish or a side salad depending on the quantity of the ingredients. Amazing flavor!

1 1/2 cups carrots, peeled and sliced thin
1 cup red onion, sliced thin
1 1/2 cups brocoli florets
1 cup snow peas
1/2 cup zucchini, sliced thin
1 cup mushrooms, sliced thin
1 1/2 bok choy, chopped
1 cup jicama, peeled and sliced in thin sticks (batons)
1-2 Romaine Lettuce (or your choice), torn in bite size pieces
1-2 Tbls vegetable oil

In a large pan or wok over med-high heat, add the oil and swirl around. Add the carrot, red onion and broccoli and stir fry for about 30 seconds. Add snow peas, zucchini, mushrooms and stir fry for another 30 seconds. Add bok choy and fry until all vegetables are tender yet "al dente".

Add lettuce to a large salad bowl, top with the stir fried vegetables and top with the dressing. Toss quickly to preserve the lettuce. Serve at once.

GINGER-CARROT DRESSING.- I have this on hand and use in many ways.... you will too!

2 Tbls carrot, grated
2 Tbls ginger, grated
½ cup olive oil
Juice of 1 lime (or lemon
1-2 tbls Low Salt Soy Sauce
1-2 Tbls garlic, minced or pressed
½ tsp Dijon Mustard
1-3 Tbls Honey, to taste
Salt & pepper if needed and to taste

Mix all ingredients in a bowl except the olive oil, once the rest are mixed, begin adding the oil in a thin stream while whisking until well incorporated.
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Sweet Potato Cakes with Crispy Slaw.- Another healthy option you can try! Pretty great!

1 lb Sweet Potatoes, cleaned, pierced with a fork
1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped small
1/2 cup yellow bell pepper, chopped small
1/3 cup red onion, chopped fine
2 Tbls cilantro, chopped fine
salt & pepper to taste
1 tsp coriander, ground
1 tsp cumin, ground
2-3 tsp sugar (Splenda or other substitute)
1 Tbls lime juice, fresh squeezed
1 cup breadcrumbs, dry
1 cup pecans, toasted & chopped fine

For the Slaw:
2 med Jicamas, peeled and cut into fine sticks (julienne)
1/3 cup red bell pepper, chopped fine
1/4 cup green onions, chopped fine
2-4 Tbls mango, peeled
1/2 Tbls lime juice
1/4 cup pineapple juice
salt & pepper if needed
2 tsp sugar (or substitute if needed)

In blender add mango, lime & pineapple juice, salt & sugar and process, make slaw.
In a bowl, add jicama, red bell pepper and green onions and toss. Pour the dressing that's in the blender over the vegetables and toss well. Reserve.

In a preheated 375F oven, cut the ends off the sweet potatoes and cover with foil. Bake about 45 min or until soft and then let them cool, peel and mash until they are smooth. Put these in a bowl and add the red bell pepper, onion, cilantro, seasonings and lime juice, and half the breadcrumbs and mix well. Cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight.

In another bowl put the remaining half of the breadcrumbs with the nuts and mix well. Using the sweet potato mix, form into 1/4 cup balls, roll in the breadcrumb & nut mix and then flatten into cakes. Heat a non-stick pan and add a very light layer of oil and heat. Fry cakes on one side until golden, then turn and cook the other side. Place some Jicama Salad on the plate and lay a couple of the sweet potato cakes on top of the slaw. You can drizzle some of the dressing around the plate.
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I'm sure you can convert some of your tried and true recipes to healthier versions of themselves without loosing out on flavor yet making them better for you. I have to admit that I sneak the healthier versions into my husband's meals and for the most part he's liked all of them and didn't even notice the changes, so every now and then I continue to add to my recipes newer and better versions of dishes while contributing to our good health. Not hard to do at all and my guys are fierce carnivores! lol.... I hope you have access to Farmer's Markets where you are or organic growers and cooperatives in your neck of the woods so that you too can take advantage of better quality products. We've now got 4-5 organic fairs and markets here, during the Summer and Fall Seasons and if you can survive the outside temperatures (since they're all open air markets, except for Mario's, Yikes!) Mario Batalli now has one too, an organic come together which is becoming a reality for local Chefs.... might not be too bad, heh? Drawbacks? Expensive!!!! But you can see how hungry people are for something like this and while there are quite a few Whole Foods here (Ginormous and we call them Whole Paychecks.... this is still reserved for the "have" people since prices are NOT cheap at all... maybe someday...) Talk soon.....

Is it too hot to cook?..... You're still hungry, right?.....

Yes, it is really hot. Supposed to be 104F today with an expected high tomorrow of 109F (yes, crazy... I know), and you can't just hole up at home, become "mole people", crank up the AC and wait it for to pass.... no matter how much you want this to be.... Just think of others that are under hotter conditions than you, like my friends in Merida, Yucatan where their summer is hot and humid, Yikes!!!! Gets so hot and feels much hotter than here, although I miss them all the time, the weather is worth it just to be there, really.....

Anyhoo, let's get back to living in Hades.... the weather does not keep up from eating, it should and we should just stop eating, I know, but we don't and have no plans to either, so we scurry out past sunset, quickly grill and run back. Luckily we like our meat rare so it doesn't take too long either, but even if you don't cook outside, meals are still de rigeur (required) so whatever, we're cooking but maybe we can make cooler foods that will allow us to eat yummy foods while trying to keep the house cool (have to conserve energy, AC is expensive after all... and so nice), so I've got some great options for you..... And no, we won't be eating just salads and ice cream either, we want real food after all.....

This traditional dish is supposed to cook in a Dutch Oven, first searing the meat stove top and then finishing it up in the oven for h o u r s, but here is where having a bomb at home is worth its weight in gold. Instead of heating up the house and the oven for hours, you can use the good 'ol Pressure Cooker (no heat felt) and cook for about 30-40 min max.... pretty nifty I say.

Traditional Italian Pot Roast.- Wonderful flavor, hearty meal and sure to become a favorite.

1 boneless beef chuck-eye roast (3-4 lbs), tied
2 tbls vegetable oil
1 med onion, rough chop
2-3 carrots, rough chop
2-3 turnips, rough chop
1 rib of celery, chopped
1 pound cremini or white mushrooms, in large pieces
2 tbls tomato paste
2 cups tomatoes, medium dice or 1 (14 1/2 oz) can diced tomatoes
1/2 fresh tomato sauce or 1/2 cup canned tomato sauce
2 tsp sugar
1/2 cup water
1 cup red wine, Merlot or Beaujolais preferably
1 large head of garlic, remove the outer paper skin, then cut in half
1 sprig thyme, fresh
1 sprig rosemary, fresh
salt & pepper to taste

If using regular method, but you will begin the same for both techniques:
Put your oven rack in the middle position and heat the oven to 300F. (If using bomb, don't turn on the oven and you will sear the roast in the pressure cooker pot). Pat fry the roast with paper towels and salt and pepper liberally. Heat some oil in the Dutch oven (or pressure cooker) over med-high heat until just smoking and brown the roast on all sides, about 10 min. Transfer roast to large plate until you're ready to put it back in the pot.

Reduce heat to medium and cook the onion, celery, mushrooms, and tomato paste until the vegetables begin to soften, about 6 min. Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, sugar, water, 1/2 cup of the wine (reserve the rest), garlic, and thyme. Return roast and the juices in the plate to pot and bring to simmer over medium-high heat. Place piece of foil over pot, cover with lid, and transfer pot to oven. (If using the pressure cooker, turn the heat to high and cover. Wait for the pot to come up to temperature and once the cooker begins to hiss, lower the heat to low and set the timer to 30 min.)

If using the oven: Cook until roast is just fork-tender, 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours, turning the roast after 1 hour. Uncover pot and let the roast rest in its juices for 30 min, skimming any surface fat after 20 min. Transfer the roast to a carving board and cover with foil. Remove and reserve the garlic head and skim any remaining fat from the pot (once you open the cooker you can skim off fat too). Add remaining 1/2 cup wine to pot, bring to boil over medium-high heat, and cook until sauce begins to thicken, about 12 min. Meanwhile, carefully squeeze garlic from the halves and mash it into paste, it should be very soft. Add the rosemary to the pot and simmer about 2-3 min. Remove and discard the rosemary and thyme sprigs, stir in the garlic mash and season with salt and pepper.

Remove the twine from the roast and cut the meat against the grain into 1/2" thick slices, or you can pull it apart into large rustic pieces. Transfer the meat to a serving platter and pour some of the sauce over the meat. Serve the rest of the sauce at the table.
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Or maybe you just want to grill or pan fry a steak (chicken or pork even) and just get it over with yet it still has to taste great.... How about a great "Chimichurri Sauce":

Chimichurri Sauce.- We all know Argentina is known for its beef (amazing!!!), here's their traditional accompaniment to beef, which I use on almost everything:

1/4 cup hot water
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/3 cups loosely packed flat-leaf parsley leaves
2/3 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves
6 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 tablespoons)
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Combine hot water, oregano and salt in small bowl; let stand 5 minutes to soften oregano. Pulse parsley, cilantro, garlic, and red pepper flakes in food processor until coarsely chopped, about ten 1-second pulses. Add water mixture and vinegar and pulse briefly to combine. Transfer mixture to medium bowl and slowly whisk in oil until incorporated and mixture is emulsified. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature at least 1 hour (if preparing sauce in advance, refrigerate and bring to room temperature before using).
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Zucchini and Leeks en Papillote.- A traditional French technique that can be applied to many different dishes, is very healthy and locks in flavors and prevents food from drying out:

2 zucchini, cut in long, thin strips
1 leek, cut off the tough tops and slice the white in fine juliennes
1/2 lb asparagus, trimmed into 2 parts
4 sprigs tarragon, fresh
4 garlic cloves, unpeeled
salt & pepper to taste
1 egg, beaten optional
water (optional)
cornstarch (make paste optional)

Preheat the oven to 400F. You can use a potato peeler to slice the zucchini lengthwise into thin strips.

Cut 4 sheets of parchment paper, 12 x 15 inches in size. Fold it in half. Draw half a heart shape when folded so it will be a whole heart unfolded. Cut along the inside of the line and open out.
Divide the vegetables between each heart. Position the filling on the right side of the fold line and top with tarragon and the unpeeled garlic clove. Season to taste.

Brush the edges of the paper with the beaten egg and fold over. You don't have to use the egg and can fold it without using the egg. I found this site on the web which I thought was a really good explanations of how to accomplish this technique. Cut and paste onto your browser http://www.sundaysupper.com/parch.htm gives directions and shows photos of the no egg technique, it will make you an expert at "Papillote".

Pleat the edges so it is sealed. Put it on a cookie sheet and bake for 10 min. It will puff up so make sure to move the oven racks and leave room. Serve immediately. You can let each person open their own packet on their own with scissors, but be sure and tell them that heat will escape and could burn, so open with care and enjoy the lovely aromas this technique gives.
NOTE: Once you've mastered the making of the packets this way, you can use it for fish and vegetables giving you a clean and very healthy alternative to cook.
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In keeping with "cool" foods, here are two desserts which can be made ahead and will deliver flavor and comfort in a refreshing dish. First of all I want to give you a "foolproof" pastry crust you can use for all types of pies, you'll love it:

Foolproof Pie Crust.-This pie crust can be pressed into the pie plate and refrigerated for up to 2 days or double wrap in plastic and freeze for 1 month. Once baked, cool, the shell can be wrapped tightly in plastic and stored at room temperature for up to 1 day.

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp table salt
8 tblsp butter (1 stick), softened but still cool (I've used shortening too)
2 oz cream cheese, softened but still cool

Lightly spray 9" glass pie plate with cooking spray. Whisk flour, sugar, and salt together in a bowl. With an electric mixer at med high speed, beat the butter and cream cheese, scrape down the beaters and sides of bowl, and beat until completely mixed, about 2 min. Add the flour mixture and combine on medlow until it looks like coarse cornmeal, about 20 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl. The mixer speed now to med high and beat it until dough begins to forms large clumps, about 30 seconds. Set aside 3 tblsp of the dough.

Turn the remaining dough onto a lightly floured surface, gather it into a ball and flatten into a 6" disk. Transfer this disk to greased pie plate.

Press the dough evenly over bottom of pie plate toward sides, using heel of your hand or the bottom of a smooth cup (you can also roll out the pastry with a rolling pin as usual and then place it on the pie plate). Make sure that the dough is evenly distributed yet should be thin. Continue to work the dough over the bottom of the pie plate and up the sides until even. On floured surface, roll the reserved dough into a 12" rope. Cut into three pieces, then roll each piece into a 8" rope to form a fluted edge. Wrap it in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

With the oven rack in the middle of the oven turn oven to 325 F. Lightly prick the bottom of the crust with a fork. Bake until golden brown, 30 to 40 min. Cool on wire rack. (If large bubbles form, wait until the crust is fully baked, then gently press on bubbles with a kitchen towel or back of spoon. The bubbles will settle as crust cools.)
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Amazing Lemon Pie.-This simple recipe forms a custard type filling. You need 6 tablespoons of lemon juice for this recipe so have an extra lemons on hand in case the 3 sliced lemons do not yield enough juice.

1 double-crust pie dough (see above and make 2 batches)
3 large lemons, sliced thin and seeded (I use Persian Lemons)
1 cups sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1 tbls cornstarch
4 large eggs
1 tbls heavy cream

Adjust your oven rack to lowest position and heat the oven to 425 F. Line a 9" pie plate with 1 dough round and refrigerate for 30 min.

Squeeze the lemon slices into fine strainer set over a bowl; reserve the juice (you should have 6 tablespoons). Put the drained slices and 2 cups water to boil in a saucepan, then reduce the heat to med low and simmer until slices are soft, about 5 min. Drain the slices well and discard the liquid. Combine the softened lemon slices, sugar, salt, and 1/4 cup reserved lemon juice in a bowl; stir until the sugar dissolves.

Whisk the cornstarch and remaining lemon juice in a large bowl. Whisk the eggs into the cornstarch mixture, slowly stir in the lemon slice mixture until well combined. Pour into the chilled pie shell. Brush the edges of the dough with 1 tsp cream and top with the remaining dough round. Seal, crimp edges, and brush the top of dough with remaining cream. Using a paring knife, cut 4 vents in the top of the dough.

Bake until light golden, about 20 min, then lower the oven temperature to 375 F and continue to bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 min. Cool on wire rack for at least 1 hour. Serve. Pie can be wrapped in plastic and refrigerated for 2 days after baking.

NOTE: Found some tips on pies and it said that using a knife to evenly cut the lemons into paper-thin slices was a difficult and time-consuming task. You get better results with a mandoline (or V-slicer), which produced perfectly thin. But, if you didn't have a mandoline, putting the lemons into the freezer for about 30 minutes firms them up for better hand-slicing, which is best accomplished with a serrated knife. But same goes when you want to thin slice other things too, like fish or meat.....
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Perfect Strawberry Pie.-Here is a strawberry pie that truly delivers, but you have to make sure you have 2 cups of the berry mixture and you need to measure! The frozen fruit helps develop flavor and texture.

2 lbs frozen strawberries
2 tbls lemon juice
2 tbls water
1 tbls unflavored gelatin
1 pinch salt
1 lb fresh strawberries, cleaned and sliced thin
1 9" pie shell, baked and cooled
4 oz cream cheese, softened
3 tbls sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup heavy cream

Cook the frozen strawberries in a large saucepan over med low heat until berries begin to release juice, about 3 min. Increase the heat to med high and cook, stirring, until thick and jam like, about 25 min (should be 2 cups).

Put lemon juice, water, and gelatin in small bowl. Let stand until gelatin is softened and mixture has thickened, about 5 min. Stir gelatin mixture, sugar, and salt into cooked fruit mixture and return to simmer, about 2 min. Transfer to a bowl and cool to room temperature, about 30 min.

Fold the fresh berries into the filling. Spread evenly in the pie shell and refrigerate until set, about 4 hours or even overnight.

With an electric mixer on med speed, beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until smooth, about 30 seconds. With mixer running, add cream and whip until stiff peaks form, about 2 min. Serve pie with whipped cream topping.

NOTE: Be sure to measure the reduced strawberry mixture: You need exactly 2 cups. Put the strawberry mixture into a measuring cup. If its more than 2 cups, return it to the pan and cook it down. It may seem OCD to to measure, but the pie won't set or slice properly if you have more than 2 cups of the strawberry mixture, so take the extra couple of minutes to insure a perfect pie.
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So far this is as far as I got this time, took too long and put other things on hold so now's the time to get going on the rest. The house is very smoky with the aroma of roasting Poblano's and the heat isn't letting me open windows for now so whatever.... at least I like the smell, right? But I've been whipping up some batches of some "fun food" from way back: jello & pudding shots in some creative flavors since these popular "kid friendly" foods grew up.... you'll see, I'll send you some ideas as soon as I finish this up later. Until then, relax and enjoy!......

Let's Save some Time and Money..... Lalalalalala....

We've all noticed and it's true, food prices are going up. All over, some places more than others but if you add this fact along with the reality that our time is the most valuable asset we have, it makes sense to have a well stocked pantry since this can save you time at the market and having everything and more at hand means that you will save time and gasoline too. Plus if you think that you could also substitute all those unpronounceable ingredients and chemicals which are in every single thing you buy now a days, if you purchase convenience foods that is..... an increase in your health meter is an added bonus and I say, great, works for me!

Now, I don't buy convenience foods and haven't in a long, long time due to my guys getting allergic reactions to chemicals in food. How did I know this? Ricardo used to have all these aches and pains, joints and hands mostly, which he thought was just aging and something everyone can expect; but it began to get worse. Around this time (we were living in Las Vegas at the time), we spent a long spell in Europe and then almost 4 years in Mexico and guess what? He realized his pains stopped when we were on holiday. Now Europe, like Mexico, is organized pretty much the same way: go to the market almost daily, buy food for the day, no convenience foods because they're expensive, no frozen items, everything prepared the "slow food" way (old fashioned style). His health was much improved and didn't falter until we decided to come back to the good old USA.

All of a sudden the aches and pains were back and he began to walk and act his age (old guy age), so this pretty much told us that issues from before were the culprits and we began an "elimination diet" to find the source. This means you eliminate everything from your diet and you go on a fast. Did a detoxing program along with foot bath and that was the beginning. It was hard due to his being a very good eater but he felt badly and knew he didn't want to feel like this, so fruit juices came first and he began feeling better (he doesn't take any medications so this wasn't an issue), he was hungry but doing better and the aches were better. Salads and veggies came next (lots of them, he was famished all the time!), by this time he was doing "oil pulling" which helps rid the body of heavy metals and other stuff (google it, it works), and he could tell his health was returning. Finally one day he added table salt to a soup he was having and about 20 min later, his hands started aching! We found regular salt contains aluminum and if he switched to sea salt or kosher salt, no aches. This set us on a path from which we don't stray anymore and I know this applies to many people as well. Millions of people have reactions to the chemicals, preservatives, additives, etc. in food, maybe you do too.

So we learned that making everything, knowing the ingredients contained and cooking things the right way made all the difference. Being busy made me look for short-cuts and one thing plus another led me to practical solutions to feeding my family, saving money (for obvious reasons but now more than ever) and making it quicker since time was short. After hearing from a good friend who wanted some info on homemade dry mixes, I thought others might benefit from these too. Above all since they are dried, you can have them in jars or zip lock bags and they're ready whenever you need them and can be made quickly. Most people don't notice the change or some even prefer these.... you could do a blind taste test and see for yourself if they will work for your family. I buy a lot of spices and herbs (dried) at my local health food store. They sell them by the oz (parsley @ .13oz, so 1 lb would be about $2 and would last forever!) You can also buy online at wholesale prices. Alpharetta Spice Co. is a great source, they sell in bulk, you could get together with 1-2 people and take advantage of their prices. http://www.alpharettaspice.com/ So here we go:

Dry Onion Soup and Dip Mix.- An old standby which can be used for meat loaf, hamburgers, chuck roast, mashed potatoes, etc. Just add 4 cups hot water and you're good to go.

3/4 cup instant minced onion (or dehydrated onions)
1/3 cup beef flavor instant bouillon
4 teaspoons onion powder
1/4 teaspoon celery seed, crushed
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt (optional)(I use dehydrated garlic with no salt)

NOTE: How to get cheap dried onions? You can use a dehydrator if you have one or else get a special on onions and cut them very thin and chop very fine, place on trays and dry in oven at the lowest setting you can get (3-4 hours or more at 200F- 24 hrs at 120F), stir them now and then. You can also sun dry (maybe once winter is done).
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Ranch Dressing plus Other Variations.- Try these on for size! These are dried but I also have a fresh mix on this site, use the search bar above.

1 cup dried parsley flakes
1/2 cup finely crushed saltines (about 15 crackers)
1/2 cup dried minced onion
1/2 cup garlic salt
1/2 cup onion salt
1/4 cup garlic powder
1/4 cup onion powder
2 tablespoons dill weed

In a large mixing bowl, combine first 8 ingredients; mix well. Store in airtight container in a cool dry place.YIELD: 3 cups mix (enough to make 24 batches of ranch salad dressing).

For Ranch Dressing:In a bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons of mix with 2 cups mayonnaise and 2 cups buttermilk. Refrigerate until serving. Yield 4 cups.

For Thousand Island Dressing: Add 1/4 cup chili sauce (or ketchup) and 2 tablespoons pickle relish to 1 cup prepared ranch dressing.

For Cucumber Dressing: Add 1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and pureed and 1 teaspoon celery seed to 1 cup of prepared ranch salad dressing.
NOTE: Don't want to spend on buttermilk? Mix 1 cup milk or half&half with 1 tbl vinegar, stir and let rest 5-10 min.
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Blackened Mix.- Like Cajun style? Make Blackened Fish? Try this.....

3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
dash cumin
Mix together ingredients store in cool place.
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Seasoned Bread Crumbs.- Use old, stale bread or save the "ends" nobody wants to eat. Leave them on a plate in the kitchen and allow to dry and get hard. Make crumbs in blender.

1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon parsley flakes
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon sugar
dash oregano

Combine all ingredients. Makes 1 cup
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Chili Seasoning.- Chicken, Beef, Pork, Turkey Chili? Beans and Rice?

1 cup sweet green pepper flakes (dried or dehydrated)
3/4 cup chili powder
1/4 cup ground cumin
1/2 cup onion flakes
1/4 cup parsley flakes
1 teaspoon garlic flakes
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Place all ingredients in a 1 quart jar, cover tightly and shake well to mix. Store in a cool, dark dry place for up to 2 months.

TO MAKE CHILI CON CARNE: In a medium size heavy saucepan over moderate heat,brown 1 pound very lean ground meat and drain off any fat. Add 1 can (1 pound) low sodium tomatoes, drained and chopped, and 1 cup water or low sodium beef broth. Stir in 1/2 cup Chili Seasoning Mix. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in 2 cups cooked and drained red kidney beans and heat through.
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Your Own Cream Soup Base.- Do away with those cans of cream soups to use with casseroles or pasta, rice.... make your own and save the sodium and fat too.

3/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup instant chicken bouillon
2 Tbsp. dried onion flakes
1 tsp. basil leaves
1 tsp. thyme leaves
1/2 tsp. pepper
(Makes equivalent of 9 cans)
To use in place of canned cream soups in casseroles or as a base for your own soups. Combine all ingredients, mixing well. To substitute for one can of condensed soup: Combine 1/3 cup of dry mix with 1 1/4 cups of cold water in a saucepan. Cook and stir until thickened. Add to casseroles as you would the canned product, add your own "flavor" like chicken, celery, mushroom, etc. Great for leftovers!
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Really Great Curry Mix.- This is a traditional curry mix, just add to yogurt or sour cream and add chicken, shrimp, veggies, etc. Over pasta, rice or as a sauce or dip. Yum! (You could also make a roux, add to milk, broth or water to thicken and then add spices).

2 Tbsp. ground coriander
2 Tbsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. ground cardamom
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. ground turmeric
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients. Stir well. Store in an airtight container.
NOTE: I use whole spices and toast them first in a dry pan (the aroma is amazing!), then I grind them in my coffee mill. Leftovers never tasted this good. If you like spice, then add some red pepper flakes or your favorite hot sauce or Sambal......
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Like Jambalaya? - Easy mix you will love!

1 cup raw long grain rice
1 tablespoon instant minced onion
1 tablespoon green bell pepper flakes
1 tablespoon parsley flakes
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons beef bouillon granules
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Jambalaya:
1 1/2 cups Jambalaya Mix
3 cups water
8 oz can tomato sauce
1/2 cup cooked ham or smoked sausage (or whatever protein you like)
1/2 cup shrimp or fish
Optional: chopped onion, celery, carrot, potatoes, peas, green beans, garlic, etc.

Combine first three ingredients and bring to a boil (in a 6 quart pot) . Reduce heat to simmer; add ham or sausage and cook 20 minutes. Add shrimp and cook 5 minutes more. Remove and discard bay leaf. Makes about 8 Cups
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Seafood Mix or copycat Old Bay.- Great for seafood boils or any fish or seafood.

1 Tbsp. ground bay leaves
2-1/2 tsp. celery salt
1-1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1-1/2 tsp. black pepper
3/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. red pepper
1/4 tsp. ground mace (optional)
1/4 tsp. ground cardamom (optional)

Combine all ingredients: store in an airtight container.
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Chocolate Pudding Mix.- Ok, I know.... but most people love this! Use in Pie filling, tarts, etc.

2 1/2 cups instant nonfat dry milk
5 cups sugar
3 cups cornstarch
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa

Mix all the ingredients until they are well blended. Store in a tightly covered container.

To Use: Stir the mix before measuring out 2/3 cup of the mix into a saucepan. Add 2 cups milk and cook over low heat, stirring, until mixture thickens and comes to a boil. Continue stirring for 1 minute, remove from heat and pour into individual serving dishes. Pudding will thicken further as it cools. Yield: 10 servings

Variation: Cook as directed but add 1 tsp. vanilla extract and 1 tsp. butter as it cooks. For a chocolate mocha flavor, add 1 tsp. instant coffee to the pudding mix before cooking. for Vanilla: Omit cocoa powder and add 1-2 tsp (or more) vanilla extract or any other flavor you'd like.
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These are but a sample of what's available and I'm sure you can see the possibilities, right? You can customize them to suit your family's tastes, with more spice or less, no salt if you need to, more flavor or a more subtle one, so they're exactly the way you like them. Be sure to label your mixes and seal them well so they last. Date them too in case you don't expect to use them quickly. They also make great gifts, just put them in nice jars and include them as a gift basket! Convenient, practical and inexpensive and who wouldn't appreciate this? The more you use these, the more cost savings you will find, if you combine these with your own fresh veggies and dry them, even more savings.... Or lower the cost even more and get a group of people together, buy in bulk, get together to make them and split the work and then share equally! I'll keep doing research and post more, if you have your favorites, send them on! We can all use practical ideas..... Talk soon....

Revisiting some old favorites.....Mmmmm!

For some reason we seem to go in spurts and fall into "loops" making the same foods over and over, maybe because it's easy to do and we're used to preparing it or maybe just because there's no effort involved or I should say, extra effort needed to shop, prepare and eat stuff we're comfortable with.... even though we are always on the hunt for new, different and exciting dishes to serve my family, for us at least and due to all this variety that we tend to sometimes forget some old favorites.

While watching some food programs on the new Food Channel got us thinking about old friends or foods we used to love and haven't had in a while and that set us on other "tangents" to take to re-discover great foods. So over the weekend we decided to take a stroll down food memory lane and eat great food from the old days.....

I went through a box in the closet that has some restaurant critic reviews and the old menu's from the original "Quinta Belina" Fonda in Puerto Vallarta 15 years ago! Whoa, long time and so we were sitting there looking at our old menu, incredible seeing the prices for heavy duty Mexican Food that was so great it got us on this road down the culinary path. Hard to imagine things were so cheap back then that we could produce a complete "prix fixe" meal for only $20 pesos!!!! At today's exchange rate that would mean you could get soup, main dish with two sides, dessert and a drink for $1.57 US! Not even fast food is that cheap! Nowadays tacos are a dollar each!......of course that was 15 years ago but still...... Rent for a 3br/2br apartment with a huge ocean view terrace, 2 blocks from the malecon in Puerto Vallarta used to be $1500 pesos a month or $117.50US!..... such a good deal...... To this date we still miss PV and wish we could return.....

The menu gave me some great ideas for meals as you can imagine and so yesterday we had "Albondigas al Chipotle" to eat while we watched the finals game of the World Cup with our favorite "Arroz con Morron" on the side. Had some appetizers before and we recalled "Quesadillas de Flor de Calabaza" (yes, got fresh flowers from Cardena's Market as well as Epazote)- a nice "Ensalada de Aguacate con Queso" and didn't stick to the Mexican theme for dessert but had a lovely fresh fruit tart.....

Want to join us on our nostalgia menu day? Here are the recipes and more to come:

Albondigas al Chipotle (Meatballs in Chipotle Sauce).- Tender meatballs bathed in a sweet-spicy Chipotle salsa that will make your taste buds dance..... A great appetizer or hearty main dish.

3 lbs ground beef
salt & pepper (be generous)
2 eggs
3 pieces of hard, stale bread soaked in about 1/3 cup of milk
1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
grated cheese (optional, can be Cotija, Parmessan....)

Sauce:
6-8 whole Roma tomatoes
1/2 onion, cut in half
3-5 garlic cloves
3-4 Chipotle peppers, canned
1/4 cup sugar
salt & pepper to taste
1/2-1 cup cilantro leaves, chopped

In a large bowl put the meat and add the salt and pepper. Take the stale bread, that's been soaking in the bread and should be softer now and squeeze the milk out of it (most of it) with your hands and add it to the meat. Add the eggs & nutmeg (and cheese if you're using it). Be generous with the seasonings. Now work the meat really well with your hands until it's all well mixed and incorporated and the eggs can't be seen anymore. Make meatballs by rolling them between your palms or however you like best (using an ice cream scoop or whatever but make sure they're nice and even and all the same size). If you're unsure about the amount of seasonings, make a test ball, fry it up and taste it, this will let you know how the meatballs will taste when cooked. When you're done....

In a large pan with a little oil bring to temperature so its hot over med-high heat and put some meatballs in the pan (don't crowd them) and fry until golden brown on one side before turning gently so that all sides are browned. Once done place them in a paper lined plate so they will be ready for the sauce.

Meanwhile set the tomatoes, onion and garlic and cover with water. Set it on the stove over med-high heat and allow to come to a boil, reduce heat some and cook for about 15 min. Save about 1 cup of the cooking liquid and drain off the rest. Put the veggies into the blender and add the rest of the ingredients for the sauce. If you're unsure about the peppers and sugar I would start off with 1 pepper and 2 tbl of sugar, blend to smooth and taste, then decide if you need more heat and more sugar or salt or whatever. Add the cilantro at the end and blend.

The meatballs are all browned now and your sauce is done. You can use the same pans too if you like, you will need about 2 tbl of the leftover meatball oil on the pan, over med-high heat. Pour in the sauce and bring to a boil and let simmer, at a good pace too, for at least 30 min. You want the sauce to begin to thicken, once it does start then add the meatballs and let them simmer along with the sauce until it thickens to the point where it covers the meatballs well and you like it.
NOTE: These can be your base meatballs and can be used for almost any kind of sauce you like from Italian to Sweet and Sour. Yum!
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Arroz con Morron Dulce (Rice with Sweet Red Peppers).- Wonderful fluffy rice with the hint of sweet red pepper that is so good it can be eaten all by itself.

2 cups long grain rice
2 tbl butter
2 tbl oil (I like olive but you can use vegetable)
salt and pepper to taste
1 whole sweet red pepper, de-seeded and cut in strips
4 cups chicken stock
3 tbl cilantro leaves, chopped

In a large pan with cover and over med-high heat add the butter and oil and bring to temperature. Add the rice and stir fry until it changes color to a matte white, don't brown. Add the red pepper, salt and pepper, cilantro and chicken stock. Cover and reduce the heat to low and cook for about 15 min and then check to insure all the liquid has been absorbed and that the rice has "bloomed", if still hard add more stock (about 1/4-1/3 cup) and give it 10 more minutes. If almost all the liquid is gone and rice is soft, turn off heat and allow to steam and rest for 10 min before serving.
NOTE: You can change the vegetables, add meats or other spices and add other stocks.
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Quesadillas de Flor de Calabaza (Zucchini Blossom Quesadillas).- A fantastic appetizer or main dish with delicate flavors known as one of the most traditional dishes from the heart of Mexico.....

2-3 cups Maseca corn flour or 1 Kilo fresh masa from tortilleria
Oaxaca, Asadero, Jack or ? melting cheese, grated or in thin slices
1 bunch zucchini flowers, stems cut and insides removed, rinsed
1 bunch Epazote, leaves only, cleaned
1 cup green Tomatillo sauce
Sour Cream or Mexican Crema

Put the Maseca in large bowl and add about 1 cup of water and work in with your hands. Add water a little at a time until it becomes an easy to handle "masa" tender and non-sticky that you can extend and press with your hands like for making tortillas. Use a tortillas press with 2 plastic sheets or open up a large zip lock bag and place a masa ball (about 2 inches diam) in the center and press or use a rolling pin to make a tortilla about 6 inches diam and rather thin. Place some cheese on one side of the tortilla, add some blooms and 1 Epazote leaf and fold over to make a half moon shape. Press the ends together really well to seal and lay aside, covered with a moist towel until you are done.

In a large pan with a little oil, fry the quesadillas one at a time until golden brown on one side turn and fry the other side then lay on paper towels to drain. To serve put the quesadillas on a plate, drizzle some Tomatillo Salsa over them and put a small dollop or drizzle of cream on top.
NOTE: Traditional quesadillas that can be done with almost any filling.
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Ensalada de Aguacate con Queso (Cheese and Avocado Salad).- One of our favorite salads that we make whenever the avocados are ripe. Just great!

1 head of lettuce, Iceberg or Romaine or whatever you like best
1/2 red onion, cut in thin strips
3-4 tomatoes, cut in sections
2 tbl cilantro leaves, chopped
croutons (optional but great)
3 small ripe avocados, cut in cubes
1 cup shredded cheese, Cotija or Parmessan

Vinaigrette:
1/4 cup vinegar (white, red wine) or lemon juice
1-2 tbl mustard (brown, Dijon, yellow)
1-2 tbl water
salt & pepper to taste
1 tsp dried oregano, crushed
1 tsp dried basil, crushed
1/2-1 cup oil (olive, vegetable)
1/3 cup shredded cheese (same as above)

Clean the lettuce and shred into pieces. Add the rest of the vegetables but leave the avocado until the end. Add cheese and toss well.

In a jar or small bowl add the vinegar and mustard and whisk. Add the rest of the ingredients for the dressing, except the cheese, and whisk until well combined and emulsified. Taste and adjust seasonings. Add the cheese and the avocado and mix well. Do not add until 5 min before serving so lettuce doesn't wilt. If this won't be for a while, put everything in the fridge so it will be cool, add the dressing at the last minute, toss well and serve.
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Fruit and Pastry Cream Tart.- What can I say about this? Wonderful, versatile, sinful....

Tart Crust:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup white sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Pastry Cream:
1 1/4 cups milk
1 tsp vanilla
3 large egg yolks
1/4 cup granulated white sugar
1/8 cup all-purpose flour
2 tbl cornstarch
3/4 tbl liqueur (Grand Marnier, Brandy, Kirsch) (optional)

Apricot Glaze: (optional)
1/2 cup apricot jam or preserves
1 tbl Grand Marnier or water (can also use other liqueurs)
2-3 cups mixed fruit, such as raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, kiwifruit, bananas, plums, pineapple, melon, etc.

Sweet Pastry Crust: In a separate bowl, sift or whisk together the flour and salt. Place the butter in your mixer and beat until softened. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Gradually add the beaten egg, beating just until incorporated. (Do not over mix or the butter will separate and lighten in color.) Add flour mixture all at once and mix just until it forms a ball. (Do not over mix or the pastry will be hard when baked.) Flatten the pastry into a disk, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 20 min or until firm.

Have ready an 8-9 inch tart pan with removable bottom. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry into an 11-12 inch circle that is about 1/8 inch thick. To prevent the pastry from sticking to the counter and to ensure uniform thickness, keep lifting up and turning the pastry a quarter turn as you roll (always roll from the center of the pastry outwards to get uniform thickness). To make sure it is the right size, take your tart pan, flip it over, and place it on the rolled out pastry. The pastry should be about an inch larger than pan.

When the pastry is rolled to the desired size, lightly roll pastry around your rolling pin, dusting off any excess flour as you roll. Unroll onto top of tart pan. Never pull pastry or you will get shrinkage (shrinkage is caused by too much pulling of the pastry when placing it in the pan). Gently lay in pan and with a small floured piece of pastry, lightly press pastry into bottom and up sides of pan. Roll your rolling pin over top of pan to get rid of excess pastry. With a thumb up movement, again press dough into pan. Roll rolling pin over top again to get rid of any extra pastry. Prick bottom of dough (this will prevent the dough from puffing up as it bakes). Cover and refrigerate for 20 min to chill the butter and to rest the gluten.

Preheat oven to 400 F and place rack in center of oven. Line unbaked pastry shell with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Fill tart pan with pie weights, rice or beans, making sure the weights are to the top of the pan and evenly distributed over the entire surface. Bake crust for 20 to 25 min until crust is dry and lightly golden brown. Remove weights and cool crust on wire rack before filling.

Pastry Cream: In a med-sized bowl, mix the sugar and egg yolks together with a wooden spoon. (Never let the mixture sit too long or you will get pieces of egg forming.) Sift the flour and cornstarch together and then add to the egg mixture, mixing until you get a smooth paste. Set aside. Meanwhile, in a saucepan combine the milk and vanilla on med heat until boiling. (The milk will foam up to the top of pan when done, so watch carefully.) Remove from heat and add slowly to egg mixture, whisking constantly to prevent curdling.

Place the egg mixture back into a med saucepan and cook over med heat until boiling, whisking constantly. When it boils, whisk mixture constantly for another 30-60 sec until it becomes very thick and it is hard to stir.

Remove from heat and immediately whisk in the liqueur (if using). Pour into a clean bowl and immediately cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a crust from forming.Make sure the plastic is up against the cream or condensation will form. Cool. If not using right away refrigerate until needed, up to 3 days. Beat before using to get rid of any lumps that may have formed.

Apricot Glaze: Heat the apricot jam or preserves and water (if using) in a small saucepan over med heat until liquid (melted). Remove from heat and strain the jam through a fine strainer to remove any fruit lumps. (If using, add the liqueur at this point.) Let cool until it is only slightly warm.

Variation: If glazing strawberries, raspberries or any other red fruit you can make a red currant glaze. Gently whisk 1/2 cup of red currant jelly over med heat until melted. Let cool slightly and then lightly glaze the fruit using a pastry brush.
NOTE: The variations for this tart are endless, different fruits and with or without liqueurs.

Spread a thin layer of apricot glaze or melted chocolate over the bottom and sides of tart to prevent the crust from getting soggy. Let the glaze dry between 20-30 min. Spread the Pastry Cream into the tart, filling about 3/4 full. Level with a spatula.

To decorate the tart you will need 2 to 3 cups mixed fresh fruit (such as berries, bananas, oranges, kiwifruit, plums, pineapple, and melon or toasted coconut...). Prepare the fruit by gently washing and drying. Peel and slice the bananas, plums and kiwifruit. The strawberries will need to be sliced also. Arranging the fruit on the tart can be done either randomly or in concentric overlapping circles, starting at the outside edge. Try to cover all the pastry cream with fruit so that no pastry cream is showing through.

After arranging the fruit, rewarm the glaze, if using, and gently brush a light coat on the fruit. Do not put it on too thick or it will look like Jell-O. Try not to get any glaze on the tart shell. The idea is to make the fruit look shiny. If not serving immediately, refrigerate. Take out about 30 min before serving to give the fruit and cream a chance to warm to room temperature.
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Don't be put off from making the fruit tart because of the long instructions, it's not hard and the results are so worth it, once you see it's easy to make you will see all the ways you can use this and the different flavors this can have. Looks fantastic and tastes even better. You could also do individual tartlets too.

I hope you will make some or all of these for your family, I know you will love them. Today I am using up all the leftover we have, cleaning the fridge, and making some "Huaraches" for lunch and some giant "Sarape Burritos" (regular burritos topped with either red or green sauce, cheese and Sour Cream) while we watch a movie tonight. I've got Persian Lemon Lemonade cooling and we've still got half the fruit tart too. Sure to be a great evening but we're sad the World Cup is over..... All our best to you and yours, talk soon...........

Summer Salads and a Thousand and One Unique Dressings To Try!....

The heat is here and we felt it in a BIG way....UUUFFF! Plan my outings and errands hopefully after sundown to avoid the worst of the day's heat yet life goes on and you can't always get what you want.... Finally had triple digit temperatures and even though everyone had been kind of preparing for them and we knew they were coming, I don't think anyone was truly ready, (judging by everyone's comments..), guess it will take time to get "acclimated" once again, if one ever does when living in Hades.....(a dry run for the afterlife maybe?...lol). The picture at the left is the Mandalay's Wave Pool.... very cool!

I try to schedule cooking at the coolest times of the day which means either the earliest possible or the latest- guess we're lucky that our dinners are late, huh? BUT sometimes you don't feel like starting dinner after 8pm so you can eat by 10- and so the question becomes "what to make that won't heat up the house?...." Yep, you guessed it! Salads and cold repasts.....

My old standby, Chicken Salad, makes prominent appearances during the summer yet I'm the lone fan of this trusty dish since neither Ricardo nor Rene are big fans of it. Whatever, it's lovely and always a great lunch dish, especially if you load it up with lots of veggies! I love it in wraps..

But thinking about salads brought me to recall a lot of dressings that will shock you out of your doldrums from the usual oil and vinegar standards and give you a wealth of choices to surprise and delight your taste buds.... Unusual yet easy and very flavorful, what more could you ask for I ask? I'll show you!

I must mention that these gems are from Mexico and will show you how creative we become when using the many ingredients available, and now that a lot of these ingredients are in US markets as well, there's no reason to not expand your recipe base with them! They're all healthy, fast and truly good! This is just the tip of the iceberg!....

To those of you that are aware that the World Cup will start next week (Go Mexico! YAY!) these dishes will also make it possible for us to enjoy the games while having our own little salad bar close by to add to everyone's enjoyment of the games.... Made us remember that we watched the last World Cup between France & Italy and the ambiance was fantastic! Such great memories...

Vinagreta de Chile de Cascabel (Rattle Chile Vinaigrette).- This is a mild dried chile that's called "rattle" because if you shake them, their seeds rattle inside..... common and readily available. They are also used in sauces and salsas.....

4 chiles de cascabel, stems removed, de-seeded, lightly fried in a little oil
2 tomatillos, cleaned, husk & stems removed
2 tbl onion, chopped
1 garlic clove
2 tbl Sherry vinegar
1/2 tbl honey
1/4 cup olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

In a blender put the tomatilos, onion, garlic, chile, vinegar, honey and salt and pepper and blend until a smooth puree is achieved. Run through a sieve to remove any bits left over from the chile and return to the blender. Drizzle oil while blender is running on low speed and insure it comes together. Taste to adjust seasonings. Serve.
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Vinagreta de Hinojo (Fennel Vinaigrette).- If you love fennel, you will love this flavorful dressing that can be great in almost anything!

1 cucumber, peeled, seeds removed and cut in small cubes
1 sweet red pepper, de-seeded & skin removed (by boiling in water for a little while), chopped
2 fennel bulbs, including stems and leaves, cut in slices
1 garlic clove, chopped
1/2 small onion (or 2 shallots), chopped
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 tbl apple cider vinegar
1 tbl Dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste

In a pan with a tablespoon of oil, fry the onion and one of the fennel bulbs until softened, 1 or 2 min. Add the garlic and fry for 1 min and then remove from heat and place in a bowl with the cucumber, sweet red pepper, fennel, onion and garlic to which you've added the vinegar, mustard and 2tbl of the fennel leaves that have been chopped and the salt & pepper. Mix everything really well and add the olive oil while continuing to whisk it together. Adjust seasonings and serve.
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Vinagreta de Fresa (Strawberry Vinaigrette).- Lovely! Can be used in so many things..... from salads, sandwiches, fruits and even desserts!

1 cup strawberries
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tbl honey
salt and pepper to taste

In either a blender or food processor, make a puree with the strawberries without adding any liquid then put this puree into a bowl and add the salt and pepper, the honey and the lemon juice and whisk until everything is well blended, then you add the olive oil, a little at a time while whisking constantly. Adjust seasonings and serve.
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Aderezo de Aguacate con Aceite de Vino Blanco (Avocado & White Wine Vinegar Dressing).- Doesn't that sound great? Wait until you try it!

1 ripe avocado
4 tbl white wine vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 tbl cilantro leaves, chopped fine
2 Serrano chiles, de-seeded, stems removed and chopped very fin
salt & pepper to taste

Make a puree from the avocado in either the blender or food processor, add the vinegar and salt & pepper along with the Serrano pepper. Add the olive oil in a small drizzle while mixing on low speed. Adjust seasonings and serve.
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Vinagreta de Epazote (Epazote Vinaigrette).- Another full flavored dressing for you!

1 tbl honey
4 Epazote leaves, finely chopped
4 tbl apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil or vegetable oil
salt & pepper to taste

In a bowl and with a whisk, take the honey, vinegar, epazote leaves and salt & pepper and drizzle the oil while continuing to whisk until it's all well combined. Adjust seasonings and serve.
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Aderezo de Chipotle (Chipotle Dressing).- A popular ingredient now served in a new way.... use it on everything and beat the blahs!....

1 Chipotle pepper, canned, de-seeded and chopped fne
2 tbl of the Chipotle pepper juice
1 tbl lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbl honey
salt & pepper to taste

In a bowl, mix the Chipotle pepper with it's juice, lemon juice, honey and salt & pepper. Drizzle the olive oil in a small stream while whisking until the mix is well emulsified. Adjust seasonings and serve.
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Aderezo de Anis (Anise Dressing).- Unusual yet wonderfully flavored!

1/4 cup White wine vinegar
8 pieces star anise
2 tbl black olives, pitted and chopped extra fine, almost mashed
1 tbl lemon juice
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

In a small pan, heat the vinegar along with the star anise and remove from the heat as soon as it begins to boil. Let it rest to infuse, and cool too, for at least 10 to 15 min. In a bowl put the drained vinegar (remove the anise) and add the black olives, lemon juice and salt & pepper. Incorporate the olive oil a little at a time while whisking constantly. Adjust seasonings and serve.
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Vinagreta de Pepita de Calabaza (Pumpkin Seed Vinaigrette).- Another way to have these nutritious & tasty seeds.

1/4 cup pumpkin seeds, lightly toasted
2 tbl lemon juice
1 tbl honey
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbl cilantro leaves, finely chopped
1/4 of a Poblano chile, roasted, peeled and de-veined
salt & pepper to taste

Make an infusion in the oil with the pumpkin seeds by lightly frying them, don't burn them. Allow the oil to cool and then place in a blender or food processor, adding the lemon juice, Poblano pepper, honey, olive oil, cilantro leaves and salt & pepper. Mix well. You can run through a sieve if you want a smooth dressing or you can leave as is, your choice. Adjust seasonings and serve.
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Aderezo de Yogurt (Yogurt Dressing).- Smooth, silky and fresh! I love it!....

1 cup natural yogurt
4 tbl lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 tbl olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

In a bowl mix together the yogurt & lemon juice until well combined, then add the nutmeg and salt and pepper. Adjust the seasonings and serve.
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Vinagreta de Morillas (Morel Vinaigrette).- A different take for mushrooms!

2 tbl White Wine vinegar
3 tbl dried Morel mushroos
1 cup olive oil
1 tbl honey
2 tbl Epazote leaves, chopped fine
salt & pepper to taste

12 hours before making the vinaigrette, place the dried mushrooms into the cup of olive oil and allow to rest and re-hydrate.

Once hydrated, in a food processor or blender, puree the mushrooms along with the oil used to re-hydrate them, once done put in a bowl along with the rest of the ingredients and whisk very well until everything comes together. Adjust the seasonings and serve.
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Vinagreta de Limon y Tomillo (Lemon & Thyme Vinaigrette).- Just wonderful!

4 tbl lemon juice
2 fresh Thyme leaves, chopped
1 tbl honey
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

In a bowl bring together the lemon juice, thyme leaves, honey, mustard and salt & pepper while you whisk in, little by little, the olive oil until well emulsified. Adjust the seasonings and serve.
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Vinagreta de Chilaca (Chilaca Vinaigrette).- Chilacas are a fresh chile, long & slender a deep green and mild flavor which is used in this flavorful dressing.

2 tbl apple cider vinegar
1 egg yolk
4 chilacas, roasted, de-seeded, finely chopped
1/2 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

In a food processor, put the egg yolk, chilaca, vinegar and salt and pepper until it becomes a puree. Place the puree in a bowl and drizzle in the oil a little at a time, whisking, until it emulsifies completely. Adjust the seasonings and serve.
NOTE: You can see how you could also use Poblanos, Anaheims or any other kind of chile, right? With or without the yolk. The roasted chiles give a smoky flavor that is fabulous! We like the plain roasted Chilacas in quesadillas, Zacatecas style.....jut throw them on the grill!
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Aderezo de Canela (Cinnamon Dressing).- Unusual and just great on fruit salads, chicken and even fish dishes too!

4 tbl mint leaves, chopped
4 garlic cloves, cut in very fine slices
2 tbl lemon juice
1 tbl brown sugar
1 tbl honey
1/4-1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
6 tbl extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

In a pan, place the oil and saute the garlic, over med heat, until soft but don't allow to color. Add the lemon juice, sugar, honey and cinnamon. Stir for 2-3 min until it begin to slightly thicken, adding the salt & pepper. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly before adding the mind leaves. Mix well, adjust the seasoning and serve.
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Vinagreta de Granada (Pomegranate Vinaigrette).- You'll love the flavor and color of this one!

1/2 cup Pomegranate seeds
2 tbl Red Wine vinegar
1 tbl Dijon mustard
1/4 cup olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

In a blender, grind the pomegranate seeds along with the vinegar, mustard and salt & pepper, then add the olive oil a little at a time until combined. Run through a sieve, adjust the seasonings and serve.
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The wide variety of flavors in all these dressings will no doubt give you many ideas of what to use them with.... don't forget that these aren't just for salads as many main dishes can also benefit from the wonderful flavors they offer us, so try making them and then try and pair them with some of your favorite dishes and take them from the "well known" to the realm of the spectacular! By all means vary the spices, vinegars and seasonings to tickle your family's taste buds..... Also, try new ingredients like different types of lettuce, fruits, sprouts, legumes, veggies and add herbs and proteins too! Plus, these can stretch your food budget, help your waistline and health and maybe create some new family favorites as well!..... Great! You can also flavor your oils with the addition of herbs and spices to add even more depth of flavor.... you infuse the oil, bottle it and have it ready for use..... the possibilities are endless, right?