Holy Posole!

During your Cinco de Mayo celebration, "Holy Posole" is just the dish to warm the hearth and heart.

I have an EZ Recipe for Chicken Posole that your family will love. Being your taste-buds are invited to the party, you'll need to use them. So I'll give you the recipe in the way my grandmother Tomasa would! All Accordin'!

Reconstitute dry Guajillo chiles in hot water. Once soft, puree with a mince of onion, garlic and the water in which the chiles were soaked. Heat a saute pan on high flame with a tsp of oil. Add chile puree and lower flame to low and allow puree to cook and reduce. Boil chicken breasts in water with bay leaf. Remove chicken when cooked through, cool then shred and reintroduce to broth. Add a large can of hominy corn with liquid. Add a bit of pureed Guajillo chile and chicken bouillion al gusto. On high flame bring back to simmer.

Place reduced Guajillo chile puree, dried Mexico oregano (it really does taste different), finely shredded cabbage, thinly slice radishes in separate bowls as toppings so that each guest can adjust his/her portion to taste. Also, cut limes for the final squuueze that sparks freshness!

Try it! So fast, so ez, you'll make this hearty soup on more days then just Cinco de Mayo. Viva Mexico!

Croque monsieur - Croque madame

A little rain and I take cover in the kitchen. Seems like the warmest spot in the house and provides ample reward for little effort. Who's to turn up their nose at that idea! * Croque monsieur - Croque madame: These two sandwiches are "EZ Eats" and have been part of my default lazy menu for many years now. Everyone should have a menu for those times when you're too tired to cook a proper dinner or too lazy to do much else. I propose you consider these two quickies. Click the embedded "Links" above for recipes!

Not much on ham? Substitute a slice of turkey. Or if you're veggie inclined combine grilled eggplant with the cheese and continue with the recipe. Your taste-buds will be glad you did!

* The Monte Cristo is a variation of the French Croque-monsieur.

Apply Saffron

Apply saffron directly to your life. You'll see immediate and positive results... and a cadre of new friends!

Garden Snowflake

Another morning of freeze warnings and snowflakes.

For a time now, the gardener within could not resist prepping soil and throwing seed. Recently, I connected with a like minded spirit who wanted to share seeds she had harvested last fall. Because of her I have now planted Mexican Hat and Silver Dollar. We share a connection with the soil and from gardener to gardener, I thank her for the offering. When together I expressed my gratitude but I don't think she realized just what she had gifted me. She gave me an opportunity to go into the garden with purpose, cultivate a sense of renewal, begin with the Spring Season. Later when the seeds sprout plants and then throw flowers, I'll think of her while appreciating the results of her kindness.

This Winter has been long and Spring long in coming. And as a consequence I have held the saying "Hope Springs Eternal" very close to the heart. It has given me a sense of patience. However, cabin fever can only be truly mitigated by hands in the soil and by the planting of tomatoes, chiles, cebollina and herbs. By virtue of that, this wet morning I see snowflakes and dream of tomatillos! Thank you again, Betty, my new gardening friend

"No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn."
Hal Borland

Beaner's Breakfast Club

With a Spring morning snowstorm raging at this moment, there can be nothing better then frijoles, topped with a fried egg over-ez, roasted-peeled Poblano Chiles and just a little of the Habanero Salsa we canned last year! A small bitter coffee makes a wonderful companion! Don't forget a few tortillas to complete your morning snow fall! Bien Provecho!

In Search of Saffron!

Thus the season begins. I review my ingredients for Paella and notice that the saffron stores are low. Currently, friend and Paella god "Markito" is visiting family in Barcelona and the arrival of saffron is imminent. He is to return in a matter of days which puts me at ease, somewhat.

Hibernate for the winter - then comes the sun. It's the change of season that spins my way of thinking. Spring weather by nature is inclement; cold days followed by brilliant sunshine. Combine the weekend with clear skies and the back-garden will see much activity. Big salads and fresh breads and chunks of cheese to sate the guests 'til the Paella has cooked and been given ten minutes of repose. In the resting, all flavors blend and the rice mellows while sucking up olive oil, saffron and seafood.

Pictured above is a recent Paella made in the home of my good friend Peter. The indoor variety is good but lacks the savoriness of a Paella exposed to smoke. Yes, I long for a wood-fire in the open air to undertake the next Paella but I shall forever remember the words spoken to me by an old man in the south of Spain; "The best Paella, is the one you have in front of you!" I agree wholeheartedly but cooking out of doors and over fire gives flavor to everything. Most notably, it gives flavor to life.

Highway Ceviche

Imagine, a road that runs from Alaska all the way down to Tierra del Fuego inspiring wanderlust along the way. The Pan-American Highway is just that, it’s approximately 29,800 miles in length and goes through many countries and even more cultures. My knowledge of this incredible motorway extends from the Mexico-U.S. border to the most extreme southerly tip of the South American Continent, where the highway terminates at the beautiful little town of Ushuaia, Argentina.

Many have taken-on the journey from end to end; much like a very blonde German couple dressed in black leather heading south to Patagonia on matching his-and-hers BMW motorcycles with whom I drank much wine. Also on that road, I dined with Adrian from Quebec, who was traveling in a more modest fashion. Laughing he mentioned the entire bicycle trip could be written-off his taxes being he’d met suppliers to his Canada-based organic fertilizer business. Seems the north of Chile is Mecca for buyers and sellers of guano.

As for me, I’ve covered only portions of the highway dictated by desires. More specifically, there are two overwhelming magnetic elements that tug at my compass, wine and seafood. And in the Americas these sensibilities intersect geographically at Chile. On the Pan-America Highway, just North of the Atacama Desert (50 times drier than Death Valley) near the border with Peru, is a small town called Arica. Arica is an eater’s town. It’s an absolute shock to find people living in the driest place on the planet yet this town consistently surprises with locally produced melons, olives, ruby tomatoes, chickens and prawns. Also, ever present is my life long favorite dish, ceviche!

Ceviche is citrus-marinated seafood. The country of origin is unclear and is the core of an on-going culinary tussle between Peru and Ecuador. More importantly, many in Latin America have adopted it and have created their own versions. The citric acid pickles the proteins in the seafood or "cooks" the fish without heat making this a perfect dish for any hot day.

True, many are famous for ceviche yet they offer no wine of note. Or rather no wine I’d want to pair with seafood. So Chile, renown for both seafood and wine, has my vote. I like that Chile’s version of ceviche is simple and doesn’t obscure the flavor of the fish with a barrage of ingredients. And through the alchemy of combining good food with good wine, a heavenly experience can be achieved.

Freshness is essential when speaking of ceviche. So I prefer to enjoy it with a view of the ocean and consider salty sea air an integral part of the recipe. My friend Miguel is one of the fishmongers in kiosks that face the docks. After first light, the fishing fleet arrives to off-load the day’s catch. Miguel and all the cooks of Arica select fish for their clientele. And in those early hours, fish is filleted and cut into ½ inch pieces and put to limejuice, with a mince of onion and tomato, salt and parsley. The ceviche is refrigerated along side bottles of white. And by noon, the ceviche and the wine are ready to come together as the perfect lunch. With fresh bread, the meal is complete. Miguel shares his recipe below:

Miguel’s Ceviche Recipe
· 2 lbs of deboned firm-fleshed fish, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
· 1 cup of fresh squeezed lime juice
· 1/2 red onion, finely diced
· 1 cup of chopped fresh seeded tomatoes
· 2 teaspoons of salt
· Fresh chopped parsley or cilantro or mint

Allow it to sit for several hours in the refrigerator, giving time for the flavors to blend. Serve with favorite hot sauce and allow each guest to adjust his or her own level of piquant. On the side, offer a green salad and popcorn for a gathering that is light and uncomplicated.

Turning our attention to wine, I suggest a dry Chilean white to heighten the enjoyment of the fish, the company and even the popcorn! Much like Italy’s Pinot Grigio (gray pinot), Cabernet Sauvignon Gris is a classic white that has been put onto red grape skins to augment flavor and give color. This gray wine delivers a lemon-lime flavor with just enough fruitiness to complement ceviche and most anything else. It’s really a perfect upscale wine for little money, very clean, very crisp. Through extensive investigation, I’ve found these three examples to be exceptional:

Cousino Macul Sauvignon Gris 2006

Casa Marin Sauvignon Gris Estero 2006

Casa Silva Sauvignon Gris 2008

If you’re inspired by a highway that stretches the length of the Americas or enjoy the beach or merely love to entertain, you can easily take your guests on a seaside holiday by putting together this straightforward meal. And all of it can happen on your patio. No ocean where you live? No problem. Good company and good food are the best memory makers and when you add the perfect wine you’ll easily enhance the occasion and be transported elsewhere. With warm weather coming, I encourage you to get out, cook out and share as much as you can. As the Spanish saying goes; “Life is short but it can be, oh, so very wide!”

Four Pizzas for Two on a Thursday Night

A few days ago, I made pizza dough and divided the large ball into four smaller. I always bag the balls separately, splash them with olive oil and reserve them in the back of the refrigerator. I find that dough given time to slowly rise delivers greater flavor. With a few leftovers and simple deli items the pizzas quickly roll out of the oven even on a work night! Tonight's results were a White Pizza; Red Sauce with Brie, Anchovy and Capers; Pesto and a simple Red Sauce & Four Cheeses. I threw around some Pine Nuts just for good measure! The side salad was a fast and furious tomato, cucumber, sprigs of watercress (just now arriving at the Mexican green grocer's) and mince of red onion dressed with a home-made basic vinaigrette (with salt & pepper). A little prep goes a long way when you want the very best pizza available, and the best always is fresh from your kitchen. And perhaps the greatest satisfaction of all is saying goodbye to the delivery guy!