Tag Archives: sauce

My New Favorite Sauce!

My New Favorite Sauce!

in Newsletter, Site News, Today's Tasting Notes
My Lunch Today – Quesadilla with Zhoug Sauce and Cherry Tomatoes

Ron and I were introduced to a delicious new sauce called zhoug (pronounced zoog) when we were visiting our friends, Bonnie and Don, in Long Beach, California early this year – just before COVID-19 changed the world.

Bonnie is the queen of making fabulous food – FAST! I treat cooking as an exercise in meditation and I putter and play while I create. Bonnie, on the other hand, has learned the art of getting meals prepared quickly so she can move on to do other things she’d rather spend time on. She picked the zhoug sauce up at Trader Joe’s and Ron and I absolutely fell in love with it. We picked up extra to bring home to Mexico, but the supply didn’t last very long. The answer, then, was to figure out how to make it myself!

Zhoug originated in Yemen but is now enjoyed in many other parts of the world (our friend, Henry, remembers having it while living in Israel). I’m a huge fan of chimichurri, but find that zhoug is brighter, spicier, greener and fresher. I use it on and in everything, literally, and it makes the BEST guacamole when mixed into mashed avocado. Using a food processor, this literally takes 10 minutes to make and clean up. Give it a whirl – literally!

Ingredients

  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 2 Serrano chiles, seeds and membranes removed and cut in big chunks
  • 1 large bunch cilantro, washed and dried
  • 1 tsp. ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
  • 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp. dried crushed chile flakes
  • 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

Instructions

Place all ingredients (except olive oil and lemon juice) into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until chopped fine. Add olive oil and lemon juice and blend into a coarse paste.

Store in a sealed, glass jar in your refrigerator for up to a week (if it lasts that long!).

Instant Pot Chili Colorado

in Newsletter, Site News, Today's Tasting Notes
Instant Pot Chili Colorado

I bought an Instant Pot last season and brought it down to Cabo. I’ve had a lot of fun playing with it and experimenting with foods and recipes.

Ron has told me often about a recipe he used to make that he absolutely loved called Chili Colorado. The name has nothing to do with the State of Colorado, but rather the color of the sauce (literally colored red). This is a traditional Mexican stew made with either pork or beef and is wonderfully flavored with the combination of dried chiles used to make it: ancho, pasilla, and guajillo. Please note that these dried chiles should be pliable to ensure maximum flavor – if they are dried out, they will have far less to offer this dish.

Ingredients:

3 cups chicken stock

5 ancho chiles, stems and seeds removed

2 pasilla chiles, stems and seeds removed

2 guajillo chiles, stems and seeds removed

2 lbs. boneless pork shoulder (beef roast may be used as well), cut into 3/4” pieces

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

2 tbsp. vegetable oil

8 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tbsp. ground cumin

2 tbsp.  fresh sage, chopped

2 tbsp.  fresh Mexican oregano, chopped

2 bay leaves

1 – 14 oz. can of pureed tomatoes

1 tbsp. brown sugar

1 bottle of beer

Method:

Heat chicken stock in a saucepan. When boiling, add the chiles, then cover and remove from heat. Let sit for about half an hour to allow the chiles to soften. Put the chiles and all of the soaking liquid into a covered blender and purée until very smooth.

Season the pork pieces with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in the Instant Pot using the Sauté function. Add the meat and brown. Add garlic, cumin, oregano. bay leaves, tomatoes, brown sugar and beer. Stir in the chile purée, cover and cook for 30 minutes using the Pressure feature and Pork selection.

The first night that we had this chili, I served it over white rice with a dollop of sour cream on top. The second night, I added some cooked kidney beans (many chili aficionados would baulk strongly at that!) and served it over baked potatoes, again with a dollop of sour cream on top. Neither of these treatments is authentically Mexican, as it would be served with Mexican rice, flour or corn tortillas and perhaps some beans a la charra on the side. However you like to enjoy it, this is a delicious dish that is prepared rapidly with the use of the Instant Pot.

Dinner With Elaine

in Newsletter

We had a chance to visit with Ron’s third sister (he has four of them – lucky man as they are all amazing women!), Elaine, in Los Gatos, CA, on our recent visit in the area. Elaine is a brilliantly talented lady (as are all four of Ron’s sisters), with a burning passion for travel, art, culture, and decorating. Her taste is extraordinary and she is truly a remarkable woman.

She invited us to her new home and we shared a wonderful evening with her and two of her friends: Mary, who she has travelled to Cuba with on several occasions for cultural expeditions, and Nancy, a long-time friend and talented hair stylist. Instead of going out for dinner, Elaine prepared and served a delicious dinner of BBQ grilled salmon, oven-grilled broccoli Romanesco, asparagus, onion and tri-colored carrot, and boiled corn on-the-cob. When we asked what we could bring, she said that we could do the sauce for the salmon.

Ron and I had enjoyed a wonderful chimichurri sauce before we left Cabo, so I immediately thought that would be the perfect accompaniment to the grilled salmon and mixed vegetables. Elaine had all the ingredients and I used this recipe from New York Times Cooking app as my basic guideline: http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015299-chimichurri-sauce. Although my picture of my plate doesn’t include the chimichurri, it provided great color and flavor to the salmon and all the vegetables Elaine served. Delicious!

IMG_4866

Leftover chimichurri can be used as the base on toasted baguettes for appetizers, mixed in with beaten eggs for scrambled eggs (green eggs and ham, perhaps?) or omelet, as a pizza or flatbread sauce, or tossed with cooked pasta. It really is a versatile and healthy sauce and I highly recommend you try it! A little taste of Argentina – wherever you are in the world!

Sweet and Spicy Roast Chicken

in Site News

In my last post, I was telling you how much we enjoy Melissa Clark’s recipes and videos. She is an absolute delight and her recipes are fresh, fun and fabulous. The recipe that I’m going to introduce you to here is a prime example of what we’ve come to expect and enjoy from what she’s creating.

Many of the ingredients in this recipe we sourced from our local organic market which is located just half a block up the street from where we live in Cabo and is open Wednesday and Saturday mornings. A fresh, free-range organic chicken, organic lemons, Mandarin oranges, honey, carrots, onion and green onions all combine to make this a truly delicious and flavorful dish. A few steps outside the front door is where I have fresh herbs growing, and I cut some fresh thyme and Italian parsley for the recipe as well.

I highly recommend that you watch Melissa’s video to get a sense of who she is and the fun she’s created with this dish. You can just link to the recipe, but you’ll miss her delightful personality. This dish is described as a “chile-flecked, honey-imbued marinade spiked with fresh citrus juice that gives this chicken its fiery, syrupy character. Dates and carrots give the sauce texture and additional sweetness while a garnish of fresh herbs and pistachio nuts lends freshness and crunch.” This is a really fabulous dish that can be prepared a day in advance, making it perfect to warm up in the oven for a dinner party. Serve with rice or something else to soak up and savor the sauce with. This is absolutely a five-star dish that I highly recommend!

Did You Know That……

in Newsletter, Site News

– Capers are the unopened flower bud of a bush that grows in the Mediterranean. Contrary to popular belief, they are in no way related to fish! They are usually packed in brine, so they should be rinsed before using. Select small capers and try them in everything from salads, pasta dishes, with smoked salmon or other fish dishes, in egg salad sandwiches and devilled eggs, in vegetables, sauces to pizza!

– Tomatillos are surprisingly not members of the tomato family, but are actually members of the gooseberry family. They are available at Latin-American markets and some large supermarkets. They have a papery outer husk which should be removed, and them the tomatillos should be rinsed in soapy water, followed by clear water, to remove the sticky residue of the husks.

– To quickly slice mushrooms, strawberries or kiwis, try using an egg slicer, preferably with stainless steel wires for strength.

– The tart and tangy flavor of the versatile lime adds a sprightly touch to margaritas, other fruit drinks and desserts. It adds zest to ceviche, salad dressings, barbecued fish and poultry. An excellent source of vitamin C, limes grow in the tropics and subtropics, Mexico, the Caribbean, Florida and California.