Cinco De Mayo Fiesta

I have never really done anything festive for Cinco De Mayo and so my dearest friend Kate, whom I have been friends with since we were toddlers, decided that at age 30 it was high time we celebrated this festive holiday properly.

We started off the evening at El Camino Super Cocina in Little Italy where we…

Had our picture taken with a Zonkey! (though I think he was really a pony so that would make him more of a Zoney I suppose). Nonetheless he was super cute and I felt like this definitely qualified as proper Cinco de Mayo festiveness.

Unfortunately, El Camino was way too packed to sit for a proper meal, which was sad because their food is amazing!! Last time I was there their nightly special was baked chile relleno, yes it was baked not fried and not breaded meaning completely gluten free and very much swoon worthy as far as deliciousness goes.

Before heading out we squeezed our way to the bar for a celebratory toast with tequila served in itty bitty boot glasses (so cute!)

Even though we were sad to not be eating at El Camino we were not that sad because instead we got to go to my favorite pizza place in San Diego.

Pizza Fusion

Gluten free crust topped with tri color peppers, mozzarella and the most delicious pepperonis I have ever tasted. I could not have picked a better meal for Cinco de Mayo or any night of the week for that matter.

They also just happened to have a new gluten free cider on the menu.

Fox Barrel Black Currant Cider. Now I am not typically a huge beer or cider gal but this stuff may have just chanced that. The flavor of the currant really comes out in the most perfect subtlety sweet not at all bitter way, I think I have a new favorite beverage to pair with pizza!

We may not have stuck to the typical Cinco de Mayo theme as far as celebrating goes but I must say I think we did it up just right.

Tasty Taco Thursday

Working in the San Diego Metro area makes it so much easier for me to talk myself into meeting up with friends for dinner, drinks and other downtown evening adventures. As of late I have been devoting Thursday nights for meet ups with my brother, Chris. Last week we went to Bernardo and Melanie Bermudez’s condo for a delicious dinner al fresco.

 

Chris works in Imperial Beach and is always so kind as to pick up lots of fresh Mexican goodies whenever we are meeting up for dinner. The night of our gathering at the Bermudez’s he brought along some pollo asado, queso fresco and a bundle of freshly made corn tortillas and since I was coming straight from Specialty I brought along some fresh veggies.

 

Super Scrumptious Soft Tacos and Stuffed Peppers

Feel free to mix and match ingredients as you like. Between the four of us these just happened to be the ingredients that we had on hand and they made for a most delicious dinner.

 

Ingredients for Stuffed Peppers

Bell Peppers

Mushrooms, roughly chopped

Garlic, minced

Onion, minced

Queso fresco, crumbled

Salt and Pepper to taste

 

Cut the tops off the peppers, deseed them and then set aside. In a small bowl combine the chopped mushrooms, onion, garlic, queso fresco, salt and pepper. 

Stuff each pepper with the filling and then set aside. 

 

Ingredients for Tacos

Bell Peppers, cut into bite sized pieces

Zucchini, cut onto bite sixed pieces

Corn Tortillas

Queso Fresco

Pollo Asado

Once you have all the peppers stuffed and the veggies for the tacos prepared you are ready to head out to the grill and get cooking. Arrange all of your goodies on the grill and let cook until the veggies are tender, the chicken cooked through, and the stuffed peppers piping hot.  

Once the taco filings are done warm the tortillas on the grill, fill them with the veggies and chicken, and top with a sprinkling of queso fresco.

 

We also made salads with field greens, cucumbers, mushrooms and a sprinkling of mozzarella cheese and balsamic.

 Everything was delish! Bernardo and Melanie’s condo has a wonderful outdoor sitting area that not only has a grill but a lovely arrangement of couches, chairs and a fire pit perfect for relaxing with friends long into the evening.

  

Many thanks to the Bermudez's for having us over for such a delicious dinner! In addition to being fabulous hosts Bernardo and Melanie are both talented artists as well. Melanie is a fabulous painter and web developer and Bernardo is an amazing singer.

A Dinner for all Seasons

Keeping with the theme of the in between season for Friday night dinner this week I decided on a dish that always hits the spot no matter what season it is, enchiladas. As a youngster one of my favorite dinners to make with friends were enchiladas. Warmed corn tortillas dipped in sauce and stuffed with shredded cheeses, simple and scrumptious. Years later they are still one of my favorite Mexican dishes to make and in addition to my old cheesy favorite are even more delish when stuffed with a number of different veggies, legumes and spices. In the summer months you can cram them full of fresh, colorful veggies and in the winter they are equally delish when filled with sautéed greens, roasted squash or beans. Topped off with a spicy sauce and sprinkled with savory cheese enchiladas are a delicious dinner choice whether its winter, spring, summer or fall.

For Friday’s batch of enchiladas I decided on a combination of ingredients that embrace the deliciousness of both summer and fall, a mishmash of fresh veggies and frozen and topped off with a light cheese as to not distract from all the distinctly delicious flavors of the veggies.

Enchiladas de Jardin
Serves 5 or 6



Enchilada Sauce Ingredients

Making sauce from scratch is a fun and easy way to tweak the flavor of your sauce to your tastbuds delight. If sauce making is not your thing you can easily use your favorite canned sauce instead.


2 14 oz cans diced or crushed tomatoes
½ cup salsa (as spicy or mild as you like)
1 can green chilies or 3 or 4 home roasted chilies of your choice (The hotter the better in my opinion!)
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon chili powder
Dash of cinnamon
Dash of nutmeg
Sea salt and black pepper, to taste

Combine all the ingredients in a blender or food processer and blend until all the ingredients turn into a smooth and saucy consistency.

Enchilada Filling Ingredients


2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 10 oz. packages frozen spinach, thawed

1 zucchini, cut into bite sized slices
1 red bell pepper, cut into bite sized pieces
1 tablespoon garlic, minced (about 4 or 5 cloves)
1 15 oz. can white beans, drained and rinsed
½ teaspoon oregano
Dash of nutmeg
Dash of cinnamon
Sea salt and black pepper, to taste
½ cup feta cheese, crumbled (fat free, reduced fat or full fat)


Wrap the spinach in a towel to remove as much of the moisture as possible and then set aside. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and cook the garlic for a minute or two. Add the spinach, zucchini and bell pepper and cook for 7 or 8 minutes or until the zucchini has softened.



Add to this the white beans and then season with oregano, nutmeg, cinnamon, sea salt and pepper. Turn off the heat and then mix in the feta and stir until combined.




Putting it all Together

12 corn tortillas
½ cup feta cheese, crumbled
Prepared enchilada sauce (recipe above)

First thing first, preheat the oven to 350 and then gather up the sauce, filling and other ingredients needed to prepare the enchiladas.

Cover the bottom of a large rectangular baking dish with some of the enchilada sauce and set aside close by to where you will be assembling the enchiladas. You will also need a second dish such as a pie tin or a large shallow bowl to prepare the enchiladas in. Pour about ½ cup of the enchilada sauce into this dish and set aside as well.

To get started with the assembly you first need to warm your tortillas a bit. This can be done using a microwave or by using a pot of boiling water and one of those spiffy steaming screens that look like a cross between a badminton racket and fly swatter.

Once you have a warmed tortilla place it immediately into the saucy preparation dish, flipping the tortilla over twice to coat both sides with the sauce. Dollop about 2 or 3 tablespoons of the scrumptious filling into the tortilla, roll it up, and then place in into the prepared baking dish.



Repeat this process until all the filling has been used or you run out of room in your baking dish. Pour an ample amount of the sauce atop the enchiladas and sprinkle with feta.

Cook for about 20 minutes.



We enjoyed our enchiladas with some homemade guacamole and steamed frozen sweet corn seasoned with Tapatio sauce.



We also opened a bottle of one of my favorite wines, Happy Canyon, Chucker 07 Bordeaux Blend. This was my first full bottle of Chucker, previously I have raved about it after ordering it during my last few visits to the Linkery for dinner. Since I fist tasted it months ago I have had an eye out for it every time I visited a wine bar or shop until finally it was discovered at Wine Steals in Hillcrest. At $14.99 a bottle this robust red is bursting with rich berry flavors and pairs perfectly with everything from savory cheeses to spicy Mexican food.

Speaking of Wine Steals this weekend I will be heading to the Point Loma location for an evening of wine and cheese so be sure to check back next week for a full review of all of their delicious gluten free offerings.

My tortilla heaven

One of the first things I tried to make when I found out I could no longer eat gluten were tortillas. Immediately after my diagnosis I headed to Jimbos in search of gluten free goods, some marshmellow rice treats, a box of rice crackers, Annies GF mac and cheese and my first gluten free baking mix one that contained mostly bean and soy flours and had a recipie for tortillas on the back. When I got home after unloading all of my gf treasures I grabbed an apron and my new gf baking mix and got to work on the tortillas. Following the directions I added some water and mixed it up, seperated the dough into little balls, flattened them out by hand, and placed the delicate patties in a pan to cook. The “tortillas” were a thick crumbly mess, incredibly dense and had a bitter aftertaste that did not taste tortilla like at all. Prior to my gluten abolition my favorite tortillas were:

White spelt flour tortillas from Jimbos
Whole wheat flour tortillas from Trader Joes
Tortillaland brand premade uncooked flour tortillas from Costco

My last choice in tortillas were ones made with corn. They always seamed too dry and lacked the light fluffy highly foldable quality that flour tortillas had. Even long after I gave up my beloved flour tortillas and reluctantly started to eat the corn ones I learned to enjoy them but never really learned to love them. Then one day a few months ago while shopping at one of my local markets that had recently undergone a renovation I found myself perusing their new foreign foods section. I grabbed a pack of rice noodles in the Thai section, ogled the bottles of aged balsamic in the Italian section, and resisted the chocolate covered digestive cookies in the British section. Then I got to the Hispanic section, bottles of spicy hot sauce, beans of every shape and shade, and jars of colorful peppers lined the shelves. On the bottom shelf a large orange bag with a yellow ear of smiling corn caught my eye.

I crouched down to take a closer look at the orange bag. Turning the bag around to read the side panel I found a recipe for corn tortillas and below that a list of ingredients in the masa, corn flour. No bleached white flour, no whole wheat flour just completely gluten free corn. I immediately recalled rumors I had heard in the past about how homemade corn tortillas were delicious but had always shrugged it off assuming that since I did not care for the store bought ones I would have an equal disdain for the homemade ones too. But now having months ago reached my wits end in a search for a good gluten free tortilla, feeling for so long now lost in a sea of unappetizing wraps the sight of this orange bag and smiley corn renewed my hope. Could this be the answer to my tortilla prayers? I lugged the big bag of flour to the checkout and headed home to test it out.

I followed the directions, adding water and a bit of salt, mixing up the dough and forming it into little balls with my hands. Being that this was my first experience making tortillas I did not have a press so I used some wax paper, a dinner plate and rolling pin to flatten the little balls of dough. While this method worked it was highly tedious taking just shy of an hour to adequately flatten all of the balls. I heated a skillet on high and cooked the tortillas until they started to become polka doted with brown specks. For the taste test I smeared my first tortilla with a little earth balance and took a bite…

Oh my goodness, the rumors were most definitely true and I was at long last in tortilla heaven again. They were better than any white or wheat flour tortilla I had ever tasted and a hundred times tastier than their pre-packaged store bought friends. After years and years of hating on corn tortillas my opinion had been swayed with one bite of this scrumptious homemade circle of corn.

I immediately decided that a tortilla press was an absolute necessity in my kitchen and went out in search of one. They were harder to find than I had anticipated but eventually I found an aluminum one at World Market. Sadly, it was not all that I had dreamed it would be and only flattened the dough slightly still leaving a need to squish it with the rolling pin a bit to get it to the desired thickness. Lucky for me my adventure loving brother and father were going on a surf trip to Ixtapa, Mexico and when they asked me if I wanted anything while they were there I eagerly replied, “A cast iron tortilla press please!”. A few weeks later they were back, tan, in one piece (there were shark attacks in the area they were surfing at!), and with my very own cast iron press in tow. Just as I thought this heavy press worked like a charm and flattened tortillas in just one or two squishes of the press taking only 10 minutes to flatten the same amount of tortillas it was taking me an hour to make by hand!

Quick, easy to make and scrumptious with everything from tofu and bell peppers to melted butter sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. Another delicious accompaniment I have found is the classic beans and cheese. Refried beans are delish but a healthier and more flavorful alternative are black beans and like many things are best when homemade. Here is a recipe that I frequently use as a base when I am in the mood for beans. You can alter the spice and sweetness to your specific taste and serve with whatever side you like but I highly recommend grabbing a bag of masa harina and enjoying these delicious and nutritious beans with some homemade tortillas.

Black Beans
Serves 4 or 5 hungry people

Ingredients for beans

• 1 tablespoon extra light olive oil


• 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
  
• 2 bell peppers, chopped into small bite sized squares (I like red or orange but you can use whatever your tummy desires!)


• 2 or 3 cloves garlic, minced or squished in a press


• 1 teaspoon oregano


• 1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger


• 2 teaspoons ground cumin


• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon


• 1 or 2 splashes rice vinegar or dry white wine


• 3 cans black beans (do not drain beans)


• salt and pepper to taste


• ½ teaspoon chili powder or 1 teaspoon hot sauce (optional, if you like it hot)


• 1 tablespoon brown sugar or honey (or both if you like it sweet!)

Ingredients for toppings

15 or so little red tomatoes (cherry or grape work well), cut in half

1/2 cup pepper jack cheese (soy, rice or moo cow), grated

Ingredients for serving

Avocado, sliced and sprinkled lightly with sea salt
Homemade corn tortillas (I use the recipe on the masa harina bag)
Fresh cilantro

Preparation

The base: veggies and spices

Add your oil to a sauce pan or skillet and heat over medium high heat (you are only cooking in this one pan so you want to use a something big enough to hold all of your ingredients). Once oil is hot add your onions and cook for about 15 minutes stirring them about occasionally. Once the onions are translucent and slightly golden you can add the garlic and bell pepper. After this has cooked for about 5 minutes add the oregano, ginger, cumin and cinnamon to the veggies, stir until combined and then add the rice vinegar or wine and stir about.

The star ingredient

Now you are ready to add the most important ingredient in black beans, the beans! Add all 3 cans to the skillet (no draining them first, you want the juices and all) give this a good stir and add in your honey and/or brown sugar. Season to taste with salt, pepper and chili powder or hot sauce. Give a good stir to combine and then cover, reduce the heat and let simmer on low for 1 ½ to 2 hours.

The tasty toppings

Once your beans are just about done cooking you can start preparing the toppings. Heat a lightly greased pan over high heat. Once the pan is hot add your tomatoes. Cook the tomatoes until their skin wrinkles and they start to break down a bit, about 5 minutes.

Serving suggestions

Cook up some fresh tortillas made with masa harina and fill these scrumptious corn patties with the beans, top with some tomatoes, sprinkle with cheese and garnish with a few leaves of cilantro. Add a few slices of avocado speckled with sea salt on the side and you have once super scrumptious meal.

One of my favorite things

One Sunny Sunday morning two years and some change ago a few of my dearest South Park friends took me for breakfast at one of their favorite neighborhood morning eateries, The Big Kitchen. Once we were seated I perused the vast menu for something that looked not only extraordinarily delicious but something that was more than likely gluten free as well. Now those that know me know I have never been a huge meat eater, especially when it comes to breakfast and there is no food in this world that I despise more than eggs (bleh!!). Add gluten to that list of breakfast nono’s and my options become extremely narrow. Lucky for me I live in San Diego and a good portion of breakfast places offer a selection of Mexican dishes on their menu. After much deliberation I decided upon the tofu rancheros. As we sat sipping our coffee, chatting and waiting for our orders to arrive I glanced over the collage of clippings that pleasantly cluttered the walls. A flyer for an upcoming art show, a signed photo of Whoopi Goldberg (who used to work there), and an article about Rachel Ray’s visit there during a taping of $40 a day, a visit in which she dined on the tofu rancheros no less (yay for Rachel’s with great taste!). At long last my tofu arrived fresh out of the pan and still sizzling on my plate. The tofu and bell peppers were cut into large chunks and served atop a corn tortilla and the whole thing was smothered in a layer of oooey gooey melty cheese. As I dined on my delicious dish, the array of textures and flavors mingled in my mouth and the wheels in my brain began to turn. There was no doubt in my mind that this meal was scrumptious but I could not help but think as I ate of slight changes that could be made to the recipe that would make it even more delectable to my palate.

A couple days and a trip to the grocery store later I was ready to put my ideas to the test and after an hour of draining, chopping, mincing and stir frying my culinary creation was complete and I found that not only had I cooked up a tasty Wednesday night dinner but that I had found my new favorite meal. I could eat this for dinner every day and in fact at first I did! A few years later it’s still one of my favorite, a weekly fixture in my diet and something that I still enjoy preparing just as much as I did that first time. I hope that cooking and eating this dish brings you as much joy as it did for me. I find its best served with a crisp white wine and shared with friends.

Extraordinarily Delicious Tofu and Pepper Tacos

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 3 medium to large sized bell peppers, chopped (you can use any combination you like of orange, red and yellow. Since these are going in a tortilla I like to chop the peppers pretty small, about ½ inch by ½ inch)
• 1 zucchini sliced into ¼ inch thick slices
• A little more than 1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes (cut in halves or thirds, guts removed and discarded)
• 1 pack of extra firm tofu
• Chopped fresh cilantro leaves (as much as you like, I like a generous handful)
• 4 or 5 cloves of garlic (crushed or minced)
• Olive oil
• Tortillas (I like to serve mine with home made corn tortillas)
• Pepper jack cheese (I found Veggie Slices brand, pepper jack flavor work well in this dish because they are delicious when melted and they don’t get greasy when melted like real cheese)
• Season to taste with salt, pepper and Mexican Seasonings (I use a little under a tablespoon of a premade mix that is a combination of oregano, cumin, garlic, onion, chili, paprika and red pepper)

Optional ingredients (if you like it hot!)

• 1 or 2 teaspoons jalapeño pepper, minced (seeds and all)
• 2 or 3 shakes of chili pepper powder

Preparation

First thing you want to do is drain the liquid from the tofu container. Then using a clean cutting board or plate cut the tofu into ½ inch thick steaks. Tofu is like a sponge and at this point even though the water has been drained the tofu is still fully absorbed with liquid. Now you can’t just squeeze the tofu like you would a sponge to release the liquid (unless you are making a tofu scramble!). In order to release some of that liquid you need to let the tofu sit and drain a bit on another absorbent material such as paper towels. Make a stack of paper towels 5 or 6 sheets thick and place your tofu steaks on top. Then place another 2 or 3 towels on top. You can gently press down on the paper towel covered tofu and then let this sit for about 5 minutes. If you notice the towels are becoming saturated you can move the tofu to a dry spot on the towel or add another towel. If you were ever to make a recipe that involved marinating tofu you would want to let your tofu drain like this for 10 or 15 minutes with at least one towel change in between. By doing this you ensure that your tofu is able to properly absorb a marinade. If you were to just throw tofu into a marinade straight out of the container it came in it would not soak up the marinade (because it’s already fully absorbed with the liquid it came in) and your tofu would be pretty bland. In this recipe we are not marinating the tofu before we cook it so a 5 minute drain will allow enough of the liquid to drain out so the tofu will be able to adequately soak up the yummy spices you will be coking it with.

While your tofu is draining on the towels you can prepare your veggies. Chop the tomatoes, making sure to remove the guts and discard and place all the meaty tomato bits in a bowl. Add the crushed garlic and chopped cilantro to this bowl, give it a good stir to coat all the tomatoes with the garlic and cilantro then set this aside. Now you can chop your bell peppers and zucchini. By the time all your veggies are prepped your tofu should be properly drained. On a clean cutting board cut your tofu steaks into bite sized pieces, approximately ½ inch by ½ inch. I like to use a wok to cook this but if you don’t have one handy you can use a large sauce or frying pan. Pour a bit of olive oil in the pan and use a paper towel to make sure the surface of the pan is fully coated with oil, you don’t need a lot just enough so the tofu won’t stick. If you happen to have garlic flavored olive oil I have found that to be quite yummy with this dish. Once the pan is hot, toss in your tofu and shake the pan every 10 seconds or so to make sure the tofu is not sticking. If it does sprinkle the tofu with a bit more oil and toss in the pan (this shaking/tossing action is particularly fun with a wok!). After about 2 minutes the tofu should be past the phase where it wants to stick to the pan and you can let it sit and cook on its own for a bit longer. I typically end up cooking the tofu on medium high heat for about 10 or 12 minutes, flipping the little tofu squares ever minute or so to make sure all sides are getting cooked. The tofu is done when you notice that it is a light golden brown color on most sides. It’s a slightly tedious process flipping all the little squares but I find it’s a good way to get a nice slightly crispy on the outside tofu without using a lot of fatty oil or frying it. Once your tofu is browned to your desired color you can add the zucchini. I like to pile the tofu in the center of my wok and then surround it with the zucchini. This way the zucchinis are not crowded in the pan and have a chance to brown a bit on one side before they get mixed in with their tofu buddies. Let that cook as is for a minute or two, until you can flip one of the zucchinis and notice it has a little bit of browning on the cooked side. Then place the chopped bell peppers atop of the tofu, take a moment or two to admire how pretty this looks in the pan…

Then mix it all up using a spoon and/or tossing in the pan iron chef style. If you are making this spicy you can add your chopped jalapeño pepper at this time. Let this cook for 3 or 4 minutes and then add your tomato mixture. Stir this about, fully combining the tomato mix with the tofu mix and then lower your heat to medium low. Now you can add the salt, pepper, Mexican seasonings and if you like the chili pepper, give this a good stir and let it cook for one more minute or two and then your tofu pepper taco filling is complete. Serve in warm (preferably homemade) tortillas sprinkled with pepper jack or your preferred cheese of choice.