Speaking Of Avocados, Here's A Simple Salad That's Yum

This quick salad goes great with any entree.

1 ripe Hass avocado

1 medium tomato

1 small red onion, or 1/2 of a medium one

Olive oil, about a tablespoon

Salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Chop the veggies and combine all ingredients in a bowl. Mix well. If you like it hot, a few shakes of chili powder or cayenne pepper are good. If you like it not, just go with the basics. Chill. Generally serves two. Multiply ingredients by two if you're serving dinner for four.

Guacamole, kept simple and good

I've found that when it comes to good guacamole, less can be more.

This is all you need:

1 ripe Hass avocado, per person

Salt and black pepper, to taste

Now for the chile. Choose one of the three:

Muy caliente: 1 fresh serrano pepper per person/avocado, minced

Medio caliente: 1/2 fresh jalapeno pepper per person/avocado, minced

No caliente: a wedge of green bell pepper, minced

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mash/mix until you have a consistency sort of like mashed potatoes. Serve immediately. Don't make more than you can eat, and eat it all up while it's fresh. That's one of the secrets to this. You can refrigerate leftovers, but it's best fresh.

The recipe for fresh Sangrita

I'd promised this much sooner, but have been neglecting this blog. Will try to catch up.

You'll need a blender for this.

3 medium tomatoes, cut into wedges

A 6-oz. can of orange juice, or juice from 1.5 oranges

Juice of 1 lime

1/2 of a small onion, cut into wedges

1/2 a teaspoon of sugar

2-3 fresh serrano peppers (cayenne pepper or the hot sauce of your choice can be a substitute)

Salt, to taste

Put all ingredients in the blender and puree.

Serve as a chaser with tequila shots, lime wedges and salt (optional)

Note: You can also use a juicer to do this, and there will be less pith than with a blender.

Manifesto Joe's pot of red-hot Texas chili

Jack Jodell, a big bowl of this will warm you up, even on those below-zero Minnesota nights.

1 pound of very lean ground beef. Same amount of very lean stew beef works very well, too.

1 chorizo sausage, chopped or ground. A Kielbasa will do if you can't get chorizo.

1 large red bell pepper, or 2 smaller ones, chopped. Green ones are OK.

1 large can (29 oz.) of tomatoes, or 2 14-oz. cans.

1/3 cup of ketchup

1 medium onion, chopped

Several cloves of garlic, chopped

New Mexico chili powder, to taste. I recommend a lot.

Cumin powder, the same

1 teaspoon of dried oregano

Salt and black pepper, to taste. It might be wise to add table salt after cooking.

6 oz. of beer, or water

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 large can (29 oz.) of pinto beans, and 1 medium can (14 oz.) of black beans

1 stalk of celery, chopped

1 fresh habanero pepper, finely chopped (Optional, depending on how hot & spicy you like your chili. If you want it in the medium range of heat, substitute 1 fresh jalapeno pepper.)

6-8 dried chipotle peppers, ground to powder (Also optional, depending on your heat tolerance. Use 3-4 for the medium range of heat. The ones in cans, in adobo sauce, also work.)

1 tablespoon of paprika

Cayenne pepper, to taste, for those who like it hot

1 cup of beef stock

1 thick slice of bacon, or 2 thin slices, chopped. (Optional) Fry the bacon first if you want less fat.

1/2 teaspoon of allspice

1 tablespoon of Worchestershire sauce

1/2 of a poblano pepper

Quaker oats -- amount depends on how thick you like your chili. A lot will also cut the heat.

Juice of 1/2 of a lime

Combine all ingredients, except oats and lime juice, in a large stew pot and slowly bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for an hour, stirring occasionally and breaking up larger ingredients like meat and tomatoes. Add oats during simmer time to thicken, or water to thin, as desired. Add lime juice near the end of cooking to sharpen slightly.

Turn off heat and let it cool a bit. Serve with crackers or warm tortillas, chopped fresh cilantro and grated Monterey Jack cheese. (Mozzarella cheese works, too.)

After refrigeration and reheating, this is even better on the second day. Try to eat it all up by the third day -- it's perishable. Or, the leftovers can be frozen. It still tastes great after thawing.

PS: Meat substitutes, in appropriate amounts, work with this, too, if you're a vegetarian. I recommend a product called Soyrizo as a substitute for the chorizo sausage. It's yummy.

A Way To Work Greens Into Your Diet

Greens -- mustard, turnip, kale, beet, etc. -- are rich in Vitamin K and many other nutrients that guard against cancer and other diseases. Problem is, not many people like them. Here's a way you might like:

Start with a steak, whatever is your pleasure. 6-8 oz. will do for each person. I usually use something leaner, like top sirloin, London broil, eye of round. Put it on a microwave-safe plate.

Cover the steak with picante sauce. I usually use Pace hot, but any kind will do, and some of you won't like it as hot.

Then layer a slice or two of processed cheese on the sauce. I usually use fat-free slices so as to cut down on the saturated fat in the recipe.

Then put a layer of greens on top of the cheese. Cover everything very well.

The wax paper is next. The reason for putting the greens on top is so that the cheese won't stick to the wax paper, or at least minimally.

Wrap a good stretch of wax paper over the plate, covering the food.

Zap it all in the microwave until the steak is done to your liking (medium-rare, well-done, etc.)

The greens should be cooked (wilted). Let everything cool a bit.

Enjoy with the side of your choice. Oh, and like, actually eat the greens. That's one of the main points of the recipe. They should taste a lot better with all the other ingredients combined.

The Stinky Sandwich

This is not for all tastes, as you will gather. But if you can get past the smell, you've got it licked.

2 slices of rye bread, toasted

Sliced limburger cheese

1 tin of sardines in mustard sauce

Mustard

Prepared horseradish

Sliced red onion

Pickle slices

Combine for a sandwich; one of the reasons to toast the bread is so you can pile it all high. Serve with cold beer (nonalcoholic if you're on the wagon).

Pasta con le Sarde (pasta with sardines)

If you really, deeply despise fish, you won't like this one. The rest of you who are more neutral might find that you really like this delicious and healthful pasta dish. You'll never regard sardines the same way.

This is a cheaper version of the traditional Sicilian recipe.

Ingredients:
Pasta, any kind. I usually use spaghetti, but macaroni works, too.
Fresh fennel, finely chopped
Onion, finely chopped
Garlic, sliced or minced
Olive oil
Tomato sauce
Fresh tomato, chopped
Raisins
Fennel seed
Italian herb blend, or basil, oregano, rosemary, etc.
Salt and black pepper, to taste. Easy on the salt is my advice.
White wine, just a splash. Dry vermouth will work, too.
A little mace (an expensive spice, but a little goes a long way)
Turmeric (the traditional Sicilian recipe calls for saffron -- but talk about expensive!)
Cayenne pepper or crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
Pine nuts, if you can find them. Optional for people like me with food allergies.
Capers
Sardines, in a tin or can, size according to how much of this you are making. Sardines in water will do. If they are in tomato sauce, use a little less of aforementioned tomato sauce.
The traditional recipe calls for fresh sardines. If you can get them, more power to you.
Anchovy filets, just a couple

Now the method:

Saute all the veggies in the olive oil, wine and seasonings. (If you found fresh, deboned sardines, saute them at this stage, too, until tender.) Cook the pasta al dente in the meantime.

Add the tomato sauce, then the sardines, if canned, then the anchovies. Bring to a simmer.

Combine with the pasta, and serve. I like Parmesan or Romano cheese sprinkled on mine. Fresh Italian parsley is a good topping, too. I recommend a good chardonnay for the wine.

P.S.: It's been suggested that smoked sardines work better for this. The traditional Sicilian recipe calls for fresh. If you can't find either, I recommend a shot of Liquid Smoke -- comes in bottles.

Also, celery with fennel seed added doesn't work too badly with this if you have trouble finding fresh fennel.

An Easy, Cheap, Good Sauce for Anything

Equal parts of:

mayonnaise

spicy brown mustard

prepared horseradish

Then add, to taste:

Tabasco or similar cayenne pepper hot sauce

minced garlic

dried tarragon leaves

Great with anything.

A Mexican Twist On Sweet Potatoes

Bake a large sweet potato. Again, microwaving is fine.

When tender, put it in a bowl and mash it up.

Add:
1 chipotle pepper, the kind that's canned in adobo sauce, mashed up with an appropriate amount of the sauce.

Minced garlic, to taste

Butter or non-trans-fat margarine, to taste

Brown sugar (optional, to taste)

Mix well, adding a bit of water to get to the consistency of mashed potatoes. Reheat, then enjoy. Also goes great with any meat entree.

An Asian Twist On Sweet Potatoes

Bake a large sweet potato. Microwaving is OK. When tender, mash up in a bowl.

Add:

Butter or margarine (the kind with no trans fat), to taste

Ginger, powdered is fine, to taste

Cloves, powdered, a modest shake

Minced garlic

Soy or tamari sauce, to taste

Cayenne pepper, just a sprinkle (optional)

Brown sugar (optional)

Mix well; add sprinkles of water while mixing, until consistency is like mashed potatoes. Reheat, and enjoy. Great with any meat entree.

Cilantro on a Sandwich? It's Better Than You Think

Ingredients:

A handful of fresh, washed cilantro

Two slices of whole-grain bread

Pimento cheese spread, the reduced-fat kind if you can find it

Slices of turkey breast

Mayonnaise, to taste.

Tomato slice, onion slice (both optional)

Combine in the obvious way to make a sandwich. Serve with Fritos or some other type of corn or tortilla chips, and salsa or a pickled jalapeno pepper. Or both. Muy picoso.

A Cheap and Easy Marinade

This works for any kind of steak, and for thick pork chops.

You'll need a plastic bag with a seal, size depending on the amount of meat you will marinade.

Pierce meat thoroughly with a fork, then put it in the bag. Add: vinegar from pickled jalapeno or serrano peppers; lemon juice (reconstituted will do for this); minced garlic (the cheap kind out of a jar will do); and Worchestershire sauce. The amounts will depend on the amount of meat, but go heavy on the jalapeno vinegar, and make sure all cuts are submerged.

Seal the bag and refrigerate at least 1-2 hours. Several hours is better. Then grill or broil to taste. No need for salt or pepper unless you really want them. Serve with whatever accompaniments you like. A glass of burgundy is also good with this.

Postscript: This works well with chicken, too.

Potatoes Tapenade

Get a few raw red potatoes and slice them. Quarter-inch slices work well.

Get some black olive tapenade. I recommend Mario brand.

Spread tapenade lightly on top of potato slices.

Put slices flat on a large, microwave-safe plate -- don't stack them -- cover with wax paper and nuke in the microwave until slices are tender.

Let them cool, and enjoy. Repeat process as needed. Makes a great potato side with any main course, or a great party snack.

Regarding Herbs And Spices

I largely learned to do meals like this while I was a graduate student, and usually almost broke. I used a dormitory kitchen. One other student noticed what I was doing and wanted to try it himself.

One day I found him simmering some tomato sauce for spaghetti. I asked him how he had seasoned it, because I couldn't smell oregano or basil.

He explained to me that those seasonings were just too expensive in the store. Well, it's not going to taste the same, I explained back before moving on.

What my bud didn't understand is that good flavor requires an investment. You don't have to buy a spice rack all in one visit to the store. Start with mixed herbs, like Italian seasoning. Buy herbs and spices one at a time, with each visit to the store. They will last a long time, and in the long run the cost is negligible.

How To Make Canned Pasta Taste Almost Like Restaurant Fare

This makes a cheap meal of some quality.

Cut up a green bell pepper into large wedges. Do the same with about half of a small onion. Slice a few cloves of fresh garlic. Chop up a roma tomato.

Put the veggies in a pot, add a little olive oil, then add a little red wine. Then add mixed Italian seasoning. If you don't have an herb blend, it would consist mainly of basil and oregano. Sage, fennel seed and just a little mace are good, too.

Saute until veggies are semi-crisp. Don't overcook.

Add a can of cheap pasta. I recommend Chef Boyardee overstuffed Italian sausage ravioli, but any kind will work. Mix gently. Turn heat down on stove and wait for mixture to heat all the way through.

Serve with grated Parmesan or Romano cheese, and sprinkle with crushed red peppers if you like the heat.

Pour yourself a glass of red wine, put on some classical music and imagine you're in an expensive Italian restaurant. It almost works.