Slow-Cooked Achiote-Marinated Pork (Cochinita Pibil)

The boys start back to school today and Michael went back to work after a well-deserved holiday break, which means we have returned to our weekdays full of drop-offs, pickups, multiple schedules, homework, and little time for preparing dinner. Tackling big cooking projects on weekdays is out of the question, so we are making easy weeknight meals such as this achiote-marinated pork. Read more

Oven-Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

Have I ever mentioned that purple is my favorite color? I find the color exhilarating and like plants that bear purple fruits and vegetables, including tomatillos.

Our tomatillo plants were slow this year along with everything else in the garden. The extended cold, wet spring put a damper on things, making everything slow to grow and blossom. We finally harvested some tomatillos a few weeks ago, much later than last year, and with the early cold snap this week we didn’t get much of a growing season at all. All we can do is preserve what we have and hope for better next year. Read more

Grilled Adobo Chicken (Pollo Adobado)

I recently acquired a copy of Rosa’s New Mexican Table (review) and having heard of the restaurant and the book’s James Beard Award nomination in 2008 I was eager to try out some of the dishes from Chef Roberto Santibañez. One of the first dishes that caught my eye was the adobo marinated chicken with spicy guajillo chiles and chiles de arbol. An adobo sauce is bright red from the chiles and the meat is either simmered in the sauce or marinated and grilled. Common chiles for adobo include ancho, guajillo, and chipotle, though in this recipe chiles de arbol are added for extra heat. In the DC area you can find dried chiles at Hispanic grocery stores, some of the larger international grocery stores such as Grand Mart, Shoppers Food Warehouse, and some other grocery chains. Read more

Ideas for a Cinco de Mayo Party or When You Just Want Some Mexican Food

If you are planning to have a Cinco de Mayo party or just want ideas for making Mexican food at home, here are some of our favorites.

Roasted Green Tomatillo Salsa Read more

Roasted Tomatillo Jalapeno Salsa with Avocado

Creamy with a kick is what comes to mind when I dip tortillas or lavash into this salsa.

The September Daring Bakers challenge required the members to make both lavash and a dip or other condiment to serve with it, and considering our abundance of tomatillos and jalapeños coupled with my utter devotion to avocados, the choice was an easy one. I wanted to make it a little spicier than the previous version to help balance the rich creaminess of the avocado, so we roasted four of our homegrown jalapeños with the intent that we could use them all if necessary, but three seemed to be just right.

It comes together pretty quickly, and I had a batch ready in time for appetizers on a week night. Michael enjoyed it so much he had it for breakfast the next morning, spread all over an omelet and topped with mixed cheeses.

This recipe makes about four cups of salsa.

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Roasted Green Tomatillo Salsa

We didn’t expect our tomatillo plants to grow as large as they did, and Michael was downright skeptical when I brought them home.

M: “What kind of tomato is this?”

A: “It’s a tomatillo, not a tomato, and we’re going to try growing some this year.”

M: “What do you use them for?”

A: “Good Mexican salsa.”

M: “Whatever you want, Sweet Pea.” Thankfully he enjoys Mexican food and he’s very flexible about my garden and kitchen experiments.

Unknown to me at the time, I needed at least two tomatillos planted close to each other so they could cross-pollinate, and luckily the small pot I purchased had two plants in it, so we were set. I put them in the row alongside the grape tomatoes and then watched and waited.

They grew pretty quickly and it seems like they shot up to about nine feet (~3 meters) tall overnight. The blossoms showed up in July and seemed to hang around forever before we finally saw some little fruits sprouting. I checked it every day, watching for ripened tomatillos.

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