Chex Mix is a holiday tradition, and yes we have modified the original recipe that appears on the cereal boxes. More nuts of course!
Shrimp Spread
Shrimp has been getting a lot of bad press lately, mostly because of the questionable conditions under which it is farmed. When I saw that my favorite grocery store, Heinan’s, carries sustainable, wild caught Oregon baby shrimp, I came up with this recipe for a quick appetizer spread.
Tomato Salsa
Tomato Salsa and Salsa Verde.
This summer I grew tomatillos and made a great Salsa Verde. At the same time I made some traditional Red Salsa from the Roma tomatoes in the garden. This is a cooked salsa and closely approximates the salsa we are served at our favorite Mexican restaurant. The trick is to peel the Roma tomatoes. I’ve used canned tomatoes and it’s almost as good. In fact you are probably better off with good canned Roma tomatoes than the typical anemic Roma tomatoes that you find in the grocery stores off season.
Salsa Verde
Tomato Salsa and Salsa Verde.
I found some tomatillo plants at the garden center this spring and planted them in the garden, specifically because I had never used tomatillos in cooking and I knew that this would force me to do it. The plants produced prolifically and i perused the web a bit and combined and modified a couple of recipes and came up with what everyone thought was a pretty good Salsa Verde (Green Sauce). We used it as a dip with chips, but it could be served over chicken or other Mexican recipes.
Spicy Chickpea and Leek Soup with Kale
Mark and Jared at the Chopping Block
Last Christmas, Natalie gifted our oldest son, Jared and me with a cooking class at The Chopping Block which is a wonderful cooking school and gourmet shop at Lincoln Square in Chicago. (See the link at the left) This was my second class there, and the first for Jared — hopefully there will be many more.
One of the recipes that we prepared was this soup, and it is to die for. It uses fall and winter vegetables, is very healthy, and is hearty enough to be a complete meal. The combination of spices creates a rich, unique and complex flavor palette. Jared and I couldn’t wait to try this at home, which we both did the week after the class. It is certainly going to be a fall and winter favorite. Many thanks to The Chopping Block for this wonderful recipe.