I love that time of year when August is just shy of rolling into September. The days are still plenty warm, but they’re getting shorter, and you know that if you blink, you’ll miss the last of summer. It’s also the time of year when a lot of crops are ready for harvesting. On these evenings, my husband and I always rush out to the tomato plants to see what we can devour. If the pickings are slim, we take turns eating what’s ripe, but it’s always fun to find a nice handful of ready-to-eat fresh off-the-vine cherry and grape tomatoes. This recipe was inspired by those evenings, and the changing seasons, and, of course, freshly picked tomatoes.

I like to serve this salsa with pork adobo tacos, but it’s also tasty on plain corn chips.

Ingredients and Guidelines:

For a small bowl, combine the following:
2 cups assorted cherry and grape tomatoes, halved (if you can, use a combination of yellow, red, orange, purple, and green tomatoes)
1 tomatillo, finely diced
½-1 jalapeno, finely diced
3 tbsp. red onion, finely diced
small handful cilantro, chopped
2 tbsp. lime juice

Mix well. Set aside for 20-30 minutes to let flavors marry.

I played around with this concept for a while. Traditional fajitas on pita? Nah. Too obvious. Fajita seasoned meat with raw traditional fajita vegetables? Closer, but still no go. I wanted something spunky and refreshing. Something that said: summer! Which meant a pita perfect for picnics, camping, lake trips and the like.

I started playing around with what I had in my fridge, and I came up with slaw. Shredded red cabbage, ribbons of spinach, fresh jalapenos, green onions, cilantro, chopped red peppers for that splash of color, and diced red onion, all dressed with a sprinkling of lime juice. Yeah! The slaw is crisp and vibrant, and coupled with the fajita seasoned meat and hearty pita bread, it filled me right up. The best part is, you can make the slaw and cook the meat beforehand, and tote it with you wherever your summer adventures take you.

Ingredients:

1 or so pounds of skinless, boneless chicken, cut into strips
*fajita seasoning (see note below)
1 package pita or flatbread

Slaw:

1 to 1 ½ cups shredded red cabbage
1 to 1 ½ cups fresh spinach, cut into ribbons
½ -1 jalapeno, diced (adjust for heat)
2 green onions, sliced
handful of cilantro, chopped
½ -1 red pepper, diced
2-3 tbsp. chopped red pepper
2 tbsp. lime juice

*A note of fajita seasoning: You can purchase the mix in a package, or, if you prefer to make your own, try this, which is what I use: Mix 1 tbsp. cornstarch, 2-3 tsp. chili powder (adjust for heat), 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. paprika (try it with smoked, if you have it), 1 tsp. sugar, 1 tsp. onion flakes, ½ tsp. garlic, ¼ tsp. cayenne, 2 tbsp. cumin, and 1 chicken boullion cube. You may not need all of it. I used about half for this recipe, and saved the rest. Mix the desired amount in enough water to dissolve the powder. Mix into meat.

Guidelines:

Brown your meat. Once the meat is nearly cooked through, add the fajita seasoning mixed with water, and continue to cook, stirring often, until done.

For the slaw, combine all of the slaw ingredients in a large bowl. Let sit for at least half an hour to let the flavors meld.

If using flatbread, versus stuffing a pita pocket, you may need to gently warm the bread so it doesn’t split upon folding.

Last summer, my husband and I developed a guacamole crush. Every weekend, we’d run to the market and buy three or four large avocados and a bag or tortilla chips, come home, and make a batch of guacamole. That was our lunch. Or brunch. Or afternoon snack. This went on for months, until the weather got too cold and the guacamole craze no longer seemed appropriate. But now it’s May, and the avocados are once again in season. What’s a girl to do? That’s right—succumb to the glorious lure of the avocado.

I don’t feel guilty about my avocado craze either. While avocados are high in fat, most of it is monounsaturated fat, the same fat found in olive oil. Much of this monounsaturated fat is in the form of oleic acid, which, studies have found, helps to lower cholesterol. Avocados are also high in potassium (60% more than bananas, in fact), which is known to help regulate blood pressure. And (!) they are rich in vitamins B, E, and K, and have a high fiber content.

The chips, however, are another matter…

Most guacamole recipes call for two basic ingredients—avocados and lemon juice. (Though some people use lime juice, which I find very unappealing for some reason. It just doesn’t have the “clean” flavor that lemon juice does. In other words, you can taste the lime juice.) The recipes vary from there. Some people add salt, garlic powder, fresh cilantro, green onions, white onions, fresh chiles, and/or tomatoes. I skip all of these and go straight for the Joy’s—Joy’s Salsa Mix, that is. I don’t want the texture of anything but the avocados in my guacamole. I don’t want to crunch raw onion, or chew rubbery tomatoes. And while I love cilantro, I don’t want to see its green stringiness in my dip.

Joy’s Salsa Mix is perfect because it contains the flavors of chiles, garlic, onions, and other spices, without mucking up the guacamole visually and texturally. Joy’s doesn’t contain any sugar or preservatives, either. It’s just pure dehydrated flavor. The more you add, the hotter it gets, so you can easily adjust the heat to fit your personal taste. And of course it makes the perfect salsa, too!

You can order Joy’s Salsa Mix by clicking here.

Check out their other great products, too.

Or, if you live near the company headquarters in Cortez, Colorado, you can buy their products locally. I stock-up every time I go back to Durango (my hometown).

Spicy Guacamole

2 large, or 3 medium, Hass avocados
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. Joy’s Salsa Mix; adjust to individual tastes

Wash avocados. Peel and pit. Mash avocados in a bowl, or, my preference, in a pie pan. Also, I use a potato masher, which gives the guacamole body. (Which sounds much better than “chunks”!)

Add the lemon juice and salsa mix to the mashed avocados. Mix well. Let sit for thirty minutes. (The Joy’s needs time to develop flavor. If you eat the guacamole right away, you will miss what Joy’s has to offer. I know it’s hard, but seriously, let it rest for thirty minutes!! You will be a happy camper.) Adjust seasoning as necessary.

Five days and counting until my husband and I land in New Mexico. We plan to spend time in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Chimayo, Abiquiu, and maybe hit Ojo Caliente, one of the oldest and most unique mineral springs in North America. Ah, New Mexico! I think those of you who have spent time there know what I mean…

I’ve compiled a list of restaurants to indulge at in both the Albuquerque and Santa Fe areas, and though the list is much longer than feasible, I know we’ll have fun deciding where to dine. Our top choices will lean toward authentic New Mexican, I’m sure. Bring on those red and green chiles! Mmmm. I can smell and taste them now.

I haven’t been able to wait, either. For the past several weeks, I’ve been cooking with one foot, and my heart, in New Mexico. The last dish I made—Carne Adovada Tostadas—was a keeper. I try to pick recipes I think most people can purchase ingredients for, have the equipment to prepare the recipe in, and not spend all day in the kitchen preparing. This recipe stretches the boundaries a bit because it does take time to make (though most of the time is “hands off”), but the results, I think you will find, are worth it.

Ingredients:

1 ½ lbs pork, cubed
3 tbsp. canola oil
1 package corn tortillas
1 large carrot, finely chopped
1 medium zucchini, finely chopped
12 oz. hominy
cumin
oregano
salt and pepper
fresh sliced jalapenos (optional)

Red Chile Sauce ingredients:

1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. cumin
¼ tsp. cinnamon
1/3-1/2 cup New Mexican red Chile Powder, to taste
2 tsp. honey or brown sugar
1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
chicken broth

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cube the pork, season it with salt and pepper, and brown it in batches in the canola oil. It’s important not to crowd the pan, otherwise the pork will not brown evenly. Remove pork from pan and set aside.

Add diced onion and garlic to the pan and cook until soft and golden. Add about ½ cup of the chicken broth to loosen any browned bits. Let cool.

In a blender, place the coriander, oregano, cumin, cinnamon, red chile powder, honey or brown sugar, red wine vinegar, 1 cup chicken broth, and the onion/garlic mixture. Process until smooth. If the sauce is too thick, add more chicken broth. (The consistency should be in between a tomato paste and tomato sauce.)

In an oven proof dish, combine the red chile sauce with the pork. Cover the dish and bake for 2-3 hours until the pork is tender. Occasionally add chicken broth to the sauce so it doesn’t thicken and burn.

Shortly before the pork is finished, dice the carrot and zucchini. Sauté the vegetables, along with the hominy, until just tender, with a dash of salt, about ½ tsp. cumin, and a sprinkling of oregano.

To make the tostada shells, bake the corn tortillas in a single layer in a 350 degree oven. They will take about 3-5 minutes per side.

To assemble, top the baked corn tortillas with a layer of carne adovada. Top with the hominy mixture, and add sliced jalapenos, if desired.

In two and a half weeks, I will be in the land of pinon, juniper, sage brush, snow, blue skies, and CHILES! Otherwise known as the Land of Enchantment, or, more commonly, New Mexico. I can hardly wait. Though I live in the Pacific Northwest now, and grew up in Southwest Colorado, when I hear the word home, I think of New Mexico. I wonder why this is, but don’t question it. And so, as I wait anxiously to go “home,” I turn to the kitchen and cook New Mexican inspired dishes.

Notes on ingredients:

Chipotle. Chipotles are smoked jalapenos. Jalapenos naturally turn red at the end of the growing season, and it is these chiles that growers turn into chipotles. You can find them in the Hispanic section of your grocery store, canned in what is called adobo sauce, which is a mixture of pureed chiles, vinegar, and spices. This recipe calls for a chipotle grill sauce, however. Most grocery stores also carry a version or two near the marinades and barbeque sauces. If you can, purchase a fruit and chipotle sauce, such as Raspberry Chipotle, which is what I recommend.

Salsa Fresca. Otherwise known as pico de gallo, this is a mixture of fresh, or raw, tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, cilantro, and other vegetables, depending upon the chef. It also contains lime juice or vinegar, and olive or canola oil. In the recipe below, I roasted corn, along with the red onions, for a different flavor. Technically that makes it no longer “fresca” since it now involves cooking, but go with it, will ya?!

Roasted Corn Salsa Fresca

Ingredients:

1 cup corn kernels
½ red onion, diced
1 jalapeno, diced (seeds and placenta removed for milder flavor)
2 medium tomatoes, diced
handful of cilantro, chopped
1 tbsp. lime juice
1 tbsp. olive oil
salt

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In an oven-proof dish, mix corn kernels, diced red onion, 1 tbsp. olive oil, and a sprinkling of salt. Roast in the oven until vegetables are soft and aromatic, about 15 minutes. (Add a touch of cumin for a smokier flavor.)

In a medium bowl, mix the diced tomatoes, diced jalapeno, cilantro, and lime juice.

Once the corn mixture has come out of the oven and cooled, add it to the tomato mixture. Mix well, cover and refrigerate for an hour. At this point, check for taste and adjust as necessary, adding more salt, lime juice, etc.

Chipotle Chicken and Black Bean Burritos

Ingredients:

3 medium-large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can black beans
1 package whole wheat tortillas
1 bottle Raspberry Chipotle grill sauce, or variation

Coat chicken breasts with a light covering of olive oil. Grill chicken breasts until done. Let rest, (after you remove from grill, let the meat sit for 5-10 minutes so the juice doesn’t ooze out and dry out the chicken upon slicing) then slice thinly and toss with ½- 1 cup of the grill sauce, depending on amount desired. (Note: Sauces applied before cooking will burn.)

While the chicken is resting, rinse and drain the black beans, then heat with 1 tbsp. of the chipotle sauce.

Warm the tortillas.

To assemble, lay the sliced chicken on the tortilla, sprinkle with black beans, and top with the roasted corn salsa fresca.