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.

I saw this recipe for Chipotle Turkey Burgers at the The Kitchen Sink blog, and thought they sounded perfect for a weekend barbeque. I don’t eat beef, so burgers for me are either ground turkey or ground chicken, and if you’ve ever cooked with either, you know they can lack flavor. Plus, patties made from the birds tend to fall apart because they lack the fat content that beef does. This problem is easily solvable by adding fat and moisture back in—good fat and good moisture. (Which we quickly compensate for here by topping the healthy turkey burgers with cheese and bacon. Ha!) Examples of good fat and good moisture: olive oil, fresh herbs, garlic, onions, veggies. You dice these ingredients up small, oh so small, and mix them into your meat before making the patties. The result is a moist burger bursting with flavor. I promise—you won’t miss the beef.

To spice up these burgers, I add adobo sauce from canned chipotle chiles (available in the Latin/Hispanic/Mexican section of your grocery store) directly to the ground meat. I also borrow The Kitchen Sink’s idea for Chipotle “Ketchup.” Her recipe is here. My version is in the guidelines. I’d use this sauce lightly. Too much and it overwhelms the flavors of everything else. Plus, it’s spicy, and if you’re not into heat, it might be too much for you. If you know you won’t dig it, simply leave the sauce off.

Ingredients:

1- 1 ½ lbs turkey burger
1 shallot, finely diced
2 cloves of garlic, finely diced
1 tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper (to taste)
4 tsp. adobo sauce, divided into 2 tsp. and 2 tsp.
1 tbsp. cilantro, finely chopped
4 oz. sour cream
squirt of lime juice
1 Vidalia onion, sliced into thick rings
smoked cheddar cheese, 2-3 slices per burger
bacon, about ½ lb.
1-2 tomatoes
onion hamburger buns

Guidelines:

Mix the first seven ingredients in a large bowl. Notice that you only use 2 tsp. of the adobo sauce in the meat. Shape the mixture into burgers roughly the same size and thickness. You should have 4-6 burgers.

While the grill heats, prepare the Chipotle sauce. Mix the remaining 2 tsp. adobo sauce with the sour cream and lime juice. Set aside.

If you haven’t already cooked your bacon, get that going, too.

Grill the burgers until done, but still juicy inside. Depending on thickness this doesn’t take long—about 5-7 minutes per side. During the last few minutes of cooking, put the smoked cheddar cheese on top of the burgers. Remove from grill and let rest for a minute.

Grill your thick sliced Vidalia onions, and toast your hamburger buns directly on the grill.

Once everything is cooked, assemble your burgers—bottom bun dressed lightly with sauce, burger with cheese, bacon, onions, a few slices of tomato, top bun dressed lightly with sauce.

Enjoy, and don’t be afraid to get messy!

Don’t let that bad curry you ordered at the street fair or farmer’s market deter you from ever eating curry again. Great curry will leave you craving more. It’s incredibly addictive. And, the good news is, it’s quite simple to prepare! Your supermarket should stock all of the ingredients. If they don’t, check a few others in your area. I wasn’t able to find red curry paste at my Safeway, but it was in stock in the health food store. Green curry paste is more common, but don’t substitute it in this recipe! Also, I want to say one thing about the sauce—there should be plenty. Don’t boil it down or add thickening agents thinking that your dish is too runny. I promise you, it’s not.

Okay, let’s get down to cooking, shall we?

Ingredients:

1 -1 ½ lbs. chicken (I by the thin sliced boneless, skinless breasts for this recipe.)
1 small red pepper
1 large carrot
1 cup green beans (I like those microwavable bags of green beans. I never microwave them, but they usually taste fresher than those left out in the bins.)
2 inch chunk of fresh ginger
1 ½ cups coconut milk (A 14 oz. can will do it. If you can find “Lite” I recommend it.)
½ cup chicken broth
2 tbsp. red curry paste
1 tbsp. creamy peanut butter
¼ cup fresh basil
Optional: 1tbsp. brown sugar (If you use a low sugar based peanut butter, like Adams, you may want the additional sweetness.)

Method:

Cut the chicken breasts into thin slices, about two inches long.

Heat a small amount of oil in a pan. Add chicken and cook over medium until nearly done and slightly browned on the outside.

Peel the two inch chunk of fresh ginger, and mince the flesh. Add to pan with chicken. Stir and let the flavors meld together briefly, about 3 minutes.

To the pan, add the coconut milk, chicken broth, red curry paste, peanut butter, and brown sugar (optional). Stir to combine. Reduce heat to low and let simmer while you chop the vegetables, about ten minutes.

Cut the red pepper and carrot julienne style. Cut the green beans into 4 inches pieces. Add the vegetables to the pan. Stir to combine. Let simmer for 3-5 minutes. The vegetables should be softened, but still crisp.

*Note: If at any time, the liquid appears to be reducing too much, add more coconut milk to the pan.

Spoon curry over jasmine rice and top with fresh basil slivers.

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.