The kitchen isn't just for cooking. It's for making memories.

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Monthly Archives: March 2016

Earlier this week I had a chance to visit Northgate Market in West Covina for a cooking class with Chef Martin Guerrero. Since the store was an hour away from me, I decided to take mi amiga, Mayra for the ride, company and well… we just love food! We were excited about learning new things, but most importantly about eating! Peeling a Chile Relleno by scraping the skin with a plastic spoon was a real “Aha!” moment for us. We also learned how to make a quick “Capirotada.” At the end of our class, we received a certificate naming us “Chiles Rellenos and Capirotada Experts”! Ya nos podremos casar! So if you want to learn how to make Chiles Rellenos, receive a free apron and a cookbook, visit a Northgate store near you! Sign up online and join in on the fun! Northgatemarkets.com/Cuaresma. We had such a great time hanging out, tasting food and meeting new people. All the employees were super nice and friendly.

We were so pumped that we decided we would cook something up! Well, I would cook, Mayra would eat. LOL Since we were already at the market, we grabbed a few items and were on our way. Many of you have been asking for Lent dishes so I will be making a delicious dish with one of my favorite ingredients, Knorr bouillon cubes. Knorr adds that authentic Latin flavor to our Lent dishes. There are so many flavors to chose from. If you have never used Knorr bouillon cubes, you should give them a try!

The next day, I hit the kitchen to make Pescado Primavera. Below is the recipe. Make sure you tag me and hashtag #KnorrCelebrations if you make this delicious recipe.

…I headed to the back in hopes to see the familiar. I was looking for the tree that always brought back so many wonderful memories. There it was (Mi Arbol) …dead. It had fallen all by it’s self. What once was full of life with stories and secrets of family past… was gone. It’s almost like it had given up and died of sadness. No more kids to climb it, no more people to use it as shade, no more laughs, and no more tears. It was left to itself and the memories of all who used it. I was saddened to see it there laying on the land with vines growing all over it. I had been looking forward to sitting under that tree like the generations before me and write until I could no longer think. Now I have to find a new place to write. I’ll tackle that problem tomorrow.

My favorite salsa to make is in the molcajete my mother-in-law gave me. This last time I went to Michoacan, I witnessed how chile for the Carne Con Chile was made. They actually mixed tomatillo and regular tomato. So when I made my first batch of salsa after my trip, I decided to make my own version of chile de molcajete based on different things I have seen Abuela and my mom do. So here is my version as many of you have requested.

Instructions
1. Roast tomatillo, red tomato and chile on a comal or pan until tender (low to medium heat to get a good roast).
2. While everything roasts, sprinkle Sea Salt (as desired) on your molcajete.
3. Add 1/2-1 garlic clove.
4. Mash garlic and salt together until it turns into a paste (Add a sprinkle of water if needed.)
5. Add serrano chile to the molcajete and mash as much as you can.
6. Add one tomatillo and tomato at a time, mashing each one.
7. Add chopped cilantro and slices of onion to the mix.
(For added flavor, mash some of the onion in the molcajete.)
8. Mix and taste.
9. Add salt or lemon if it needs more.

Growing up in a home where both parents worked from dawn till dusk, I didn’t get to see much of them. Our family days were Sundays. We would get up and have a full on Mexican breakfast that consisted of coffee, eggs, beans, tortillas and pan dulce. I wasn’t in favor of the beans in the morning, but I ate them anyway. While my mom cooked, I would make my way to the local panaderia, Arreola’s Bakery in Lennox, CA to buy any ingredient we needed, fresh pan dulce, my dad’s paper (La Opinion), saladitos (for later) and a Mazapan to eat on the way home. We would take our time eating. My dad would read his paper, we would all sip on our coffee (yes, we drank coffee as kids) and then all of a sudden the dreaded moment…family talk. My dad was so strict I had to be careful with my words. I was a good kid for the most part, but I still was scared to say any word that would insinuate any sinful nature. But once that part of the day was over, we would enjoy a nice trip.

We would all get dressed nicely and gather our stuff to be out all day. We never knew where we would end up. All of us would hop in his old, beat up beach bum Volkswagon van and head on out. We would drive to San Pedro and visit the aquarium, or to Palos Verdes, park and enjoy the coastal view. Sometimes we would go to Redondo Beach and visit every family member in town. Those were the long days for us kids. What was a kid to do in those days of no ipod, ipads or a DS? We sat there bored as could be wishing we could at least blink. The family visits were fine but what we didn’t like (not even my mom), was when my dad wanted to visit his friends. OH MAN!!!!! WWlll would break out…. Let’s just leave it at that.

My parents were hard working and I know it was all for us, the kids. My dad made sure we had a roof over our head and all the bills were payed. My mom made sure we always had food waiting for us when we got home even when she knew she wouldn’t be around. She owned her own beauty salon in El Segundo, CA and it was thriving and it became very demanding. Even then she would wake up extra early before work and cook a full on meal so we could eat after school or just in case she didn’t make it home by dinner time. But one question I’ve always had was, why wasn’t there ever any chile or salsa available? Y el Chile? Come to think of it, my dad didn’t eat chile. There was no medical reason or indigestion problems LOL! I think he just didn’t like it for some. Maybe it was something he didn’t grow up with.

Since we didn’t have salsa or chile regularly at home, my siblings and I never really were fond of it. More like we couldn’t handle the heat. Till this day, my brother isn’t a huge fan of the things that are too spicy. But through the years I have grown to love and enjoy salsa. I have even experimented with making different types and I love it! I don’t even know how I lived without it! Now my food needs it and can’t enjoy a good traditional Mexican dish without it.

Y el chile? Let me make some!

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