We love pico de gallo.  It’s so festive, like little bits of colorful confetti, and so yummy.  Pico de gallo is a great summer food when the tomatoes are in season, and lucky for us, here in October, tomatoes are still ripe and delicious in Xiamen, where today I was sweating in my long pants and black t-shirt in the blazing sun.  Especially on the bus where about 100 people were crammed into a bus that should fit about 40, and the little Chinese man in front of us in a straw cowboy hat kept giving us inquisitive glances when he noticed us speaking in English.

I love how when Chris and I go out, I’m the one who gets the stares. Not the 6’3” tall white guy, but the normal sized Chinese girl sitting next to him.  In a land of 1.3 billion Chinese people, how am I the anomaly???

It’s simple of course.  I’m with the white guy, and I’m speaking English.  Most people in our neighborhood just don’t have a frame of reference for someone strange like me.

Anyway, back to the fresh tomato salsa.  It’s delicious.  And we’re hanging on to summer for as long as we can.  And you should make it asap – it’s the easiest thing in the world, and soon tomatoes will be mealy, pale shadows of their former selves, so go grab the last ripe ones while you can.

NOTE: If you can find a good mango (and with our crazy food distribution networks around the globe now, you can find mangoes almost all through the year), try chopping one up and throwing it into this salsa. Trust me. Your taste buds will swoon.

Pico de Gallo (Fresh Tomato Salsa)

This is seriously so easy, and feel free to adjust the proportions of different ingredients to taste.  Chris doesn’t love cilantro (I know, what a weirdo), so I added a little less.

1 red onion
4 ripe tomatoes
½ cup chopped cilantro, lightly packed
2 jalapeño peppers
juice of 1 lime
salt

Chop onion and tomatoes and jalapeños into small dice (leave the seeds if you like it spicy – that’s where the heat is).  Mix everything together, including cilantro and lime juice.  Salt to taste.

Important!  Do not rub your eyes while you are chopping jalapeños! Not unless you want to find out the hard way (like Chris did), how nasty that can be.

By the way, if you live in China like me, those ubiquitous skinny green chilies will work just as well if you can’t find jalapeño peppers, though we actually did find them at a supermarket called RT-Mart.

And don’t forget to toss in a diced mango if you’ve got one!

My husband, Chris, has an obsession with good Mexican food. My Southern California boy craves Mexican food at regular intervals, which is not the most convenient craving to have when you live in Southern China (as many of you know, we live in Xiamen, a small city in southern Fujian province). Mexican food hasn’t exactly caught on here in China, unlike the Golden Arches or “ken-de-ji” (aka KFC), and you can’t buy premade salsa or Mexican spices, or chorizo, and although you can find frozen tortillas, the supply isn’t very reliable.

Which, of course, continues my ongoing theme of “Necessity is the mother of invention”. Living in China has made me SO much less dependant on prepackaged foods and fueled my love of cooking from scratch. How AWESOME and satisfying is it to make your own homemade chorizo in a tiny Chinese apartment kitchen and serve your husband chorizo con huevos with homemade salsa? Pretty awesome.

Just a quick note here. I grew up in Toronto, Canada, which is a mecca for food-lovers and a haven for authentic ethnic restaurants. However, I very rarely tasted authentic Mexican food growing up, and I don’t think Taco Bell counts. Therefore, if the chorizo I made isn’t completely authentic, please don’t string me up and beat me with a dry-cured ham. I’m doing my best with limited resources at my disposal :p.

Chorizo con Huevos (Chorizo sausage with Eggs)

1/3 pound homemade chorizo (see recipe below)
5 eggs, beaten
½ onion, diced
oil
salt

In a skillet, sauté the onion over medium heat in 1 tablespoon of oil. When onion is just softened (2-3 minutes), add the chorizo. Break it up with a spatula and sauté until cooked through. Mmmm! Smell those spices!

Pour the eggs into the pan over the chorizo, and cook, stirring, until the eggs are set but not too dry. Taste to see if it needs salt (the chorizo is pretty salty, so you may not need any), and sprinkle salt on as needed. Serve with warm tortillas and salsa.

SOOOO good.

Homemade Chorizo
This recipe was cobbled together from several recipes on the Internet and heavily influenced by what I had in the kitchen at the time.

1 pound lean ground pork (but not super lean; you need some fat for flavor and texture)
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp cayenne pepper or red chili powder
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tsp cumin powder
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp water
1 tsp salt

Mix everything together well, then knead well with your hands to make sure all ingredients are evenly distributed (this was kind of fun, once you got over the “eww gross” bit).

Put the meat into a plastic freezer bag, squeeze out all the air, and allow the meat to cure in the refrigerator for about 3 days. After that it can be used (it will keep in the refrigerator for a week or two) or frozen for months.

As you know, Chris LOVES Mexican food with a passion, and it has been a challenge to produce authentic-tasting Mexican food over here in China. I have a few tricks up my sleeve to satisfy my husband’s Mexican food cravings, such as homemade chorizo, pico de gallo, and several other things, and sometimes, these chicken quesadillas are just the thing. Some cumin, oregano, and chili pepper gives them that signature Mexican taste, while pepper jack cheese adds some kick, and they are an easy fast dinner to throw together.

I wasn’t going to put these up on the site at first because I felt like they were so simple, but the pictures of the stacked quesadillas turned out so cute, I allowed Chris to convince me.  Plus, as he pointed out, simple is good.  We all need more simple in our lives, right?

Chicken Quesadillas
Makes 3 quesadillas, perfect for two hungry people or three people with normal appetites. Feel free to adjust spices to your liking.

6 flour tortillas
2 chicken breasts, cut into ½ inch cubes
3/4 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
½ to 1 tsp chili powder
1 tbsp oil, plus more for sautéing
1 small green bell pepper, diced (or ½ one large)
1 small red onion, diced (or ½ one large)
1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
salt and pepper

Mix the chicken cubes with the cumin, oregano, chili powder, a pinch of salt and 1 tbsp oil. Set aside.

Heat another tbsp oil in a pan and sauté the onion over medium heat until translucent, then add the green bell pepper and a pinch of salt. Sauté until pepper is softened. Remove to a separate dish and set aside.

Using the oil remaining in pan, sauté the chicken cubes until cooked through. Remove to the dish with the vegetables and set aside.

Wipe the pan out with a clean dishcloth or paper towel, leaving a thin film of oil, and reduce heat to low. Lay a flour tortilla in the pan and sprinkle a bit of cheese evenly over the tortilla. Sprinkle some vegetables and chicken on top of the cheese, and top with another layer of cheese. Lay another flour tortilla over it all. Cook until cheese is melted, flipping once, and tortillas are slightly crisp. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.

My husband LOVES Mexican food. He grew up in Southern California where you can get a vast array of authentic Mexican or Americanized Mexican food, and he just LOVES it. Whereas me, while I grew up in Toronto where there is a huge variety of ethnic food, there weren’t that many Mexican restaurants around during my formative years. The first time I really had authentic Mexican food was when I arrived in California to meet Chris’ parents for the first time.

Being the loving wife that I am, I had to attempt another Mexican dish for Chris’ birthday, and I have to say, this Chipotle Pork Stew came off beeyoo-tifully. Slowly simmered pork shoulder gets tender and flavorful, with the smoky heat of chipotle chili peppers and deep flavor from being simmered in beer with lots of onions, garlic and spices. I served it on top of lentils and rice that I flavored with chicken stock, more onions, and a bit of Mexican saffron.

Serve it with loads of fresh cilantro and fresh pico de gallo, and this stew feels lighter and even summery. You can shred the leftover pork and serve it in warm corn tortillas the next day for lunch, if there ARE any leftovers!

I have no idea if this is authentic or not, but it was delicious, and that’s good enough for me! Our dinner guests were happy, Chris was happy, and I was happy.

Chipotle Pork Stew
Loosely adapted from Epicurious

3 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, diced (I used red ones)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large ripe tomato, peeled and diced
1 ½ pounds pork shoulder, cut into one-inch cubes
1 can or bottle of beer
1 cup chicken stock
3 potatoes, cut into one-inch pieces
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground chipotle chilies (or more)
2 bay leaves
salt
¼ cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

Over medium heat, heat the olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot. Add the garlic and onions and stir around until slightly translucent. Put the lid on, and sweat the onions for a few minutes until pale golden and aromatic. Lower heat to medium-low, and add the peeled diced tomato. Cook until tomato disintegrates.

Increase heat back to medium. Add the pork and stir until cubes of pork are browned. Add potatoes, beer, and then the chicken stock. Add the cumin, chipotle chili powder, bay leaves, and a pinch of salt. Bring back to a boil. Cover, and lower heat to a simmer.

Simmer approx one hour or more until pork is tender. If sauce isn’t thick enough, simmer with lid off for a few minutes to thicken sauce. Adjust seasonings and serve with rice and lentils and topped with cilantro.

Rice Cooker Rice and Lentils
Don’t forget to soak the lentils before cooking, or they won’t cook at the same rate as the rice.

2 tbsp olive oil
2 cups rice
3/4 cup lentils, rinsed and soaked for 1 hour
½ an onion, diced
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp Mexican saffron
1 cup chicken stock
2 ½ cups water

Put the olive oil, onion and garlic in the rice cooker. Switch to on and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the rest of ingredients and mix thoroughly. Put the cover back on, make sure rice cooker is set to “cook” and let the rice cooker do the rest of the work! When it’s done, stir up the rice and lentils and mix thoroughly to make sure the flavorings are well distributed.

Sometimes you just want comfort food.  Good, warm, filling, comfort food.

This recipe arrived in my inbox from my weekly Saveur emails, and I was intrigued.  Not being American, I had never had this so-called “American classic” (or so Saveur dubbed it).  It looked incredibly easy – it’s just, after all, a bunch of cornmeal baked with meat sauce.  I didn’t have a lot of time on my hands, so I wasn’t sure if I’d have time to bake a casserole, but cooking the cornmeal and the meat sauce on the stovetop took a mere 20 minutes, and after popping it in the oven, 35 minutes more finished the meal.  35 minutes, might I add, that I used to brush my teeth, put on makeup, and kiss my husband when he came home before we needed to go out again to visit with friends.  I’m all about multi-tasking, and I love dishes that you can just stick in the oven and then forget about.  Especially dishes that are, with the addition of a salad, basically complete meals.

I don’t have kids, but if I did, I might put this dish into heavy rotation.  I mean, it’s so easy, it’s so filling, it’s tasty, and it’s so dang CHEAP!  I used a bit from my stock of ground beef from the HUGE package I got from Costco a while ago, added a can of tomatoes and some frozen “petite peas” and an onion, and with a few cents’ worth of cornmeal I had supper on the table!  It’s kind of Depression-era cooking, isn’t it?  Or should I say, Recession-era cooking?

I’ve also been reading a lot about gluten-free these days, especially since I have a couple friends who have recently switched to gluten-free diets and find that health issues they’d struggled with have suddenly vanished.  I think – I’m not sure, so correct me if I’m wrong – that this recipe doesn’t have any gluten in it.

Tamale Pie
From Saveur.com

4 tbsp butter
Salt
2 1/4 cups coarse cornmeal
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 cup green peas (original recipe called for 1 chopped bell pepper)
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 1/4 pound lean ground beef
1 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 cup canned crushed tomatoes

1.  Preheat oven to 350F.  Then cook the cornmeal.  Heat 4 cups of water with 2 tsp salt until boiling.  While water boils, sprinkle cornmeal in gradually, whisking vigorously all the while.  Turn heat down to low, and continue to cook until thick, about 8 minutes, stirring often.  When cornmeal is done, stir in 3 tbsp butter.

2.  While cornmeal is cooking, use remaining 1 tbsp of butter to butter a casserole dish or baking pan.  When cornmeal is ready, spread half of it out over the bottom of the pan.  Set the rest aside, covered to keep warm.

3.  Heat olive oil in a skillet, and cook the onion and garlic until slightly softened.  Add ground beef, chili powder, and cumin, and cook until ground beef is no longer pink.  Add the can of tomatoes and salt to taste.  When sauce is somewhat thickened and most of the liquid has been reduced, spread the meat sauce over the cornmeal in the dish.

4.  Spread the rest of the cornmeal over the meat.  Bake for 30-35 minutes until top of casserole is browned and the sauce is bubbling.