Grilled Lamb Steak with Mitsitam Cafe Chimichurri Sauce

Earlier this year, my son was studying American Indians in school. As I was searching the web for info on the tribe he was making a diorama of, somehow I came across a mention of this cookbook ~ The Mitsitam Cafe Cookbook. I was intrigued, so I went to the library to get a copy. This cookbook not only has recipes and beautiful food photos, it's also full of Native American history, cool vintage photos, and info on ingredients that have been a part of the diet of various tribes for centuries. It's a fun read and I've been inspired to make quite a few of their recipes ~ that makes this book a real winner in my opinion. I'll go so far as to say it's my new favorite cookbook! I highly recommend either checking out a copy from your library (or getting a copy of your own), it's that good. If I ever get back to Washington, DC, I definitely plan on stopping by the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian and heading over to the Mitsitam Native Foods Cafe for a meal!

For my dinner tonight I made the recipe for Chimichurri Sauce and ate it with a grilled lamb steak that I cooked on my George Foreman Grill. The sauce is a beautiful shade of emerald green, full of fresh parsley, cilantro and other tasty goodies. It's so packed with flavor! It only took about 15 minutes to throw this entire low fat dinner together ~ 5 minutes for the sauce, 5 minutes to grill the lamb and a couple of minutes to reheat the leftover pinto beans (another recipe I made from the cookbook) and leftover brown rice. What a great meal to end my weekend ~ more real-time cooking in my kitchen tonight. :)

Spicy Mexican Egg Beaters Omelet ~ Meatless Monday

 

Sometimes I like to buy Egg Beaters.  When I do, I like to make quick omelets with them ~ just shake, pour and cook.  (I'm not a fan of them scrambled, blah!...but I do enjoy them in omelets)  If I'm really hungry and in a rush to eat, I don't do anything too fancy.  I just pour the 'eggs' into a heated/Pam sprayed omelet pan and swirl.  When the Egg Beaters are starting to set up, I'll add a slice of Borden Fat Free Pepper Jack sliced cheese (I'm really liking this brand right now) and add some fresh or dried cilantro (depending on what's around) and a Mexican spice blend sprinkled on top.  When the cheese is starting to melt and the eggs are set, it's time to eat.  When the omelet is folded and on the plate, I'll top it with some salsa, add a bit more cilantro.  To finish it off I'll often add a slice of toast to the side and breakfast is served.  Start to finish, ready to eat in about 5 minutes.  Not enough time for more than a bowl of cereal in the morning you say?  Yeah...nope.  Not buying it, at least not in my house.  I can have it done in the time it takes to make my morning tea...and that's a good thing.  :)

 

Quick & Easy Tamale Pie

I make a Quick & Easy Tamale Pie casserole that I thought I'd share on the blog.  It's a simple dish that makes use of items I almost always have hanging around in my pantry.  It's so easy to throw together, it makes an excellent last minute meal...and it tastes great.  (well, we all think so :)  I like to make it when I'm craving something with a Mexican flair...or when I need to get dinner on the table, but I don't really feel like cooking.  Since I use canned chili, chili beans and a box of Jiffy corn muffin mix, it comes together pretty quick ~ I like that.  I also like to use low fat versions of the chili, cheese and Greek yogurt/sour cream to keep it lower fat, but you still get all the flavor.  (cut those fat grams where you can :)  While the tamale pie is baking, I'll usually make a garden salad and slice some fruit to round out the meal.  Hope you like it as much as we do ~ Enjoy!

Quick & Easy Tamale Pie
serves 4~6

Ingredients

• 1  15oz can turkey chili without beans (or your favorite kind)
• 1  15oz can chili beans in chili sauce
• 1  cup diced white onion
• 1  cup frozen corn, thawed
• 1/2  cup diced bell pepper (optional)
• 1  box Jiffy corn muffin mix ~ prepared according to box instructions
• 1  cup shredded low fat cheddar cheese
• dried cilantro & paprika for garnish (optional)
• fat free Greek yogurt or sour cream (optional)

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.   Prepare corn muffin mix according to box instructions, set aside.  Saute onions & bell pepper in a non-stick skillet, with a little water or oil, over medium heat until they become soft, about 3-5 minutes.  When veggies are tender, add the thawed corn & the cans of turkey chili & chili beans.  Stir until well combined and heated through.  Pour the hot chili mixture into a large greased casserole dish.  Spoon the corn bread batter over the top of the chili mixture; smoothing it to the edges.  Sprinkle the cheese over the top of the corn muffin batter.  Finally, sprinkle some dried cilantro & paprika all over the top of it all, if using.  Bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until the corn muffin batter is done & golden brown.  Serve with a dollop of fat free Greek yogurt (or sour cream) if desired.

 

Watermelon Salsa

Today, we have been enjoying the first day of Fall.  What a beauty it was!!  The sky was such a lovely shade of blue, the air was crisp, the breeze was light and the temps were mild.  The windows were open to capture the fresh scent of the new season, and I was out and about on the bike path that runs through our little town.  All-in-all, it was a wonderful day.  :)

When I got back from my late afternoon bike ride, I made an unusual,  Watermelon Salsa for a little treat.  I used this recipe from the Eating Well site.  I thoroughly enjoyed it, it was such an unexpected spin on salsa.  It was really nice with chips, but I think it would be a perfect topping for grilled chicken or pork, too.

Later on, just before the sun was almost ready to set, as I was working on tonight's blog post, I kept hearing the sounds of hot air balloons overhead.  Since we live just a block off the lake, we often see and hear balloons going by in the summer evenings...but this time, they sounded somehow CLOSER.  I glanced out my bedroom window and this time I was almost eye-to-eye with one.  These balloons were REALLY close ~ like not very much higher than our 2-story house ~ close.  I swear I could have almost touched them. (OK, maybe I exaggerate a little bit, but not much!)  So, I had to include the pics of the pretty balloons.  We weren't the only neighbors outside watching the balloons go by...and hoping that they made it over the high power lines.  I'm sure they were up a lot higher than they seemed, but hanging out my upstairs window to take pictures, they seemed not much higher up than I was.  :)   

This shot was taken about 5 minutes after I took the photo above.  The balloon on the far left was the last one to go by; there is another one hiding just out of site behind one of the big trees & the far right balloon was climbing fast.  I'm guessing they were getting down close to the water on the lake & going back up.  Sorta like touch-&-goes.  The way the high power tension lines and the balloons were set up, it looked almost like notes on a page of sheet music.   :)  What a way to usher in the first day of Fall!

Happy Autumn!

Getting creative with goodies from the Mexican grocery store...

Mexican Scramble ~ my low fat breakfast this morning, full of the flavors & colors of Mexico!  Made with scrambled eggs that were tossed with sauteed onion, jalapenos, tomatoes, spinach, cilantro & lime; fat-free refried beans; & the best brand of corn tortillas that I've ever had, toasted in a pan with a little Pam.  What a GREAT way to start my day!!  Real-time cooking in my kitchen today.  :)

These are the best corn tortillas I've ever purchased!

I recently discovered the most WONDERFUL Mexican grocery store.  I happened to notice it while I was sitting in a traffic jam.  I must have driven by it 100 times in the past, but had never noticed it before.  Thank you backed-up traffic!  I've had fun creating spicy Mexican dishes with my authentic ethnic food booty, and there are lots more to be created in the days to come.  The grocery store also has prepared hot food for sale.  I only bought the tamales this time, but I will be going back in a week to get another fix of their fabulous cooked and fresh food items.

Check out the comments below the tamale photos to see just what taking a bite of those tamales meant to me. It was along the lines of what happened to Anton Ego, from the Disney movie Ratatouille.  BAM!  Years disappeared and I was transported to a beach in Mexico...

Armchair traveling, or should I say kitchen-table-traveling, at its finest!  I wouldn't miss exploring ethnic grocery stores for the world, they can take you places ~ at least they do for me! 

My Mexican foodie treasures ~ The grocery store was super colorful, with lots of pretty piñatas hanging from the ceiling.  It was FULL of authentic Mexican grocery items ~ fresh/canned & a bounty of other items.  The meat case had the best looking items, as did the produce case.  I felt right at home there, it was like I was back in Mexico...or back in Los Angeles. (I forget sometimes how much I miss living in LA!)   The employees in the store had very limited English & I have very limited Spanish, but we were all able to communicate with a lot of laughs & smiles.  This is my new favorite speciality store!

They also had the most AMAZING tamales for sale.  They had 3 different flavors ~ chicken & green chile, cheese with chopped chile and shredded beef & red chile.  They are all SO good, I don't care how many calories are in them!  They are a comfort food to me and I'm going to keep a little stash in the freezer... just for me when I need a little TLC.  :) 

 Beautiful Mona

These fresh grocery store tamales were homemade, served in a HUGE tamale steaming pot, stacked up and piping hot.  I haven't had a tamale this good since I used to eat those made by my friend Lupe's mother, Mona. These store tamales were made with love, just like Lupe's mother's were.  With the first bite, I was taken back to over 20 years ago ~ vacationing with Lupe & her family.  We were at Rosarito Beach, in Baja Mexico, about 35 miles over the California/Mexico border.  (that was just before it became the beach holiday destination it is today)  Staying at a place right on the beach, with tile floors, sandy beaches, bright blue skies and blue-green seas.  The older women cooking in the kitchen, the younger adults & kids playing in the water.  The whole beach smelled of home cooking ~ drifting on the ocean breeze, coming from the small kitchens of all the seaside bungalows.  A simple day, where family memories are made...

I'd forgotten that memory, and these $1 tamales brought that happy day back in a split second.  To me, that is the subtle essence, the profound power of food ~ and one of the many reasons I think it's great to be a foodie!

My Club Med EXGO Reunion ~ Club Med Ixtapa Pacific, Mexico ~ June 2013

My son won a Club Med 'medal' for being part of the pool kayak race, he was thrilled!

I went to my second Club Med EXGO Reunion in June, this time to the Club Med Village of Ixtapa Pacific.  I took my son with me this time, and we spent two weeks soaking up the hot and tropical weather that is Mexico.  It was his first experience with Club Med, and I think I have planted the seed for him becoming a GO when he is old enough.  Ixtapa was my first village, waaay back in 1992. (see my original post about working for Club Med & the last reunion ~ HERE) It was so great to come back and see all the changes that 20 years brings!  The trees are bigger, the landscaping more lush, the room decor is better...but the same GO spirit is still there.  :)

I've put together another photo collage blog post, of food and fun, to show just how much Club Med still means to me.  To see a certain collage better, just click on it to enlarge.  Enjoy!

J & I had a blast hanging out with the Chief of Circus, Patrick, and his super fantastic Circus Team.  J got to fly on the trapeze, he climbed the rock wall, he bounced on the trampoline and he walked on the tight rope.  Doing circus tricks, under the palm trees, on a beach... Yeah, you could say he liked it...A LOT!  :)

La Playa ~ you get the picture!  All the kids loved playing, boarding, sailing and swimming at the beach.   Not to mention the treasuring hunt, the beach fiesta, the sandcastle contests... The fun just went on & on!

The Main Pool was a big part of our day.  Juan, the GE (local employee) pool bartender/beach boy was just wonderful!! He was sincerely friendly, he always had a big smile for all the guests, and he made the BEST Sangrita ~ EVER!  He gave me pointers on how he makes his secret recipe.  This Mexico City-style recipe is similar to his.  This juice chaser is my new way to drink tequila.  I can't say enough good things about Juan, he is such an asset to the Club!  Juan ~ YOU ROCK!  :)

One afternoon, Chef Saul presented a cooking class.  He showed us how to prepare the freshest shrimp ceviche I've ever had.  His secret is to use a splash of Clamato juice to enhance the dish.  Genius!  I'll be making it his way from now on.  Thanks so much for the class, Chef!

The food was excellent, as always.  So much to choose from!  The seafood was exceptional, as was the service from the chefs. 

The Restaurant Manager, Hugo, and his staff, do a fine job of presenting three colorful and enticing food services a day, with an abundance of food and flavors to choose from.  I don't know how they accomplish it ~ but I'm so glad they can!!  There is a great terrace, just outside the main restaurant, where you can enjoy your meals al fresco.

The Pastry Chefs just kept the beautiful desserts coming, meal after meal...

The Main Bar is colorful and at the center of the village.  My favorite GO Bartender, Basti, is just amazing!!  He can mix drinks like no other, he dances like Michael Jackson in the evening shows and he's just so friendly ~ to adults and children alike.  He takes just as much care with a child's fruit smoothie, as he does with an adults order ~ now, that's service.   Both my son and I just love him! Basti, you are truly the BEST!!  :)

Me & Hoshi (top left).  She is a Mini Club GO and she was with my son's age group for the 2-weeks we were there.  She is so beautiful ~ both inside and out.  She has the old-school GO spirit that I remember from my days of working for the Club.  I can't say enough nice things about her, I sincerely hope we may meet her at another village in the future, both J & I just LOVE her!!  Hoshi, thanks so much for all the fun and care that you gave J & for making me smile!!  The Mini Club Chief, Tom-Tom, & his team helped us celebrate my son's 9th birthday.  We had a special cake, balloons, songs & gifts ~ all you could ask for.  :)  Thanks to all the GO's that helped to make his day extra special!  ~~  Some photos from around the village, having fun in the sun!

More beautiful views from around the village...

EXGO Family & Friends Reunion ~~~ Club Med Ixtapa Pacific, Mexico ~~~ June 2013

If you're ever looking for a great family vacation, check out Club Med Ixtapa Pacific.  Trip Advisor loves it as much as we do!  It's their #1 ~ Traveler's Choice 2013 Award Winner ~ for best hotel for families in Mexico.  I couldn't agree more!  :)

Oat Bran "Polenta" with Mexican Beans ~ Meatless Monday

Giving leftover oat bran the 'polenta treatment' ~ what a great way to eat more of this superfood!

Ixtapa, Mexico

I've recently returned from a 2-week long vacation and I'm slowly easing back into my routines, both around the house and on the blog.  I went to another Club Med EXGO Reunion (read about my first EXGO reunion here) and this time I took my son.  This latest reunion was at the Club Med village ~ Ixtapa Pacific.  We met lots of new people and became really good friends with a lovely family from San Francisco. :) 

Since I've been busy working on editing our trip photos, I've been thinking a lot about our vacation and all the different types of Mexican foods they served ~ as well as some interesting new spins on old classics.  They served polenta a few times on the dinner buffet and since I happened to have some cooked, leftover oat bran in fridge  that looked a lot like chilled polenta, (once I took it out of the round Tupperware container) I decided to give it the 'polenta' treatment.

I sliced the cold oat bran 'polenta' into a few discs (just like you would from a tube of precooked polenta), sprinkled on some zesty spices and then 'fried' the discs in a little oil.  I topped the 'fried polenta' with home cooked pinto beans, some Mexican fixin's (chopped white onion, cilantro, sofrito and chipotle hot sauce) and salt/pepper from my cool new shakers (Thanks, L!).  It made for a marvelous meatless lunch that would be good for breakfast, brunch, or supper, too.  I just love finding new and unusual ways to enjoy my oats!

The cooked oat bran really tastes a lot like polenta when you slice and cook/fry it after it's been chilled overnight in the fridge.  It would be easy to adapt this for an Italian version, just by switching up the spices/toppings.  All the more reason to make some extra oat bran in the mornings ~ now I can eat it for a quick lunch or dinner, too.  :) 

  

Pozole ~ Mexican Pork & Hominy Soup

I was cleaning out the fridge and freezer the other day and cooked up a hearty and soul-satisfying soup with what I had lurking about, one that my Mexican-food-loving-self just adores ~ Pozole.  I don't have a standard recipe for this classic pork and hominy soup, (but here is one that sounds good) I always wing it, I start out with the basics and then add-on as inspired.  This time I added in a can of black beans, used some homegrown  green chilies that I roasted and froze at the end of last summer, some Trader Joe's roasted corn , a huge can of diced tomatoes and a few other goodies.  I topped it some crushed tortilla chips (the last remnants at the bottom of the chip bag) and enjoyed eating it for a few days.  We've been having really cool weather lately.  I know it's almost summer, but some days it feels more like late winter here.  Maybe I should just hop on a plane and head south of the border for some warmer summer weather.  Get me some surf, sand, sun and cervezas ~ sounds like a plan to me!   Olé  :)

  

Watermelon Green Tea Agua Fresca

I recently saw a recipe for agua fresca in our weekly flyer from Aldi Market.  This is a light and refreshing Mexican fruit beverage and I thought it would be a perfect drink to celebrate Cinco de Mayo with! I just knew I had to try it...but, with a little different spin.  

I had some frozen watermelon chunks in the freezer that needed using up, a batch of iced green tea in the fridge and a little lime juice hanging around, so I adapted their recipe for what I had on hand.  I think I've found my new summer drink!  The fruit drink, when blended on 'whip', developed a creamy, frothy and delicious 'head' when poured into our glasses.  What a lovely color!  I have just one word for this drink ~ YUMMY!!!

Watermelon Green Tea Agua Fresca
serves 4-6
adapted from this recipe

Ingredients

• 4 cups green tea, chilled
• 2 cups frozen seedless watermelon chunks
• 2 tsp lime juice
• 1/4 cup honey, dissolved in 1/4 cup warm water (or sweetener of choice ~ skip the warm water if you want, I just think it makes it easier to disperse the honey when blending)

Directions
Place all ingredients in the blender and whirl away until smooth and frosty.  Serve in a pretty glass.  Enjoy!

  

Super Simple Black Bean Soup ~ and super quick, too!!

The ladies of The Kiva~ February 1993
 Me, Chef Rene & my server, Lucinda

Long, long ago, (20+ years) I used to work for Club Med as a speciality restaurant manager.   When I was at my assignment in Colorado, (at the now closed) Copper Mountain ski village, my restaurant was called ~ The Kiva.  Our specialty was having individual hot cooking stones/slabs brought right out to the table and the diners would cook the various sliced meats/seafood themselves.  It was a lively restaurant ~ wine, music and conversation flowed every evening and a great time was had by all.

Well, one day, my chef was out skiing, she forgot the time and got back late to the restaurant...she also forgot to make the soup starter.  Oops!  We didn't discover it until just before the restaurant opened for the evening.  She made a frantic assessment of the kitchen and came up with this incredibly easy and wonderfully simple Black Bean Soup recipe.  She gave it an elegant, yet simple garnish and out to the guests her on-the-fly soup went.

It was the hit of the week!!  We had guests requesting we serve it every night.  When asked for the recipe, I had to tell them it was the chef's secret.  Little did they know... teehee  Since Cinco de Mayo is just around the corner, I decided to finally let the cat out of the bag.  Try it for a quick meal or as a soup starter, I think you're really gonna like it.  I'm sure you'll like how easy it is to prepare, I know I do.  :) Enjoy!

Super Simple Black Bean Soup

serves 2-4 depending on how big your can of beans & bowls are

Ingredients

• 1 can of your favorite black beans (choose whatever flavor you like or size can that works for your needs)
• water or broth ~ add by the 1/4 cup until you get the soup consistency you like
• salt & pepper, to taste

• Garnishes to consider... ~ fresh cilantro, sour cream, Greek yogurt, avocado slices, chopped tomatoes, sliced green onion, cheese, hot sauce for drizzling, etc.

Directions

Dump the can of beans, along with the juice, into a sauce pan and reheat until hot.  Carefully use an immersion blender to blend the beans until pretty smooth.  Add 1/4 cup water/broth at a time, until you get the soup to the thickness you like.  Add salt/pepper, to taste.  Garnish with cilantro, sour cream/yogurt, shredded cheese or whatever you like...

See, told you it was SUPER easy!  :)

Quick Bean Tostadas ~ perfect for an easy Cinco de Mayo meal ~ or your Meatless Monday

My son has become a Mexican food lover, just like me.  Now, one of our family's favorite meatless meals is ~ Quick Bean Tostadas.  I love that my son will eat a bunch of veggies piled up on top of the tostada shell with no complaints what-so-ever and that the whole meal can be assembled in just a little over 5 minutes.  It makes for a really fast option for a meal, great for when we all get home famished ~ it's also an easy meal to create for just one.  Flexible, I like that in a recipe.

My son loves that he can assemble his own tostadas if he wants to, and he thinks that it's really cool to be eating a meal on what is essentially an edible tortilla plate.  Now that I think about it ~ I think that's pretty cool, too!  :)

Since the Mexician celebration ~ Cinco de Mayo ~ is just a week away, I thought this would be the perfect Meatless Monday meal to share on the blog.  Can you make this meal way fussier and fancier?  Absolutely ~ but I really don't see the need.  This version works for my family and when I use a bag of pre-shredded cheese, canned fat free refried beans and 'cook' it using the microwave ~ it couldn't be simpler.  Simple is good, especially when you've got two hungry 'boys' (son & dad) to feed.  Enjoy!

Quick Bean Tostadas

serves as many as you like

Ingredients

• one 12 count box of ready-to-serve Tostadas (I like Old El Paso ~ compact box, 4 tostadas that are ready from the microwave in 45 seconds, they taste nice & crispy, they're cheap and they have a 'Boxtop for Education' coupon. Thumbs-up all around!)
• one can of fat free refried beans (or your favorite smashed beans)
• your favorite shredded cheese (bagged for your convenience or fresh grated)
• chopped lettuce (same as above, fresh chopped or pre-bagged)
• chopped tomatoes
• sliced olives (optional ~ my son & I LOVE them, but my hubby despises them ~ to each their own)
• fat free Greek yogurt or sour cream (optional ~ see above, but replace son for hubby in the I-can't-stand-that-on-my-food mention)
• hot sauce of choice

Directions

Assemble the prepared tostada toppings ~ lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, olives, yogurt/sour cream, hot sauce. (I put all mine around the chopping board for quick assembly) Heat the canned refried beans in the microwave (or sauce pan if you've got the time) until they're hot, give 'em a stir, then cover to keep them warm and set aside.  Heat the tostadas in the microwave following the directions on the box.

Spread the warm refried beans on the now crispy tostadas and load 'em up as you see fit.  We can wipe out at least 4 each.  So, depending on how large/hungry your family is, increase the amount of food as necessary.  (we are Mexican food gluttons around here, so I say more is better! :)

P.S. ~ Search my blog for lots of other Mexican meals that we enjoy ~ some are meatless, some are not ~ but they are ALL ones we enjoy eating !