October 6, 2003
Mexican feast
This weekend we went to Santa Cruz to visit Ann and Jaime. We were going to cook dinner on Saturday night, but got caught up watching that stupid baseball game. Instead we cooked up a bunch of food Sunday afternoon:
1. Ceviche. I soaked strips of fresh tombo tuna in lime juice with onions, cilantro and salt until the fish is chemically cooked by the lime juice.
2. Mango salsa. Diced organic Brazilian mango, diced California organic Haas avocado, finely chopped jalapeno, diced onion, finely chopped cilantro, crushed garlic, salt, lime juice.
3. Guacamole. Avacado, diced onion, crushed garlic, lime juice, finely chopped cilantro, chopped jalapeno, salt.
4. Salsa fresca. Molino Creek organic dry-farmed tomatoes (if you are not in the greater Bay Area, you will have to find some other intensely flavored ones. These, from the Santa Cruz mountains, are the best tomatoes I have ever eaten), diced onion, crushed garlic, finely chopped cilantro, finely chopped jalapeno, extra virgin olive oil,salt, lime juice.
5. Carne asada, thin steaks of beef, rubbed with salt and pepper and grilled. Finished with a drizzling of extra virgin olive oil.
6. Toasted tortillas.
Served with chips and beer. Followed by a three mile walk to Capitola Village and back (with a hot chocolate and espresso break at Mr. Toots, one of the most pleasant coffeehouses in the world).
Great meal, great weekend. Amalia really gets along with Ann and Jaime, but seems to think that their house is owned by Kobu the cat (although Amalia calls it "Kubu's house"). One of these days I will have to get Ann and Jaime's secret for getting the cat to buy you a house. Hepcat didn't even kill mice. I want a cat like Kobu.
Posted by erik at October 6, 2003 8:55 PM | TrackBackEpazote is easy to grow. It should do very well in Santa Cruz. Check out the herbs section of a good nursery.
Posted by: at December 5, 2005 11:28 PMAlicia,
I have thought about your situation in regards to cilantro, since my father is in the same boat. He can't stand the stuff: thinks it tastes like soap (which I can understand, even though I like it a lot). Since you have mentioned that the dried spice version does not bother you, what might work in Mexican food to have the flavor lift that the cilantro provides is to use fresh parsley with coriander. I did that once, when I thought I had cilantro and didn't, and it worked pretty well. You certainly don't get the cilantro flavor, but you get the fresh lift that cilantro provides.
I think one could also use lovage or celery leaves.
Posted by: Erik Keilholtz at October 8, 2003 8:47 AMOther than the cilantro in everything, sounds like a wonderful feast. Me, saturday night I made california tacos for 30 teenagers for Bethany's birthday party. Ground beef cooked in salsa, home made frijoles refritos (I couldn't find non-hydrogenated manteca so I used butter, also seasoned the beans with lime juice and a jalapeno in the cooking water). I chopped the last of the CSA organic tomatoes, some wonderful organic red and yellow onions, shredded head lettuce, guacamole sans cilantro, Newman's peach salsa (didn't feel like making home made as I couldn't find the other chiles in the fridge after I threw the jalapeno in the pinto beans). Corn tortillas fried in oil until halfay between crisp and crunchy. Queso asadero and fresco. The nice thing about working with the immigrant community from South and Central America is that they tell me where to buy decent tortillas and other items. I'm still looking for epazote, though. I forgot to buy some in July!
Oh, and we were also watching that glorious baseball game. What a finish!