Cowboy Caviar

My friend Pam is a great source for recipes. She's always trying new things and is generous in sharing her recipes with friends. She made German Chocolate Cake (that has become the signature cake of my friend Sue), Cool & Minty Summer Salad with Peaches, Barbecued Beer Can Chicken, Meatloaf with Barbecue Sauce--recipes that have been shared on FOODjimoto.com. This delicious dip, Cowboy Caviar, is also a recipe of Pam's that she makes for her football parties. It's easy to make and always a hit with the football-watching, or any, crowd.

I think the ingredients can vary depending upon what you like and what you have on hand.

Cowboy Caviar

Ingredients:

1 can black beans, drained & rinsed

1 can black-eyed peas, drained & rinsed

1 1/2 cups corn (or 1 can, drained & rinsed)

2 cups diced sweet onion

2 cups diced tomatoes

1 bunch chopped cilantro

1 diced red pepper

1 minced jalapeño pepper

3 diced avocados

juice of one lemon

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup orange muscat champagne vinegar

While gathering the ingredients, I forgot to add the jalapeño, corn, olive oil and orange muscat champagne vinegar for the photo. Oh! And the cumin, too.

 I like it when the peel of the avocado comes off in one piece, that's when I think avocados are perfectly ripe.

Put all ingredients in a large bowl and add salt and pepper to taste.

I like the olive oil and orange muscat champagne vinegar dressing--I think it gives the dip a bright taste. You can use red wine vinegar instead, or simply use Italian salad dressing, that works well too.

Toss all ingredients gently until well-combined. Taste and adjust seasoning.

This dip is fresh and hearty in a light way, and makes a great appetizer for tailgate parties.

Itadakimasu!

***

Ideally, since the Cowboy Caviar is another recipe I got from Pam, I would have some new photos and news about her family to share. But I don't today, so I'll share something about the Fujimotos.

Last month, we spent the weekend at the Dinkey Creek Campground again--you might remember my Grilled Salmon with Avocado-Tomato Relish post.

This is last year's photo--we actually made this again this year, it was so good.

 This year, our visitor from Japan, Ayako, came camping with us.

 We hiked to the McKinley Grove, to see the big sequoias.

I think the newlyweds are adorable.

 We were so happy Rachel, Mitchell and Karen could join us this year.

Mitchell always finds interesting things for us to do, like this hike.

It's so much fun having the whole family together!

 Early morning snuggles with Rachel around the campfire are the best!
She's a new walker and got a little scab under her nose from doing a face-plant a few days earlier.

 You can get a good 'Joker' smile by playing with a paper cup at the campsite.

 Rachel loves Dixie!

Eugene, Isamu and Maria were able to join us, too!
You may remember when Isamu was born on my Gail's Stew post.

"Yanna go camping!"

***

Cowboy Caviar

Ingredients:

1 can black beans, drained & rinsed

1 can black-eyed peas, drained & rinsed

1 1/2 cups corn (or 1 can, drained & rinsed)

2 cups diced sweet onion

2 cups diced tomatoes

1 bunch chopped cilantro

1 diced red pepper

1 minced jalapeño pepper

3 diced avocados

juice of one lemon

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup orange muscat champagne vinegar

Put all ingredients in a large bowl and mix gently until well-combined. Taste and adjust seasonings. Chill until ready to serve.

Coco's Salsa

My friend Coco makes the BEST salsa. Whenever there is a Godinez family gathering, everyone asks Coco to make salsa. She taught me how to make it several years ago--she said the secret is to roast the tomatoes and chiles--she does it in a foil-lined cast iron skillet on the stove until blackened, blends them together, then adds the chopped green onions and cilantro right before serving.

 When I was making salsa for a party the other day, I had the idea to do the roasting under the broiler to save time--I only have an 8 inch skillet--with great results.  This way the roasting was done in less than half the time!

Coco's Salsa

Ingredients:

2 lbs. fresh tomatoes
2 to 3 jalapeño peppers
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
juice of 1 small lemon
salt and pepper to taste

my optional ingredients:

1 large sweet onion
about 10 cloves mashed roasted garlic or 1 clove raw, minced
juice of 2 to 3 small limes
 diced avocados
roasted fresh corn, kernels cut from the cob--or frozen or canned corn

Put the tomatoes,  jalapeno peppers, sliced onion and cloves of garlic (if you are using them) in a roasting pan or cookie sheet with sides--so the juice from the tomatoes won't spill all over your oven. You can put the tomatoes in whole--when Coco roasts them in the skillet, they're whole tomatoes. I lightly drizzled some olive oil on the onion slices, jalapenos and garlic, then brushed them to evenly distribute the oil.

As you can see, I've added a lot of optional ingredients to this salsa.

Put the oven on broil at 500 ºF and set the rack to the highest setting. Roast for 5 minutes or until browned.

After 5 minutes in the broiler, the chiles & garlic were browned, but the onions and tomatoes could have gone a couple of minutes longer.

Turn the vegetables over and broil the other sides. You can leave them in a little longer than this for more flavor. Coco's salsa has more of the charred bits in it than mine.

 You can put the anemic ones in a little longer until they get some color.

Put the vegetables into a blender vessel.

I'm using a high-speed Vita Mix blender, pulse it so the vegetables are still a little chunky--it will take less than a minute.

 Pour into a large bowl. The salsa will get redder after the mixture settles for several minutes. Sometimes I might add a little tomato sauce to enhance the color--but you won't need it if you use really ripe tomatoes.

Juice 1 small lemon (and 2 to 3 small limes, optional) and add to the mixture.

 

Thinly slice 1 bunch of green onions and 1 bunch of cilantro and add them to the bowl before serving. Salt and pepper to taste.

I had been making salsa in the blender for years but never could get the taste quite right.  I'm so thankful for Coco sharing her technique, now it comes out good every time!

Knowing how to make good salsa is important around our house.

I think it's fun to add some diced avocados, roasted corn kernels, diced jalapenos (for those that like more heat), lime wedges and maybe some black beans on the side--makes for a festive dip. Serve with your favorite chips or veggies. Coco says the home-style chips from the Mexican market are the best.

Itadakimasu!



***

Meet my friend Coco.

Coco always looks great--stylishly and neatly dressed, perfect make-up, the right accessories, and I love her hair. It's naturally curly, but she likes to wear it straight. I wish I had her hair--I love curly hair.

 I think the photo above might be my favorite picture of her--I think it captures her essence.

Here she is with her daughter Natalie.

 And this is Coco's husband, Chuck. He's a sweetheart.

That's Chuck Jr. on the right. The whole family is a lot of fun. The Chucks love fishing and the girls love shopping. They all love animals--I especially love their two Labrador retrievers.

Thank you, Coco, for being a great friend--and for teaching me how to make salsa!


***

 

Coco's Salsa


Makes about 6 cups
 
Ingredients:

2 lbs. fresh tomatoes
2 to 3 jalapeño peppers
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
juice of 1 small lemon
salt and pepper to taste



my optional ingredients:

juice of 2 to 3 small limes

1 large sweet onion
about 10 cloves mashed roasted garlic or 1 clove raw, minced
 diced avocados
roasted fresh corn, kernels cut from the cob--or frozen or canned corn

Roast the tomatoes,  jalapeños, (optional onion slices, and garlic if you are using them) in the broiler at 500 degrees for 5 minutes on each side or until browned. The vegetables can also be roasted on the stove in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.

Put the roasted vegetables into a blender or food processor and pulse until mixture is blended but still coarse, about 30 seconds or so, for a high-speed blender. Transfer to a large bowl.

Add the juice of 1 small lemon, thinly sliced green onions and chopped cilantro. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix well. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Add optional ingredients if desired. Serve with Mexican home-style chips, your favorite chips or veggies.

Guest Cook: Kamryn--Santa Rosa Valley Salad

Did you happen to catch Kamryn's Guest Cook post of her Pear Delight last week?

We're very fortunate that she also made her Santa Rosa Salad to share here on FOODjimoto.com.

Once again, Kamryn's doing the cooking and her friend Lauren is taking the photos.

This looks so delicious I can't wait to make it!

My cousin Kathy (that's Kamryn's mom) said she got the recipe for the Santa Rosa Salad from her friend, June Kuramoto.

Some of you may know June, she plays the koto in the band Hiroshima.

Kathy also plays the koto, but not professionally.

Here's what you'll need for the Santa Rosa Salad:

Ingredients:

1 box Uncle Ben's Long Grain and Wild Rice Mix, cooked with seasonings according to package directions

3 chicken breast halves, cooked and diced (add less if desired)

4 green onions, chopped

1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced

1 large package (2 lbs.) green beans, strings removed

2 medium avocados, diced

juice of 1 lemon or lime

romaine leaves for garnish, cut into squares

dressing:

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon sugar (or slightly more)

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/3 cup seasoned rice vinegar

1/3 cup vegetable oil

 

Make the dressing first--mince 2 cloves of garlic and add 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon sugar (or slightly more), 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 1/3 cup seasoned rice vinegar and 1/3 cup vegetable oil.

A mason jar works well for this.

 

Here it is with all the ingredients added--cover and refrigerate.

Aren't Lauren's photos nice?

Of course  you'll want to shake the dressing before pouring it over the salad.

(And I want to include as many of Lauren's photos as I can.)

 

Make the Uncle Ben's Long Grain and Wild Rice Mix according to the package directions.

I think the Trader Joe's Brown Rice Medley would be good in this salad too.

 

Slice the green onions thinly.

 

Chop the red bell pepper.

 

Remove the strings from the green beans.

If you line them all up, you'll only have to make one cut.

Protect your fingers by curling them back.

Saute the green beans in a little bit of olive oil until they turn bright green.

Add salt and garlic powder.

Remove from pan and set aside.

Nice shot, Lauren!

Dice the cooked chicken.

Put everything except the romaine, avocados and lemon or lime juice, into a big bowl.

Combine salad and dressing, toss lightly and refrigerate 2 to 4 hours.

Serve by placing salad on a bed of chopped romaine leaves.

Before serving, dice the avocado and toss lightly with the lemon or lime juice before adding.

Lime juice is excellent in keeping the avocado from turning brown.

Most of the salad can be made a day ahead of serving.

Thank you, Kamryn and Lauren, the Santa Rosa Valley Salad looks so delicious!


Itadakimasu!




***



My cousin Kathy--her family nickname is Channie--is very creative.

When we were little and had family dinners at Bachan's house, she would have crafts for the rest of us cousins to do to keep us busy.

You can see a little of that in my Stuffed Mushrooms post after the recipe.


Over the years, she's been creative with her Christmas cards.

Here's a sampling:

 

This is one of my favorites.

It's very simple, but I remember the kick I got out of it when I opened it--and how clever I thought it was because everyone with little ones was sending a photo card that included the kids' ages--and Chan and David didn't have Kamryn yet.

 

Then Kamryn came and the creativity continued.

"Dash away...dash away...dash away...All!"

"Season-ings Greetings!"

Ho! Ho! Ho!

 

 

Kammie's a tennis player.

"After three hours of trying to get the perfect Christmas card picture..."

This photo reminds me of trying to get The Perfect Picture of my two--and how one year I resorted to paying $0.10 a shot--because that was the only way I could get Rick to co-operate and look happy.

More about that in a post to come.


I look forward to Kamryn's family holiday card every year!



Thank you again, Kamryn and Lauren.

I hope you will cook for us again in the future!



***

 

  

Santa Rosa Valley Salad

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 box Uncle Ben's Long Grain and Wild Rice Mix, cooked with seasonings according to package directions

3 chicken breast halves, cooked and diced (add less if desired)

4 green onions, chopped

1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced

1 large package (2 lbs.) green beans, strings removed

2 medium avocados, diced

juice of 1 lemon

romaine leaves for garnish, cut into squares

dressing:

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon sugar (or slightly more)

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/3 cup seasoned rice vinegar

1/3 cup vegetable oil

Combine dressing ingredients. Cover and refrigerate.

Saute the green beans briefly in a small amount of olive oil. Add salt and garlic powder to taste. Remove from heat and set aside.

Mix all salad ingredients together except avocados and lemon or lime juice. Combine salad ingredients with dressing and refrigerate 2 to 4 hours. Before serving, carefully add avocados that have been tossed gently with lemon/lime juice to keep them from turning brown. Place salad mixture on chopped romaine leaves.

NOTE: Most of the salad may be made a day ahead. Add avocados and lemon juice prior to serving.