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.

Taco Salad

Ever wonder what to serve when your guests have a lot of different dietary requirements? 

No meat. No carbs. High carbs. High raw. Hearty and high calorie.

Taco Salad is a good thing to have when you're feeding a variety of eaters, everyone can build their own salad or tacos with whatever their food requirements are. You can make it fancy or simple with whatever you like.

Ingredients:

romaine and red leaf lettuce, chopped
pico de gallo--sweet & green onions, cilantro, tomatoes, jalapeno pepper & lemon--chop & mix
red and green cabbage, thinly sliced
avocado, sliced
spanish rice
ground turkey--seasoned with cumin, chili powder, oregano, garlic powder, salt & pepper
pinto or black beans

optional: olives, sour cream cheese, slivered almonds, corn, chile verde, grilled salmon, tortillas

 The avocados on our trees are just beginning to mature--this is the first one of the year--not much mature flavor yet, but after several months without them, they're so good!

 

Soon, there will be enough avocados to make guacamole!

 

 Canned olives and pinto beans--black beans are good in Taco Salad too--you can make your own beans to control the salt.

If I'm having a lot of people over, I might make Chile Verde too.

 

Or maybe some carne asada.

 

 Or grill some salmon--did you see the Fish Tacos post?

Taco Salad is a favorite at our house--letting everyone build their own salad allows for a diverse range of eaters satisfying their needs. On the top of my salad, I sprinkled a little bit of arugula I've got growing in-between the flowers in my front yard.

Itadakimasu!


***


Baseball season has begun!

 My nephew Colin is playing for Loyola Marymount University.
You might remember Colin made Meatball Sandwiches here on FOODjimoto.com.

 I like watching baseball when I know someone playing--and especially when it's Colin.

 Rick's a baseball fan. BIG baseball fan.

 

Proud Mom, Nancy.

 

Proud Pop, Bill.

 

Bachan came to the game, too.

O-Baachan and O-Jiichan both came to the game as well as Mr. & Mrs. Iriyama, their close friends. It's quite an outing to have the whole gang come out to support Colin.
Thanks, Nancy & Bill for lunch and taking care of us at the game--we had fun!


***

Taco Salad

Ingredients:

romaine and red leaf lettuce, chopped
pico de gallo--sweet & green onions, cilantro, tomatoes, jalapeno pepper & lemon--chop & mix
red and green cabbage, thinly sliced
avocado, sliced, diced or made into guacamole
spanish rice
ground turkey--seasoned with cumin, chili powder, oregano, garlic powder, salt & pepper
pinto or black beans

optional: olives, sour cream cheese, slivered almonds, corn, chile verde, grilled salmon, tortillas

Prepare each ingredient and place into separate bowls so everyone can build their own salad according to their own dietary requirements.

Vegetarian Chili

Yesterday was cold and rainy in Southern California.

A perfect day for Vegetarian Chili.

And some cornbread to go along with it.

Ingredients:

4 cups dry pinto beans

1 1/2 cup each chopped onion, celery & carrots

1 package mushrooms, sliced

1 28 oz. canned tomatoes

2 jalapeno peppers

1 beer

1 cup frozen or canned corn

3 Morningstar Farms Black Bean Burgers

1 tablespoon each: 

chili powder, paprika, pasilla chile powder, dried oregano and sweet basil

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon cumin

4 tablespoons masa flour

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons pepper

Start out with 4 cups dry pinto beans or whichever is your favorite.

Quickly sort through them and remove any rocks or damaged beans.

You can use canned beans, but I really like the bite that dried beans have, they're not mushy like the canned ones can be.

But you can't beat the canned ones when you don't have a lot of time!

Cover generously with water and put on the stove to boil.

After the beans boil, turn the heat off and cover for one hour.

Drain beans, cover with water and bring to boil.

Someone once told me that draining the water twice makes the beans less...gassy.

Cover them with water for the last time and when they come to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about an hour until tender.

Chop the celery, carrots and onions.

I also added a whole head of garlic that I roasted in the oven a few days ago. It makes the garlic very mild and smooth.

In the meantime, skim the foam off the beans.

Seed and chop the jalapenos.

My dad says they come from Mexico this time of year and they're mild, but I took the seeds & veins out for my family members that don't like heat.

It's always a good idea to wear kitchen gloves when handling jalapenos. The juice from them can sting your skin if you're sensitive, don't touch your face, especially your eyes.

I like to chop them pretty small.

Slice the mushrooms too.

Saute the vegetables in a little bit of olive oil and add a little salt and pepper. Saute until the vegetables are just starting to gain some color, then add them to a large pot with the tomatoes.

My mom brought these over the other day. My dad grew them last summer. They're so sweet!

 My dad grew this corn, too.

My mom blanches it, cuts it off the cob, freezes it, and shares it.

Thanks, Mom!

Add enough water to cover.

, 

Adding a beer to the broth gives it a nice flavor.

So does adding a couple of bay leaves.

Gather your spices: 1 tablespoon chili powder, paprika, sweet basil and oregano, 1 teaspoon cumin and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper.

Add the spices and let the flavors blend and meld together, simmering for about 15 minutes.

Then taste the mixture.

I like a full-bodied flavor for the broth, so I added 1 tablespoon pasilla chili powder and another beer.

It was a big pot.

If you don't want to mess with all the spices, I like this chili mix.

One thing that makes Carroll Shelby's Chili Kit so good is it contains masa flour.

I keep mine in a zip lock bag in the freezer.

Measure 4 tablespoons into a small bowl.

Add some water to make a slurry. When the mixture comes to a boil, slowly drizzle in the masa flour & water, stirring constantly. It's going to add flavor and thicken the chili.

I also added three Morningstar Farms Black Bean Burgers that I had in the freezer. Have you tried them? They're good.

I think they're a lot better in vegetarian chili than the soy fake meats.

Defrost them in the microwave and give them a rough chop.

I separated the chili into two portions.

One has the black bean burgers and the other has some chile verde I had in the freezer.

One to keep at home and one to give away.

My husband actually preferred the vegetarian one!

Here's a quick cornbread recipe that I've been making for years with occasional variations now and then.

2 cups Bisquick

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup cornmeal

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup melted butter

Mix ingredients together well.

Sometimes I add a can of creamed corn or some grated cheese.

This time I didn't have any Bisquick and used a whole grain pancake mix I bought at Trader Joe's. My husband liked it better than the Bisquick one!

Spray a baking dish with non-stick spray, pour the batter into the pan. 

Bake at 350 degrees F for 35 to 40 minutes.

It's a little denser with whole grain mix rather than the Bisquick.

It was good!

It does have a whole stick of butter...

Serve chili garnished with a little sour cream or cheese.

Along with cornbread with a nice, green salad, it makes a warm, satisfying meal.

Bon appetit!

***

Last night we spent a fun evening with Rick's girlfriend, Jessica.

She stopped by after work with a nice card and gift for us for helping her move over the weekend, and stayed for our chili dinner.

Jessica is a lovely young woman and we are delighted to get to know her. She plays soccer, is a cyclist, a painter, loves English dramas, makes jewelry and photo books--she has endless talents.

Thanks, Jessica, for brightening our evening!

No printable recipe for this one yet.