Green Soup

Green Soup

2 tablespoons oil

1 onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped (optional)

3 carrots, chopped

3 stalks celery, chopped

16 oz. green leafy vegetables of your choice (kale, spinach, Swiss chard or any combination of them)

4 cups chicken or vegetable broth

2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

Juice of 2 limes or 1 lemon

Heat oil in deep 4 to 6 quart pot.  Cook onion until it begins to caramelize.  Add carrot and celery and cook them until they begin to soften.  Add green vegetables and cook until they begin to wilt.  Add broth and cook until the carrots and stems of the greens are soft.  Add the seasoning.  Scoop 2 or 3 cups at a time to the blender and puree.  Add the lemon or lime juice to the puree and serve.

Taco Salad

Beef Tacos

Many of the pre-packaged taco seasonings contain gluten.  I make my own.

 Tacos

Brown ground beef, bison, or turkey

Midway through the process, add 1/2 diced onion and continue browning

When ground meat is nearly completely browned, add one or two cloves of garlic - either finely diced or pressed through a garlic press

Season with a generous sprinkling of salt, black pepper, and 1/2 to 1 teaspoon cumin.  Add a light dusting of dried oregano. Taste and add more seasonings as desired.

 ground chili powder,  cayenne pepper, or chipolte pepper may be added as desired (I don't usually use these because I avoid nightshades)

Serve on a corn or rice flour shell, sliced black olives, sliced avocado, salsa, diced lettuce, diced tomato, and a squeeze of lime.

Tomatillo

The tomatillo is a small fruit in the tomato family that grows enclosed in a husk. When peeled, the fruit resembles a small unripe tomato and is usually green or yellow. The yellow color indicates ripeness, however, tomatillos are usually used when they are still green. Green tomatillos are firmer and easier to slice. The husk that holds the fruit is paper-like and is light brown. The flesh is slightly acidic with a hint of lemon.

The tomatillo is a great addition to soups, salsas, stews.  Tomatillo was included in my previously posted Tortilla Soup recipe.

Tortilla Soup

Tortilla Soup

Have ready:

3 cups chicken broth

6 tortillas, cut into strips and laid out to dry while preparing soup base

2 chiles pasillas, fried and crumbled (for garnish)

6 heaping tablespoons grated cheddar cheese (for garnish)

Fry 1 medium onion, 3 diced cloves of garlic, 1 chopped red or green pepper until soft, then add 2 medium tomatoes, chopped (or a can of fire roasted tomatoes) and one diced tomatillo.  Saute all for about 10 minutes or until the tomatoes start to break down.  Add one can of Herdez Salsa Casera.

 Add the 3 cups chicken broth and bring to a boil.

Add any leftover meat or fish you may have (optional). 

Add the tortilla pieces to the broth and simmer for about 1 minutes.  The tortillas should be soft – like a soft dumpling, but not falling apart.

Garnish each bowl of soup with some of the cheese, and a sprinkling of the chilies.

Margarita - It's a Gluten Free Cocktail!

 While visiting with my sister's family in Puerto Penasco, Mexico - we were served delicious margaritas - while we enjoyed the view from their Margarita Deck!  My brother-in-law splashed these ingredients (below) into our glasses over ice.  He didn't measure anything and it was perfect!

I know they got their ingredients in Mexico, but they can probably be found in the U.S.!

Fish Taco

This fish taco was made with flounder fillets sauteed in oil and sprinkled with my special gluten free fish taco seasoning.   Serve on a soft corn shell with avocado, lettuce and mago salsa.

 Fish Taco Seasoning

While browning fish fillets (flounder, cod, or talipia all work well) in a well oiled frying pan, sprinkle generously with this combination of ingredients:

                                    ½ t. ground cumin

                                    ¼ t. salt

                                    ¼ t. black pepper

                                    ¼ t. onion powder

                                    ¼ t. garlic powder

                                    1 ½ t. ground chili powder (optional)

                                    1/8 t. ground cayenne pepper (optional)

• Omit chili and cayenne if you are on a nightshade free diet, and add more cumin.

• This seasoning is good for anything “Mexican” – rice or beans.  Cumin is one of my favorite seasonings.

Mango Salsa

Mango Salsa

1 large mango, diced to about ½”

½ red onion, diced to ¼”

½ red pepper, diced to ¼”

½ jicima, diced to ¼” (optional)

¼ cup diced cilantro

Juice of 2 limes

Excellent on fish or chicken.

Below, the same recipe with 1/4 finely diced jicima added. The jicima added a nice crunch, but we prefer Mango Salsa without the jicima.

 

Baked Whole Fish

 The simplest meal ever - baked whole fish!.  The fish were gutted, but left whole.  They were stuffed with sliced onion and lime.  Covered with foil and baked at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes.  This was my first experience with mackerel - an oily fish containing lots of Omegas!  Very flavorful! 

The flesh was super moist and it lifted easily off the bones.  We added the leftovers to soups and tacos the next day!  Yum!

Puerto Penasco - Mexican Fishing Village

 We just got back from a wonderful trip to Puerto Penasco, a fishing village on the Sea of Cortez in Mexico.  It is just 60 miles south of the US border and just a fun 4 hour drive from Phoenix, Arizona.  Our visit was precipitated by the fact that my sister owns a home there, and we would be meeting her and staying at her place.

Puerto Penasco is a fabulous place to visit if you enjoy fresh fish and shrimp, as these are available fresh off the boat in the Old Port area.  Above - a picture of the shrimp boats anchored at Old Port.  April is not shrimp season, so most of the shrimp boats were here in port.

Below, a picture I snapped from the patio at the beach house.  Fishermen were out with nets early in the morning.  I watched them pull in a few shiny silvery fish and I also saw them throwing a few back!

 When we went down to the fish market, we were thrilled to see many different whole fish on ice.

This mackerel with it's smooth skin was a favorite pick!

Tomorrow, I'll tell more about preparing them for dinner!