Tangy And Tasty Salsas

 Wamr weather brings out the chips and dips especially crunchy tortilla ones with bright,s sassy salsas. Nothing beats a homemade dip made with fresh ingredients. Best of all it can be made mild or very hot  or even something in the middle. Salsas are a fun addition to any Springtime party.

New contributor ,chef and author Rick Martinez gave three good salsa recipes in today's New York Times Wednesday Food section. One idea he recomends is taken from Mexican chefs is that it can be improvised. Making it should bring as much joy as eating it. Salsa is more than just a condiment even though its' name literally means sauce.I t's a quintessential part of the Mexican table - something that both tickles and gratifies the palate. A good one should add depth, poignancy and zest in spicy, sweet and sour flavors.How the salsa is ultimately made is up to its' maker.Anything is fair game. Just be sure to add tomatoes, tomatillos,garlic, white onion, herbs Chiles, and even avocados. Keep in mind that lime juice is only used in American salsa recipes ,Mexicans usually add a squeeze of limes on its own to dishes.,Another rule of thumb is use chiles that work for you.A good thing to remember is that the smaller the chile the hotter it will be.When shopping for fresh ones, look for ones with firm shiny skins., Dried chiles should be soft and pliant.

The salsa  recipes are just great for parties or even a light and fun dinner. There are tostadas de tinga de pollo or shredded chicken and salso toastadas. made with the two given recipes.This is a meaty one wit bacon and chicken (taken from rotisserie or home roasted chicken) Try one or both salsa recipes.. The pure jalapeno one is an easy but fiery one.It;s boiling them with water and kosher salt until they're softened and just holding their shape. You'll need a mortar and pestle or molcajete which can be bought at Amazon . They usually average around twenty-five dollars however there are more expensive and more authentic ones for around sixty dollars. You can also use a bowl and a potato masher too. Grind until a chunky paste forms.Add some of the reserved boiled water along with garlic powder. You could also make the aguacate ahumado This is one made with sweet Roma tomatoes, a medium avocado ,a chopped white onion and five chipotle Chiles along with adobo ones. Adobo sauce is also added. These are just chopped and mixed together. Serve right away although anything leftover (which there probably won;t be) can be stored in the fridge.

Salsas a just a great accompaniment to any Mexican dish or a big bowl of crunchy chips. Make these for the warm days ahead.They're great tfor parties or just simple snacking.

Trends Past Trends Future

 This was an interesting year food wise. There was hot honey and sleepy girl mocktails. Fast foods combat each other with cheaper prices. These were some fo the trends in the year past. What will 2025 bring in?

Hot honey was everywhere, from iced tea to a dip for anything chicken.It's an easy make.Take regular honey, preferably a wildflower kind, add crushed hot pepper flakes and just a tiny splash of apple cider vinegar to cut all that sweetness. You can simmer it on a stovetop or just hear it int he microwave for a few minutes. Add it to everything. it kick;s up a bland buttercream and makes for an exciting rib sauce. As for the sleepy girl mocktail.Use tart cherry juice which facilitates sleep,magnesium and some seltzer.Mix and drink. This is perfect for those sleepiness nights and can help in destressing. Fast food giants like Wendy'd and McDonalds's lowered their prices in competition with each other. This will continue until the summer. Taco Bell joined the nugget competition with their chicken nuggets and covered them with tortilla chips. They're bigger than McDonald's and according to some Tiktokker's tastier.

What's ahead in 2025? it will be a year of sauces.Chipotle's viral vinaigrette will be gracing salads. This is a mix of red wine vinegar ,honey oregano and garlic along with chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. This is the perfect lift for any salad. Ranch dressing will still be number one but there will be variations.There will be pickle flavorings along with chimichurri. Fruits will have new flavors.It all started with cotton candy grapes. Strawberries will surprisingly have more flavors. Your next bite into one may be one filled with pineapple, peach or passion fruit mixed with the juicy berry flavor. These will also be higher in nutrients and vitamins too, given that they'll be grown on more organic soil.Hospitality will also be big in the new year with  friendship oozing out of hotels and restaurants. There will be shorter menus and comfortable menus. Value and deliciousness will be important as more and more places offer workers a more reasonable work/life balance.

It's time to ring out the old trends and ring in the mew. 2025 will be interesting and flavorful. Every bite and sip will be intriguing.

Pumpkin Time!!!

Pumpkins are everywhere as we edge into fall.They are one of the most versatile veggies, going from savory to sweet recipes with ease. It pays to have a few recipes  centering around them in your fall cooking arsenal.

I thought I had enough recipes regarding Cucurbita pepo, the Latin name for pumpkin. Obviously not.
I received this :

This is one of those mini cookbooks that every grocery check out has The publisher is Publications International Limited or PILThey have been producing specialized cookbooks for forty years.They're fun books to give as gifts like their kits and game brain series or buy if you're looking for more cookie or crock pot recipes. It seems my crew like my family's squash soup recipe so much that they want me to make more.  There is a wide variety for only forty-seven recipes. One of the pluses is that it's no nonsense. It's just recipes with a surprise section on maple syrup recipes as well. No cute or folksy tips or asides that usually riddle cookbooks. There should be a disclaimer however about the difference between pumpkin pie filling and pumpkin puree. The first is laden with sugar and pumpkin pie spices such as clove and cinnamon. It's only used in baking and puddings. The second is just pure pumpkin, perfect actually for sweet and savory recipes, although it's mostly used for the last.

There are a lot of interesting recipes that I didn't know about. One is a pumpkin polenta one  which is like a pumpkin soup thickened with the famed corn meal.It's spiced with smoky paprika and mace  and finished with the addition of fontina cheese.Of course there are soup recipes.One is a fiery blend of chipotle chili powder and black pepper. Three quarter cup of apple cider gives it sweetness. I definitely will make this , and serve with with tortilla chips. There is also a curried ginger pumpkin soup that's got a sweet heat vibe thanks to a dash of curry and a chopped Golden Delicious apple added in.The sweet recipes abound. A fun dessert would be the Maple Walnut Crescent Cobbler, made super easy with those frozen crescent rolls. Of course there are pumpkin pie recipes, one with maple the other with a pecan quinoa crust.Forget the Halloween candy. There is a pumpkin seed brittle I know I'll make. Those pumpkin cinnamon buns  on the cover look waaaayyyy too tempting. It's in their breakfast section. It's the same as a regular bun recipe but the dough has pumpkin and pumpkin pie spices . A less fattening alternative is Spiced Pumpkin Banana Smoothie.

There will be a lot of pumpkin and maple in my future thanks to the mini cookbook Pumpkin!  There are so many recipes I want to make and you'll see them in the upcoming weeks. It will be pumpkin fest!!!

Taco Bell Revisited

It seems that one of America's top fast food chains is undergoing a change -literally. Taco Bell is redefining itself, with both its' overall look and food. It's appealing to the Twitter generation but what about everyone else? Will it lose it long time fans? Time will tell.

Taco Bell started out in - where else - southern California in 1948 by Glenn Bell. It was originally
a hamburger stand, much in the same vein as McDonald's and White Castle. The inspiration came from across the street , at Mitla Cafe, a Mexican restaurant known for its' hard shelled tacos. Mr. Bell saw how popular this was. he cleverly  ate there often enough that he became a regular. The proprietors let him watch them assemble tacos and cook other quick Mexican dishes. By late 1951 the prototype opened. He named it Taco-Tia. Four years later it was renamed El-Taco and was a fixture in SoCal towns. By 1962 the first Taco Bell had made its' debut in Downey California. The company grew rapidly and the first eastern eatery was opened in Springfield ,Ohio in 1970. Pepsico bought it from Mr. Bell in the late Seventies and then it went to Yumi Foods, the international conglomerate that owns Pizza Hut and Long John Silver's. For many, it was their first taste of Mexican food. a huge change of pace from the usual, burgers, fries and malteds. It was also cozy, Most Taco Bells were housed in cute So Cal mini haciendas, where there were booths with padded seating  and bright pastels like pink and purple abounded. The vibe was welcoming, like being in someone's house.

That all changed. The hacienda in my area was razed to the ground. Gone was that soft almost Play-Doh molded building and in its' place something colorless and industrial.It kind of looks like a Brooklyn hipster designed the new architecture. The outside has a boxy wood and steel front which works in urban areas - not in suburbia. The inside is just as bleak looking with uncomfortable wooden seats and metal tables. The only highlight is the charging tables where people can plug in their laptops and tablets, working as they eat. Even the outdoor dining area has industrial and far from cushy chairs and tables.Maybe Taco Bell is trying to be Chipotle's little sibling . Chipotle has relatively the same decor - factory inspired and somewhat bleak. Have the staff and recipes changed? Not really. My Taco Bell 's servers have  the same flabbergasted attitude as before.I ordered a chicken hard taco and wound up with a chicken burrito. It was still tasty  - and filling. They have spicy fries with a cheese sauce which was pretty good, with meaty fries and a satiny nacho sauce . There were not too  many fries,  perfect with a huge burrito. I would like to try their "rattlesnake" fries, , fries with cheese and steak bits and of course, their Dorito Cool Ranch taco, with the taco dusted with Doritos' seasoning. I know I'll be slurping on one of their freezes, a kind of Icee with either orange or Mountain Dew flavorings. Even the breakfast items seem inviting. with their mix of grilled breakfast burritos and Cinnabon balls of dough with an icing filling.

Taco Bell is still the same food but with a new look. Ignore the industrial vibe and concentrate on the food. It's still as flavorful as before.

Your Peppery Pepper Guide

Without peppers our diets would be bland and our palates bored. They  liven up any recipe, with both color and zing. Yet there are so many. It can be confusing to a home chef about what to use and in what dish. They're easy to figure out once you know what they are.

First of all there are bell peppers namely green and yellow and hot peppers. The bells, those brightly colored gems, have zero heat,on the Scoville Scale which measures the heat of capiscums. It came about to measure and in a way warn home and professional chefs about a pepper's fire. Keep this in mind when using the very hot sort.. Also keep hands that have handled them away from your eyes. It can cause damage and pain. Flood the eye area with milk, (some swear by a mild shampoo) and completely rinse out. The same goes for hands stung by the heat. Rinse with water. Soak in cold milk. As for the peppers ,there are many out there.It depends on what you're making.So many  cuisines rely on this hot fire for their signature dishes. The Szechuan province of cuisine was one of the first to introduce super fiery dishes to the American public. Surprisingly there not peppercorns but dried berries from a cousin of the rue tree. They can bring a tear to the eye Hungary , one of the few European countries with a fiery cuisine, gives us the Hungarian pepper. a waxy  jalapeno looking capiscum that can be used to spike up salads and marinades.Of course there is paprika which comes in eight different varieties and levels of  very mild heat (they're actually dried  red bell peppers that have been  ground up).Try the famed Chicken Paprika for a tasty dish that'll warm you up on a chilly fall night. Paprika can also be used in beef and poultry rubs too.

 Mexican cuisine seems to have the most variety of peppers. There are many to choose from and it depends on the recipe - and also your taste. Serrano chiles, are small and green,It's used for spice and flavoring as well as garnishing. Jalapeno is the one that Americans know the best. It can either be red or green but the red has a sweeter taste.Poblano is seen in authentic Mexican restaurants and is a dark medium green chile. They're usually stuffed with chorizo and different Mexican cheeses -perfect for holiday appetizers. Habaneros are also popular but they are lethal. They can be interchanged with the five alarm Scotch Bonnet, one of the hottest peppers on the planet.It's a tiny lantern shaped bulb that can change any chili or fajita recipe. Approach these with caution. A better pepper would be the chile de arbol which is used to make red pepper flakes. Another "cooler" alternative is the chipotle. This is medium-small wrinkled brown chili that has a unique smoky flavor that's been compared to bacon's.It's a dried jalapeno but with less heat.If you're thinking about making mole sauce, then use the chile negro or pasilla, a long dark brown chile that's ground up. For milder flavors try the ancho .It's a dried poblano with a mellow , earthy flavor, not unlike the chile negro or pasilla pepper.

Peppers are a wonderful addition to bland dishes. They heighten the other ingredients while maintaining their own taste. Try them in various dishes now.

A Mexican Flavored New Year

The Jewish New Year is  fast approaching .It begins this Monday with traditional foods celebrating the day, with recipes handed down from Eastern European ancestors. However the next generation adds their own spin, using the ingredients and flavors of their adopted country.

This was the subject of Priya Krishna's article about Mexican -Jewish cooking in today's New York Times Food section., She focused on Fany Gershon, the owner of La Newyorkina ,a sweet, shop, and Dough, a doughnut business. Her Mexican heritage shines through in her paleta's and doughnuts  ,redolent with Mexican cocoa, chipotle and cinnamon. It stands to reason that her family recipes also have these flavors as well.As Ms. Krishna points out Jewish and Mexican cuisine couldn't be further apart but as Ms. Gershon pointed out both are very tradition rooted , very proud and very family oriented.Of course the traditional Rosh Hashanah  platter includes apples and honey to insure a sweet new year., a round challah to symbolize the circle of life , pomegranates to signify abundance and fish heads for fresh starts at the head of the year.The Mexican influences is spice added to matzoh ball soup, apple cinnamon challah and a guajillo pepper gefilte fish.

However she still needed help, especially when she threw her first New Year's dinner in New York.Ms. Gershon had to enlist the help of the New York Times  food writer, Joan Nathan., She was excited to learn that Ms. Nathan's recipes and her grandmother's weren't all that different. Over the years the dishes were honed and polished. The first night will be spent with friends at home while the second night she'll cook a Rosh Hashannah meal at her  husband's ,Daniel Ortiz de Montellano at his restaurant , La Publica in the  Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. There will be homemade challah (which kind of is shaped like her cat Leonard.), rich with apples cooked in sugar and cinnamon.Her chicken broth for the matzoh ball soup will include garlic , cilantro and white onions. She uses white ones because they "taste" like Mexico to her. Extra chicken is added to the pot because the leftovers can be used to fill tacos and enchilada. Her store, La Newyorkina will be serving honey , chile infused ice cream instead of honey cake and rugelach that 's spiked with chipotle peppers.

Family recipes are gems to be passed down. Yet there are outside influences that creep in and make them better. It is true for Mexican-Jewish cooking, a marriage of ancient cuisines.

The Artisanal Food Magazine

It should come as no surprise that food magazines are now indie and artisanal. After all,most foods are, Why not the magazines that feature them? It's a new food trend that may just be a permanent one.

Tejal Rao, the famed chef and, cookbook writer wrote about them in today's New York Times Food section  It's a movement that arose from frustration. Many of the people, creating these  are stymied  by what they see in the long established cookery magazines. There are ones that recipes cater more to novices than seasoned chefs or the ones that are so corny and homey that it hurts to read them, despite the fact that some actually do print pretty  good recipes. Many of these indies combine lifestyle with cooking as Jarry, one created by Lukas Volger and Steve Viksjo.It celebrates the meeting of food and queer culture.It gave an L.G.B.T.Q. spin on food. Unlike other food magazines, there's an article on designer , Zac Posen who also has a cookbook out as well as a culinary tour of Milan. Dill magazine, created by only (!) twenty year old Shayne Chammavanijakul on South Asian noodles along with flavors and dishes . There are some interesting recipes you wouldn't see in standard lifestyle or cooking magazines.The wittily named Toothache was created by pastry chef , Nick Muncy, for chefs. It may be the first of its' kind because it offers recipes in technical terms not ones for foodies or home chefs .

Is it easy to create a artisanal magazine? Like food blogging it does require a large chunk of time to come up with ideas and format. , It is also costly unlike food blogging, which just requires signing onto a free  blog.A print magazine needs ink and paper along with contributors to create an issue. This requires money, easy to get from a publisher , not so from an independent one. Dill's creator, Ms. Chammavanijakul had to work nights at Chipotle just to pay her contributors.Family and friends also chipped in with financial and editorial support. Staffs on these artisanal issues tend to be small. Sometimes it's just a staff of one or possibly two doing everything, from layout to promotion. The circulation also is very small. Readership could only be around one hundred and fifty subscribers.Pricing is also high.Dill is nine dollars an issue. Toothache is a whopping twenty dollars for two biannual issues.Yet, unlike, the mass produced food magazines, these come with saturated ink drawings along with original articles that would appeal to a more experienced crowd.


These new artisanal magazines may last as long as their more established counterparts. They show a side of cooking and food not always seen. This may be more than a trend. It may be the start of an entirely new publishing phenomenon.

New Zealand's Secret Ingredients Sea Salt And Honey

New Zealand is primarily known for amazing landscapes, beautiful beaches and lovable people. What may surprise home chefs is that this country down under is also famed for their sea salt and honey. The company PRI - Pacific Resources International is shedding a bright light on these natural ingredients, making them now known in the States.

This very Kiwi company was actually started by an American transplant in this wondrous land. David Noll, left four decades ago , just with his guitar and surfboard. It was going to be a short stay but he fell for Linda, married her and stayed. He founded Pacific Resources International in 1987. Four years later he introduced Manuka honey to the US. Manuka honey originates from the manuka bush which has healing properties, including antibacterial properties.It also lowers cholesterol as well as treating diabetes and curing sinus, ear and eye infections. .PRI is also known for their sea salt, harvested from the purer waters of the South Pacific.It's different from other salts because after it's been harvested, it washed in brine before it's stacked in large, snowy drifts. They're something of a landmark seen from the Blenheim-Christchurch highway. The company also manufactures all natural potato and sweet potato chips in such delicious flavors as paprika and rosemary and thyme, There is also one flavored with Marlborough sea salt too.

I love this brand! Sea salt is one of my favorite ingredients and what draws me is the texture along with the taste.PRI's flaky sea salt is so light and fluffy, It is heaven on tomatoes, giving the flesh a gentle crunch and a lighter saltiness than other sea salts.It is really the perfect salt to sprinkle on scrambled eggs or a salad and it would definitely be the perfect topping on brownies and on top of fudge frosting. Another favorite is the Mesquite BBQ salt , a perfect marriage of mesquite and the sea salt.I can see this dusting a grilled steak or even chicken.I also love their chipotle BBQ salt. This is a mixture of pure fire with salt and a whiff of sweetness.This is definitely getting added to my chili and sprinkled over chicken patties.  PRI's sweets have also captured my heart. Their Manuka honey caramels are the best caramels ever! They have a dusting of sea salt on them which makes a perfect foil to the honey caramel's creamy sweetness.Their dark chocolate mint and ginger discs are also wonderful snacks, .Flavored honey is enrobed in 99 per cent dark chocolate discs.They'd make the perfect Easter candy , having the extra bonus of the healing honey.

If you're looking for a fantastic sea salt and honey, look no further than PRI. They produce great salts and honey as well as potato chips that are not only good tasting but good for you. They have so many benefits as well as being a bonus addition to any kitchen.

Country Style Ribs For The Urbane Cook

One of the best cuts of pork to cook and eat is the country style rib. These can be made in  variety of ways. They're  a great meal on these frigid night, hearty and rib sticking. It's a nice change up from the usual winter fare.


John Willoughby, a regular contributor to the New York Times Food section and cookbook author, wrote about these beauties for today's cooking section. Country style ribs weren't so desirable years ago.It's actually not a rib for starters, more a blend of both white and dark meat..Butchers had truble selling this cut.It didn't look as lean or smooth as other pork cuts. It usually wound up in sausages or secreted in the bottom of a package labeled loin chops.Sometime in the late Sixties or early Seventies a clever Chicago butcher, Cliff Bowes, came up with the idea of fashioning these chops into s strip of ribs. To achieve this he butterflied them and cut through the ribs. Home chefs can identify them by their shape. They  are a slender section of rib that curves nicely at the bottom.Some of them have a flat ,  little two or three inch section of bone along one edge. Not to worry.It just means that the chop was cut from the section of shoulder that was adjacent to the rib. Just remember that this cut does have , more fat, more connective tissue and more dark meat.

The recipes Mr. Willoughby gives are perfect for this time of year.The first one has the braised with chipotle.. They're first rubbed with a spicy mix of cumin, coriander, ground chipotle peppers and cayenne. Cinnamon gives it it an earthy sweetness. The rubbed ribs are then braised in a Dutch oven Onions are garlic are added. To counterbalance this is orange and lime juices. The ribs are then simmered for an hour and fifteen minutes. The sauce is the ladled onto the cooked ribs along with pomegranate seeds. The other recipe has pears and sweet potatoes. This is a stew that also has fennel and onions  The spice is caraway seeds and allspice for a distinctly Slavic European vibe. The pork is cut into one inch cubes  and sprinkled with kosher salt. These ar e left to stand for one hour before. They're then dried and sprinkled generously with pepper.Again the cubes and the bones (please save them) are browned in a dutch oven. After al the cubes and bones have been browned add the fennel and onion to the pot. All the other ingredients , including the meat and bones, are then added, along with chicken stock and simmered for an hour. Guests can put a dollop of mustard on their portions of stew if they want.I'd just serve this with wamed rye bread and butter.

Country ribs are a great dish.for these cold winters night. Serve them with a spicy chipotle sauce or a mellowed stew, sweet with pears , squash and fennel. either way, they are filling and satisfying.

A Thyme To Cook

Thanks to Hamilton ,people, especially home chefs and foodies are curious what our founding fathers and mothers ate. There is a new cookbook out that delightfully shows not only what our Colonial ancestors ate but also what the Puritans put together.  A Thyme To Discover is a fascinating look back into kitchen history.

Tricia Cohen wrote this little gem while Lisa Graves illustrated it in rich, antique colors. Ms. Cohen has written several historical cookbooks for Skyhorse Publishing.She has covered Medieval feasts as well as the unofficial Poldark recipe book (definitely buying  that!!!) She writes about  the earliest period in American history , and there is even mention of both the light side and dark side of the Columbian Exchange. Europe, Asia , Africa ,and the Americas benefited from the exchange of various foodstuffs such as livestock and bananas along with  an coming here while the New World gave the rest of the world, tomatoes, and potatoes. Sadly diseases were just as easily traded as food.There is a timeline from the Pilgrims to the Colonial Era with some references, especially Abe Lincoln. stretching into the 1800s what I like about the book is that Ms. Cohen gives  a lot of credit to the indigenous people.There are many pages dedicated to the Wampanoag tribe who coexisted with the Pilgrims and Massasoit , the Grand Sachem or Healer.He , along with the famed Squanto helped the settlers plant and harvest so that they could thrive.

Keep in mind these are not exact recipes but modern takes on them. The meager  pea soup that the Pilgrims ate on the Mayflower has been updated to include mint for flavoring, along with spinach , garlic , leeks and creme fraiche.Indigenous fruit such as the pawpaw have been replaced by bananas in a cookies with a maple glaze. History foodies will appreciate the venison with blackberry sauce over wild rice cakes.different eras have recipes that reflect the food. As more colonists got molasses and flour, baking took off in the new country. She doesn't include recipes for such treats as flummery and syllabub but she does have the Sally Lund cakes recipe, which was a fave of George' Washington as well as its' etymology , from the French soleil et lune,  There are also recipes from some of America's earliest companies such as King Arthur flour and Jim Beam Brewery.(use both in the Bourbon Oatmeal Raisin  cookies!). There are also pages dedicated to the famous Foodie of the Revolution, Ben Franklin ad his funny write up about gout. The Presidents, from Washington to Lincoln are also represented and of course, there is a beef stew with apple brandy in honor of not Alexander Hamilton, himself, but to his mother who ran a provision shop selling apples. The Spanish influence is also mentioned , with a spicy chipotle, cinnamon chocolate pot de creme recipe.

A Thyme To Remember is a great holiday gift for the foodie with a historic bent. It shows how America survived and thrived along with  fun recipes to try.It's a great  and tasty

way to celebrate our heritage

Q'Doba Grill Possibly The Best Mexican Food

Mexican food out can be a dicey affair . It could be too bland - or worse too spicy and hot. Then there's the cookie cutter factor, creating the same dishes for every customer..Luckily there is the refreshing Qdoba Grill that offers freshness and variety.


This is my favorite Mexican fast food - although should it be called such? There's nothing even remotely "fast" about it. There are fresh cut  vegetables and grilled meats. Even the tortilla chips are crisp and crunchy, not soggy with oil.Qdoba's Grill's tastes and cooking style is similar to home chefs' cooking the cuisine. Why is it not like its' closest competitor, Taco Bell? Maybe because it''s not  part of an international fast food corporation. The restaurant chain was started in the mid 1990s by Anthony Hauser  and Robert Miller in Denver ,Colorado. Another competietor, Chipotle was also created there two years earlier.It was called Zuma Fresh Mexican Grill and made a million and a half in revenues alone during the first year.Four years later the name was changed to Qdoba . The chain is known for their San Francisco or Mission style where the burritos are overstuffed with rice and double the amount of meat and veggies.It's also known for other freshly made customized dishes , unlike Taco Bell and reasonable prices - unlike Chipotle with its' expensive tacos , burritos and even guacamole.

Again , the reason I love it  there  is a homey freshness to it. I love having the tacos made my way, without beans and corn, just loaded with their spiced chicken and chopped tomatoes. The servers add just the right dollop of guacamole to top it off. Another reason to like Qdoba is that every dish can customized to suit both meat lovers and vegans. The menu is not varied. There are only six choices such as the classic taco, burrito and nachos along with  the burrito bowl, tortilla  soup, and taco salad. Of course, they have guac and chips, a creamy mashed avocado lightly spiced with what tastes like tabasco sauce. The queso or cheese sauce is laced with beer as is the featured drunken chicken this month. I enjoy their regular grilled chicken, again lightly spiced and not overpowering. The burrito bowls are also tasty, Bean lovers can go crazy with it, having both pinto and black beans and nothing else. There's also corn and peppers to add to everything too. Another plus? The soda machine that has a huge variety of different sodas. It' where I get my Dr. Pepper cherry vanilla fix and I can get as many refills as I want.Qdoba also sells wrapped chocolate chip cookies to battle any leftover fire and spiciness.


Qqdoba Grill offers the best and most reasonably priced Mexican fare out there. It's no wonder so my, like myself, can;t get enough of their delicious tacos and yummy guac. It's the best south of the border style food.

New Year Challenges

A new year sometimes means a new diet. let's face it, After a season of feasting and excess maybe it's time to pare down the diet. There's a new sugar challenge out there where people cut out products that contain any type of sweetener  from honey to refined sugar. The theory can also be applied to cutting salt and fat.

The sugar challenge was the topic of an opinion piece in yesterday's New York Sunday Times. David Leonhardt, a Pulitzer prize winner and Times columnist penned  "A Month Without Sugar" after he did the challenge himself. It's not just giving up soda and doughnuts. Almost every food, he writes, save for pita bread and Triscuits have some kind of sugar in them.Our salad dressings, our breads, even our fruit juices and granola bars are loaded with unhealthy sugars. Going sugarless means enjoying more fresh veggies and scratch meals.it also means appreciating fruits and enjoying their natural sweet flavor, heightened by the lack of the processed stuff. Home chefs have to be diligent. Eschewing sugar means carefully reading ingredients and switching one brand for one that's healthier. Mr.Leonhardt  has found it to be helpful in a variety of ways, He lost his taste for sugar and all that goes with it as well as developing a keen appreciation of any kind of fruit's natural sweetness. It was hard at first but itsoonn became acceptable and then a part of his life.

Can salt and fat be given up for a month? It is possible. People have done such for both, Devin Ellsworth wrote about his seven day  foray on his vegan blog Plantiful. It's actually more healthful because a salty diet brings  about headaches, fatigue and headaches.it's also a crucial component in retaining water and bloating. Those disappear when the sodium intake goes down. He felt lighter and more clear-headed. Going saltless is good but there is a caveat. It's almost impossible to eat out. Mr. Ellsworth went to Chipotle, perfect for satisfying his vegetarian diet , however imperfect for finding salt free foods. The only fast food item that has almost trace amount of salt is a plain baked potato from Wendy's It only has twenty-five milligrams of salt and has to be eaten plain. The extras' such as sour cream and chives add on fifty milligrams. Fat is about the easiest to give up.If anything it's eating more fruits and vegetables and giving up dairy and sweets.Carbs can also be cut out too and more lean protein can be added in to for satiety.

Challenges can be a good thing, Doing ones that bring about a better life is definitely worth it. See if can be done , week at first, then a month  without sugar, salt and fat.

The New Southwest A Taste of Fire And Fun

Anything from the American Southwest always has a cool vibe.The architecture has a rustic yet funky look. The furniture and jewelry also reflect that as well as saluting a blend of different indigenous influences. The same could be said of the cuisine.It s a blend of Native  American and Mexican, resulting in a fusion of different, tastes, colors and textures.

It is the theme of a brand new cookbook, The New Southwest by Meagan Micozzi (Hippocrene Books Publishers, New York).This is a fantastic book, chock full of all sorts of different recipes. What I love about it is that it has a dictionary of all the ingredients used in the cuisine as well as their usage. Ms. Micozzi, a  food blogger who lives in Arizona , embraced the cuisine, and is an expert on it. She gives good tips about roasting chiles just right as well as making Southwest basics such as tortilla, and chorizo . She also categorizes the recipes which is perfect if you're planning a Southwestern ,Mexican influenced brunch or dinner party.

The dishes are not all spicy chiles and tortillas. The variety is staggering. There are some good breakfast ones such as pinto  bean breakfast patty melts as well as sweet glazed avocado(!) doughnuts.The side dishes are yummy and would give zing to any holiday meal.Instead of plain sweet potatoes, try the chipotle twice baked sweet potatoes or the drunken black beans spiked with tequila.Chipotle figures big in this cuisine and  chipotle mustard livens up a grilled cheese sandwich.It also breathes life into Ms. Micozzi's adobo chicken wings. Make these along with the many cocktails included for a fun weekend dinner. Finish with some of the dessert recipes like the chia (yes that chia that covers those cheesy clay figures) cupcakes or buttery feast day cookies.

Southwestern cuisine is one of the tastiest but also one of the most exciting. Get The New Southwest Cookbook  and experience the fieriness and sweetness of it. Enjoy the zesty, zingy recipes and the many flavors that go with it.