For all of you sloppy, but chic chefs out there, I just ran across these adorable vintage inspired aprons. They are handmade by a mother and her two daughters in the L.A. area. Vintage maybe, but not what Grandma used to wear!

Available at www.boojiboo.etsy.com for $28.75


Another find is Orange Beautiful...

 

www.OrangeBeautiful.com

Who says vegetarians can’t enjoy a cookout? This was so good, my Five Guys Burger and Fries loving guy, passed up a beef burger for one of my veggie specials instead!

This is so easy to prepare, similar to making a regular hamburger, only you swap out the beef patty for  a portobello mushroom that has been marinated in your favorite vinaigrette dressing for a half an hour, and a Garden Burger (I love the chipotle and black bean burger), both grilled over mesquite chips.

Brush the hamburger buns with a bit of olive oil,  grill for a few minutes, then layer on lettuce, the garden burger, a slice of cheddar or jack cheese, the portobella mushroom, a slice of tomato and any other fixings that you enjoy. Come on my carnivorous friends, give these a try!

I am missing my hacienda in San Antonio and the spicy smell of the pantry, which came from over eighty years of housing my great-grandmother and grandmother’s ceramic jars of dried beans, corn husks, assorted spices and chilies of all shapes and sizes.

After two weeks of working on the East Coast, I am tired and craving those smells and the soulful vibe that was left behind by those lovely Mexican ladies who taught me so much about life. Their subtle lessons about how personal strength and stamina carries one through the most challenging of times and offers the chance to reinvent ourselves any second of the day or night, allowing us the choice to become a kinder, more compassionate, loving person at any given moment. Thankfully, these lessons permeated my young willful spirit and are serving me well.

Now, as I meander my way through my journey, I find my life is touched by the most fascinating situations and characters, and I wonder where, if anyplace, it all leads to. Staying present, putting one foot in front of the other, without ever compromising my integrity, that is how I try to travel through this adventure.

Joseph Campbell said,” Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls”. This is what I am finding to be so true.

A friend recently compared me to Huck Finn, saying that I’m always game to “hop on my raft” and go where the river takes me. It’s true, as the doors open and the river winds its way through my days, I walk with less intention as I age, paddling my raft in the direction of least resistance (however, not always the path of least challenges). As the years go by, the more I realize that we aren’t really “going” anywhere – we are “here”. So as I drift through the sometimes calm and occasionally, torrential waters of my life, I know that I am exactly where I am meant to be.

This way of life has led me, with deep gratitude, to a life well lived and loved, with few regrets.

Still, I’m hungry, so to quell my sentimental longings, some Mexican comfort food and a cool Margarita goes a long way…

ROASTED CHICKEN ENCHILADAS WITH ROASTED TOMATILLO SAUCE

For the roasted tomatillo sauce:

INGREDIENTS

5-6 tomatillos
1 jalapeño chile
Small handful of fresh cilantro (about ¼ cup, chopped)
2 tablespoons olive or canola oil
½ medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chicken stock

DIRECTIONS
Place the tomatillos on a foil lined baking sheet and roast under the broiler for approximately 5 minutes until blackened and then flip and roast for another 5 minutes or so. Put the tomatillos, their juices and the cilantro into a food processor and puree until smooth.

In a saucepan, over medium heat, sauté the onions and garlic until softened, 5- 8 minutes. Pour tomatillo and cilantro puree into the saucepan and bring to a boil. Add chicken or vegetable stock and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

For the roasted chicken enchiladas:

INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 pounds roasted chicken, skin removed and shredded (I use a store bought rotisserie chicken to keep it easy)
Salt and pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons Taco Seasoning (from a store bought packet)
½ medium red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed (optional)
½ -1 pablano pepper, roasted, seeded and chopped (half of the pepper adds enough kick for me, but if you like it spicier, you can add the whole pablano)
1 (28 ounce) can stewed tomatoes
6-8 flour tortillas
1 cup shredded Cheddar and Jack cheeses
½ cup Queso Fresco or Panela cheese
Garnish: chopped cilantro leaves, scallions, tomatoes, guacamole

Directions
Sauté the onion and garlic in the oil over medium heat until tender. Add the chicken, corn, and chilies. Sprinkle on the taco seasoning, cumin, salt and pepper to taste.  Stir well to combine. Add canned tomatoes, stir and sauté for a few minutes, reducing most of the liquid.

Heat tortillas over a flame if you have a gas stove or warm in a microwave for a few seconds to soften. Coat the bottom of a 13 by 9-inch pan with a ladle of tomatillo sauce. Spoon approximately 1/4 cup chicken mixture in each tortilla; sprinkle with a bit of cheddar and Jack cheeses. Roll up tortillas, placing enchiladas in the pan with seam side down. Top with remaining roasted tomatillo sauce and sprinkle with remaining cheese (Cheddar, Jack and
Queso Fresco).

Bake for 20-30 minutes in a preheated 350 degree F oven, until cheese melts and sauce is bubbling. Garnish with cilantro, scallion, sour cream and chopped tomatoes before serving. Serve with Spanish rice and beans,

For the Margaritas:

INGREDIENTS
2 shots of tequila
1 shot Cointreau
1 shot freshly squeezed lime juice
Salt and lime wedge, to serve

DIRECTIONS
Put all the ingredients into a shaker. Shake well and serve in a martini glass with a salt rim and a split lime wedge.

Muy delicioso!

Spring has definitely sprung at an alarming and exciting pace. As quickly as the blossoms and trees have popped, my life has become a whirlwind of travel, work and spectacular fun. Last week I was in Maryland, which is a stunningly beautiful part of the country, loaded with historic towns that tell endless stories of colorful and significant pasts. 
  

3 - 5 tablespoons good olive oil
1 small clove garlic, minced finely
1 small Italian bread torn or cut into 1½ -2-inch pieces
1/4 cup finely grated Reggiano Parmesan
Salt and black pepper to taste
2 medium, ripe tomatoes cut into 1-inch cubes or small wedges.
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips
1/4 - 1/2 red onion, cut in 1/2 and thinly sliced
1 ball of fresh mozzarella (about 6 ounces), cut into 1 inch cubes (optional)
15 large basil leaves, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons capers, drained (optional)
1/4 cup brine cured olives, pitted and sliced into rounds

FOR THE VINAIGRETTE:
1 small clove garlic, finely minced 
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 cup good olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS
Heat the oil in a large sauté pan.  Add 1 clove of minced garlic and sauté for a few seconds. Add in bread and season with salt and black pepper - cook over low to medium heat, tossing frequently, for 10 minutes, or until nicely browned. Sprinkle bread with Parmesan while still hot. Let cool.

In a large bowl, mix the mozzarella, tomatoes, red pepper, red onion, basil, capers and olives. Add the bread cubes and toss with the vinaigrette. Season with salt and pepper.  Allow the salad to sit for 15 minutes to a half an hour for the flavors to blend.  Toss again to distribute juices and vinaigrette and serve alone or on a bed of greens.

Approximately 12 servings.

On a recent trip to California, I was running out the door of my mother and step-father’s home, I remembered my step-father mentioning that the lemon tree out back was overflowing with ripe fruit, so I turned around heading into the kitchen to grab a couple of shopping bags and then out to the garden where I pulled as many lemons off the tree as possible. I was dressed in business attire, as I should have already been on my way to a meeting in Los Angeles, but instead, I was tangled in the tree branches and thorns with lemon blossoms falling in my hair, getting caught up in a brief moment of nostalgia that was too delicious for me to ignore. 

                                                                         

This was a link to the secret garden of my past, where intimate stories, laughter and tears, were shared between a daughter and a mother, whose spirit, at least in my mind and heart, still lingered amongst the foliage and humming birds, even though it had been over five years since she had passed away.

Somehow, picking a lemon off of my mother’s tree and then smelling it as we drove to LA gave me comfort, keeping me a little closer to my lovely memories and warm feelings that can be stirred by a subtle site or aroma. My boyfriend, Ric, looked at me with a bit of wonder and amusement in his eyes, as he is used to my unpredictable and sometimes irrational behavior. When he asked me what I was going to do with the lemons, I told him that I was planning on cramming them into my suitcase and taking them back to Texas to make lemon squares, like the ones his mother had made for us on a recent trip to her home in North Carolina. He then enquired if there was something exceptionally unique about these lemons from California? “Yes,” I said, “they are special because they came from my mother’s garden”. I didn’t need to say anything more as he completely understood that while it really didn’t make sense to drag a bag of lemons from Los Angeles to San Antonio, because of their sentimental value to me, making lemon squares with those particular lemons was meaningful. The next morning, he thoughtfully packed the lemons in my bag.

And now, as I sit with a cup of tea, munching on a scrumptious tart and sweet, sugar dusted lemon square, I am reminded of the southern hospitality that was extended to me by Ric's family in North Carolina, but mostly, I think of my mother who was, as one friend described her, "simply intoxicating".

1/2 cup cold butter
1/4 cup white sugar
1 cups all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
1 ½ cups white sugar
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (3 lemons)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

In a food processor mix together the 1 cup flour, 1/4 cup sugar and salt. Press into the bottom of an ungreased 9x13 inch pan. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until firm and golden.

In a bowl, whisk together the remaining 1 ½ cups sugar and 4 tablespoons flour, eggs and lemon juice. Pour over the baked crust.

Bake for an additional 20-25 minutes in the preheated oven.
Remove from oven and let cool. Refrigerate for 3 or more hours.

Dust with confectioners’ sugar and cut into squares.

Fishers Island holds a special place in my heart as it was the place where my family would gather during the summer months, where I raised my son for the first years of his life and where I realized my true passion and talent for cooking.

My husband at the time, Tom, and I, purchased a small building on the main drag, which led from the ferry dock to the island homes and the small village. The building had been known simply as “the Greeks”, a produce stand, for years owned and run by a local Greek family. I had worked at this produce stand during the summer of 1983, while pregnant with my son. A few years later Tom and I bought the store and decided to open a gourmet market.

I didn’t have any professional culinary training, only some retail experience gathered while working in clothing shops as a teenager. One of the wonderful things about being so young was that I didn’t realize how crazy it was to simply buy a building and open a gourmet grocery store and delicatessen, but that is what I did.

Tom was a contractor, so he had the building painted inside and out, the wood floors refinished, shelves built and I bought used equipment to outfit the store on a shoestring.

Days on end were spent in New York City, walking through the most successful specialty markets, where I searched for products and secrets to ensure my own success. I was clueless about the food business, but lucked out while walking through Dean & DeLuca one afternoon.

I was trying to be discreet while looking at labels and writing company names and telephone numbers on a little pad of paper when the store manager tapped me on the shoulder and asked me what I was doing. I told him about my small shop, mentioning that it was no competition for them, and then confessed that I was looking for products. He gave me a stern look and asked me to follow him, nervously, I did. We went down a back staircase into the offices where they introduced me to one of their buyers who proceeded to give me a crash course in retail food buying and then scooted me out the door with a long list of distributors and food companies, and enough knowledge to go back to the island to begin my new venture.

Within four months of buying the store, I had it pulled it together enough to open the doors for business the Friday before Memorial weekend and by Monday afternoon, I was sold out of everything. I was elated. Soon I was catering parties, weddings and dinners. By mid winter, my catering business was booked solid for the following summer.

Lately, I’ve been revisiting some of the simple recipes that stocked my take-out counter… here is one that is delicious served hot or cold…                         

                           

Spicy Sesame Chicken Salad

Ingredients

¼ teaspoon minced garlic

4 tablespoons tahini paste

3 tablespoons sesame oil

4 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari sauce

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

2 teaspoons sugar or honey

2-3 tablespoons of hot sesame oil (add more if you like it spicier)

¾ cup canola or safflower oil

A handful of fresh cilantro, chopped course

½ roasted chicken, pulled and torn into bite size pieces, or 2 boneless chicken breasts, cut into strips and sautéed

1 pound spaghetti noodles, cooked to al dente

½ cup scallion greens cut in quarter inch pieces

¼ cup sesame seeds, toasted until just browned in a saucepan

¼ pound snow peas, trimmed and blanched 

                  

Directions

Whisk the garlic, tahini, sesame oil, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, and hot oil together. Slowly blend in the canola or safflower oil. Toss with noodles, snow peas, scallion greens, cilantro, chicken and half of the toasted sesame seeds.

Serve cold on a bed of greens or hot in a bowl. Sprinkle with remaining sesame seeds and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Makes approximately 6 servings.

We are in California, waking to a soggy morning, but loving the salty smell to the air and feeling like it is a French toast and steaming latte kind of morning…


                                       

Well, it’s kind of difficult to write only a few words about Helen, because there is just too much to say about this exotic bird. She is an artist, although it has taken some time to convince her of her talents, a mother, wife and a friend to many.

It seems that the thermometer in any space that Helen steps into goes up ...

There is a languid feel to life in Texas. Perhaps it is the heat that slows life down to a smooth drawl and a comfortable hum that I find so alluring. Most of the time, it is just too hot to move quickly, but the winters in San Antonio are beautiful, laden with crisp mornings that beckon me to head out the door and breathe in the cool sunrise air.

   
My grandmother was born in Mexico on October 13, 1910. She was born at a time of strife in Puebla, so much so, that when she was three years old, the family had to flee the country in the middle of the night, smuggled out by train into the United States, arriving in San Antonio.

Through my grandmother, I learned about grace, kindness, compassion, undeniable strength, and about the ritual of preparing food with love. If you watch anyone in my family cook, ...