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I served this delicious relish with the chicken enchiladas. I love making guacamole but there is so much of it you can eat. Since I like to change things around, I came up with this. It is very simple yet extremely flavorful. It’s amazing, when the right ingredients are used, they can create a wonderful dish. 

In this case, only 5 ingredients were used. Lime, cilantro and salt make this dish savory with just the right amount of tartness. The ripe avocados are soft and creamy; the fresh corn is sweet and crunchy. The two together are an unbelievable combination. Now, obviously fresh corn is not available year round so I think frozen would be just fine. Actually roasted corn will be fabulous in here, the one Trader Joes has. Either way, the relish is delicious with any kind of meal- even for breakfast, with a side of scrambled eggs. Enjoy it with just plain old tortilla chips- yum!
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I really like this dish. It is simple and fairly quick to make. I had chicken drumsticks in the freezer which I needed to cook. I also had fresh tomatillos from the farmer’s market. I love using them for salsas. The have a wonderful tart taste that complements South western cuisine really well.

I came up with a spicy mixture to put on the chicken drumsticks. A combination of coriander, cumin and paprika- not spicy but very flavorful. I fired up the grill and cooked the chicken outside. My favorite part of the chicken are the thighs and the legs- the meat is so flavorful!

My husband loves enchiladas. Whenever we go to our favorite Mexican joint, that is what he gets- enchiladas with green sauce. I decided to replicate that. The green sauce was easy to make – I added all the ingredients in a pot and cooked them for a bit and then processed them into a sauce- done. Once the chicken was golden brown and cooked, I cooled it and took the meat off. Now I had all the components to make an enchilada. I always have corn tortillas in the freezer- I like them better than the regular flour ones- these have more flavor and taste more authentic. I grated some cheese and began to assemble then and placed in an oven proof dish. I baked them till the cheese was gooey and melted.

I was trying to be healthy and decided not to serve any rice. Instead I served an avocado and fresh corn relish. It was a good, healthy dinner – we all enjoyed it- my daughter had the enchiladas but stayed away from the relish.

Tomatillo Sauce

• 6 tomatillos, husked and rinsed
• 1 white onion, quartered
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 lime, juiced
• Salt
• ½ cup cilantro, chopped

Put the tomatillos, onion, cumin seeds, olive oil and garlic cloves in a saucepan. Saute for 4-5 minutes on medium heat and add 1 cup chicken broth. Bring to a boil, and reduce heat and cook until tomatillos are soft- about 7-8 minutes. Put the vegetables in a blender and puree. Add the cilantro, lime juice, and salt, and pulse to combine. Set aside.

Chicken Stuffing

• 8 chicken drumsticks

Preheat outside grill.

Spice Mix

• 2 teaspoons coriander powder
• 2 teaspoons cumin powder
• 2 teaspoons coarse salt
• 1 teaspoon paprika

Mix all the spices together and sprinkle all over the chicken drumsticks. Grill the chicken legs till both sides are golden brown, about 30-40 minutes. Let cook and take the meat off the bones and shred with hand.

12 small corn tortillas
3 cups Monterey jack cheese, shredded

To assemble the dish: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Drizzle some olive oil in a large baking dish. Dip a tortilla into the tomatillo sauce and put it on a cutting board. Put about a ¼ cup shredded chicken in the center and sprinkle a little cheese and roll the tortilla like a cigar to enclose the filling. Use a spatula to place it seam side down in the baking dish. Continue to fill all the tortillas. Pour the remaining tomatillo salsa over the top and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake uncovered for about 20-30 until bubbly and cracked on top.

I have wanting to make this sauce since we returned from Italy. This was one of the dishes Paola made in our kitchen at the apartment. She started by buying the most beautiful red tomatoes I have seen. The sauce itself doesn’t really have many ingredients. Good tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil (from her back yard), garlic and salt. The reason the sauce and pasta were so good- the ingredients were impeccable. My daughter who doesn’t like chunky sauces thought it was the best pasta she had ever tasted.

Once we got home, I started thinking how to replicate this sauce. I can’t compete with those tomatoes and the ultra fresh extra virgin olive oil. I bought a few heirloom tomatoes, some baby roma tomatoes (plum) and I had a bunch from my backyard. I cut all of them up and cooked them with olive oil and garlic. I cooked them for a while till the tomatoes began to break down and soften. Instead of serving the sauce with linguine like Paola did, I decided to buy fresh raviolis from Whole Foods- I found broccoli rabe raviolis. I was very excited about them since broccoli rabe is one of my favorite ingredients.

Since I was serving the sauce with the raviolis, I decided to smooth it out in a food mill. Once that was done, I noticed all the seeds- the sauce looked rustic and it was fine, but I decided to add another step and strained it. Out came the most luscious, delicious sauce I have ever made. It was totally worth the extra work.

The ravioli dish was a big success. Everyone really enjoyed it and there was no left over. My plan is to buy 5 or 6 pounds of heirloom tomatoes and make a big batch of tomato sauce before the season is over. I can enjoy it in the winter season and look forward to summer again!
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I get lots of food magazines in the mail. It’s great to have them around but the problem is that I don’t get the time to actually read or even go through them. Ideally I like to sit and look through them for inspiration. I then tear out the pages I want to save for later and chuck the rest away. 

I was going through last months Bon Appetit and saw a recipe for a roast chicken with potatoes and broccoli rabe. As some of you may already know, that is my favorite vegetable in the whole world- well it’s definitely on the top of a very long list. I was very excited to read the recipe but soon found out it was quite lengthy and labor intensive. It was a bit confusing- so much so

• 2 pounds chicken thighs and drumsticks
• 1 pound fingerling or small white potatoes, washed
• 1 bunch broccoli rabe, ends cut of and the rest cut in half

In a large lined roasting pan, add the chicken and potatoes. Keep aside.

• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 4 teaspoons salt divided
• ½ cup chicken broth

Preheat oven at 400 degrees.

In a mortar and pestle, pound the garlic and add 2 teaspoons salt. Add the olive oil and mix till a smooth paste is formed.
Massage the chicken and the potatoes with the paste mixing well.

Bake the chicken and potatoes for 15 minutes at 400 degrees. Add ½ cup chicken broth. Bake for another 20 minutes. Take out of oven and add the broccoli rabe mixing it well with the chicken and potatoes. Sprinkle the remaining 2 teaspoons salt and place it back in the oven. Bake for about 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, making sure the broccoli rabe leaves don’t burn. Serve hot with a fresh baguette.

I love this weather- it’s perfect for such treats. My daughter loves pumpkin muffins and bread and has been asking me to make something with pumpkin for a while.

Now that I can see pumpkins everywhere- it was just a matter of time- well I had to make the time and bake something for my darling. It’s funny how they can make you feel guilty even without trying.

So, I made the time and came up with this concoction. I didn’t want to make the regular pumpkin bread you get outside- I needed it to be a little different. I of course made it healthy by using the white whole wheat flour, turbinado sugar and extra light olive oil. I also added dark chocolate in there- it is good for you- in small quantities that is.. I also used walnuts instead of any other nuts since they are the most healthy to eat. There is healthy cinnamon in there too. 

All of that said, it is a very delicious bread- really it is. The pumpkin flavor goes very well with the dark chocolate and of course all the spices in there a match made in heaven.

Definitely try this one- yet another treat to pack for your kids…
Click here for the recipe… »