When I was a teenager, George Orwell's 1984 was my favorite book, both for its writing, which I thought was superb, and for its depressing viewpoint, which beautifully dovetailed with my own adolescent angst. One of my favorite parts was Orwell's description of the effects of "Victory Gin," the official hard liquor of English Socialism:
Instantly his face turned scarlet and the water ran out of his eyes. The stuff was like nitric acid, and moreover, in swallowing it one had the sensation of being hit on the back of the head with a rubber club. The next moment, however, the burning in his belly died down and the world began to look more cheerful.
When I first tried cheap tequila, I came to the conclusion that it was Orwell's famed Victory Gin. Oily, hard to swallow, and packing a wallop, it was also among the most popular tipples in the mid 1980's, far outstripping gin, which seemed pale and weak by comparison. If tequila was a hard whack with a rubber club, gin was a sip of chilled perfume.
I remember the first time someone clued me in that it was possible to make salsa at home, I was agog (I was 13). It took me a few minutes to wrap my head around the fact that it didn't need to come from the grocery store in a jar or a tub. Even more amazing was that the ingredients were fairly basic and easy to come by. Fast forward about fifteen years and homemade salsa fresca is one of my favorite summer treats. Here's what you do.
Pull out a mixing bowl. Take 1 huge tomato to two medium-sized ones and cube them into 1/2 inch square (no need to be perfect). Mince up an onion, seed and dice a jalepeno (if you don't want your fingertips to burn for the rest of the day, wear gloves), crush two or three cloves of garlic and top it off with a handful of chopped cilantro. Hit the veggies with the juice of one lime and a generous pinch of salt. Stir it and let it sit for a while (I recommend at least an hour before eating). I make it in a lidded bowl, so that I can mix and store it easily. Eat it with tortilla chips, over scrambled eggs, on top of beans and rice or simply with a spoon, straight out of the bowl.
This is a simple vegan take on Huevos Rancheros. It has all of the flavor and substance of the original dish, but is a great healthy alternative. Mexican Tofu Scramble From: Moosewood Restaurant New Classics Serves: 3
You will need: 6 small tortillas 2 Tbsp. veggie oil 1 cup chopped onions 3 garlic cloves, minced 1 cup chopped red bell peppers 1 cup chopped green peppers 1 green chile, minced 1 tsp. ground cumin 1 tsp. ground coriander 1 tsp. salt 16 oz. soft tofu, pressed between two plates for 15 minutes, then drained 6 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped 1 1/2 cups salsa
Wrap tortillas in foil and warm in a 300 degree F oven for 10 minutes.
Heat oil in a wok, and then saute onions for five minutes. Add garlic, peppers, chile, and all spices and herbs, and saute for two minutes more.
Crumble the tofu and cook for 5 minutes (don't stir) until moisture evaporates. Then, stir and cook for two minutes more.
Remove tortillas from oven and mound scramble in each shell. Roll them up, cover with salsa, and set in warm oven until serving time.
I was browsing for vodka recipes and came across this interesting news at About.com. Apparently, The Garden Variety Vodka Company has released a new line of herb-infused vodkas. I'll admit, my first thought wasn't about which drinks they would enhance, it was how could I use them in my food recipes. Either way, the flavors seem quite interesting - Rosemary, Cilantro, Dill Leaf and Fennel, each infused in a grain vodka.
Their website offers a number of food recipes in which you can use the various vodkas, including such concoctions as Kumamoto Oyster Shooters, Southwestern Cilantro Chicken, and Baked Salmon w/ Mustard Dill Sauce, plus naturally they have a whole section dedicated to beverage/cocktail recipes. If you prefer to stick to drinks you are more familiar with, they recommend adding the following flavors to standard classics: Rosemary - Add to a classic martini. Cilantro - Margarita. Dill Leaf - Bloody Mary. Fennel - Straight up, or on the rocks.
Apparently they have only been released in select locations so far, so I haven't had the opportunity to try these yet. I'd love to hear your opinion if you've tasted them. Do they enhance your cocktails, or would you rather see them in your cuisine?
If, by chance, you're firing up the grill for game day, this corn salsa is too easy to not be on your menu. If you've made fresh corn on the grill before, you know how simple it is. Grilled corn is great on it's own, with some butter, salt and pepper, or better yet, mayo, Parmesan cheese, lime juice and chili powder (seriously, try it).
The ingredients in this salsa are easy to vary and I generally just eyeball the amounts as I make it. A good place to start is: 8 average-sized ears of corn 1 medium red onion, sliced into 1/2" to 1" thick rounds (A few tooth picks or skewers in each will help to hold them together on the grill.) the juice of 2-3 limes a good handful of cilantro, finely chopped olive oil
Husk the ears of corn, giving them a rinse to get any last bits of silk off and grill them over fairly high, direct heat, turning them until the kernels begin to blister and darken all over. Brush the onion slices with a little olive oil and grill them as well. Once the corn is done and cool enough to handle, cut the kernels from the cobs with a sharp paring knife and put the kernels in a large bowl. When the onions have softened and taken on some color, pull them off the grill and chop them so they're about the same size as the corn kernels.
Looks like celebrity chef Tyler Florence is working his magic again at Applebee's. On the heels of Ty-Flo's Huge Flavor menu, which kicked off his partnership with the fast-casual eatery, comes Holiday Flavor.
As some of you may recall, I enjoyed myself immensely when I wrote about the Huge Flavor menu. The first-person narrative was, and remains, hilarious to me. But despite my cheap shots at the menu copy, my takeaway was that the new items were a step in the right direction for Applebee's. Not that I've had anything to eat at my local Applebee's lately. That is unless you count the occasional Bloody Mary as a meal.
Fast-forward to the present. I'm not sure if I'm going to try them or not, but the four items listed on the Holiday Flavor menu look halfway decent to me. Without even tasting them, I can tell that they're an even further step in the right direction.
Sure, the mixed seafood grill doesn't make me want to jump up and down. Neither do the sirloin and grilled shrimp skewers. What really grabs me is the seared rib-eye with garlic-chili shrimp. Ty-Flo's care is evident. Just listen to how he personally garnishes his creation just for you, "I finish it all with toasted sesame seeds and fresh cilantro." When's the last time you saw cilantro in a chain restaurant?
It has happened to all of us at one time or another. You needed to buy fresh
cilantro (or as some call it, coriander) for one recipe, that called for a tablespoon or so, and now you have this
giant bunch of cilantro rotting in your fridge. How can you let such a special herb go to waste? Here are eight fun
things we do with our leftover cilantro.
1. Add to homemade ginger lime salad dressing -- just lime juice,
cider vinegar, ginger, olive oil, a splash of sesame oil and fresh cilantro, all to taste.
2. Blend into
hummus, either homemade or store-bought, with a bit of cumin. Voila -- instant clash of the ethnic flavors, but all in
good fun.
3. Slow cook eggplant, chick peas, garlic and onions in a can or two of diced tomatoes, with
cumin, coriander and cinnamon. Sprinkle on cilantro and crispy onions and garlic before serving.
Last month, I posted about a group dedicated to
telling the world of the evils of tomatoes. Today, I learned of IHateCilantro.com. Similar to the 'mater haters over at TomatoesAreEvil.com, the stated goal of the cilantro haters is to
"eliminate cilantro and restore a bit of truth and beauty to our world." There is, of course, the standard
complaint that cilantro tastes like soap, which isn't totally unfounded. I take issue with some of the other taste
comparisons on the site, however: doll hair, rotting meat, elephant pee. If this keeps up, we'll have a mounting war
against salsa on our hands.
It's the time of year to think about preserving the fragrant bounty of herbs in the garden. The Detroit Free Press has a piece on which herbs can be frozen and which ones need to be dried. According to Jean Riggs of the Sunshine Farm and Garden rosemary, sage and thyme can be dried or frozen. Tarragon, chives and oregano do well in the freezer but basil and cilantro, which have a high water content can get mushy when frozen. She also talks about how to dry herbs. Herbs can be air-dried in bunches or bag dried by tying a paper bag around the bunch and cutting holes in the side. The article also recommends doing what we should all do with basil at the end of the summer, make batches and batches of pesto and then freeze it for the basil-less months ahead. The same can also be done with cilantro although when I make cilantro pesto I swap out the pine nuts for walnuts.
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When I was a teenager, George Orwell's 
I was browsing for vodka recipes and came across this interesting news at 
Looks like celebrity chef 
It has happened to all of us at one time or another. You needed to buy fresh
cilantro (or as some call it, coriander) for one recipe, that called for a tablespoon or so, and now you have this
giant bunch of cilantro rotting in your fridge. How can you let such a special herb go to waste? Here are eight fun
things we do with our leftover cilantro. 
Last month, I 
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