Rosa’s Salsa

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A few years back, my mom’s best friend Rosa offered to make some delicious El Salvadorian food to contribute to a birthday party we were having for my dad. As a salsa addict, I’ve tried many different kinds. But the salsa Rosa made for my dad’s party was BEYOND amazing. I actually got to the point where I was by-passing the chips and just straight up eating the salsa with a spoon. *HAH*
After that, I begged my mom to get Rosa to make me more. And being the wonderful lady that she is, a few months later, I got a massive jar of the salsa for my birthday. :) Yum! Every birthday since, Rosa sends home some salsa for me. (Thank you Rosa!!!) Last year I took some salsa to a girls’ weekend at my friend Michelle’s cabin. We devoured the bowl of salsa while sunning on the dock. A few more people had become addicts to Rosa’s salsa.
 Recently, Rosa made some salsa for a party my family had in honour of my sister’s engagement. Word started to get around about Rosa’s salsa and everyone began asking me where & when they can get more of it. Luckily, Rosa was willing to provide me with her delicious recipe. I’m not sure it will taste exactly the same – as I know she puts a lot of love & care into whatever she cooks. But if it comes even close to as-good as hers, I’ll be set for life! :)
This simple yet delicious salsa can also be used as a base for a delicious huevos rancheros sauce or to make delicious vegetarian fajiitas (recipes to follow).
Ingredients
  • 1-19 ounce (596ml) tin of whole roma tomatoes
  • 3 green onions; chopped
  • 1 small jalapeño; de-seeded and roughly chopped
  • 1/2 bunch of fresh cilantro; cut in half at the stems
  • sea salt and pepper to taste


Method
1. Place tomatoes, green onion, jalapeño and cilantro in a blender or food processor and pulse. Note: this salsa is best when left a bit chunky.
2. Season with salt & pepper.

Serve with corn tortilla chips or use the salsa in one of the following ways:

Huevos Rancheros Sauce: Heat 1 cup of salsa with 1 teaspoon of olive oil and 1/4 tablespoon of butter. Once the mixture is heated through, add a teaspoon of dried oregano. Mix and serve.

Vegetarian Fajitas: Sauté red onion slices & strips of zucchini, red pepper and yellow pepper in a pan on medium-high heat until just tender. Add a few small scoops of the fresh salsa. Place vegetables in a tortilla and top with tex-mex cheese blend.

Source: Rosa *heart*

Better-than-Tuna Salad Sandwich

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Even before I became a vegetarian, I disliked tuna salad sandwiches. My mom made them all of the time, but I always refused to try one. Believe it or not, I was the most picky eater on the planet when I was a kid. I refused to eat any vegetable unless it was cauliflower doused in cheese sauce. Even when I became a vegetarian at 15, I still hated vegetables! *hah* I was the least healthy vegetarian possible back in the day. I hate whole grains. I hated tofu. My whole diet consisted of pasta and white bread. No wonder my poor mom was worried when I declared I wanted to be a vegetarian! Thankfully, over the years, I’ve grown to adore vegetables & whole grains. I am slowly coming around to tofu – (I still don’t love the texture). And I love lentils, beans, nuts, seeds etc. Yay for growing up & maturing tastes!When I came upon this recipe for “Better-than-Tuna” sandwiches, I was intrigued. It has so many of the ingredients that my mom used in her tuna salad sandwiches, but flaked chickpeas are used in place of the flaked tuna. And I have to say, it is delicious!!! We had these sandwiches for lunch yesterday and it was a real hit. The “tuna” salad spread was easy to throw together and made enough for a few lunches this upcoming week. I love the addition of the chopped almonds. The chopped nuts and diced celery really add to the texture of this salad. And the flaked chickpeas = pure genius! Jesse said the texture and taste is very reminiscent of a real tuna salad sandwich – maybe without the fishiness. *hah*

This sandwich could provide you with some variety – a nice change from the usual tuna salad sandwich. It’s a great healthy alternative with tons of fibre and protein. Give it a shot. I promise it’s worth a try. :)

Print
Better-than-Tuna Salad Sandwich

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Yield: 6 sandwiches

Ingredients

  • 2-15 ounce cans of chickpeas; drained and rinsed
  • 1/2 cup of low-fat mayonnaise or eggless mayonnaise
  • 1 red pepper; finely chopped
  • 2 carrots; peeled and grated
  • 2 stalks of celery; washed and finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup of walnuts or blanched almonds; chopped
  • 1 tablespoon of dijon mustard
  • salt & pepper
  • 2 tablespoons of fresh herbs; chopped (ex. dill, parsley, chives etc)

Method

  1. Place the rinsed chickpeas in a food processor and pulse them about 5 times. You want to get the chickpeas to flake slightly. Be sure to avoid turning them into a paste or a purée.
  2. In a bowl, mix the mayonnaise with the dijon mustard, salt and pepper. Add the chickpeas, almonds or walnuts, grated carrots, chopped pepper and chopped celery. Sprinkle in the fresh chopped herbs. Mix well to combine.
  3. Use the spread on some nice whole grain bread to make a delicious sandwich. Add some thinly sliced radishes to make the sandwich even more delicious.
  4. Notes: If you don't like using canned beans, you can use 3 cups of fresh beans soaked and cooked from scratch for this recipe. Also, I like to use vegan mayonnaise in this recipe. I find that Vegenaise is the best brand out there. It tastes better than regular mayo!

Source: The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau

Link Love – Happy Friday!

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Hello and happy Friday! I hope you had a terrific week! My week was pretty good! It was actually a fairly quiet week – which is rare. Temperature records were shattered all across Canada this week and it looks like this upcoming weekend is set to have temperatures akin to those we would normally have in June or July. How exciting!!! I am hoping to sit out on a patio tomorrow to celebrate St.Patty’s Day. Perhaps have a green pint. :) I am also looking forward to going to a park for a long walk on Sunday and out for dinner with Jesse to celebrate our anniversary. 

What are you doing to celebrate St.Patrick’s Day? 

This week, I was drawn to rich tones when choosing my favourites of the week. It all started with the Tiramisu Cupcakes. Holy crap – i love cupcakes and I adore tiramisu. I cannot wait to make these cupcakes! Also, I fell in love with Naturally Ella’s post on Pumpkin Pie Millet Porridge. The photos took me to a quiet day at the lake. So peaceful. Her post Homemade Hazelnut Chocolate Larabar is also really good and I recommend you check it out.

Today, I’d like to share two blogs I recently fell in love with. The first, Kimber-Hills, has the most gorgeous photography. I love the style. It’s so rustic, yet so light and inviting. The moroccan mint tea with hibiscus granita looks so elegant. The second blog, Elephantine, has the most wonderful cooking videos. They are so charming with wonderful music. Beautifully done!

This week, I would also like to draw your attention to A Couple Cooks. I have mentioned this blog a number of times on The Fig Tree. It is by far one of my very favourite blogs to visit. The recipes all look so flavourful & healthy and the photography is – just so pretty. Sonja and Alex just seem like such wonderful people. They are about to embark on adventure in Cambodia where they hope make a huge difference in the lives of a group of girls. They will be working with at-risk girls – teaching them how to cook; looking to better their future prospects & improve their self-esteems. It is truly honourable work and I wish them all of the best!  Please check out their most recent post Off to Cambodia and support their efforts if at all possible.

My friend Serena has the most wonderful artwork & jewelry for sale in her ETSY store. She also has a fantastic blog with a lot of wonderful healthy cooking posts at What A Sweet Life. 

And, one more thing before I go…here is a very interesting article from Cooking Light – The Most Common Cooking Mistakes. I found the article through Shutterbean. A really good read.

Have a great weekend everyone! I’ll be back on Sunday with a recipe post. Not 100% sure what I will be making. I’m heading to the market tomorrow to see what inspires me :)

Happy St.Patrick’s Day!!!