tomato

Tomato chipotle soup with star pasta

13 · Sep 24, 2014 · 7 Comments

This post is part of a compensated campaign in collaboration with Barilla and Latina Bloggers Connect.

Tomato chipotle soup with star pasta is a spin on the classic Mexican comfort dish known as sopa de fideo.

I love to make this soup especially during the fall and winter months or on a cool, rainy day. And the star-shaped pasta rather than regular fideo is a fun addition for both adults and kids alike!

Although this soup is really not very spicy at all, if you’re worried about picky eaters, you can reduce the amount of chipotle pepper by half or completely replace the actual chile with a few tablespoons of adobo sauce.

Star-shaped pasta is a classic cut that’s perfect for introducing kids to the delicious world of pasta, and in Mexico, many children’s first experience is with estrellas or fideo.

RELATED RECIPE: Sopa de fideo…

Salsa mexicana for one

3 · Sep 16, 2012 · 6 Comments

I often get asked how to make pico de gallo by my non-Mexican friends and, sometimes, new readers here. If you’re a regular reader or you know me personally, you probably know where this is going. In our house, pico de gallo is not the typical fresh salsa you may be familiar with, made of tomato, onion and cilantro. Instead, pico de gallo is a snack made with jicama, red onion, cucumber, orange, serrano chile, lime juice and sprinkled with Tajín. So, if you come to my house and ask for some pico de gallo, now you know what to expect.

What a lot of people call pico de gallo, though, we call salsa mexicana. And it’s extremely easy to make! To be clear, in most places if you ask for pico de gallo, the recipe below is what you’ll get. Since I’ve been asked several times in the last week how to make this easy, fresh salsa, I decided I might as well share it here for anyone who doesn’t already know how to make it. It’s easy to assemble in a big batch because you can play with the amounts of each ingredient to taste, but it’s a little more difficult to get it right when making a very small batch for only one or two people for a single meal, so I’ve provided directions below for the portions that I use.

A note, first: The chile is optional. I always put it in my salsa mexicana, but you don’t have to if you’re averse to spicy food. Or, if you want to go kind of half-way with it, you can cut a serrano chile open, remove the seeds and veins and chop it very finely. If you do that, you may still want to use half of the suggested portion and add more to taste as you can tolerate. But if you leave it out all together, just increase the amount of cilantro to taste. You’ll still have a nice salsa and no one will know anything is missing.

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Wordless Wednesday: Guaca-tacos

0 · Mar 21, 2012 · 2 Comments

I posted this photo on Instagram last week as I was eating leftover guacamole in the form of tacos, also known in my household as guaca-tacos.

You can find my guacamole recipe here. Sometimes I like to substitute red onion for white onion (like I did here, though it’s difficult to tell from the photo). It’s a substitution I picked up from my mom since she normally makes her guacamole with red onions.

Do you ever eat guacamole tacos?