Pico de Gallo

Once you taste this classic fresh salsa, you will never go back to the mass-made salsa in a jar from the supermarket ever again. It is sort of like going from that fluorescent cheese you get on stadium nachos to fresh curds direct from the farm. It is so fresh and tasty, I can't think of any reason not to whip up a batch any time you need a quick appetizer. You only need keep a few tomatoes in the fridge, and some fresh chilis and cilantro, a lime and an onion.

Pico de gallo

I used half of a Poblano chili this time, but you can use good old Jalapeno or whatever you like depending on how hot you like it. The Poblano peppers I get from the local supermarket are hotter than the very mild Jalapenos they sell, but not as hot as, say, Bird's-eye chilis or Habaneros. A key step here is using salt to pull out the flavour and juices, and letting it sit in the fridge for at least half an hour. I like to use Kosher salt since it has nice large flakes which is better at drawing out moisture from foods, and generally has no preservatives or caking agents.

Update: a nice variation is to put a small splash of Sherry vinegar and a couple tablespoons of frozen corn. I've been playing with various degrees of pulsing in the mini-chopper. SO likes coarse and chunky, I like it a bit finer.

Coarsely pulsed in the chopper, with corn

Finely pulsed, with hot peppers and corn

Next Time: may try even hotter chiles, or different types of tomatoes

Me: 10/10
SO: 9/10
SSO: n/a

Pork and Clams with Enoki

After traveling for a month through the Prairies and Rocky Mountains, it's time not only to get back to routine but also home cooked food. We had many awesome meals, one of the best of which was room service at the Fairmont in Whistler - go figure. You expect good things at a Fairmont, true, but I wasn't expecting the room service to arrive to the minute when they told me it would; and, it was not only piping hot, but nothing was over or under done. We also had bison in Jasper, Elk in Banff, overpriced but fresh salmon from the market in Seattle, and unique Japanese dishes sukiyaki and okonomiyaki made by our friend. That just cannot last forever though.

So for our first meal after returning? Something with clams, says SO.  After some googling for ideas, pork and clams came up a few times - mostly either Portuguese or Chinese variations. We opted for the Chinese one, and likely thinking of the sukiyaki we had recently, SO suggested to throw in some Enoki mushrooms.

Pork and Clams with Enoki

Being a weeknight, we cheated on the clams and used canned. Given more planning and time, fresh clams would be interesting, if more work.

Next time: more mushrooms, more hot sauce or chilies, and maybe fresh clams

Me:8/10
SO: 8/10
SSO: n/a, he had plain pork and rice