Chorizo Chili Collaborative Quiche

Chorizo Chili Collaborative QuicheSome useful tips from Luis:

  • Make sure you use fresh Mexican-style chorizo, not the dried Spanish variety
  • We used queso fresco. For a saltier cheese, try crumbling some Mexican panela cheese. Like queso fresco, queso panela is not a melting cheese. For some melting action, try queso asadero or Oaxacan-style Mexican cheese.
  • Dried chile de árbol is a bright red, slender pepper that’s about 2-3 inches long. It packs more heat than a serrano pepper but less than a habanero pepper. If you can’t find chile de árbol, you can use dried cayenne pepper powder to taste.
  • To lessen the heat, remove seeds from chiles.

Makes one 9-inch quiche

One prepared or homemade 9-inch pie crust
3 to 5 dried chili de arbol chilies (see tips above)
10-ounce package soy chorizo, like Cacique brand (see tips above)
1/4 cup sweet onion, diced
About 1/2 cup crumbled queso fresco
4 eggs
3/4 cup milk or half-and-half
Salt and pepper to taste

Prepare the chilies: To rehydrate the dried chiles, boil enough water to cover and remove from heat. Add chiles to water and let them reconstitute, 5-10 minutes. Place chiles and some of the liquid (start with about 3 tablespoons) in a blender or food processor and blend. (Don’t breathe too deeply — the chili dust can get you!) Add more water, if needed, until you have a slightly watery paste (if it’s too watery, you can cook the extra liquid off once you add it to the pan).

Prepare the chorizo: Add the onion and soy chorizo to a fry pan and sauté over medium-high heat for about 8 minutes, or until the onion is cooked and the chorizo and sauce look nicely incorporated. Add the chili mix to the pan, and sauté about 5 more minutes to meld the flavors and cook the chilies. If your chili mixture is watery, let the liquid cook off. Set it all aside and let cool slightly (you don’t want the mixture to cook the eggs when everything is combined).

Assemble the quiche: Spread about half the queso fresco in the bottom of the pie crust. Beat eggs and milk together in a large bowl. When the chorizo mixture is cool enough to avoid curdling the eggs, stir it all together, season with salt and pepper, and pour into the pie crust. Crumble the last of the queso fresco on top, and bake in a 375-degree oven for about 40 minutes, or until the center is set.

Originally published in “Collective Quiche Goes Pan-Latin” 

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Sarah’s Stone Soup

Sarah’s “Stone” Soup
The procedure for both soups

is similar. Simply add your stock and any ingredients on hand to the crock pot. Season as you like and turn the crock pot to high. If you are near the cooker, as we were at work, you can monitor the “done-ness” of the veggies. We tasted along the way and added seasoning, since we weren’t following a recipe.

Get creative! Add sriracha for some heat, noodles near the end, crispy garnishes on top (yes, I’m craving pho). Just be mindful of the time needed to cook your ingredients.

Chicken Soup

2 quarts chicken stock, low sodium
rotisserie chicken, shredded
1 can shredded chicken
1/2 apple, cubed
2 celery stalks, sliced
4 carrots, sliced
carrot tops
1 shallot, peeled and diced
1 garlic clove, smashed
freshly ground salt, to taste
freshly ground pepper, to taste
thyme, to taste
oregano, to taste

Veggie Soup

2 quarts low-sodium vegetable broth
1/2 quart white mushrooms, sliced
1/2 apple, cubed
2 celery stalks, sliced
4 carrots, sliced
carrot tops
1 can green beans
1 shallot, peeled and diced
1 garlic clove, smashed
freshly ground salt, to taste
freshly ground pepper, to taste
thyme, to taste

For either soup, add your stock, vegetables and chicken, if using, to the crock pot. Season with herbs, salt and pepper, and turn the crock pot to high. If you can, regularly check in on the soup to test the “done-ness” of the veggies and season for taste.

Along the way, you can add noodles toward the end of cooking, sriracha or hot sauce for heat, or anything else that sounds tasty. Garnish as you like, and dig in!

Originally published in “Creating Soup, Sans Stones”

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Easy Fig Jam

Easy Fig JamFig Jam Jars

Adapted from Kiss My Spatula. In most fig jam recipes, the amount of sugar used is equal to half the weight of the fruit, making a kitchen scale helpful. I used slightly less and the jam was still quite sweet. The recipe below makes about 2 1/2 cups of jam.

20 ounces figs (I used a mixture of black mission, brown turkey, and some unidentified green ones).
9 ounces (approximately 1 1/4 cups) sugar
Long strips of zest from half a large lemon (I used a vegetable peeler)
Juice from half a lemon
1 tablespoon Grand Marnier
Tiny splash of orange extract (optional)

Wash and stem the figs and chop them into small pieces. Add to a heavy-bottomed saucepan along with the sugar, zest, juice and Grand Marnier. Let it all macerate off the heat for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Turn the heat to medium high, stirring occasionally until the mixture boils. When you reach a boil, turn down the heat to simmer. Stir the fruit from time to time until you reach your preferred thickness (I cooked mine for about 40 minutes). You can use a potato masher to mush up some of the fig chunks, if you like.

When it’s cool enough, spoon into containers. Let the jars cool completely before putting the lids on. Remember — this  jam is strictly for storing in the fridge and/or freezer. Do not slap a lid on the jar and put it in your cupboard, unless you use proper canning techniques. 

For the sandwich, spread almond butter (MaraNatha roasted is fantastic) and jam on your favorite bread. Or skip the bread and just spoon it up!

Originally published in “Gettin’ Figgy With Your AB&J”

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photo credit to Aaron Otis Photography 2014


July
Watermelon is the perfect summer food. It hydrates, it cools, it's sweet and juicy. We have some great ideas for your table, including a salad, ceviche cups, popsicles and cocktails. Get ready to beat the heat with us!