Volume 1 Issue 23 
When the temperature starts creeping up into the 90s, nothing beats the heat better than cranking up the blender for some slushy margaritas. (You know, the kind that will give you a brain freeze if you drink them too fast.) But, when I’m drinking margaritas, I start craving food that has a similar tanginess, with a bit of heat to offset the sweetness. My recipe for tequila shrimp fajitas fits the bill perfectly and is also ideal for summer because everything is cooked on the grill, keeping you out of the hot kitchen. - Bill
|
|
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Slice the onion and bell peppers into 1/4 inch thick strips about 1 to 2 inches long. Dice the Serrano pepper. Combine the onion, peppers, shrimp, cilantro, oregano, cumin, chipotle pepper, black pepper, salt and tequila in a bowl. Squeeze the juice of three limes over the top. Mix well and cover. Let sit refrigerated for 1 to 2 hours. Cut the remaining lime into wedges. Start a medium-hot fire and pre heat the BBQ skillet. When the skillet is hot add shrimp and vegetable mixture. Stir frequently. Cook until shrimp is pink and the vegetables are tender. Heat the tortillas on the grill until warm and soft. Scoop shrimp and vegetable mixture into tortillas, garnish with salsa, guacamole and a squeeze of lime. Serve and enjoy. A Home Recipe from GraceAnn Walden A new product, a blend of orange and carrot juice, in my local Safeway got me thinking about ways I could use it (in recipes) other than just guzzling it. It combines two of my favorite juices, of course. On the same shopping trip, I bought a pork shoulder that was on sale. I mean sale – like 99-cents a pound. It weighed about four pounds. Mmm I said to myself, "pork and orange" with a little carrot thrown in – why not? Here is the result.
We love it, we celebrate it, we make confections, truffles, moles and even a good chili with it, but what do we know of the origins of this wonder that Columbus carried back to Europe from the New World. Well, it doesn’t take too much research to discover that chocolate has brought joy to the world and exploitation to the people who grow it. Like coffee, it is another crop that doesn’t always reward the creator. The Kallari group means to change this despicable tradition. Kallari is the only farmers’ cooperative in the world that harvests, markets and enjoys all the profits from its line of organic chocolates. The Kallari Association cooperative began in 1997 with less than 50 families and has now grown to over 850. Kallari has created sustainable income so Kichwa people of central Ecuador can fulfill their basic family needs without logging rainforests or selling land. Just 10 years ago, middlemen kept profits for themselves and set low prices for cocoa beans. Today Kallari communities sell as a single unit, and the leaders travel to Europe and North America to negotiate prices for the harvest. They have recently taken empowerment a step further: Kallari produces and sells gourmet organic fairly traded dark chocolate bars. The cacao beans for Kallari Chocolate are a blend of several varietals, with the main flavor coming from the rare Cacao Nacional de Arriba bean. Social justice IS sweet, but how do the bars taste?  There is the 70% cacao bar, with a smooth chocolate base, with hints of vanilla. It’s a milder bar, which I would melt over ice cream.
They also make the 75% cacao bar, which comes closer to my heart’s desire. Again there is a whisper of vanilla, but it is dominated by the deep dark rich cacao nuances.
But all the bars are delicious; it is just that 85% is my personal favorite. All of the Kallari Chocolates are hereby awarded the Yummy Seal of Approval. - GraceAnn
Tools, Toys & Tips: Mesh Grill-Top Fry Pan
- Susan 
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cindy Pawlcyn’s Appetizers
Chocolate, oh, the seduction, oh, the high, oh, the taste, oh, the ethics of chocolate. 
Finally, there is the bar I would crawl across broken glass for – the 85% cacao. Oh, yes. I am a dark chocolate girl for ages. Before the modern era of chocolate, I was a kid, who opted for dark chocolate nonpareils; later I was the woman at the See’s counter ignoring the milk chocolate.
In Spain’s picturesque Basque hill country, restaurant chefs use mesh frying pans to sauté vegetables on an outdoor grill – a technique that infuses the food with a delicious smoky tang. This Williams-Sonoma version is woven of heavy-gauge, stainless-steel wire that promotes exceptional searing yet keeps foods safe from slipping into the fire. The stainless-steel long handle offers a secure grip for sliding the pan back and forth over a hot grill. Dishwasher safe.