deliciousness unreal: black eyed pea salsa.

i think black eyed peas are awesome. after making & eating this salsa, you probably will, too.

ingredients:
1 big-ass can of black eyed peas (i use goya), drained & rinsed
1 bag frozen corn, thawed & drained
1 large green bell pepper, large dice
3 roma tomatoes, large dice
1 medium white onion, large dice
3 celery stalks, sliced horizontally (you can be fancy and dice if you want, i don't really care)
the juice of 1 lime
sea salt, to taste
cayenne pepper, to taste
crushed garlic, to taste
black pepper, to taste
olive oil (about 3 tablespoons) (optional)

combine spices, lime juice, onion, & celery in a bowl. mix enough to thoroughly coat the onion & celery. set aside for about 10 minutes. (during this time, you can finish any chopping or do the rinsing/ draining of the corn and black eyed peas)
add all other ingredients; mix gingerly, as the peas will be kind of soft & you don't wanna turn them into mush. chill the salsa or serve at room temperature.

this salsa is also absolutely fucking delicious when served as a soup, in chicken or veggie stock. jesus.

fire roasted salsa.

tomato. shallot. green pepper. lime juice. salt. pepper. garlic.

4 roma tomatoes, rinsed
1 large green pepper, seeded and halved
1/2 shallot, diced
lime juice, to taste
salt, pepper, garlic (crushed or powder) to taste

roast the tomatoes, one at a time, on your stovetop. when the skin is blackened and almost peeling, remove. dice the tomatoes and set them aside in a bowl w/ salt, pepper, garlic and lime juice.
roast the green pepper and dice it.
add the shallot and pepper to tomatoes.

serve room temperature or chilled. enjoy with eggs, toast, as a side to some home fries, with a tofu scramble for breakfast. yesterday it served as a topping for a vegetable tamale, and WOW was it delicious. :D

black bean dip is the damn truth

how do i know? cuz i made some!

2 cans trader joe's cuban-style black beans
garlic powder, to taste (or crushed garlic to taste)
adobo, to taste
2 plum tomatoes


drain one can of beans. add it and one tomato to your blender or food processor.
dice the other tomato; set aside.
drain the other can of beans and mash them with a fork or potato masher.
combine the bean/tomato mix from the blender with the mashed beans; season the mixture to taste.
fold in the diced tomatoes
serve with chips, or use as a spread (i bet it's amazing w/ tvp or real chicken)

for all you summer sippers:

ginger limeade.

since limes seem to be the oft-neglected (unless you're preparing mexican, south asian, or maybe indian food) citrus fruit, i decided that instead of making a ginger lemonade (shoutout to naked chocolate) i'd do a ginger limeade. limes are really plentiful and super duper cheap at this time of year, and it doesn't take much to get me to put some ginger to work. so, here goes . . .

ingredients:

the juice of 10 limes
3/4 lbs ginger root, scrubbed and sliced (peeling optional)
about 3 quarts of cold water
honey and turbinado sugar to taste (enough to make a syrup with the lime juice)

add 2 quarts of water and the sliced ginger in a saucepan. bring to a boil; reduce the heat to a simmer.
in the pitcher you're serving, combine the honey and sugar with the lime juice
when the ginger tea has the color of ginger ale or weak tea, remove from heat. allow the tea to cool to room temperature; remove the ginger slices if desired.
mix the ginger tea with lime-honey-sugar mix.
refrigerate or serve immediately over ice. a splash of club soda may be added to each glassful.

** mixes well with extra-dry gin, peach rum, or vodka.