Recipe: Henry's Mexican-Style Rice

This is a rice dish I prepare when I'm serving Mexican food. I'm not sure how authentic it is because it is my own creation based on a variety of rice dishes I've had on both coasts of Mexico. I do know that my wife, kids and friends love it because it always goes, and its flavor blends well with the Mexican dishes I serve it with. I love to heap chunky guacamole and salsa fresca on this and shovel it into my mouth until the pleasure center in my brain flips into overload. That's comfort food baby! My wife loves it with a good dollop of sour cream.

You do what you like with it, I don't think you're going to be disappointed! It comes together quickly and is easy enough to prepare that I ALWAYS, ALWAYS (written twice for dramatic effect in case you didn't notice), serve it ANYTIME, ANYTIME (yes, again), that I serve Mexican food in my home.

You'll notice that I've listed Goya® Sofrito among the ingredients. I make it with both homemade and store bought sofrito. That depends on the time I have and the ingredients I have on hand. I don't think any American readers will have a problem finding the Goya stuff in the local market (BUY THE FROZEN STUFF!). If you're one of my non-American readers or a hands-on American reader you can find your own sofrito recipe online.

Henry's Mexican-Style Rice

2 Tbs peanut oil
2 Tbs Goya© Sofrito (frozen kind)
1 red pepper (chopped)
1 small onion (chopped)
2 cloves of garlic (minced)
1 6 oz. can of tomato sauce
2 cups of steamed rice
1/2-3/4 cup of cooked peas
1/4 - 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro

Heat a large dutch oven over a medium-high flame.

Add peanut oil.

When oil begins to shimmer, add the sofrito, red pepper and onion. Cook until the onion is translucent.

Add the garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes being careful not to burn it.

Add the tomato sauce and blend well.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Lower heat. Add the steamed rice and blend well.

Stir in the cooked peas.

Remove from heat and add cilantro, fluffing the rice as you mix.

Recipe: Henry's Mexican-Style Rice from Chop Onions, Boil Water - World Food at Home by Henry Krauzyk http://www.choponionsboilwater.com

Recipe: Chunky Style Guacamole

Guacamole was one of those things that took me a long time to try. For the longest time the guacamole I encountered just didn't look edible. It always looked like a dark, olive drab or worse colored goop. Who wants to eat goop? Eventually I ran into a chunky style guacamole somewhere and I was hooked. After that I went to avoiding it at all cost, to making is regularly.

Due to the volatile nature of avocado flesh once exposed to the air, guacamole is best served fresh. So I keep my batches small so that there is minimum leftover. Though, if you do have some leftover you may get an extra day out of it but placing it in a ziplock plastic bag and removing all excess air and placing it in the freezer.

I keep mine pretty chunky you, of course will do what you like. Just keep folding it with a spoon while cutting with the steak knife to your ideal level of "chunky". Though, even if you are serving it with tortilla chips keep it a little chunky! No one should have to eat green goop? Well, not until they lose their teeth.

The recipe to the right should be sufficient for about eight people. Scale it up or down as necessary.

Chunky Style Guacamole

4 ripe avocados
2 ripe tomatoes (coarsely chopped)
1 tsp lime juice
1/2 small onion (chopped)
1/4 cup of cilantro (chopped)
Fresh jalapeno pepper (minced) to taste
Salt to taste

This one is pretty easy, folks.

Remove meat from the avocado whole and place in a mixing bowl.

Add the tomatoes, lime juice, onion, cilantro, jalapeno pepper and salt to the mixing bowl.

Using a steak knife and a spoon mix the ingredients together. It is important to blend it well while still keeping it chunky.

Cover and place in the fridge and allow the flavors to blend and the guacamole to thicken a little (about 1 hour).

Recipe: Chunky Style Guacamole from Chop Onions, Boil Water - World Food at Home by Henry Krauzyk http://www.choponionsboilwater.com

Recipe: Tomato Salsa (Salsa Fresca or Pico de Gallo)

There are all kinds of salsa out there, but for me, there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good fresh tomato salsa (also known as "Salsa Fresca" or "Pico de Gallo"). None of that goop that you see on the shelves in the supermarket can even compare to the simplest of fresh salsa. It's easy-to-prepare, delicious and a healthy addition to many meals.

The other great thing about a basic recipe like this is its adaptability. You like more tomatoes? Add them. More garlic or cilantro? Add it. This basic tomato salsa can be personalized quite easily. You can also take it in a number of directions and come up with some great recipes. Try it with roasted tomatoes (really good), or add some sweet corn kernels or black beans and you start to get some great variations.

You'll also probably want to make a little more than you think you need. It goes pretty quickly.

Another suggestion I'll make is that you always sample a small piece of the chopped chile that you decide to use. I find that the heat in supermarket chiles can vary dramatically (especially jalapenos). What was mild one week can be extremely hot the next week, even amongst peppers that look exactly the same. Sampling a small piece will avoid any unpleasant surprises in your salsa!

Tomato Salsa (Salsa Fresca or Pico de Gallo)

2 medium-small regular tomatoes or 4 or 5 plum tomatoes
Fresh jalapeno or serrano peppers to taste (scorch over an open flame until skin turns black, place in paper bag, put aside)
12 large sprigs of cilantro (chopped, stems and all)
1 large garlic clove (minced)
1 small onion (chopped and rinsed in a strainer under cold water.)
1-1/2 tsp fresh lime juice
3/4 tsp sea salt

Finely chop tomatoes and add to a bowl.

Remove the jalapenos from the paper bag and rinse the skin off under running water. Cut open, remove seeds and chop finely. Test for desired heat and add to tomato mix. (BE CAREFUL NOT TO TOUCH YOUR EYES. WASH HANDS WHEN FINISHED)

Add the cilantro to the tomatoes and chilies.

Add the chopped onion.

Add the lime juice and salt (to taste) to the mix. Blend together well and set aside for flavors to blend.

Some folks will chuck this into a food processor and chop it until smooth. I don't like my salsa that way, you might.

Tomato Salsa from Chop Onions, Boil Water - World Food at Home by Henry Krauzyk http://www.choponionsboilwater.com

Suppliers We Love: MexGrocer.com

I'm old enough to remember when the prospect of good home-prepared Mexican food was pretty dismal. Sure, if you lived in Southern California or the American Southwest you didn't have a problem. Not so in most other parts of the United States or Canada. The ingredients were scarce and homemade Mexican food was usually limited to ground beef taco "kits" and mediocre "chile con carne"! Those were the dark days of World Food at Home!

Thankfully, all that has changed. Today it is easy to prepare excellent Mexican food at home. Not only are there endless authentic resources to learn about preparing Mexican food, but our local markets are better supplied with key and specialty ingredients. When they're not, or if we are far from them, there are also great online suppliers like MexGrocer.

There are several reasons I like doing business with MexGrocer:

1.) They have everything I've ever needed but could not find in local markets. When I tried a new hot sauce in Mexico and could not find it in any local market or specialty shop, MexGrocer had it. It has been the same thing with other hard-to-find-products. I also frequently scan their online products just to get ideas for new ingredients and dishes to try.

2.) Their prices are good, and they frequently offer excellent discounts. It's also safe to sign up to their mailing list. You won't be inundated with weekly junk mail. Instead you'll get occasional e-mailings offering good discounts, useful information and great recipes.

3.) They are REAL people. They are not a "faceless corporate outfit" with an outsourced customer service department. I frequently get the impression that I am dealing with the owner or the owner's family when I contact them. I like that. I like that a lot.

4.) They offer more than just their products. I've gotten several good recipes from their site. Among them was a recent "Day of the Dead Bread" one that I made for my family (and they loved). I've also learned some great stuff from their various articles.

5.) They have supported Chop Onions, Boil Water in the past. Several years ago I mentioned that I would list them as a source for Mexican food products in my cookbook, they responded by offering my readers a 20% discount on purchases from MexGrocer.com.

You can find some links of the MexGrocer products I use in the Chop Onions, Boil Water Kitchen Outlet. Of course I recommend that you purchase them there. I also recommend you visit their site if you're looking for other products to prepare Mexican food, or you're just looking to learn more about preparing it authentically in your home. MexGrocer is a Supplier We Love!

Suppliers We Love: MexGrocer.com from Chop Onions, Boil Water by Henry Krauzyk http://www.choponionsboilwater.com