Pico de Gallo (a.k.a. salsa fresca) is a type of fresh salsa found in Mexican cuisine. It is simply one of the easiest recipes you can imagine and one of the most versatile as it can be used as an ingredient or as a topping in so many other recipes. I typically make a fresh bowl of pico de gallo every two days.
It was on my second trip to Peru that I first tried Agua de Sabor. I was living and teaching yoga at Kapievi, an Eco-village in the Amazon, where the family, friends, and guests would come together to eat lunch. Always present on the table was a pitcher of Agua de Sabor or as I like to call it ¨fruit water¨. Through the years I began to realize that this tradition of having Agua de Sabor available at lunch time was not just Peruvian but common throughout all of Latin America including Mexico.
So, what is Agua de Sabor and why is it not found or served in the USA?
Kitchen Utensils, My Top 10
I remember exploring the kitchen as a kid, opening different drawers and cupboards and discovering the world that belonged to my mother. One drawer in particular stood out. That drawer was packed full of wooden and metal spoons, strange knives, rolling pins and a crazy assortment of handheld gadgets some of them looking like bizarre torture implements. The kitchen tools I discovered in that drawer over 40 years ago are dwarfed by the amount of gadgets available to consumers today. But are they all really necessary? Will they make you a better cook owning them?
Here are my top 10 utensils and why.
The Best Way to Reheat Pizza
This post takes me back where it all began! Twelve years ago I packed two bags and moved to Peru. I spent a lot of time cooking and was quite successful despite the limited resources. I was able prepared most of my own meals as my tiny studio apartment came furnished with a stove/oven. I maintained a healthy vegetarian diet by eating at home, but I did have one weakness, French fries. Yes thats right, I needed something greasy and salty to remind me of home. The French fries were like a comfort food. I began dreaming of other ¨comfort foods¨ that I could make and I added moms chili and veggie spinach lasagna to the list. Then, I was faced with reheating food. How do you reheat a single serving of lasagna? My apartment did not have a microwave and I really didn’t need one. The oven, I though, was another option, but it seemed like such a waste of energy to heat up the entire house for a serving of lasagna or a slice of pizza, I knew there had to be a better way.
Cooking in a Clean Kitchen
The idea for this post came to me after we arrived to our friend’s house for an afternoon social including drinks and snack foods. Well, we arrived right on time, and so did our hosts, yes they had been out and had just got home themselves. They immediately jumped into action and within 5 minutes the entire kitchen was a complete disaster. Noticing the time, I asked if I could help, but by now the counters were completely cluttered, in fact there was not even a spot for me to set my drink.
This situation is not uncommon. Even while simply discussing food and different recipes with my friends, many of them admit that ¨they want to cook more¨ but are more intimidated by the mess they will create and the inevitable cleanup. There is only one thing that gives cooking a bad name, yes, the clean-up!
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