Taco Crawl – Catrina’s Taqueria

Catrinas Taqueria, same site where Tacos Los Gemelos used to be.

We recently moved to a new home in Redwood City, Bay Area’s local Mexicana. Memories of Los Gemelos took us to the spot where Caterina now stands. Yes, the Lavendaria is still next door – bleach smell whafting in threatens to drown out the smell of seared meat. A sensual throaty voice was singing to some not to sensual music. The new owner is clearly fond of the “day of the dead” imagery. And food, well you can rarely go wrong with tacos, fatty bits of pig are fried to crispiness, served with corn tortillas (aah, gluten free….) and topped with spicy salsa.

Deconstructed Egg Tortilla Casserole

Tortilla and eggs with salsa fresco

We have been making traditional egg tortilla casserole for what seems like a long time now. This variation presented here is a restaurant style adaptation of the dish – a little easier to eat and much prettier to look at.

Pecan coffee cookies

Pecan, Coffee, Butter...

I am a fan of Heidi Swanson’s unusual combination of ingredients and textures. Original recipe for this cookie can be found here.

I did some variations. Like I chopped the pecans by hand instead of making a fine meal. Why? I like using a knife – a bit of blood, sweat and tears always makes the food taste better. Kidding!

Skin to seed of tomatoes – part 3 – Green tomatoes

Green Tomatoes

I can’t beat my local Farmer’s market in quality of heirloom tomatoes but in Bay Area, where green tomatoes are non-existent in the marketplace, growing your own tomato plant has this added bonus.

Wait to for the tomatoes to achieve their full size. Pick when still green and very firm.

In Indian cooking, green tomatoes are used like ripe ones – only difference is in color of the curry and tartness. Here are couple of multi-purpose (and cross-cultural) fat free recipes using green tomatoes.