Pico de Gallo
August 18, 2011 § 18 Comments
My affinity for spicy foods came at a young age so naturally so did my love for Mexican food. By age four I was already eating raw onions like candy and requesting that my Mom put Tabasco in my grilled cheese sandwiches. As I got older my parents began taking me out to dinner at Mexican restaurants which is where I fell in love with guacamole and pico de gallo salsa.
Since I already made homemade guacamole at the beginning of the Summer, I figured it was about time that I tried making homemade pico de gallo.*Cue me running around the kitchen grabbing ingredients and chopping like a crazy woman*
Voila! Delicious pico de gallo that tastes super fresh and has a bit of heat! 
Pico de Gallo
“A delicious harmony of vine-ripened tomatoes, onion, cilantro, lime, jalapeno, and Tabasco. Don’t worry, you can adjust the amounts of jalapeno and Tabasco to suit your taste preferences! Serve pico de gallo over chicken and fish or enjoy with tortilla chips.”
Ingredients:
- 3 pounds (~8 medium) ripe tomatoes, diced with all pulp and seeds removed
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 jalapeno pepper, minced with all seeds removed
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro, minced
- juice of 1 lime
- 1 teaspoon Tabasco
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- season to taste with salt, pepper, and cumin
Directions:
- Throw all ingredients in a large bowl, mix well.
- Refrigerate for at least one hour before serving to allow the flavors to combine.
- Dig in!
Do you think you can handle it?! 
Fresh Tomato Salad With Dijon Dressing
August 16, 2011 § 13 Comments
It’s that time of year again. The time of the year when my Dad’s garden is overflowing with ripe tomatoes and my Mom and I do everything in our power to use them all up. So far this Summer my Dad has picked over 300 tomatoes and my Mom and I have made everything from Gazpacho to Summer Tomato Pie. We’ve given dozens and dozens of tomatoes away to family, friends, and neighbors and Phil even started a “Tomato Stand” in the front yard. You’d think that we’d be all out of tomatoes by now, but we’re not. We still have loads of tomatoes to use up! It’s crazy! 
Last weekend in efforts to use up some of our tomato stash I whipped up a simple tomato salad to bring to a family BBQ. It was nothing fancy. Just a mixture tomatoes, onions, and fresh basil drizzled with olive oil, vinegar, and dijon mustard. I didn’t have particularly high hopes for this salad so I was surprised when my grandmother, aunt and uncle, and even my cousins were raving about it. My cousin, Mikey, even asked if I was going to post it on my blog! Ask and you shall receive…
Fresh Tomato Salad With Dijon Dressing
Ingredients:
- 2 pounds (4-5 medium) tomatoes, cut into eighths
- ½ cup red onion, diced
- 3 tablespoons fresh basil, roughly chopped
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- salt and pepper, to taste
Directions:
- Place tomatoes and onions in a medium bowl, set aside.
- In a small bowl wisk together remaining ingredients and season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour dressing over the tomato and onion mixture and let chill for a few hours before serving.
Yield: 4 servings
Enjoy!
I Made Gazpacho. Am I A Chef Now?
August 8, 2011 § 22 Comments
I’ve always been into food. I started helping my Mom in the kitchen at age 5, began attending cooking camp at age 7, and became infatuated with The Food Network at age 8. By the time I started getting “serious” about cooking and baking at age 14 I knew more about food than most 40-year olds. (I’m looking at you Mom!)
Around the same time I started compiling a list of all the different foods I wanted to make. The types of food varied from lamb gyros to brioche to chocolate lava cake. Some of the dishes on the list were very daring, but I felt that I would be able to conquer them as I improved my cooking and baking abilities.
Gazpacho is also on that list. I have wanted to make Gazpacho for a while, but I kept putting it off because I was very intimidated by it. I (mistakenly) thought Gazpacho was super difficult to make and something that only very talented chefs made.
Well, guess what?
I was wrong!
I whipped up a batch of TasteFood’s Gazpacho for a light dinner on Friday night and was surprised by how easy it was to prepare. The recipe did require a lot of chopping, but it was totally worth it! The flavor was so fresh and vivid that words cannot even begin to describe it! Delicious comes pretty close, though.
I cannot believe that I was actually intimidated by Gazpacho. Now that I made it I feel like a fancy shmancy chef.
Next I’m going to conquer my fear of homemade pie crust. I’m thinking of making this because I have loads of tomatoes to use up. If anyone has any other tomato-filled recipes to share please don’t hesitate to link to them in the comments section. Have a great day! 
