Salsa Mexicana

Many, many years ago, Christmas 1999, to be precise, a dear friend gave me a cookbook of Salsa recipes. This book has 50 recipes for salsas. Tomato salsas, chile salsas, fruit salsas, tropical salsas, and corn salsas. So Many Salsas! Page 8 of this book is the most stained and dripped upon page in this book, because it is the page with our favorite go-to homemade salsa. Super simple to make, with easy to find ingredients, it’s a keeper. Enjoy.

Wonderful Hummus

This can be served as a dip with pita bread, pita crisps, Triscuit© crackers, or colorful veggie wedges such as tomato, bell pepper, and cucumber. Serving crumbled feta cheese and olives on the side is nice too. Great party dip!

Cannellini Beans with Kale/ Bruschetta/ Soup

This recipe begins with a tasty take on Bruschetta and then, once the flavors have deepened overnight, it evolves into a soup.  No mere leftovers here, this is entirely intentional, and oh, so good.  I found this in Bon Appetit magazine, (November 2010) and have made it many times over.  When you are nearing the end of the process with the cannellini beans with kale you are to drain the beans and kale, but reserve the liquid!  Don't pour it down the drain!  It's liquid gold, so be sure to drain it over a bowl to capture every luscious drop.

*note: The soup calls for a drizzle of truffle oil.  I have yet to use this, (speaking of liquid gold) and the soup stands without it.  If you have truffle oil, drizzle away.  If you have extra, send me some!

Jalapeno Pepper Bites

Now that I'm thinking of the potlucks that we shared over the years with friends in Pennsylvania, Florida, Pennsylvania again, and now Texas, this appetizer comes to mind.  So simple, so easy, and such a tasty way to throw some spice into the mix, Jalapeno Pepper Bites have been a favorite of ours for years.  While jalapenos are known to be hot, the eggs and cheese cool them down considerably—at least, I think so—so you are left with the flavor of the pepper more than the bite.  You may wish to double it; I haven't made a single recipe in years.