Two Mexican Corn Salsa Recipes And A Cucumber Salsa Recipe

Mexican cuisine and salsa go hand in hand. In fact, there are numerous variations of salsa to fit almost any dish. Whether you like your salsa hot or mild, chunky or smooth, red or green, there is a salsa recipe out there that is perfect for you. The ingredients are what make different salsas unique. So remember, salsa can be made from any ingredient and can fit any taste.

Avocado-Corn Salsa

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This recipe produces 3 cups of salsa. The avocado and corn together make a tasty salsa that can be served over anything. A great tip is to roast the corn before making the salsa to create an even better variation of the recipe. This luscious salsa goes great paired with grilled fish and chicken or served with tortilla chips.

Two Mexican Corn Salsa Recipes And A Cucumber Salsa Recipe

What You Need:

4 ears fresh yellow corn ¾ cup water 1 medium tomato, chopped 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped ¼ cup chopped red bell pepper 1/3 cup chopped purple onion ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro 1/3 cup white wine vinegar 2 tablespoons lime juice ½ teaspoon salt 1 large avocado

How To Make It:

Cut corn kernels from cob into a saucepan. Add ¾ cup water, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 6 to 7 minutes. Drain and place in a bowl.

Stir in tomato and remaining ingredients. Cover and chill for 8 hours, if desired.

Serve as desired.

Black Bean-Corn Salsa

This recipe makes 8 cups of salsa. A great tip is to roast the corn beforehand. The roasted corn gives the salsa an extra crunch and is delicious. This salsa goes great served with tortilla chips.

What You Need:

3 ears fresh yellow corn ¾ cup water 3 medium tomatoes, peeled and finely chopped 2 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed and drained 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro 1/3 cup lime juice ¼ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon pepper 2 firm avocados, peeled and finely chopped

How To Make It:

Cut corn kernels from cob into a saucepan. Add ¾ cup water, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 6 to 7 minutes. Drain and place in a large bowl.

Stir in tomato and next 6 ingredients. Cover and chill.

Stir in avocado. Serve as desired.

Cucumber Salsa

This salsa is great during the summertime with its fresh ingredients. The recipe yields 1 ½ cups. Feel free to serve this with grilled chicken or fish, hot dogs and omelets. A sprig of fresh cilantro makes a nice garnish for this recipe.

What You Need:

1 large cucumber, chopped 1 garlic clove, minced 1 tablespoon diced poblano chili pepper 1 tablespoon diced purple onion 2 tablespoons diced red bell pepper 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro 1 tablespoon lime juice 1 teaspoon olive oil ¼ teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon pepper

How You Make It:

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Cover and chill.

Garnish, if desired. Serve as desired.

Two Mexican Corn Salsa Recipes And A Cucumber Salsa Recipe

Salsa is used in a lot of easy Mexican recipes. Instead of using store bought salsa, trying finding a great salsa recipe, and make it yourself.

MexicanFoodRecipes.org When it has to be Real Authentic Mexican Food

Authentic Mexican Recipes' Use of Chiles: Rajas Con Crema For Example

When thinking of authentic Mexican recipes, people typically see pictures in their mind of tacos and chiles. They see things wrapped in tortillas and imagine the burning sensation of hot chiles in their mouth.

As someone who's lived in Mexico for years, I can say that when it comes to the tortilla thing... yes, they are used everywhere. Corn has been around for ages in Mexico, long before it was ever called "Mexico". The indigenous tribes of Aztecs and Mayans believed it to be a gift from the gods themselves, and it has found its way into virtually every corner of the cuisine--even the drinks (Atole, anyone?)

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But when it comes to chiles, real Mexican food is seldom as spicy as people think. In fact, spicy Tex-Mex recipes are often hotter than spicy authentic mexican recipes, and this is because Mexicans use chiles primarily to add flavor, not just to "spice" a dish. In the Mexican food you find abroad, in Mexican restaurants across the globe, you'll often find a hodgepodge of ingredients taken from Mexican cuisine, Tex-Mex cuisine, and the local cuisine, mixed together and wrapped up in a tortilla, as though the tortilla makes it "Mexican", and then you'll have the insanely hot chile salsa off in the corner for those who want to burn their mouth to hell.

Authentic Mexican Recipes' Use of Chiles: Rajas Con Crema For Example

But inside real Mexico, this is not the case. The chiles in Mexican cuisine are almost always used to actually contribute a flavor to the dish that works well with the rest of the ingredients. The chile is integrated into the dish, not just thrown on top at the end "to add some zest". It's a very different approach, and consequently a very different result.

So it is true that tortillas are everywhere in Mexico; and chilis are used in many different Mexican dishes, but they are used in a much more natural way. To show you, here is one of many delicious authentic Mexican recipes for something a little unique, that you've probably never heard of before, that uses chiles in this different, more "Mexican" way:

Rajas con Crema - An Authentic Mexican Side Dish

This recipe is for Rajas con Crema and it's a Mexican side dish that will inject flavor into any main course. Simply put, rajas con crema are cooked strips of poblano peppers with sour cream added. It is a very "Mexican" side dish and is also popular with Mexican food aficionados and casual eaters new to the cuisine alike, so you're in for a treat here.

Rajas con crema take a bit of time and effort to prepare, so give yourself about 45 minutes to make this dish when you're planning ahead.

EQUIPMENT for cooking this:

1 medium size pan 1 sharp knife 1 cutting board 1 plastic bag 1 pair of clean rubber gloves

INGREDIENTS (serves two):

chiles poblanos (poblano peppers) - 3 large green ones sour cream - about 1 cup lard (a small block for cooking, for full authenticity) or olive oil - 2 table spoons (healthier)

PREPARATION:

1) Roast the poblano peppers. With the stove on "medium", place the poblano peppers one at a time on the open stove, bare flame (or bare element if using an electric stove) and keep rotating the pepper until the entire outer surface of the pepper is caramelized (roasted and dark brown in color).

Then put each roasted poblano into a plastic bag and wrap it up so that it's air-tight. This is to make the chile sweat, to prepare it for skin removal.

2) Turn the stove to "low", get a medium size pan, add some lard (or two table spoons of olive oil) to it to let it preheat.

Put some rubber gloves on so you don't burn your hands, and then remove the chiles from the plastic bag.

With one hand gripping the body of the pepper and the other holding the stem, rip the stem out of the body by pulling the two in opposite directions. Toss the stem away.

Now the messy part: with the body of the pepper on a cutting board, open the pepper up and "unroll" it so it's no longer conical in shape but, instead, flat on the board, and from the outside, wipe off any of the caramelized burn scabs from when you cooked it on the open flame earlier, and from the inside, wipe away all the seeds. To do this, you can just use your fingers if you're wearing gloves, or you can put your hand inside a plastic bag and rub away at the hot pepper. This will take a bit of time, and it does take some patience.

After cleaning the peppers, slice them up into about six pieces each, length-wise, and add them to the pan to cook. Leave them on the pan and mix them around on there until they're soft.

Then add the sour cream to the pan, mix it around so all the softened peppers are covered, and let it cook for another five minutes.

3) Then remove them from the pan, add to your plate with the rest of your food, and enjoy another one of the most delicious authentic Mexican recipes!

Authentic Mexican Recipes' Use of Chiles: Rajas Con Crema For Example

Carlos Lima is a writer and entrepreneur, living and traveling around Mexico, documenting his experiences with Mexican cuisine and writing down his favorite authentic Mexican recipes from the locals and experimenting with them whenever possible. Click to visit his site of more of these delicious authentic Mexican recipes, and learn more about about Mexican cuisine here:

http://eauthenticmexicanrecipes.com/authentic-mexican-recipes/authentic-mexican-recipes-a-cuisine-of-immense-variety

Choosing & Cooking Chinese Christmas Recipes

With the Chinese New Year being the most important event in the Chinese calendar, you'd imagine that Christmas got swept under the carpet. Not so, as celebrating Christmas becomes more popular throughout China.

Whilst you won't find the hype and shopping madness of Western countries, in major cities you'll see lights, trees and Christmas decorations on the streets and in stores. Christmas Day is not even a bank holiday in China, although it is in Hong Kong and Macao. Whether this is just part of the Chinese interest in Western culture, or a sales ploy by the big stores, who can say?

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With an increasing number of Christians, it can only be expected that more people will be celebrating the festive season in China each year. With little tradition and history, cooking for a Chinese Christmas dinner means you can cook any special occasion dish you choose.

Choosing & Cooking Chinese Christmas Recipes

However, there are a few suggestions we can make to get you started:-

Peking Duck Cantonese Roast Duck Kung Pao Chicken Cookies Five Spice Peanuts Sesame Seed Balls Spring Rolls

Whilst many of the recipes above are traditionally eaten for the Chinese New Year, they will serve just as well for a Christmas dinner. As always with Chinese cooking, use the freshest ingredients, prepare them well ahead of time, so that all you have to do is cook!

An excellent resource is http://chinesefood.about.com/ which has lots of great recipe and food ideas for every holiday occasion including Chinese cookie recipes.

Choosing & Cooking Chinese Christmas Recipes

For further tips and ideas for cooking great and traditional food from around the world, visit Chinese recipes [http://www.worldwide-recipes.com/chinese-recipes.html]

This article was submitted by Jen Carter, owner of the Worldwide Recipes [http://www.worldwide-recipes.com] website.

Best Chili Recipes - 5 Tips For Cooking Great Chili!

Chili is a metaphysical thing in the world of cooking. There are major competitions all over the United States, and believe me they can get really cutthroat. People take their chili seriously! Chili is a creation that is highly personal to the person that has created the dish. Lots of folks can work a lifetime to perfect a chili recipe and that is no joke. Just ask anyone that has ever competed in a chili cook off. If you are a newbie to the world of chili and want to get out of "the canned stuff," then welcome! Even if you are an old hat at making chili, welcome! The tips herein will do no harm and only enhance your chili experience! Lets get some tips!

Tip 1. What if your chili is too thick? What kind of chili is it? White?, Red? Beef? Chicken? If your chili is too thick do not use water to thin it out that is what everyone in the world does. Use broth instead! Water will "kill" the hard worked for flavor of your chili creation. Broth adds the liquid that you need and unlike water it also adds flavor and depth to your chili recipe!

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Tip 2. What if your chili is way to thin? You could add some tomato paste to it as one way to thicken it. Try it a little bit by little bit until you achieve the consistency that you are looking for! What if the tomato paste does not make your chili thick the way you want it to? Then the next step is to try to use something like cornstarch or corn flour commonly called masa flour! You can also try the old school use of cornmeal. I like this one myself. Cornmeal gives a good texture. Some people I know in the Southern United States say to just use good old fashioned instant mashed potatoes. Not bad! It works and adds texture as well. Then the is the no calorie way to do it by using arrow root mixed with a bit of water and then added to the chili and stirred. As you can see there are many way to make your chili thicker. The choice is yours and you should experiment.

Best Chili Recipes - 5 Tips For Cooking Great Chili!

Tip 3. Most people that I know of that make chili at home just use plain old boring everyday Jalapeno's. This is fine in most cases and they do bring the "heat!" But the fact of the matter is that there is a world of different chilies out there. Anaheim, Poblano, Serrano, Sante Fe Chilies, Ancho Chilies, The very popular these days Chipotle in Adobo sauce or Chipotle powder, Cayenne, Tabascos, Thai Chili, Habanera, and Scotch Bonnets! The list can go on and on from country to country. So why not try to use more than one type of chili pepper in your chili? Change the flavor, do not settle for the mundane! Have fun!

Tip 4. first thing is first! Cook the meat! Any meat that you are using should be cooked first. Brown the meat way before you have to add the liquids to the recipe. Browning the meat aids in locking in the flavor of the meat. You do not want your meat to get soggy with the liquids from the chili recipe. I prefer to sear cook my meat. That is turn the flame up high and putting the meat in the pan of my fave the cast iron skillet and so it sizzles quick and stir it around a bit and then turn the heat down. This is a classic searing technique that locks the flavor into the meat.

Tip 5. The better the meat the better the meal! It is a fact that the better the quality of any meat or main component for a meal the better the meal. Remember that is it quality over quantity! Just because you can get some meats cheap and get lot's of it does not mean that it is quality meat and that you will get a quality meal. If you have to use a cheaper meat that is less tender then expect to cook your chili longer to soften it up and consider using a meat tenderizer on it to aid in the softening of the cheaper cuts and cook the chili longer and you should be OK. In the long run if you can afford to get the better cuts then I always day do it!

Best Chili Recipes - 5 Tips For Cooking Great Chili!

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