While Anne, Peggy and I  were vacationing in Carlsbad last month, Peggy made her famous salsa. Lucky us! I took notes and happily share it with you.

Peggy insists that one thing is an absolute must for her salsa.

You must use only chiltepin chile peppers! They can be hard to find and are more expensive than that other little pepper easily found in grocery stores, the chile pequin. The pequin is nothing like the chiltepin, so don’t bother using it as a substitute.

The chiltepins are what make this an authentic Sonoran salsa. You can find them at Food City or on Amazon. To read more about the chiltepin and the salsa, check out this article from Edible Baja Arizona.

Peggy also prefers to use a mortar and pestle to crush the peppers and the garlic. Mine is packed away, so I opted for a cocktail muddler and measuring cup.

Alternately, you could start an empty food processor or blender, and while it is running, drop the garlic cloves and chiltepins through the feed tube into the empty machine and let it do the work for you.

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I’m sure I am not the only one. Honestly, I pray I’m not the only one! I often go though periods of time where I am obsessed with one specific food. I’m not talking about a craving, but rather a true obsession. Watermelon is my current object of complete focus and desire. I can’t get enough of it.

Maybe it’s this never-ending heat and the need to cool down. Perhaps I’m dehydrated and I’m using watermelon to refill and refuel my bodily fluids. Or could it be that watermelon is just so dang satisfying and delicious? Whatever it is, I confess that I’ve eaten two whole seedless watermelons in the last 3 days! I didn’t share them with anyone else, they were consumed by me alone. And I’m not talking about the sweet little baby-size individual watermelons, I’m talking about the 5 to 7-pound medium-size seedless watermelons.

Mostly, I ate them “straight up” but the other evening, I made dinner out of them by throwing together this simple salad, a copy-cat recipe of my favorite summer salad at True Food Kitchen.

At TFK, the salad is served with feta cheese. Earlier this summer I made it with fresh ricotta cheese and it was stellar! Since feta is easier to find and what I had on hand, I used it.

I’m not providing quantities for the recipe, make as little or as much as needed. Feed yourself or feed a crowd.

*Be sure the watermelon is cold and the tomatoes are at room temperature.

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We spent the day at the Del Mar Racetrack on Wednesday. The most that was bet by any one of us on any one race was $3. Big spenders or gamblers, we are not. But we had fun! Our seats were right in front of the finish line. If not for that pole in front of us, they would have been perfect. Darn structural engineering.

We arrived back too late to cook, so we had leftovers and watched a movie. The next morning, I woke up early and took a 5-mile walk up the beach, to the Oceanside Pier, while Peggy and Anne slept in.

I don’t generally find many shells along the beach in Carlsbad, but the tide was low and I filled my pockets. I wanted to go out again this morning, but with the internet getting busy in the late morning and constantly kicking me off, I decided to get this post up instead. I’ll go out again on Saturday and take a bag with me to collect more.

Since we hung around the resort all day yesterday, Anne had time to cook us a delicious dinner! The recipe is one she found on allrecipes.com. But she switched it up and made it her own, in true Annie-style.

One great twist she made was switching out the regular pasta for a chickpea variety. It was fantastic!

She found the Banza brand pasta at Sprouts (in the Phoenix area you can also find it at Whole Foods and Target) and although we didn’t have wheat pasta available to do a side-by-side tasting, I’m certain I would not be able to taste the difference if we had.

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This deliciousness was Tuesday night’s dinner. Peggy not only manned the grill but was master of the kitchen as well.

Since it was my night off, it didn’t even cross my mind to take any preparation photos. Sorry, but I’m on vacation! I will try to do better when Anne takes over the duties tonight.

We spent Tuesday afternoon having lunch at Stone Brewery and wine tasting at Orfila Vineyards & Winery, with a little T*J*Maxx on the side.

We were ultimate Maxxinistas. Peggy was looking for a swimsuit and I was looking for a barstool. The Carlsbad patio has only two stools. There are three of us. I had no choice but to find another stool!

I was successful, Peggy was not. I picked up this industrial-style barstool for $29.99. I’m keeping the tag on it in case I decide to return it after the week is over, although I’m leaning towards keeping it for future visits. Decisions, decisions.

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Peggy, Anne and I are at my timeshare in Carlsbad, CA for the week.

We arrived on Saturday afternoon.

Upon our arrival, I opened the hatch of my car … and this happened. We may have over-packed a tad.

My intention was to post daily. Turns out that the WiFi is easily overworked here at the resort. This is the first day I have not been kicked off before I could at least load the photos. I’ll post as often as the network will allow.

We had a planning session before we left town, each taking a night or two to cook dinner. I was up first with a ravioli dish that I was inspired to make from an Instagram photo my friend, Gwen, posted last week. Gwen has a gorgeous blog called Pen & Fork. You can always get to it over in the “Foodie Blogroll” on the right side of the page.

For the mushroom ravioli, I used the Trader Joe’s brand. It comes with truffle sauce, which you do not want to use in this recipe.

These are the truffle sauce frozen squares. They are easily picked out and removed from the ravioli squares. You can throw them back in the freezer and use them for another pasta night or you can throw them in the trash. That’s what I do because I’m not a huge truffle fan. I’ll eat it if it’s served to me but I don’t go out of my way to put it in my mouth.

The spinach is cut into thin strips. When cutting leafy greens, the technique to do so is called chiffonade. It is easy to do, just stack the leaves, roll them up tightly and slice. The word is French and translates to “little ribbons.”

“Brothy Situation” Mushroom Ravioli with Shredded Chicken

• 4 cups chicken broth
• 2 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
• 8 to 10 sprigs fresh thyme
• 5 sprigs fresh oregano
• 5 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 3 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
• 4 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms; cleaned, stems removed and thinly sliced
• 1 cup baby spinach leaves, chiffonade
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced
• 1 pound package frozen mushroom ravioli
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, garnish
• Roughly chopped fresh herbs (thyme, rosemary and oregano)

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My dear friend, Tram Mai, morning anchor on 12News, and I have filmed several little segments for her morning show recently. The first one aired yesterday.

Tram sent me a LINK. This one is all about how to easily peel soft fruits.

Future clips include proper table setting, how to grill pizza, a homemade all-purpose cleaning solution, packing hacks, and more.

Thank you for all the sweet birthday wishes yesterday! I want to tell you that I kept my word and didn’t complain about the heat for the rest of the day yesterday … but today is a new day and the photo below says it all!

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This is a photo of my lovely neighbors, Dana and Dale, enjoying dinner at the swim-up bar.

While I would love to post dozens of photos from our 4th of July Pot-Luck Pool Party, I am beyond exhausted, so much so that I’m barely able to type. Seriously! It’s taken me forever to get my fingers to type these letters correctly. It’s like I have no control over my motor skills… it’s only 7:25 PM on a Tuesday night and I’m ready to hit the hay, but before I do, I want to post at least one recipe. With all that in mind – please excuse any and all typos, grammar mistakes, and basic rattling on…

My beautiful neighbor, Dana, adapted a recipe from Simply Recipes and it was the hit of the party and my personal favorite! Not only did I love it but I love that Dana is all about the presentation. She not only brought it ready to serve in a cute Red, White & Blue Flag Bowl, but she also had that bowl sitting in a clear bowl filled with ice to keep her dish cold. She also brought her own serving spoon and blue tortilla chips in a red bowl … AND she brought the perfect plastic martini/margarita glasses to serve it in! Like I said – I loved it and I love her! Pure Perfection.

OK, here’s the recipe – I need to go to sleep before I pass out.

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I cooked up ten different recipes for the Friday the 13th Dinner Party and this appetizer was the clear favorite. At least half of the guests asked if it was on the blog. I assured them it would be posted this week, so we might as well start off the week(s) worth of recipes with it.

I had hoped to serve 13 items, but I could only get to 12 before I ran out of time and energy to pull off the last one. In addition to the ten, I actually made, I also served grapes, 12 per person for luck, and put out purchased fortune cookies on the dessert table.

The base for this salsa recipe is black-eyed peas. For many southerners, consuming this inexpensive legume on the first day of the new year is believed to bring wealth.

According to Wikipedia: “Two popular explanations for the South’s association with the peas and good luck date back to the Civil War. The first is associated with Gen. William T. Sherman’s Union Army’s March to the Sea, during which they pillaged the food supplies of the Confederates. Stories say peas and salted pork were said to be left untouched because of the belief that they were animal food and not fit for human consumption. Southerners considered themselves lucky to be left with some supplies to help them survive the winter, and black-eyed peas evolved into a representation of good luck. In other traditions, it was a symbol of emancipation for African-Americans who had previously been enslaved before the civil war who became free officially on New Year’s Day.”

Black-Eyed Pea Salsa

• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• Zest and juice from 1/2 lemon
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 3 cups cooked black-eyed peas (see note)
• 3 cups diced tomatoes
• 2 cups frozen corn, thawed
• 1 cup diced red onion
• 1 bunch green onions, sliced
• 2 ripe but still firm avocados, diced
• 1 cup chopped cilantro
• Tortilla chips, for serving

In a large bowl, whisk together the vinegar, lemon zest, juice, honey, garlic, and oregano. Whisk in the olive oil, taste, and season with salt and pepper.

Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl, except the avocado and cilantro, and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 8 hours. Thirty minutes before you’re ready to serve, add the avocado and cilantro and then bring back to room temperature for 30 minutes and toss just before serving.

Serve with tortilla chips.

12 servings

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I can’t stop thinking about the Chiles Rellenos I had at El Alma, while visiting Marissa and Jeff in Austin last week.

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At the time, I posted about it on Facebook and my high school friend and blog follower, Cynthia said, “I just want you to come home and start making some of those recipes.”

Great idea, Cynthia!

I did. I shared it not only with my family but also with my dear friend, Tram.

So here it is!

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Before I post the final recipe from our Spring Reunion Dinner, I want to acknowledge that today would have been my mom’s 81st birthday. She passed away this past August after a long battle with Alzheimer’s. I wasn’t posting at the time, taking a break while preparing for Marissa’s wedding, but I remember her today. Happy Birthday, Mom. xoxo

Along with the Fresh Fruit – Smoked Salmon Spread, I served this “super hummus” as an appetizer to go with Lori and Jonathan’s super cocktails.

You can use store-bought hummus or any hummus recipe you like and then “pump it up” with these toppings.  I’m linking you with what I made, which is my favorite hummus recipe, it begins with dried chickpeas.

We enjoyed the appetizers and cocktails on the front porch. I’ll share more about the “Spring Shutter” sign later in the week. Photo credit goes to Lori Vento for the two photos above.

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