Mesquite Charred Corn & Poblano Salsa

This recipe is for a cold salsa made with mesquite smoked fresh corn, poblano peppers, garlic, fire roasted tomatoes, cilantro & spices. I added chipotle in adobo sauce for ours, we like it a little kicked up!

This recipe requires the following ingredients:

• 4 ears of fresh corn
• 2 large poblano peppers
• canola or olive oil
• 1 pod of garlic
• 2 Tsp mesquite liquid smoke
• 2 Tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 1/2 cup chopped red onion
• 1 15oz can chopped fire roasted tomatoes, or fresh if you have them
• 3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (leave out if you don't like the heat!)
• 1 tsp Texas Chili Blend, or your favorite chili powder
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1 cup mesquite wood chips
• salt to taste

Mesquite Charred Corn & Poblano Salsa

• Shuck & remove silks from corn, rinse corn & poblano peppers & pat dry
• Rub corn & poblano peppers with oil, place in plastic zip bag with 1 tsp mesquite liquid smoke
• Let rest in fridge for 1 hour
• Soak mesquite wood chips in hot water with 1 tsp mesquite liquid smoke added . Soak 1 hour
• Drain wood chips. Heat gas or charcoal grill to high heat. Place wood chips in smoker box.
• Rub oil on outside of garlic pod
• When smoke is present, remove garlic & poblano peppers from plastic bag & place on center of grill
• Turn center burner to medium low to char for 2 minutes on each side, this should char the flesh, if not leave it several more minutes until it is charred
• Once the pepper is black, turn off center burner & cook corn & peppers over indirect heat to continue the smoking process
• Place garlic beside corn to smoke
• Limit how much the grill is open to retain the most smoke you can.
• Smoke for 15 more minutes at low heat
• Remove from grill on to a heat proof dish & let it cool on the kitchen counter.

• When corn has cooled to touch, remove corn from the cob by standing it on the flat end in a large bowl.
• Begin with knife at the top & cut from the cob, turning after each cut.  
• Continue to cut until all corn is off

                           

• Poblano peppers will char black, then you need to remove the charred skins, veins & seeds. Try to remove as much as possible.
• Slice into small strips, then chop into bite size pieces.
• Add to corn in bowl



• Roasted garlic will squeeze out of the papery skins without much effort
• Discard the papery skins then chop or mash & add garlic to salsa



• To the corn, poblanos, & garlic, add the chopped red onions, tomatoes, cilantro,chopped chipotles in adobo sauce & seasonings
• Add salt to taste.
• Finish by squeezing the juice of the lime over the dip
• Stir well to blend
• Cover with plastic wrap & place in fridge to chill at least 1 hour for the full flavor blend.
• Serve with your favorite chips. Great on taco's or burritos. Also a great topping for taco salads

Confessions of a Cast Iron Skillet Hoarder

Cast Iron skillets and cookware hold a fascination for me that at times is bordering on obsession. If I see a rusty old iron skillet at a garage sale I feel sad that someone is tossing it out. Do they not know what they are throwing away? We were at an estate sale once and all of the china, costume jewelry and linens were hugely overpriced. As I was walking through the sale I noticed a cardboard box under the table. Being the person I am, I had to see what was in that box. When I pulled away some old plastic bowls, I saw something black, greasy & rusty. My heart started to race because I knew this box contained a treasure that no one else cared about. I unearthed two iron skillets that had letters on the bottom and I could see a G, an I and a D. Being an iron skillet nut I knew these were Griswold skillets and from the look they were old. I ask the person running the sale how much she wanted for the skillets....she said "oh, I'll take a buck a piece for those old things" I had to turn around to keep my feelings to myself.

When I look at these skillets I always imagine the person who owned them. I see them cooking for a houseful of kids or maybe using them in a cafe. Maybe a chuck-wagon cook used them on the wagon trains crossing the plains. Maybe some young bride that knew no better gave them away for a new shiny aluminum skillet cause it was all the rage! I have been lucky enough in my life to have been taught to cook with iron skillets. And now I have inherited most of those from our grandmothers and great-grandmothers. I don't have to create fantasy meals in my mind of what these black jewels held, I experienced it first hand.

When our son was young he was in Cub Scouts and we continued our love of iron cooking with the Dutch Oven. There is something about building a fire outside and cooking a cobbler in an iron pot. It's not a fancy pastry but there is nothing like it in the world. Little boys are fascinated with cooking outside and that worked out fine for myself and my husband because we are too!

Many people don't want iron skillets or cookware because they are afraid that the food will stick, that they are hard to clean and that it will affect the taste of the food. I agree there are special ways to care for cast iron but once it's "seasoned" it's just the best thing in the world.
Highly acidic food such as tomatoes will cook darker, but if you cook them on lower heat they will be fine. I can scramble eggs that are light and fluffy in my skillets because they are treated and seasoned well. The longer you use an iron skillet the better it cooks. This is my treasured corn stick pan that belonged to my husbands grandmother. I just baked cornbread sticks, removed them and washed with it in warm soapy water. I place it in a 200 degree oven and let it dry then rub it lightly with a paper towel with a tiny bit of canola oil. Now it's ready for the next time I want to make corn sticks. It's that easy!

This website will help you with the care & cleaning of your iron cookware.www.lodgemfg.com
If you don't have any of these old iron skillets, go to an antique store and rescue one..or two..or three...! They will be so happy to be providing someone with delicious food again that they will serve you for a lifetime.

Vegetables were not created to be limp!

Resolve to Change #2
Don't kill your veggies...they've done nothing wrong!


Until about 20 years ago my vegetable plate would have been corn,green beans, and lettuce salad. I hated this seemingly unneccesary food group with a passion. Those funky colored English Peas could make me run crying from the table. Don't even begin to make me try greens of any kind. I ate salad that consisted of iceberg lettuce, bacon bits (those hard red kind) and cheese. I added the boiled egg and Thousand Island dressing to my salad. These were my "vegetables".

I have grown leaps and bounds since then, but still need work on a few of those greens! Upon examining what I hated about vegetables I discovered it was the way they were prepared. The overcooked, limp, mushy things on my plate really took away from my Southern meals. Why would you cook beautiful pieces of fried chicken and make fluffy mashed potatoes to only plop down mushy vegetable to complete the plate?

Over the years I have learned to eat so many vegetables I never thought I would enjoy. Cooking a vegetable until it loses it's color also drains it of all it's nutrients. Vegetables should be steamed, sauted, grilled or eaten raw to retain their health benefits. I am so addicted to farmers markets and love asparagus grilled with fresh garlic and olive oil. Frozen vegetables are the next choice after fresh for taste, but even canned veggies retain some nutrients to provide our bodies with what we need.

Be kind to the little green beans...love your asparagus...handle with care your sweet little carrots...don't send them to the party all limp and mushy!! Try this recipe this spring when the asparagus is fresh, it's so easy and guick, don't cook too long!...No limp veggies!

Roasted Fresh Aspargus with Garlic
Wash and clean the amount of asparagus needed to serve 5-6 spears per person.
Pat dry with towel, snap off woody ends and place in shallow ovenproof dish
Toss with 1 tabespoon of olive or canola oil
Finely chop 2-3 cloves of garlic, add to asparagus and salt lightly if desired, Toss well to coat.
Bake or grill at 325 degrees for 10 minutes or until spears begin to turn brown, may need to turn during cooking time,depending on your oven or grill.

Check out some really good information at the American Dietetic Association
http://www.eatright.org