I am thrilled to visit Vermont…to escape Texas floods,  mosquitos, heat and humidity!  I’ll sign copies of my book at each event, ¡VIVA TEQUILA! Cocktails, Cooking, and Other Agave Adventures and  present several tequila/mezcal events, including a festive slide show, a tequila dinner, an Añejo and dessert tasting, and a cooking class.

Then,  I look forward to relax at the Saturday Wine & Food festival–to sample the renowned cuisine of the region and meet some wonderful new friends!  Here’s some information about my events…hope to see some of y’all there! Visit the Event Site for times and locations.

Judging the “Great Shakes”
Cocktail Competition

Wednesday | June 17th | 4:30 – 6:30 | Waterworks | SOLD OUT

Tequila Añejo & Dessert Tasting

Wednesday | June 17th | 7:30 – 9:30 | Waterworks

¡Viva Tequila Fiesta!

(Festive Slide Show Presentation, Tequila Tasting and Mexican Buffet)

Thursday | June 18th | 6:00 – 8:30 |
Hotel Vermont

Fiesta Cooking Class with Chef Contos and Lucinda Hutson

You’ll learn all about tequila and mezcal, Mexico’s beloved agave spirits, and gather inspiration  to create your own Mexican fiesta with many fun and festive recipes. Mexican attire suggested!

Friday | June 19th | 6:00 – 8:00 | Chef Contos Kitchen & Store | Voted one of the best cooking schools in the world by FOOD & WINE

 ¡Let’s Fiesta in Vermont!

Come join us for a tequila celebration at Métier, Austin’s exciting new cooking supply store, where I’ll be signing copies of my book, ¡VIVA TEQUILA!  Sip extraordinary T1 (Tequila Uno) along with a sampling of my spicy Sangrita, tequila’s quintessential non-alcoholic chaser (recipe in my book)…try a Poor Man’s Paloma  spiked with Austin’s own award winning 512 Tequila…and shop with others who love gustatory delights.

Keep ¡VIVA TEQUILA!  in mind for your spring and summer gift giving.  Does your Mama drink tequila?  Does your Papa drink it too?  Remember Mother’s Day is May 10th….and Father’s Day is  June 21st.

And every graduate needs to know more about tequila and other agave spirits!

For a special wedding gift, fill a basket with tequila treats:  a signed copy of ¡VIVA TEQUILA! ,  a bottle of 100% agave tequila, some margarita or shot glasses, cocktail napkins, a lime squeezer,  a shaker…be creative and have fun!

If you can’t be with us, order books from Métier or by mail order from my website.

Look forward to see you at the Métier book signing in Austin

Sunday, April 26th from 1 -3 p.m.

Find out more about Métier Cook’s Supply.

¡Fiesta Always!

Gin and Tonic with cucumber slices, rose petals, and salad burnet, a cucumber scented herb.

Garnish and Flavor Cocktails from the Garden

‘Tis the season of the spritzers…the time to make refreshing coolers and to flavor and garnish them with fragrant sprigs of herbs and colorful flowers.  My spring garden is lush with aromatic herbs like lemon balm and lemon  verbena, spearmint, pineapple sage, and salad burnet, an herb with pretty serrated  cucumber-scented leaves.  Rosemary, sage,  oregano, chiles, basil and bay add extra flavor to savory cocktails like Bloody Mary’s and Micheladas.

Cheerful purple pansies and johnny-jump-ups make any spritzer special, as do rose petals,  spikes of lavender or sunny nasturtiums.  My Mexican limes, kumquats, satsuma and Meyer lemons are now dressed in fragrant blooms and I can’t wait for  summer when their tangy fruits will flavor margaritas  and other summer spritzers.

A Gin and Tonic You’ll Remember

After reading a British murder mystery, my book club has decided to meet this week in my garden for tea sandwiches and Gin & Tonics ...but my version of a G&T is pretty darn special.  It’s  flavored with  icy cucumber slices, rose petals and delicate sprigs of salad burnet.  Hope you’ll like it too!

Here’s my article with recipes for this gin and tonic and other seasonal spritzers (including the one I made for Desi)  found in  Edible Austin, where I have a  regular column,  La Casa de Buen Sabor.  

(Stay tuned for my next month’s article in Edible Austin about May Wine, another of my signature cocktails flavored with fresh herbs, strawberries, and flowers.)

Enjoy a festive spritzer in the spring garden!

Make your Easter celebration one that your guests won’t  forget!  Here you’ll find a fiesta pineapple punch, Mexican confetti-filled eggs, spicy ethnic-inspired deviled eggs and Hoppin’ Jalapeño Carrot Cake–things they won’t find at other gatherings.

Welcome to this glorious season of new beginnings!  Lush greenery and colorful flowers highlight my little purple house, offering perfect hide-aways for Easter eggs beneath their verdant foliage.  My garden  springs forth in all its splendor with a plethora of fragrant herbs and cheerful flowers to flavor and garnish celebratory spring dishes.

Festive Punch  Delights Guests at Easter Brunch:

I love to greet Easter guests with my  Herb Garden Fiesta Punch,  found in my first book, The Herb Garden Cookbook.  It’s flavored with fragrant lemon balm and mint and chunks of fresh pineapple and  garnished gaily with purple pansies. This  refreshing cooler sure gives a Mimosa some competition when it’s topped with Italian Prosecco or Spanish Cava!

photo by Cooke Photographics from The Herb Garden Cookbook

Before the Easter egg hunt, serve Herb Garden Fiesta Punch  along with an assortment of  pan dulce (sweet  yeast bread) purchased at your favorite local Mexican bakery (or serve your choice of other pastries.)  Adorn the tray with fresh flowers and/or cascarones.

Cascarones Are A Mexican Easter Tradition:

Cascarones (“egg shells“) are colorfully-dyed Easter eggs filled with confetti, popular throughout Mexico.  Revelers sneak up on unsuspecting guests, cracking  cascarones over their heads, and showering them with confetti… and some say, good luck! (Cascarones are also popular at New Year’s and at weddings.)  Many Mexican markets and grocery stores sell cartons of cascarones during this time of year.

Buy ’em or dye ’em then hide ’em ….and have fun cracking  them over the heads of those not expecting the surprise of this Mexican tradition!

Not your every day deviled eggs:

What’s Easter without  deviled eggs?   My recipes for deviled eggs are quite lively and filled with unexpected surprises that showcase ethnic cuisines, ingredients, and  culinary traditions.  Pretty plates for serving deviled eggs are all the rage today, but I like to serve them from my grandmother’s purple majolica egg dish.

Hoppin’ Jalapeño Carrot Cake for your favorite bunny:

A favorite recipe from  my book ¡VIVA TEQUILA! Cocktails, Cooking, and Other Agave Adventures  will surely get your fiesta hoppin’!  My spicy Hoppin’ Jalapeño Carrot Cake has a margarita-inspired frosting flavored with tequila, Cointreau and lime zest.  But guess what gives this cake its unique flavor?  Freshly chopped jalapeños!   Serve as a whole cake or as cupcakes, festively garnished with whole red and green jalapeños.

Dress Up Store-bought Items for more appeal:

Life is sometimes just too busy for cooking.  Use sprigs of fragrant herbs and flowers to garnish plates and give a personal touch to store-bought foods.  Don’t forget to garnish cocktails and cold drinks  too.

My spring garden is as colorful as an Easter basket:

And has many secret places to hide cascarones and other Easter surprises!

May you rejoice in the Easter garden and its promise of renewal and hope!

 Easter Blessings to All!

Everyone loves this refreshing fiesta punch and party pleaser! It’s versatile and easy to make and lends  itself to many presentations.  Serve from a glass pitcher or punch bowl with sprigs of fresh mint and lemon-scented herbs and purple pansies or other edible flowers.  Spike it with tequila, rum or vodka, if you wish.  For a fabulous brunch drink for garden parties, showers, or weddings, serve this pretty punch in champagne flutes spritzed with Italian Prosecco, Spanish Cava, or champagne and garnish with a fresh  sprig  of mint or lemon balm and a purple pansy.  Move over Mimosas!

INGREDIENTS:

2  large bunches lemon balm and lemon verbena (add lots of sprigs of crushed lemon thyme, lemon basil, or lemon grass, too)

2  large bunches spearmint or a combination of mild flavored mints

2 large cans (46 ounces each) unsweetened pineapple juice

Juice of 3 lemons

Juice of 3 limes

3 cups fresh pineapple, bite-sized chunks  (optional)

3 lemons, cut into round slices

2–3 limes, cut into round slices

Your favorite bubbly ( spicy ginger brew like Maine Root or Reed’s Extra Ginger Brew),  Squirt (or your favorite grapefruit soda),  or other  artisan sodas or Prosecco or Cava)

Additional sprigs lemon balm and/or mint

Purple pansies or johnny-jump-ups

DIRECTIONS:

Tie up herb bouquets with kitchen twine. Gently bruise the fragrant herbs to release their flavor.  Place them in a large jar, and cover with the pineapple chunks and juice, citrus juices and lemon slices.  Chill overnight, stirring occasionally and pressing down on herbs with back of a wooden spoon.  Prior to serving, remove the herbs (they will have discolored) and replace with fresh herb sprigs.  Add lime slices and a generous splash of your favorite bubbly to the punch, and some pretty purple pansies or johnny-jump-ups (violas).  Pour into glasses and garnish with sprigs of fresh lemon balm or mint.

VARIATIONS:

Add lemon grass, fresh pineapple chunks, and spicy Jamaican ginger brew (from specialty grocery stores) to the original recipe.  Discard the tough outer leaves from 4 stalks of lemon grass and bruise the stalks with the back of a knife. Cut stalks into 2-inch segments and add them to the punch the day before serving. Long lemon grass stalks also make good “stirrers” for the punch.

Use limeade, lemonade, apple juice, or exotic tropical fruit juice (or any combination of juices) in place of the pineapple juice.  Add fresh lime juice to enhance flavors.

I first traveled to Pátzcuaro, Michoacán  to partake in this celebration over  25 years ago.   Here is a photo I took of an old woman at her husband’s grave.  The next year I returned to give her the photo; instead, I  found her family holding vigil for her!

Mexican woman holding vigil at graveside for Día de los Muertos in Pátzcuaro, Michoacán.

As darkness descends, families gather at the graves.  Smoky bonfires and  beeswax candles illuminate the night . They graciously shared food  brought picnic-style and we passed around a bottle of mezcal.   Throughout the graveyard, roving troupes of mariachis sang favorite songs of the deceased, children gaily laughed and played, and families reminisced about their loved  ones.

Of utmost importance is food…the feast of life…from which comes most beloved memories! 

Photo of deceased with her favorite orange Fanta soda, marigolds and candle.

 

On my own home altar, I commemorated my beloved father with some of  his favorite things….

My father loved to fish and hoped to catch a mermaid, so I surrounded him with his favorite things on my home altar.

Flan for my father–his favorite dessert!

Serving Pan de Muertos is a revered  tradition for Day of the Dead.  This  slightly sweet yeasty bread comes in shapes of  crossbones, calaveras (skulls), or a body ready for the casket!  It tastes especially  delicious when dunked  into mugs of Mexican cinnamon-scented hot chocolate, or Champurrado, a thickened corn gruel flavored with chocolate and spices (also see Champurrado to Die for to read my article about Day of the Dead!)  You’ll find Pan de Muertos and Mexican chocolate at Mexican bakeries and Latino markets at this time throughout out the U.S. too.

The holy communion of breaking bread with the dead is a way to immortalize them forever!

Day of the Dead Bread (Pan de Muertos) shaped like a skull (calavera).

Pan de Muertos (Day of the Dead Bread) shaped like a body ready for the coffin!

I often add  contemporary  flair to my Day of the Dead fiestas!

Festive tequila punch for Day of the Dead Fiesta.

Mulled spice apple punch laced with tequila or mezcal for Los Muertos!

Serve these cinnamon-laced cornmeal cookies with marigold petals for Day of the Dead along with steaming mugs of Champurrado or Mexican hot chocolate.

Cheese ball formed in the shape of a cross with marigolds

Altars, known as ofrendas, are also created during this time of the year in homes in Mexico as well as in graveyards, laden with  items to entice the deceased back home to partake of the pleasures of life once again.  How do the muertos find their way back home?  Bouquets of zempazuchitl (golden marigolds) attract the dead with their pungent aroma and brilliant color.  Along with candles and copal incense, they lead the way back home.  Colorful tissue-paper banners known as papel picado  intricately cut with skeletons and skulls stretch across doorways.  Whimsical  paper-mache and shiny tin cadavers with articulated limbs, and decorations with motifs of the dead are found everywhere.

A marigold petal cross leads to my outdoor Día de los Muertos altar adorned with papel picado banners and laden with sugar skulls and Pan de Muertos bread.

Sugar skulls gaily painted with colorful frosting line shelves for sale along with sugar sculpture vignettes that portray miniature skeletons in their daily tasks–a dentist pulling teeth, a secretary typing, or a woman stirring the pot. Pull a string on a matchbox sized coffin, and a corpse will pop up!

Gaily painted sugar skulls and calavera skeleton cookies for a Day of the Dead fiesta

San Antonio artist Yolanda Luna explained  the true symbolism and holiness of an altar. “It dates back to when Aztecs were buried with their favorite possessions so that they would have food and personal belongings,” she said.  “After death, people journey on a long road to heaven and need nurturance on their voyage.”  Traditionalists also leave on the altar items important for the deceased for their return to heaven after their Day of the Dead pilgrimage:  a comb, salt, water, and root veggies.

Peanuts, yams, and bananas provide sustenance for the deceased on their journey.

For decades,  I have hosted Day of the Dead fiestas at my home, inviting friends to join me in making  an altar to commemorate our deceased loved ones.  They bring photos and remembrances,  food and candles, marigolds and mezcal.  Just as Day of the Dead historically melded pre-Hispanic and European traditions, assimilating  Aztec’s beliefs with the Catholic All Soul’s and All Saint’s Day celebrated at this same time of year,  it has crossed the border to embrace both Anglo and Latinos as a way of honoring  their  deceased and welcoming them into the living’s hearts once again.

An outdoor Day of the Dead altar (ofrenda)  in my backyard.

Candle light and smoke set the mood for this Day of the Dead altar in my backyard. Photo by John Pozdro.

A commemoration for our beloved deceased. Photo by John Pozdro

A moment of silence to remember our beloved deceased. Photo by John Pozdro

Learn more  about Mexico’s beloved  Day of the Dead celebration in this article I wrote for Edible Austin.  You’ll find   hints and recipes for creating  a fiesta and  commemorative altar in your own home.

My altars are often celebrated  in magazines, newspapers and on television shows like Home & Garden Television’s ” Home Strange Home ” or  Central Texas Gardener on PBS.  My home is filled with my collections of  Day of the Dead decorations and folk art brought back from my many sojourns to Mexico. With the popularity of Día de los Muertos in the U.S., you’ll find  Latino markets, import stores, and online sources filled with memorabilia for this holiday.

However, your altar need not be Mexican in theme.  Simply set aside a small table in your home and adorn it with a photo of your beloved, some of their  favorite things and foods, a small bouquet….and light a candle in their name…..

Light a candle for your beloved deceased!

¡Feliz Día de los Muertos!

 With blessings to you and those you love!

Southern Gardening Symposium Flyer

I’m thrilled to join other garden writers, lecturers, authors,  horticulturists, plant collectors, photographers and friends at this 26th Annual Southern Garden Symposium in St. Francisville, Louisiana.  It will be wonderful to join fellow Texan plant enthusiasts and amigos Dr. William Welch, Greg Grant, Chris Wiesinger and  Jim Johnson–and to meet other Louisiana speakers and new friends!  I can’t wait to visit the lovely homes, gardens and plantations, and to enjoy the gracious hospitality and charm of Southern gardeners!

In my colorful slide show, guests will catch a glimpse of my legendary purple cottage and gardens and gather ideas for creating  festive foods and lively libations.

Hope some of you can join us!

Life  is a fiesta!

Blanco, Reposado, Añejo or Extra-Añejo? Choose one! Photo Robert Denton.

Tequila,  Mexico’s beloved  national spirit, is made from the magical maguey plant, a large Agave with formidable pencas (spiked leaves) that often takes nearly 12 years to grow before harvesting!   Jimadores (agave harvesters) then whack off the pencas to reveal a piña, a large (usually more than 100 pounds) starchy core  that resembles a huge  pineapple.  Piñas  must then be cooked  in large ovens, transforming their  inherent starch into the fermentable sugars needed for distillation.

You’ll read all about this process,  find festive recipes for cocktails and food, and share my  decades of adventures traveling through Mexico’s agave country in my book, ¡VIVA TEQUILA! 

Tequila is a most versatile spirit! You’ll find it comes in four unique styles,  Blanco, Reposado, Añejo, and Extra Añejo, each with its distinct  profile, perfect for sipping and savoring neat or mixing in cocktails.  I am not mentioning the fifth style,  Joven Abocado, best know as “gold” tequila, as this is generally a “Mixto”, or one made with 49% added sugars (such as cane, piloncillo  brown cone sugar, or glucose) and NOT  one made of 100% agave .  You’ll know if a tequila is made with only  juices from the blue agave, as the label of the bottle will state 100%  de Agave or  100% Puro de Agave.   100% Agave  is the only tequila I recommend!

Blanco tequila in a hand-painted agave glass. Photo John Pozdro.

BLANCO

I must say, I love a good Blanco tequila, the pure fresh-from-the-still tequila from which the other styles derive.  A fine Blanco will retain the  discernible sweetness of the roasted blue agave, with  vibrant, peppery, herbaceous, and  citrus tones.   If  the original Blanco is not good, how can other  styles made by a distillery be good?  Blanco tequila is sometimes called Silver or White tequila because of its pristine clarity, and is not influenced by oak or aging.  It’s  generally bottled upon distillation, though sometimes  stored  in stainless tanks for a month. Those who like white spirits may prefer Blanco tequila.  I find it much more flavorful than vodka, as enticingly aromatic as gin, and not as sweet as rum.

Flavor Profiles:

Agave fruitiness intact

Bright, crisp, mineral

Peppery, sometimes fiery

Citrus and zest

Herbaceous–mint and anise

Dry, medium finish

Drink suggestions:

Sip neat or accompanied with Sangrita, tequila’s quintessential chaser

Requisite for classic margaritas

Refreshing spritzers

Tropical  fruit or citrus punches and  drinks

Ice cold from the freezer on a hot summer’s night!

Shots of tequila Reposado with a Mexican charro. Photo John Pozdro.

REPOSADO

This is the most popular tequila imbibed in Mexico, with a harmonious balance  of the natural essence of agave and the subtle influence of oak. The “repose” of Blanco in oak (a minimum of 2 months to 1 year  in roble or encino oak) mellows its youthful and feisty character, adding hints of wood and spice and giving Reposado a color that varies from pale straw to amber.  I love to simply sip a fine Reposado!

Flavor profiles:

Hint of oak with discernible sweetness of roasted agave

Earthy

Caramel

Cinnamon and spice

Medium finish

Drink suggestions:

Sip neat or accompanied with Sangrita, tequila’s quintessential chaser

Margaritas

Tequila Añejo in a Mexican snifter. Photo John Pozdro.

AÑEJO

A fine  Añejo is a harmonious marriage of oak and agave.  Nuances from barrel aging–depth of aroma, discernible soft tannin, and vanilla tones– mingle deliciously in a fine Añejo.   This style of tequila is aged  for at least 1 year but fewer than 3 years in government sealed oak barrels with a maximum capacity of 600-liters.  Such aging gives a rich amber to  dark mahogany  color, though some of my favorite Añejos are not over-oaked  and have a lighter color. Brown spirits lovers rejoice!  Añejos can rival cognac, single malt, bourbon and whiskey.

I sip it only  from a snifter, though others enjoy to mix it in classic cocktails like a Manhattan or an Old Fashioned, or as a floater for a top-shelf margarita. The newest trend is to filter Añejos back to clarity.  I am confused as to why  one would take away the color and character of aging that has taken years to accomplish.  This would make the tequila better suited for mixability, but I adhere to drinking Añejo from a snifter!

Flavor profiles:

Oak-driven tannins

Roasted agave and dried fruit

Vanilla, butterscotch, caramel, cocoa

Baking spices, buttery

Full-bodied, round, luxurious

Long finish

Drink Suggestions:

Snifter!

Classic cocktails

Coffee drinks

Extra-Añejo for the rich and famous! Photo Robert Denton.

EXTRA-AÑEJO

This  newest category of  tequila produces character, color,  and complexity found in other Añejos and fine world spirits.   It must be aged for at least 3 years in oak barrels of maximum 600-liter capacity, producing tequila with very dark amber and mahogany hues.  Added flavor comes from using barrels that once housed  whiskey, cognac,  sherry, scotch or fine wine.   Price reflects  this lengthy aging and such Extra-Añejos often fetch prices of $300-$1000 a bottle!

Flavor profiles:

Characteristics similar to other Añejos

Very oak-driven

Agave not as apparent

Toasty, buttery

Dark leather, wood, earth, tobacco

Velvety long finish

Drink suggestions:

Snifter only, ¡por favor!

Note:  In the production of tequila, flavorings and colorings are permissible as well as the addition of distilled  water to bring tequilas to commerical proof.

So you see, you’ll find a style of tequila to fit any taste or any mood– from sipping neat to a refreshing spritzer, party punch, margarita or snifter.

Now tell me…which style of tequila is your favorite?

Dinero, tequila y amor,

¡No hay otra cosa mejor!

Money, tequila, and the one you adore

Who could ask for anything more?

This hand-painted Mexican mermaid becomes a shrine at the back of my fishpond grotto.

Sometimes I feel like a land-locked mermaid  far away  from the sea. To ease this nostalgia, I created a cozy courtyard with a small fishpond  grotto constructed of native river rocks. Whether sitting on the flagstone edge of the pond or at an intimate table for two, it’s a peaceful place to  enjoy the soothing sound of water or sip a refreshing glass of Sangría  in the company of mermaids.

Refreshing white sangría by the fishpond in my Mermaid Garden

A whimsical mosaic fish, a collaborative  piece by artists Celia Berry and Richard Heinichen, replaces my precious koi, who, unfortunately  became a gourmet meal for marauding raccoons. Austin artist Melody Lambert trimmed the  native stones with a wave of cobalt mosaics, for a cooling effect.

A mosaic fish with moveable fins sits on the fishpond’s stone ledge.

A fish and seashell mosaic encrusted on the stone wall of the grotto

 

Seashells and a yellow ceramic fish adorn a nicho in the stone grotto.

The Mermaid Garden is a peaceful place for morning tea.  My favorite  is  made with leaves of peppermint and aromatic lemon verbena freshly picked from the garden, brewed of course, in a teapot decorated with mermaids!

Even the teapot has a mermaid motif!

I collect mermaids, those alluring sirens of the sea (known as sirenas in Mexico), and many reside in this garden.  One of my favorites, a rusty iron mermaid made in Mexico, once lounged on the stone wall above the fishpond next to a silver Maguey (Agave americana),  but you’ll soon see she has a special new spot in the garden.

Mermaid and Maguey

I  recently painted the rough cedar fence enclosing this courtyard  a vivid Caribbean turquoise (using rags and brushes dipped in latex paint diluted with water), replacing the original bright coral color (see first photo). What a colorful backdrop for bright orange flowers of Trumpet Vine (Campsis radicans) and  Mexican Flame Vine (Senecio confusus) flowers, magenta blossoms of Coral Vine (Antigonon leptopus), purple Morning Glories and Hyacinth Bean (Lablab purpureus). Potted palms, Sagos (Cycas revoluta), Firecracker Fern (Rusellia equisetiformis) and the stunning Pride of Barbados (Poinciana pulcherrima) add color and texture.

Growing in the pond, Papyrus offers texture and height and Crinum lilies have beautiful star-shaped white flowers.

This picturesque scenario is embellished with seashells, clay pots in shapes of or decorated with  fish and turtles, a carved stone cantera Neptune, and even fish chairs.  Stepping stones embellished with shimmering turquoise and sea-green glass stones delights guests and young children who leave with the tiny jeweled treasures in their pockets.

Piscean stepping stone with colorful marbled glass lead you through the Mermaid Garden.

Miss Tita by a fish pot and hand-painted fish plate with her image

A table for two under a bright umbrella provides an intimate setting in this cozy courtyard. I recently created this fun and functional table by inserting an “invisible” plastic liner into a cobalt blue Vietnamese pot, filling it with sand and seashells then covered it with a beveled glass top.

A large blue pot filled with a tray of sand and seashells becomes a table when covered with a glass top.

Fish-shaped chairs sit by the seashell table.

I’ve paid  homage to mermaids by creating a Mermaid Altar, using a metal garden arbor  draped with Trumpet Vine to form a “nicho”.  My Mexican  iron mermaid  adorned with a seashell necklace now perches on a chair with the moon behind her.  Copper troughs at her feet planted  planted with Succulents and  Sansevieria (Sansevieria  trifasciata) growing in blue pots look like plants growing from the bottom of the sea.

Can you hear the sirena’s song?

Whimsical mermaids are happily at home  in my  Mermaid’s Garden.  What an ideal spot to savor  a Sirena’s Splash, a most refreshing  tequila spritzer!

Haitian mermaids carved from oil drums swim in a purple sea.

A colorful painted tin mermaid

A massive Mermaid Rose (Rosa ‘Mermaid), with  its 5-petaled, creamy yellow roses, spreads voraciously  and requires lots of pruning (beware of sharp thorns!),   but provides a glorious canopy for my Mermaid Garden.

The last mermaid rose of the season growing from a canopy in my Mermaid Garden

Now it’s time for sweet repose…or to swim…at least in my mind…with  mermaids!

In the summer, this sirena is graced with red Rusellia flowers.

When you can’t be by the sea

Where would you rather be?

Spanish red wine sangría by the fishpond. Don’t you want to sip with the mermaids?

All material © 2014 by Lucinda Hutson for ¿Qué Pasa?   Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. Gracias!

Hatch Chile and Sweet Corn Salsa. Photo by Lucinda Hutson.

It’s Hatch chile  season…and always time for tequila!

I made this festive salsa to take to a “Hatch Chile and Tequila Potluck” last night. It’s light and refreshing, quite versatile and  easy to make!  Instead of using serranos and jalapeños found in most salsas, I added bite-sized  strips (rajas) of fire-roasted Hatch chiles.  Forgoing the  traditional salsa flavorings of pungent cilantro and oregano, I substituted  sweet marjoram and basil  from the  garden.   These herbs compliment  summer’s freshest, sweetest corn– I simply cut  the kernels right off the cob, without even cooking them.

We mounded this colorful salsa upon tostada chips and added a big spoonful to the delicious chilled gazpacho that another guest brought. I like to eat this salsa by the bowlful or add a spoonful to a quesadilla made with melted Hatch chile and Monterey Jack cheese. For a more substantial meal, add shredded chicken, grilled shrimp, or leftover steak to this salsa and eat it as a salad, or use the medley as a condiment for roasted meats. It’s delicious stuffed into an avocado half, too!

I also brought to the fiesta a bottle of tequila and my homemade Sangrita—the quintessential spicy, fruity and piquant non-alcoholic chaser always served with shots of tequila in Jalisco, Mexico’s tequila heartland state.  I promise to post my sangrita recipe soon because everyone loves it!  And what’s a fiesta without tequila?

Hatch Chile and Sweet Corn Salsa

6 (or more!) roasted, peeled, seeded “hot” Hatch chiles,  cut into bite-sized raja strips

½ large red onion, chopped

1 bunch green onions, chopped, with some green tops

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 pint organic cherry tomatoes, sliced, lightly salted and drained in a colander

4 ears very sweet fresh corn, kernels cut off the cob

2 Tablespoons fresh marjoram, chopped (or 1 teaspoon dried)

2-3 Tablespoons fresh basil, chopped

2-3 Tablespoons avocado oil (or slightly less olive oil)

2 Tablespoons rice wine or white balsamic vinegar

Juice of 2 Mexican limes

salt and pepper to taste

pinch of cayenne

Mix It Up!

Mound ingredients in a large bowl, then toss gently with the oil and vinegar, lime juice, salt, pepper and cayenne. Chill for several hours or overnight, occasionally tossing lightly.  Adjust flavors to taste.  Makes a big bowlful to serve a crowd!

¡Viva Nuevo Mexico!