Mexican Cabbage Slaw

The Perfect Meal Compliment

Recipe by Robin

Years ago a frugal friend turned me on to Santa Cruz’s El Palomar Taco bar, where we ate an assortment of cheap and delicious tacos in hot-off-the-presses handmade tortillas. Just as intriguing as the tacos was the garnish, a tangy cabbage slaw. I couldn’t get enough, and always asked for extra, to the surprise of the servers. Alas, it seems to have dropped off the menu in post-pandemic times. Unlike most veggies, cabbage is available year-round. So winter is a perfect time to unravel the mystery of Mexican slaw. Although any season is perfect for this slaw, since cabbage and carrots are always readily available. It's also a delicious way to use up leftover cilantro.

Salsa Fresca Nueva

Recipe inspired by Casalegno Farms

Every time I make salsa I wonder why I don’t make it more often. It’s easy and delicious, and can be varied numerous ways. Though I usually make salsa with lime juice, recently I learned a Casalegno Farms family secret: grandma used apple cider vinegar in her salsa. I was skeptical, but its subtle fruitiness enhances the tomato and pepper flavors without adding extra flavors from the citrus. So it allows me to bump up the Southwest spicing with cumin and cilantro, or whatever else I might have on hand.

Pan Grilled Tilapia or Salmon with Pineapple Salsa

Colorful and Healthful

Recipe adapted from Health.com

As we look towards the treat- and comfort food-laden holidays, it’s good calorie economics to eat more lightly in the meantime. And so I offer this recipe with light, inexpensive, and sustainably farmed tilapia. The original recipe, no longer available at Health.com, called for salmon, higher in calories but filled with healthful omega 3 oils. It’s the tail end of salmon season in the Bay Area, so I’ve included a salmon cooking variation at the end. With its higher oil content, salmon browns more readily, but tilapia browns up just as deliciously using a method I derived from my dad.  Atlantic or Pacific cod, lingcod (plentiful right now), and line-caught black rockfish are sustainable white fish that can be prepared like tilapia.

Mexican Style Gazpacho: Chilled Veggie Soup

Colorful, Seasonal, and Yummy

Recipe by Sheila

My cousin Sheila and I met at a party, and it seemed like we’d known each other forever. Technically, we weren’t cousins yet, since she married into the Horn family years before I did. We shared thoughts on gardening, homesteading, and cooking. I was intrigued that she was fixing up an old farmhouse in Idaho, where she grew and preserved crops. We began emailing recipes to each other, and she sent me this gazpacho recipe back in 2002. When I visited shortly thereafter, Sheila made us a garden-based dinner of vegetarian goodies. She assigned preparation of the gazpacho to my hubby’s sister and me, while she prepared more complicated dishes like chili relleno. Gazpacho results were fresh and savory, even though Lisa and I forgot to add the salsa.

Salsa Fresca: Fresh Tomato Salsa

Serve with Other Classic Mexican Garnishes

Recipe by Robin

I have a confession to make. I’ve never actually made salsa fresca before. It seems like a no-brainer recipe for a gardener in these days of abundant tomatoes, peppers, and cilantro, but I thought that there must be some tricks to salsa besides fresh veggies. And indeed there are: a couple of aromatics, a bit of acidic flavoring, and some salt. That’s it. The other reason I’ve not made salsa is the mystery of what to eat with it. I don’t want to encourage myself to eat lots of tortilla chips. And being spoiled by the variety of authentic Mexican food available in the neighborhood, I’ve not been motivated to develop my Mexican cooking skills. But tonight I’m making Parmesan-breadcrumb encrusted broiled sole, a recipe from a cooking class way back in May. Fresh salsa will perk up the visual appeal of this fish as well as complimenting its flavor.

Carrot Soup with Cilantro (or Basil) Pesto

Garnished with Cilantro Pesto and Chives

Recipe adapted from Sunset Magazine, April 2012

In these days of abundant and perishable tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, and kale, summer carrots sometimes get sidelined from the menu. CSA subscribers might have the sudden realization, usually due to lack of refrigerator space, that they are storing 4 or more lbs. of carrots from several weeks of produce deliveries. Add to that the herb bunch blues—the challenge of using up the whole Farmers’ Market herb bunch, when most recipes call for significantly less. Enter SunsetMagazine’s unique recipe for Carrot Soup with Carrot Top Pesto, a quick substitution of available herbs for the unavailable carrot tops, a fast doubling of the recipe—and the carrot stash is reduced by half, deliciously.

Top 10 Herbs to Grow in Pots

Sweet Basil: Everyone's Favorite Garden Herb

Suggestions by Robin

Back in the days when I lived in the not-so-great part of Santa Cruz, before the city added street lights to discourage nefarious trades of all kinds, my landlord inhibited my attempts to have a garden by sudden yard activities. One time I came home the yard was shorn into a badminton court. Another time, horse poop was scattered all over everything. Another time the deck was ripped up, along with the jade plants I’d started growing next to it. Being a compulsive gardener and purchaser of seedlings, I began growing just about any plants that came my way in pots. Herbs, whether annual or perennial, are most practical. Not only do they add spark and finesse to meals, a line of herbs in same-size pots adds charm and elegance to even the most Spartan-looking landscapes. Here are 10 of my favorite pot-friendly herbs.

Southwestern Three Sisters Stew

Healthy & Delish, with or without Garnish

Adapted from Cooking By Moonlight

If someone told me that I could only cook from one cookbook for the rest of my life, I’d choose Karri Ann Allrich’s “Cooking by Moonlight, a Witch’s Guide to Culinary Magic.” Perfect for seasonal cooks, this book contains full menus with recipes for every moon (month) of the year, including a special section for blue moons. Chapters on developing seasonal intuition, stocking a moonlit kitchen, using herbs and spices magically, and even love foods lead the mind to endless possibilities. Also, every single one of the recipes is absolutely fabulous. I would love to meet this woman!

Green Salad with Oranges and Fresh Orange Dressing

Winning Combo: Oranges and Greens

Recipe by Robin

It’s the end of orange season in California, and I’ve been trying all month to make a citrus glaze for chicken. My husband calls this “successive approximation” of a recipe. After several trials with “nearly delicious” results, I thought of a simpler orange idea: a salad with orange slices and orange dressing, inspired by the huge heads of red leaf lettuce we’ve been getting from our CSA.

Carrot & Cilantro (or other herb) Soup

Recipe from Healing Foods

Even people who love to cook appreciate a simple recipe that looks bright and tastes deliciously different. This recipe features the combination of carrots and cilantro, without the addition of more complicated flavors. It’s ready in 25 minutes or less, and during 15 of those minutes the carrots cook themselves without need of the cook’s attention. It's healthful, containing plenty of natural skin-friendly Vitamin A. It's a lovely color and looks and tastes like it was more complicated than it is.  What’s not to like? If you just said, “I hate cilantro,” try substituting a fresh herb that you do like, perhaps thyme, oregano, chives, or parsley.

Vegan Cilantro Pesto

Pesto with Garden Tomatoes

Recipe by Sheryl Crow and Chuck White

Finally a vegan pesto, with no cheese whatsoever, and not much oil! Made with cilantro and almonds instead of basil and pine nuts, this seems more Cali-Mexican than Italian. It’s from the cookbook If it Makes You Healthy: More Than 100 Delicious Recipes Inspired by the Seasons by Sheryl Crow, her chef Chuck White, and Mary Goodbody who probably did most of the writing and editing.

Poached Fish with Herbs

Cilantro and Capers on Tilapia

Recipe from “Good News”

“That’s a good recipe,” said my husband about some leftover fish.  He meant that it’s tasty, but it’s also easy to remember and simple to prepare. The recipe was given to me by a woman who was selling fresh fish at the local farmer’s market in the late 1990s. Her husband and son caught the fish from their small fishing boat. I was looking for a way to prepare the skate wings I’d just bought.

Baked Chicken with Lemon and Herbs

Lunch today: Leftover Chicken & Steamed Chard

Recipe adapted from Weight Watchers

Weight Watchers has come a long way. When I first joined, back in my teen years, it was broiled fish 5 times a week and no tortillas until you reached your goal. My favorite snack was canned mushrooms, baked until completely dry and crispy, which also made them incredibly salty.