russian tea cakes and ensalada rusa, oh my!

whilst reading about russian tea cakes on a blog earlier today, i was reminded of a nice little salad i enjoy.  usually i have it when visiting family but because i love it so much, i don't prepare it often.   it is called ensalada rusa or russian salad.  i don't know the history for this salad.  i don't really know if it is even eaten in russia or russian households, but what i do know is that it is really good and if you are in a hurry to throw something together for lunch or a light supper, this would be the ticket!  now as with most hispanic food, we usually just eye-ball it.  you can make this by chopping up and cooking your own vegetables but I find frozen works just fine - except for the potato.

yes, i am a purist snob when it comes to ensalada rusa.  this is the way i've eaten it and those that came before me (in my family) .....so without further ado, here goes:

you take a potato or two, peeled and chopped in small dice (to approximate the size of the carrots), and then boiled until cooked but firm. (we ain't makin' mush)  you could add salt to taste if you like.  i don't.

you take a bag of cooked frozen peas and diced carrots and you add the contents of the bag to the potatoes during the last few minutes so they can unthaw and heat up.

you mix the peas, carrots and potato when cooled with mayo to taste.  we like to add a little prepared mustard to give it a little tang. easy peasy, don'tcha know?

you can just eat this right out of the serving bowl all by your lonesome.  i won't judge you.  seriously, i won't. i've been known to do that a time or two.  it is really, really good.  i like it on tostadas (flat fried tortillas) or telera bread which is that nice soft flat looking bread used for mexican tortas or lonches (sandwiches or subs).  you can also eat it with crackers.  i personally like the toasted's sesame or wheat crackers.  club crackers are good too.  you could probably use pan birote which is a small football shaped crusty bread to serve it on as well.

if you want to get all creative with this salad, you can; just don't tell me about it.  i'm still reeling from what my little peepers have behelden. i've seen-ed people add tuna to this.  i've also seen-ed others just use a straight bag of mixed frozen veggies with green beans and corn and if that don't beat all, lima beans to boot too!

i apologize i don't have a picture to show you of said yumminess.  the power button on my camera is not playing nice but i will try to post a piccie as soon as i am able, God willing.

mexican creamed corn with poblano pepper strips * elote con rajas

first start by adding a can of media crema or table cream into blender with a 1/4 cup sour cream and 3oz cream cheese. pulse until 'sauce' is to your liking. if you need to thin it out pulse a tablespoon of milk at a time until the desired consistency is reached. season to taste with chicken bouillon granules careful not to overdo it so as not to end up with an overly salted product. when you are satisfied with the 'sauce' set aside.

next place a poblando pepper inside a baggie and seal. steam in microwave for a minute or two. do not open the baggie. set aside until cooled. don kitchen gloves. open baggie carefully. remove blistered pepper skin and stem end. cut pepper down the long end and remove seeds. discard stem, skin  and seeds. cut pepper flesh into strips and set aside.

finally place a skillet on medium-high heat. add tablespoon butter to skillet and melt. add one slivered onion and saute. when translucent add the poblando pepper strips and one drained can whole-kernel corn. when cooked, add sauce and stir until heated through. enjoy this side dish of creamy goodness! :)

fried plantain coins * tostones

today's a nice beautiful sunshiny labor day & it was well spent at my friend liz' house. liz & her husband rolando grilled some chicken & bistec on the back deck. i made the rice & some very spicy salsa verde which we accompanied with some nicely warmed corn tortillas & for dessert? we had tostones. tostones are very popular in central america & puerto rico & go by various names but the end result is pretty much the same. sweet & yummy. :oD -- OJO's Note-- before i continue i feel i should mention that plantains can be eaten raw but must be absolutely ripe aka black otherwise you will get a very bad tummy ache. i will only eat them steamed or fried--no raw plantains for me.


this is what you do:
take some plantains, peel them & cut into coins. next heat oil in a skillet. when the oil is good & hot add the 'coins.' when the plantain slices are nicely caramelized on the bottom carefully flip them over until they are caramelized also. when the plantain slices are done remove 'coins' from the oil. Place them on a paper towel lined plate to remove the excess oil. i personally like them sprinkled with a little cinnamon sugar. i hope that you would be tempted to make these because they really are delicious. enjoy! :)

mom & country ham pot pie

it was my first mother's day without my mom and it felt sorta sacreligious not to celebrate mother's day because well, i wouldn't be here without her. i just HAD to -- so i baked a ham. suffice it to say that the day AFTER there i was was sitting with a big hunk o chunk o ham and what's a girl to do? well i figured i could whip up a nice pot pie and stick ham in it. now a girl needs a great recipe for a great idea (insert blinky lightbulb on head) so i perused my favorite foodie blogs and i ran into a recipe which puts a spin on the traditional pot pie and you know what? it wasn't at all bad. it was freakin' awesome! it was yummy in my tummy! so without further ado here's rachel's country ham pot pie recipe. thanks rachel!

pupusas-salvadoran 'stuffed' tortillas.

got some pupusas from my cousin that a friend gave her. the masa had great texture and tasted good but the filling was waaaay too salty imho. the curtido, (pickled cabbage), had lost it's color and was coarsely chopped like the kind you are apt to find in salad bar lettuce. the salsa was actually a thick homemade tomato puree. not spicy, me no likey!