Classic Pico de Gallo Salsa

Many times college days don't bring the best nutrition.  However, I have to admit I spent my college years practically living on salsa, and I hereby propose the concoction to be its own food group.

Filled with juicy tomatoes, onions, garlic, cilantro and a squeeze of lime, we can't really get more "fresh", can we?  And while it might be a

Instagram shot with a shot!  :)

stretch, if we add organic corn tortilla chips, we've now added corn too.  Heck... toss in a side of guacamole and we have a full meal!  But I'll save that one for another post.

In all sincerity, salsa really can be a healthy food, but you do have to be careful.  Many store bought jars can be filled with not so desirable ingredients, like added oils or sugars.  Really, do we need sugar in salsa?

Hence, making your own keeps the ingredients list in your control, and while your at it you can tweak the flavors to your personal preference.  This easy Pico de Gallo Salsa version is a snap to put together, and when you bring this bursting with flavor food group condiment to your next Cinco de Mayo gathering you're sure to be the hit of the party.

Fresh, simple, and so much more flavorful than the jar, keep an eye out for beautiful (or even not beautiful), ripe tomatoes at your local markets, and you too can call salsa dinner.

Super Potato Bowls (Bites) with Salsa, Black Beans and Avocado

The Super Bowl... what does it mean to you?  Football?  Shopping?  Commercials?

For me Super Sunday has evolved over the years.  As I find myself ever so slightly older than the Super Bowl itself, I don't have many childhood memories of the event, but entering my 20's the Super Bowl stood for one thing... Joe.  Montana that is.

You may remember him... handsome, young guy who could do no wrong (in my eyes) with a football in his hands.  Total calm under pressure, Joe led the 49ers to 31 fourth quarter comeback wins in addition to 4 Super Bowl Championships.  Nicknamed "Joe Cool", Montana remained a vision of calmness in the midst of chaos and simply marched his team down the field to earn those final few points necessary for the expected win.

ESPN's Larry Schwartz describes it best:

"Take the 1989 Super Bowl against the Cincinnati Bengals. The San Francisco 49ers were down by three points with 3:20 left when Montana spotted -- no, not an open receiver -- but a personality. "There, in the stands, standing near the exit ramp," Montana said to tackle Harris Barton. "Isn't that John Candy?" And then he led the 49ers 92 yards, throwing for the winning touchdown with 34 seconds left."

Cool and calm under pressure, that's how I'd like to think of myself handling the appetizers at one of our Super Bowl Extravaganzas, and these Super Potato Bowls, much like Dwight Clark or Jerry Rice, make my job easy.

Roasted until tender, potato bowls are filled with either homemade or store bought salsa with added black beans.  These super potato bowls are then topped with diced avocado (did you know that Super Sunday sees the consumption of more than 158 million avocados?) and chopped cilantro... add a squeeze of lime if you like, then sit back and watch these bites disappear faster than Joe could have turned around a score in the last few minutes of a game.

Fraternity (or Tailgate) Layered Mexican Dip in a Cup

Liv Life loves blog mail days, but I have to admit some mail days rate higher with the family than others.  Our last mail day?  Jackpot!  Who doesn't love fresh guacamole and salsa delivered right to your door?

The Kroger Family sent us a care package to try their new Peakfection Salsa and Traditional Guacamole.  Made wholly from "real" ingredients (no weird stuff and no added sugar!), both packages already rated highly in my book before we even took a taste.  And I have to admit, with school starting and my son preparing to head off to college, our taste test didn't happen quite a soon as I had hoped.

A full week after receiving the goodies we finally had time to sit down to figure out what to make.  At this point we weren't particularly creative, and between the four of us we polished off both the salsa and guacamole in one sitting.  And, we noted though they had been in the fridge for over a week, both products did indeed remain fresh and abundantly flavorful.

Heading to my local Ralph's (Kroger's store here in San Diego), I came home loaded with new Peakfection goods and we set off to make a recipe decision.  I voted for the Spanish Rice (white rice enhanced with Peakfection's Medium Red Salsa - 2 cups water, 1 cup white rice, 1 cup Peakfection Salsa) or the Peakfection Salsa Chicken (Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts baked in 1 1/2 cups salsa, 1 Tbs Dijon, 1 Tbs brown sugar - 375ºF for about 20 min), but I was overruled.

In honor of my son heading to college, Liv and her brother put together a version of a 7-Layer Dip in a Cup.  Last year one of my girlfriends brought a true 7-Layer Dip to our Super Bowl party, but the layers included sour cream and shredded cheese... as neither of my kids can have dairy, we opted for a simple, fraternity (or Tailgate) friendly, dairy-free version.

Taking 2-ounce plastic disposable shot cups, the kids dolloped refried beans, guacamole and then a topping of salsa.  Adding a few chips to the cup gave us a zesty mini appetizer good to grab and go.

Easy enough for a college kid to put together on his own (though I'm not sure they'd have those plastic shot cups in their dorm rooms or fraternity?  ;) , and portable enough to toss into a cooler for easier transportation and put together at a tailgate, this dip proved immensely popular and disappeared in a flash once I gave the go ahead after our photo shoot.

I'm not totally sure how they do it, but the Peakfection products remained fresh in the fridge until we were ready to use them... perfect if you are like me and tend to purchase items for dinner plans you have which end up changing at the last minute leaving you to forget you had even bought the items until they are now past their prime.

Peakfection

The Kroger Family of Stores new line of guacamole and salsas comes in a variety of flavors:

5 Salsas (red in three spice levels and roasted in two spice levels)

2 Guacamoles (traditional and spicy)

Made with fresh ingredients captured at their peak of perfection and using a special cold water process, these products stay fresher longer and are ready and waiting when you need them.

Our many thanks to Kroger for sending us a care package and giving us the opportunity to try the salsa and guac.  BTW... the Peakfection Insulated tumblers included in the care package have made their way all over San Diego and have spent numerous days at the beach!!

We love your Peakfection Perfection!

Liv's Peakfection Instagram!

Grilled Tomatillo Mango Salsa - A Food Photography Challenge

Usually I'm pretty darn good at following rules.  A traffic light turns yellow?  I almost always stop.  No glass outside by the pool?  Nope, we never do that.  Cross the street at the corner?  Yep, I follow that one too.

However, for this month's Inspired Plate Food Photography and Styling Challenge though, I think I have to give myself a fail.  Our challenge this month of "Herbs, with a clean/messy added element" had me actually failing twice.

Looking at my schedule lately, I think I can explain it all away with "I've got too much on my mind", or maybe it's simply a lack of attention to detail.  Or perhaps this little image sums it up:

In any case, I finished my first (notice I said first...) shoot nearly two weeks early.  So proud I actually completed a project ahead of time and that the photos turned out worthy of a photography challenge, I loved my empty bowl with just the last bits of Coconut Avocado Frozen Yogurt swirled at the bottom to complete the "messy" portion of the shoot.  The spoon was set just so, perfectly balancing off of the ingredients that I had scattered around the shot.

Checking the due date of this project I happened to notice the word "Herbs" right at the top. With not an herb to be found in my frozen yogurt, I scooped myself a bowl and returned to my recipe file to find something filled with herbs.

Last weekends dinner with Mom and Dad proved the perfect opportunity to fire up the grill, and our Grilled Tomatillo Mango Salsa paired with the grilled Mahi-Mahi beautifully.  Cleaning up the kitchen before Mom and Dad got here I was happy that all the dishes were done, the fish ready to grill, the salad prepped and the dessert in the freezer (that was the Fabulous Frozen Margarita Lime Pie we posted earlier this week).

Setting down at the computer with the extra time I had before they arrived I glanced at our challenge prompt and once again my heart sunk once again with failure.  Messy element... well now that the kitchen was all clean and ready for guests the messy wasn't going to happy.  As such I'm settling for this sort of messyish shot of the before of the tomatillos.

Arriving in a papery husk, I've found many of my friends somewhat intimidated by the green fruit.  Tomatillo Salsas, with their slightly sweet flavor, are many times not as hot as other salsas.  (Take care to take a small test bite first though, as you just never know.).  As the tomatillos arrive somewhat firm, I like to grill mine, giving them a richer flavor and a preferable (for me) texture.

A ripe mango on the counter proved to be the perfect complement to the grilled tomatillos, onions and small piece of serrano chili, while also bringing a nice color element to the bowl.  Served alone with tortilla chips or as a topping for a piece of grilled fish, you most likely won't have this salsa around long.  All the better to return to the kitchen for that lost messy shot...

Please join me as we make our way around the Inspired Plate blog circle.  First up, we head to Australia to visit Sabrina Wong a Perth Food Photographer with her photography challenge shots.

Avocado Mango Salsa or Mango Guacamole?? How about Avocado Mango Guaca-Salsa!

According to one of my new Avocado connections, the California Avocado Commission, June 12 through June 18 is California Avocado Week!  Living in avocado rich San Diego, I'm thinking it might be a sin not to celebrate.  A few weeks ago the people at the CA Avocado Commission in combination with Foodbuzz's Tastemaker program sent me a box of gorgeous California grown avocados.  As shown in our first avocado post (Mahi Mahi with Grilled Tomatillo and Avocado Salsa), here at Liv Life avocados are high on our happy list.

Seems we owe our thanks to Judge R. B. Ord, of Santa Barbara, for introducing avocados to the U.S. with trees brought from Mexico.  By the early 1900's growers were seeing the avocado's commercial potential and the rest is history.  Today, California produces about 90% of the domestic crop with the majority harvested from some 60,000 acres (6,000 growers) between San Louis Obispo and San Diego.  With San Diego being named the Avocado Capital of the nation I'm in avocado heaven!

photo from CA Avocado Commission

Perusing the CA Avocado Commission's site I truly enjoyed putting faces to a few of those 6,000 growers.  For example, Bill and Anne Coy, growers from Cayucos, California, have roots that go back to Anne's father, Bob Blanchard who was the first grower in San Louis Obispo County to test grow avocados and citrus.  While Anne left the groves she grew up with in her early life with her husband Bill, the two returned and created a partnership with Anne's dad and are now the proud owners of 30 acres of flourishing avocado trees.  Passionate about the fruit, Bill professes he is "Living the Dream".

Living my own dream, I'm always amazed at how a few simple ingredients come together to create such tantalizing flavors.  Diced avocados and mangos mix together with chopped red onion and cilantro to bring a most flavorful salsa.  Seasoned with lime and a touch of salt, I'm not really sure what to call our creation.  Sometimes we call is Avocado Mango Salsa, and sometimes we call it Mango Guacamole.  When in doubt though, I just call it lunch...

Grilled Mahi Mahi with Grilled Tomatillo Avocado Salsa

California Avocados

The avocado photo on the top of Liv Life is a sure hint to our love of the creamy, green fruit.  Imagine my jubilation as I answered a morning doorbell to find a deliveryman handing over a box of California Avocados sent to me from the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program and the California Avocado Commission.  Eagerly popping the tape on the sides of the box I found 5 gorgeous avocados nearly ready for the eating.  Packed alongside my precious bounty the kind people at the CAC included a couple of fridge magnets and a handy avocado scooper that I've used no less than 10 times since my beloved box arrived.

While most of us have enjoyed guacamole, tossing the nutrient dense fruits into salads is one of my all time favorite uses.  Or how about a few avocado slices layered on top of your pizza?  Try it, it's addicting!  Avocado works equally as well with enchiladas, tacos, casseroles, omelettes, soups, stews, chilis... you name it.  Truly, the options are endless as the versatile fruit enhances so many meals.  

Filled with Monounsaturated fats, Vitamins K, C, B6 and E, Folate,  Potassium, Magnesium and Lutein, avocados provide a veritable power house of nutrients.  Higher in fat, we do need to remember the word "moderation", however these "good fats" worked as a butter replacement in Lisa - Korean American Mommy's, tempting Avocado Coconut Lime Bundt Cake.

Once a luxury food served only on the tables of royalty, I'm now lucky to live in the Avocado Capital of the US.  San Diego county grows 60% of the avocados grown in CA where a single avocado tree averages about 60 pounds, or 150 avocados per year.  Luckily the 6,000 avocado growers in the state have the fruit growing year round helping to provide much of those 13 million pounds that are required to fulfill the avocado consumption on Super Bowl Sunday alone.

Inspired with my new box of avocados I took an informal poll of neighbors and fiends as to what first came to mind when thinking of the avocado.  The overwhelming answer was the good ole guacamole.  However, with a bag of fresh tomatillos sitting on my counter and plans for a Tomatillo Salsa Verde already in the works I set out to do the verde with avocado.

Preferring my salsa "roasted" the tomatillos and jalapeños earned a quick trip to the grill.  When done and cooled I processed them with a bit of onion and cilantro fresh from the farmer's market and then squeezed a touch of lime from our tree.  Dicing the avocado, adding a bit of salt and giving the salsa a quick stir, the project was complete.  Working wonderfully with a simple bowl of chips we were already thrilled with our creation, but topping a fillet of grilled mahi mahi with the zesty salsa we knew we had a real treat.  Check below for our recipe for Tomatillo Avocado Salsa and Grilled Mahi Mahi. 

For more of Liv Life's California Avocado recipe ideas check out:

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Egg White Omelette with Spinach and Avocado

Grilled Veggie Quesadillas

Mexican Chicken Casserole

Zesty Black Bean Soup

Quick Corn Chowder

A hearty thank you goes out to Foodbuzz's Tastemaker Program and the California Avocado Comission for thinking of us!  We truly enjoyed each and every slice of the avocados we received and have a Mango Avocado Salsa and Black Bean, Corn and Avocado Relish recipes coming soon.

Chili Espresso Pork Tenderloin with Mango Cucumber Salsa

The warm sunny days of spring have worked their magic and filled our Farmer's Markets with an eagerly anticipated bounty of produce.  Baskets overflowing with everything from fresh herbs and greens to carrots and beets and my favorite snap peas fill table after table.  Aromas of sweet strawberries permeate the area while children walk around with red stained chins from sampling the juicy treats.

Considering myself extraordinarily lucky, I have no less than 3 favorite markets to attend each week.  If I were to stretch my mile radius the options would become even more bountiful, however I'm satisfied (for the moment) with my 3 favorites.  Wednesdays offer a lovely afternoon market in downtown Carlsbad where my favorite local heirloom pesticide free tomatoes are just starting to make a most welcomed appearance.  Saturday mornings get and early start in Vista where vendors of all sorts arrive and are ready to sell by 8 AM.  Here I find my favored Herbed Olive Oils and local orange blossom honeys along with the best organic strawberries I've yet to find.  And then we have Sunday, a more leisurely market in Leucadia starting mid morning and featuring an entire row organic produce in addition to numerous prepared hot food offerings.

A recent new discovery at the Leucadia Market had me earnestly perusing the Salt Farm Gourmet Salt table.  Filled with over 20 types of salts and salt blends packaged in attractive little bottles I had a difficult time choosing only three to bring home.  After much discussion and back and forth decision making, my husband and I decided on a smoky salt, espresso salt and an Asian Salt blend.

Arriving home my planned Pork Tenderloin with a Chili Espresso Rub seemed to be the perfect way to try out my new salt finds!  Mixing a few pinches of the smoky and espresso infused salts into the rub brought a new depth of flavor to the table.  Adding ground espresso directly to the rub along with cumin, chili powder, ginger and coriander gave our pork a mouthwatering flavor and topping the grilled slices with a sweet mango salsa completed the package.  Tender and bursting with flavor the meal was finished off with grilled asparagus, a salad of market fresh tossed greens and veggies and of course, Liv's chocolate dipped strawberries.  Welcome spring!!

Grilled Rubbed Pork Tenderloin with Black Bean Salsa

Fall has arrived in San Diego and thank goodness it is bringing some gorgeous summer weather with it!  This year our annual May Gray turned into the usual June Gloom which extended into the July... bly?  And on into August and even September.  What a "summer" it has been, cold, dreary, drizzly and not a whole lot of sun.  However... we finally woke up to a bright sun peeking over the horizon and received a whole new look on life.

The world bathed in the morning sun is truly beautiful.  Light, low on the horizon, provides a photographer's dream with soft, golden colors, and beautiful angles.  And to imagine I found myself on my morning beach walk without my camera!  Luckily my husband has supplied me with a trusty blackberry and with how nice this image turned out I'm wondering why the heck I need all my Canon equipment??  (To my husband - if you are reading this I'm just teasing!).

Sunny weather, warmer temps and a touch of summer automatically send me to the grill.  With a perfect pork tenderloin in the fridge, a few spices in the pantry and a bowl full of market fresh heirloom tomatoes, the Rubbed Tenderloin with Black Bean Salsa was a given.  The spices are those one usually has on hand and are easy to whisk together at a moments notice.  The salsa also uses fresh ingredients that are not out of the ordinary, but when mixed together provide a lovely contrast to the slightly spicy, tender pork.  Finished off with a side salad, a slice of focaccia and a bowl of fruit we have a meal that works for the whole family!