Gina Ruiz on December 26th, 2007

Sometimes I cheat.
I normally love making things from scratch. I enjoy the process tremendously and take pride in shopping for the freshest ingredients, doing things the traditional way, whipping egg whites by hand instead of using a mixer, etc., but sometimes I cheat.

Today is Christmas day and I needed milk, so I took a [...]

Continue reading about Sometimes I Cheat Red Pear & Cream Cheese Tart

I love this chile salsa for my soup. I think I know hundreds of variations of chile salsas and about so many different ways to prepare them. I’m not sure though, there are just so many that I know without thinking, till something comes up and I want a certain kind I remember [...]

Continue reading about Salsa de Chile California/Salsa made with dried California Chiles

Gina Ruiz on December 25th, 2007

Sopa de arroz/Mexican-style rice
2 c, long-grain ricesix tomatoes, chopped½ onion, choppedolive oilchicken brothKnorr Perejil, ¼ of a cube2 tsbp. Knorr Pollosalt, to tastea small handful of cilantro

Coat the bottom of a heavy frying pan with olive oil and heat. Add chopped onions, then the rice. Brown rice and onions till the onions are [...]

Continue reading about Sopa de arroz/Mexican-style rice

Gina Ruiz on December 24th, 2007

It’s been cold here in Los Angeles the past couple of weeks. My grandchildren are coming over today and I want to make something warm and delicious for them to eat.

My grandmother always made caldos (soups) for us on cold or rainy days and it was always delicious, healthy and perfect for the weather. [...]

Continue reading about Jasmine & Aiden’s Caldo de Pollo/Mexican-Style Chicken Soup

Gina Ruiz on December 20th, 2007

Soraya, Rachel and Daisy make it look so easy!

We even put the kids to work.

Happy tamale-makers

Deron had no idea what he was getting into. Yep, I’m standing on a chair.
Yet another tray full for the steamers

Caught slacking. Get to work girls!

The first few go into the pot
Assembly line action

Fill it up!

I thought I [...]

Continue reading about The Tamalada: Part 9 – Is it a Party or is it Work?

Gina Ruiz on December 19th, 2007

Any party we throw has to have flowers, lots of them in every room. No tamalada would have been complete without them. My granddaughter Jasmine picked them all out at the Flower Market.

Continue reading about The Tamalada: Part 8 – Feria de los Flores

Okay, okay so Federico Garcia Lorca probably didn’t even know what the heck chile verde was but I love his poem Romance Sonambulo and love that line, “verde te quiero verde” so much that it just had to be part of my Chile Verde recipe. You come to Doña Lupe’s, you’re gonna get some [...]

Continue reading about The Tamalada: Part 7 – Verde te Quiero Verde, Garcia Lorca & Chile Verde

Gina Ruiz on December 18th, 2007

No tamalada is complete without big mounds of succulent shredded pork to fill tamales with. You can use it with either red sauce or green, it lends itself to both with perfect equanimity. It’s easy to make, although it does take some time. Any left overs (doubtful) can be used for sopes, [...]

Continue reading about The Tamalada: Part 6 – Delicious Shredded Pork

Gina Ruiz on December 18th, 2007

One of the key ingredients in tamale-making is a good red sauce for either pork or beef tamales. It takes a bit of work making it from scratch, but it’s well worth it. I’ve seen people just add a can (shudders) of Las Palmas Red Chile sauce and I guess that works. [...]

Continue reading about The Tamalada: Part 5 – Seeing Red (sauce, that is)

Gina Ruiz on December 17th, 2007

Rachel will show you how to assemble a tamale.
She’s making cheese and green chile tamales.

Continue reading about The Tamalada: Part 4 – Rachel B. on How to Assemble a Tamale