Who doesn’t like salsa with tortilla chips?

Here is a quick and easy to prepare appetizer that is tasty and fun to make. The salsa will keep for up to a week, covered, in the refrigerator.

Enjoy it! Read more…

Pasta with Tomato sauce is a classic dish and I think that everyone should have a good tomato sauce recipe. This one is simple and easy to make and is delicious!

Growing up in Colombia, the only tomato sauce that I had was from a jar, so when I met my husband, whose grandmothers were Italian, I realized that I needed to make a homemade tomato sauce for him. He can pretty much eat pasta with tomato sauce every day and be happy!

One day when we first met, I wanted to surprise him with a nice Italian dinner, so I made a delicious tomato sauce, so I thought. As he began eating it, he made a strange face and asked me what I put in the sauce? I told him the list of ingredients… tomatoes, garlic, cilantro… “Cilantro?!” he said. “No wonder why it tastes like salsa. You don’t put cilantro in tomato sauce!” He has been making fun of me for that ever since.

It is so normal for me to add cilantro to every dish, that I though it was going to be delicious. What he doesn’t know is that I forgot to add cumin Anyway, after that Colombian-Italian tomato suace, I made a variety of different tomato sauce recipes until I came out with this one just recently and he said that this is the best tomato sauce that he has ever had. Enjoy! Read more…

A couple of weeks ago I woke up craving homemade hummus, so I decided to make some. When I was getting all the ingredients ready, I noticed a jar of roasted peppers next to the tahini. So, I made roasted pepper hummus and it was fantastic!

I enjoy making dips like this for a quick snack because they are healthy and easy to prepare. Read more…

I have a special love for authentic Mexican food, which differs from much of what we are served at typical American style Mexican restaurants. I am not an expert at cooking Mexican cuisine but I do love to play in my kitchen with the amazing flavors they use. There is nothing better than homemade salsa and I made my first tomatillo salsa last week and it came out fantastic. You can use it as a dip with tortilla chips or add it to your favorite Mexican dishes.

Buen Provecho! Read more…

Melado is syrup that is popular in Colombia. It is used with some of our traditional desserts and it is made with panela.

What is panela? Okay, panela is a product that is made with sugarcane, it is sweet and brown, it is sold in blocks or grated and the flavor is similar to brown sugar. However, panela has a lot of vitamins and minerals and is supposed to be good for you. In Colombian it is used in a drink called “agua de panela”, which literally means “panela water”. It is also used to sweeten coffee, chocolate and to make desserts. Agua de panela with lime is used by a lot of grandmothers in Colombia to help with flu symptoms.

La panela is also popular in other countries and is known by many different names. In Central America it is known as (papelón), Mexico (Piloncillo), Ecuador, Perú and Bolivia (chancaca). Read more…

I always have tuna cans in my pantry because tuna is one of my favorite foods to use for a quick and simple lunch. Sometimes I even just place the tuna on a plate, add chopped tomato, salt, pepper and squeezed lime juice, and that is my lunch!

This tuna dip is an easy and simple appetizer and was popular at my family parties in Colombia. We would serve it with an assortment of raw vegetables or spread it on delicious crostini.

This is a great party dip that you can make a couple of hours ahead of time. Enjoy! Read more…

This dish tasted great and was easy to make! I love to combine meats with fruit as that combo makes for a delicious dish, which is why I created this Chicken with Passion Fruit Sauce. As you may know from reading my blog, passion fruit is a popular fruit in Colombia and I usually have bags of frozen pulp in my freezer to make juice. But, since this sauce was so delicious, I will be using the pulp to make sauces more often. Remember, it is important that you make the orzo with the dried fruit because together, they make the perfect marriage.

Last night I had a dream that I thought I should share with my blogger friends. The Food Network called me and told me that I won a prize and that I could spend a whole day with one of their celebrity chefs. They asked me which chef would be my choice. It took me a while to answer because I am a fan of all the chefs, but at the end, I chose Bobby Flay. Then they asked me why and I said, because he is a great chef and I love the flavors he uses in his food. Then I woke up, so that was the end of the dream. So, my question for you is, if you could choose a celebrity chef to spend the day with, which chef would you choose and why? Read more…