Culinary Adventures with Camilla

I have heard this called roasted  salsa , charred  salsa, and salsa molcajeteada . You certainly don't have to make this in a molcajete , you can do the same crushing and grinding process in a blender or food processor. But there is something fulfilling about charring and grinding this salsa.  I wanted to share this process for our Culinary Cam YouTube channel along with pork carnitas, tropical salsa fresca, guacamole, and homemade corn tortillas. You can what that here...or there . Ingredients 4 ripe tomatoes (I used Roma tomatoes) 1/2 onion (I used a red onion) 1  jalapeño 1 head of garlic, halved salt to taste and to help grind freshly squeezed juice from 1 or 2 lemons or limes 1 to 2 Tablespoons cilantro Procedure You can do this on a grill or a skillet. You can even roast the veggies in the oven. Char everything except the cilantro and the lemons or limes. Use your molcajete to grind the garlic, onions, jalapeño, and tomatoes. Salt as you go...

Today Jenn came to my Around the World with Rice class and shared a recipe with us that has been passed down through her husband’s family for generations. She shared that Mike’s mom learned from his Grandma who was married very young and moved in with her in-laws. Her mother-in-law taught her everything about cooking. Most of the kids had had Mexican rice before. When we finally sat down to eat, Jenn was tickled to hear one of the kids declare: "This is ten times better than the rice at Papa Chano's!" Sweet. We talked about a molcajete which is a stone tool, the traditional Mexican version of the mortar and pestle. It’s similar to the South American  batan  and used for grinding various foods. When Mike came by and tasted the rice, toward the end of class, he told us that he doubles the amount of cumin seed, pepper, garlic, and tomato sauce from his grandmother's recipe. But it's hers that I've shared below. Ingredients 4 T oil 2 C l...