The second side dish for the Mexican theme menu shared in the South Arm Community Kitchen is Salsa.
Tortilla chips served with salsa makes a great snack for game night.
Ingredients
Source: South Arm Community Kitchen
With the Vaisakhi around the corner, Michelle was inspired to prepare an Indian theme lunch at the South Arm Older Adults Cooking Club.
Here is an excerpt which Michelle shared in the kitchen about Vaisakhi.
For many thousands of years, Vaisakhi has been the time when farmers have put their sickles to harvest and celebrated the coming of a new year. Since 1699, the Sikhs have had a further reason to celebrate at this time of the year. Now Vaisakhi is celebrated with even more energy, pomp and fanfare. It has become a holy day to mark the birth of the Khalsa fraternity. And so 300+ years on, this tradition continues with much gaeity, vigour and enthusiasm, Sikhs worldwide will spend much time remembering this most important day in their religious calendar – the day the Khalsa was created.
If we take ourselves back to 1699 and the birth place of the Khalsa perhaps the real significance of Vaisakhi for the Sikh people can be comprehended. During the period around 1650, the country around Punjab was in turmoil; the rulers were corrupt; there was no rule of law; the rights of the common people were non-existent; justice did not prevail. The strong imposed their will and their way without question; the weak suffered constantly and quietly; there was misery everywhere. It was under these circumstances that Guru Cobind Singh rose to the occasion and chose to create the Khalsa. The Guru was looking for people within the community who would take on the challenge and rise above the weakness; to be strong and fearless; to be prepared to face these challenges without reservation and to uphold justice; to be fair and even handed at all times; to be prepared to die for the truth.
This Vaisakhi inspired dish is from Vij’s Elegant and Inspired Indian Cuisine by Vikram Vij & Meeru Dhalwala. Although this Beet and Daikon Salsa calls for finely dicing the beets and daikon, you could grate or process the veggies to speed thins up.
Ingredients
Source: Vij’s Elegant and Inspired Indian Cuisine by Vikram Vij & Meeru Dhalwala
Instead of just plain chopped tomato, you can serve the Spiced Lentil Tacos with Fresh Salsa. The jalapeno adds a kick to the Fresh Salsa. You can also serve fresh…
The South Arm Seniors Kitchen served the Beef Burgers and Quinoa Burgers with Roasted Cherry Tomato Salsa.
This Roasted Cherry Tomato Salsa is great with any burgers.
Ingredients
Source: via Colleen
Lez also served a chunky salsa along the Mexican Potato Empanadas and Mexican Refried Beans at the Gilmore Park Church Community Kitchen.
Minoo brought some Green Salsa which she made during the summer when tormatilla is in abundance. She freezed the Green Salsa in small containers and defrosts one at a time when she needs it. The Green Salsa goes well with the empanadas.
Ingredients
Source: Lez
Blanca also made a Red Salsa in the South Arm Community Kitchen. The primary ingredient in the Red Salsa is tomatoes which give it the red colour. However, the day we made the Red Salsa, it did not turn out very red as the cilantro’s green colour seemed to dominate the red of the tomatoes.
The Red Salsa can be made just like the Green Salsa, i.e., boil the ingredients first, then blend and reboil. However, Blanca showed us another way which blends the ingredients first, then boil.
Ingredients
Blanca made two types of Green Salsa to serve with her Homemade Tortillas. One of the Green Salsa is plain while the other Green Salsa has avocado added to it. The avocado adds creaminess to the Green Salsa. If you like this recipe, you should also check Blanca’s recipe on Red Salsa too.
The green salsa can be made with both red and green tomatoes or only with green tomatoes.
Green tomato is also called tomatillo. It is also known as husk tomato, husk cherry, Mexican tomato, jamberry or ground cherry. Tomatillo in Mexico means ‘little tomato’. The tomatillo fruit is surrounded by a paper-like husk, hence the name husk tomato. Tomatillos are the key ingredient in fresh and cooked LatinAmerican green sauces.
Ingredients
