Older Bolder Life

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the Older Bolder Life Foundation Recipes 30 May 2018: Olive Oil (or Avocado Oil) Mayo

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There are times when you just need a great mayo on hand to pull a recipe together – as in tuna or chicken salads, deviled eggs, and even a few salad dressings – as we head into the summer season.

With just about every mass-produced, commercially-available mayo (in the US at least) made with soybean oil (or canola / another of the franken-oils we’ve all forever abandoned), it’s crazy not to make a quick batch of great tasting mayo at home using olive or avocado oil.

I know this is not news to those of you who consider yourselves pretty handy in the kitchen, though we continue to be amazed at how many folks don’t use this simple technique featuring an immersion blender demonstrated so ably below by Kenji Lopez-Alt of Serious Eats.

Two things of note: One, KLA mentions in the video using canola or another vegetable oil – of course you’ll want to use avocado or a good (but not extra virgin) olive oil in your batch at home. (Using EVOO can produce bitterness for reasons covered in detail here.)

Two, the options for tweaking the flavor of your mayo to suit your palate or recipe are basically endless. We like to add a bit of finely grated garlic and use ACV instead of fresh lemon juice in our basic recipe for a bit more acidity and bite, and often use a grainy, creole mustard (try Zatarain’s version).

Tossing in a chipotle pepper (or two) with their clinging adobo sauce makes for a wonderful spiced-up version (your chicken salad just got more interesting); even better, consider whisking in a bit of lime juice after it’s emulsified to taste.

Enjoy.

the Older Bolder Life Salsa Sunday 27 May: South Fork Salsa No. 2

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This being a holiday weekend and all, and with great fresh produce beginning to come in now, here’s a truly delectable, quick, and easy table salsa to whip up for your shindig tomorrow.

My wife and I are part of the generation (and geography) that came of age watching Pace Picante Sauce ads on the TV (“get a rope”), seeing salsa offerings multiply like a prairie wildfire at the local grocery during the past decade, and learning to savor local salsa treasures at every hole in the wall taco stand and Tex Mex joint we’ve wandered into over the years.

We still eat a lot of salsa around our camp, and while up until a few years ago during the past thirty years (give or take a few) there’s always been a partially-consumed jar of commercially-prepared salsa in our fridge, now we stir one of our favorites up every week or so (they never really last that long…).

We’ve come to call this one – a perennial favorite – our South Fork Salsa No. 2 given its utility a few years back getting us out of a little scrape with a campground operator on the South Fork of the Snake (Idaho) during a family fly fishing, river run, and camping trip.

There are probably a billion (really) versions of commercially-prepared salsa out there, and yet, we’ve never tasted one that could come close to any number that we cobble together at home (with relative ease, too).

During the winter when decent tomatoes are hard to come by, a 28-ounce can of good tomatoes will suffice here (drain most of the liquid), though vine-ripened, garden-fresh (or farmers’ market) tomatoes make this very nearly a religious experience. The spices, lime juice, and those tender inner celery stalks (and leaves!) really make this one sing.

Salsas are really all about using what produce is fresh, vibrant, and handy – but try this one as written before venturing too far afield…

1 lb fresh roma tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 cup cilantro leaves and tender stems
2-4 serrano peppers, stemmed, roughly chopped, seeds in for more heat
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 to 1 medium sweet onion, roughly chopped
2-3 of the small, tender inner stalks of a celery bunch, with leaves, trimmed
2-4 tbsp chile powder (use the good stuff)
1 tsp ground cumin, more to taste
1 tsp kosher salt, more to taste
Juice from 1/2 lime, more to taste

Toss everything into your trusty food processor (large blender in a pinch) and process to your desired consistency, my lovely wife likes it better with some texture.

Taste for salt, chile powder, cumin and lime; adjust to suit.

Serve it up chilled or room temperature; will keep (sealed tightly) in the fridge for up 2-3 weeks, but it’ll never last that long.

Enjoy.