Friday, July 9, 2010

Heading South of the Border...

...metaphorically speaking.

In our journey around the world, we decided to stop and explore North America first.  For the last two days, we've explored the country of Mexico.  In our house, we consider Mexican food a staple in our diet - just right below fruits and veggies!  But the boys haven't explored the culture much past the food until now.

To begin our day, we re-read some of our favorite books, Hill of Fire -based on the 'birth' of the Paricutin volcano in Mexico and Off We Go to Mexico - a delightful rhyming overview of Mexico!
Then we set out to get our homemade refried beans going.  Xander (almost 6) helped measure out the beans and sort out the rotten one's as well as remove any rocks.  Keegan (almost 4) enjoyed pouring in water (a classic montessori preschool activity).

We were planning a 'Fiesta' to celebrate daddy's first week at his new job!  So we set out to our local Mexican 'mercado' to get ingredients for tostada's and fresh salsa. 
After much preparations, we were ready for his return and our fiesta!

It was a nice way to end our day.

To have a bit of a fiesta yourself, try one of my two favorite salsa recipes!

Traditional Salsa
*2 (8oz) cans tomato sauce
* 2 (15oz) cans chopped tomatoes
*1-3 green chilis
*1-3 yellow chilis
*2-4 jalepenos
*1 cup cilantro (stems removed)
*4 green onions
*1 t oregano, cumin and garlic powder
*1 T lemon juice
*salt and pepper to taste

Blend all put chopped tomatoes well in a blender.  Add chopped tomatoes last and blend to desired consistency.

Peggy's Salsa
(especially for those that don't have access to fresh chilis)
*2 whole tomatoes - peeled and chopped
*3-4 green onions, finely chopped.
*1 sm can chopped olives
*3 Tbs olive oil
*1 1/2 Tbs vinager
*1 tsp garlic salt
*salt and pepper to taste
*tobasco - hot as desired

Combine and let stand for 4 hours or longer! 

ENJOY!

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