When I was a little kid, fireworks bursting high in the star-filled night sky were the most thrilling part of Independence Day. Their brilliant, ever-exploding colors punctuated by deafening booms and the cheering crowd sent me soaring.

As an adult, I still thrill the fireworks, but my greatest joy comes from sharing traditions I’ve built with my family over the years. It all begins on the morning of the Fourth with our very own home-town parade, complete with floats, decorated cars, flag-waving kids, and a profusion of outrageous costumes. Personally, I’m attached to a funky old hat and a pair of sparkly, dangling red star earrings that pinch my ears and make me glad I only wear them once a year. After the last marchers pass by, we eagerly turn our attention to giant picnic baskets filled with homemade fried chicken and all the fixings—made the day before so that I can join in the fun.

With a large, hungry group like mine the key to a no-stress holiday meal is good planning and making as much as possible in advance. Chicken marinated in buttermilk is the traditional star of our Independence Day menu. Add to that an old fashioned picnic-style potato salad with hard-cooked eggs and tarragon, creamy slaw, fluffy, mile-high buttermilk biscuits and my favorite Guinness chocolate cake, and you have the perfect summer celebration meal. Everything is packed in plastic with ice for easy transporting.

Before you tell me that you can’t make fried chicken and would prefer to grab a tub of it at the local fast food place, know that as a novice cook, I could not fry it to save my life. It was dreadful stuff: greasy, overcooked—dark with the breading falling off. I finally got fed up and positively refused to do it ever again. But a few buckets of fast-food cluckers later, I did a little research and discovered that you could marinate the chicken for moistness, fry till golden and then finish it off in the oven. Amazing—what a difference. Now it’s one of my specialties. So give it a try and know the pleasures of this well-loved family favorite.

When we’ve licked the last of the picnic from our fingers and night begins to fall, I bundle up and grab the last standing celebrators and head to the Marin Headlands. There on a clear night one marvels at the beauty of the fog gently blowing through the Gate. Boom! The spectacular show begins as the fireworks soar and burst over San Francisco Bay. It reminds me of what a beautiful place we live in, and how fortunate I am to have great family and friends to share it. Oh, look at that brilliant red, white and blue beauty going off now. A reminder to be thankful for the freedom we often take for granted. Happy Fourth of July!

Get printable copies of my recipes and illustrated, step-by-step how-to’s for your convenience.

Southern Fried Chicken with Gravy

Potato Salad

Slaw

Buttermilk Biscuits

Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes with Chocolate-Cinnamon Frosting

Barbara Adams Blog also appears on the SFGate.

When the outside temperatures soar, I keep my refrigerator well-stocked with pitchers of freshly made Mexican agua frescas. These simple, fresh water drinks are made from fruits, flowers or grains and are the ultimate thirst-quenchers. Unlike American soda pops and commercially prepared drinks and juices, aguas are naturally-flavored and contain no additives, artificial flavors and colors or high fructose corn syrup. Best of all, they are quick to make and you control the sugar. And if that were not enough, they are super easy on the family budget.

I first discovered agua frescas on the street corners of Mexico at little carts that sell brilliantly colored fresh fruit salad in paper bowls and aguas made from ripe, juicy pineapples, strawberries, watermelons, cantaloupes, limes and other local seasonal fruits.

Here in California we are fortunate to have an abundance of produce that’s perfect for these drinks. The very best source for produce is usually your local farmers market or U-pick field—or harvesting in your home garden. If you end up with more than you can use, trade with your friends and family for greater variety and economy.

Traditionally, Mexican home cooks keep a pitcher or two of cool aguas ready for visitors and thirsty family members. Most don’t stress over the ingredients, using whatever they have on hand. How about watermelon and strawberries? Hmmm, what should I add to that aging cantaloupe half?

One of my favorite drinks is agua de horchata, a hugely popular rice water drink flavored with cinnamon and vanilla. It’s so good that it never lasts long at my house. This agua takes a little longer than the simpler fruit mixtures, because you must soak and soften the rice overnight. The next morning, pour it through a strainer, stir in the water and flavor with cinnamon and vanilla. After a few hours in the refrigerator, you’ll have an amazing low cost drink that has everyone coming back for seconds.

As you adventure into the exotic world of aguas, be sure to try agua de Jamaica (ha-MY-ka), made from dried hibiscus flowers. I was introduced to this tangy drink by our Beyond Wonderful International Home Chef, Mexico, Yolanda Resendiz. She whipped up a batch to cool off our team as we worked in a very hot kitchen. It was addictively good and I downed several tall glasses—then realized that hibiscus is a diuretic. Yolanda giggled and waited for me to return from the bathroom again, and again, so that we could finish cooking our latest recipe in development.

Know that as wonderful as agua frescas are, you must use ripe, flavorful peak-season fruits for good results. Never fall into the fantasy trap that something homemade will be delicious no matter what you put in it. Not so. Be vigilant when purchasing your produce, and don’t assume that just because you find something at the farmers market or the organic produce section of your market it will be good. If you don’t know how to select watermelons, cantaloupes or other fruits, ask you farm vendor or produce person for guidance.

Now get ready for a wonderful selection of Mexican agua frescas—some of the best summertime thirst quenchers around. Enjoy!

Agua de Sandia—Mexican Watermelon Water.
It’s hard to resist this brilliantly colored icy drink on a hot day. Bottoms up!

Agua de Melon—Mexican Cantaloupe Water
Who knew that this delicately fragrant, orange melon could tastes so good in a glass?

Agua de Fresa—Mexican Strawberry Water
Pure summer in a glass—ripe strawberries, a little sugar, water and ice—no chemicals, preservatives or flavor enhancers. More, please!

Limonada—Mexican Lime Drink
There is lemonade and there is limonada—a wonderful twist on an old favorite.

Agua de Horchata (or-CHAT-ah) Mexican Rice Water
Inspired by the Aztecs, this popular drink is made from rice and flavored with cinnamon and vanilla. Prepare to discover a new favorite.

Agua de Jamaica (ha-MY-ka)
Jamaica flowers (aka as hibiscus) flavor this exotic drink that is guaranteed to refresh you on a hot summer days.

Agua de Pina—Mexican Pineapple Water
Ripe, juicy pineapples are key for this popular agua. Try it once and expensive processed juices will be a thing of the past.

Get printable copies of these illustrated, step-by-step instructions for your convenience.
How-To Peel a Cantaloupe
How-To Prepare a Pineapple

Grab your salt shaker and get ready for great eating; the early season heirloom tomatoes are arriving in the markets. These brilliantly colored, lumpy-bumpy jewels of summer deliver old-time tomato flavor that puts supermarket hybrids to shame. Heirlooms are amazing eaten out-of-hand with a sprinkling of salt, or showcased in brilliantly colored summer salads, favorite sandwiches and sumptuous savory tarts.

Unlike hybrid tomatoes, heirlooms are grown from open-pollinated seeds carefully collected and passed through generations of growers and their friends. Plants maintain the same taste, color, size, shape and texture characteristics year after year. Hybrids, by contrast, produce few usable seeds. When planted, these hybrid seeds yield inferior plants the first year, and deteriorate further thereafter.

You’ll notice that heirlooms are more expensive than standard supermarket tomatoes and may wonder why. After all, four bucks a pound—and as much as six or more at high-end stores during the season—may seem excessive when one large tomato can weigh a whole pound.

It all centers on profitability. Bred for production and sales, hybrids have thicker skins for best shipping and a longer shelf life. Heirlooms have thinner skins, do not ship well, and must be eaten within several days of harvesting. Their plants produce smaller crops and are prone to diseases like blossom-end rot and early blight. All of this makes heirlooms inherently less profitable, forcing growers to set prices higher to sustain a business. On the positive side, when you find perfectly ripe heirlooms at your local market, they’re likely to be fresh and great-tasting; well worth the extra cost over mediocre supermarket tomatoes.

Currently our cooler Bay Area temperatures and frequent cloud cover has delayed the local heirloom crop, forcing dealers to buy from growers in southern California and Mexico. Our early crops are due soon, to be followed by more varieties that will peak in September.

When shopping for ripe, juicy heirlooms, look for ones with lots of give. Buy only what you can eat in a day or two as they spoil more quickly than their mass-market cousins. And never, never, ever store heirlooms in the refrigerator—they won’t turn into gremlins after midnight, but will lose significant flavor and texture when stored at temperatures under 50 degrees.

Now for the good part—my favorite heirloom recipes. Happy eating!

Heirloom Tomato-
Parmesan Tart
Glorious colors and flavor make this savory summertime tart a showstopper at any meal. Let your imagination run wild and use a rainbow of different varieties to turn ordinary into an edible masterpiece.

Tomato-Basil Bruschetta
The simple eating pleasures of summer—garlic, multi-colored chopped heirlooms, fresh basil and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar… all together on a toasted piece of bread headed right to your mouth.

Insalata Caprese
It’s hard to improve this Italian classic that combines tomatoes with thick slices of best-quality mozzarella cheese and fresh basil—unless you make it with heirlooms. Oh my, sooo good.

BLT Sandwich
Who needs a recipe for this classic? I slather good bread with mayonnaise and a sprinkling of freshly ground black pepper then stack it with thick-cut bacon, colorful sliced heirlooms, whole basil leaves and lettuce. It’s over-the-top delicious.

Tuna Stuffed
Heirloom Tomatoes
There are days when only tuna fish salad sounds good. I love to hollow out and stuff heirlooms with my all-time favorite tuna and then dig in.

Heirloom Tomato
Salad with Basil
Wow your family and friends with this spectacular summer salad. It’s simple yet sophisticated and hard to resist when paired with grilled meats.

Get printable copies of these heirloom tomato recipes for your convenience:

Heirloom Tomato-Parmesan Tart

Tomato-Basil Bruschetta

Insalata Caprese

Tuna Stuffed Heirloom Tomatoes

Heirloom Tomato Salad with Basil

Nothing screams summer like ice-cold watermelon on a blistering hot day. As kids, my brother and I loved cooling off by running through the backyard sprinkler, then devouring huge chunks of crunchy pinky-red melon under the big shade tree out back. We were young and thought nothing of diving in face first, then spitting black seeds at each other as we reappeared. My mother was not amused.

Today, “the girls”—my BFF’s—are coming for lunch in the garden. Feeling a bit nostalgic, I’m making my favorite Mediterranean salad that pairs icy sweet watermelon with mild, salty feta cheese, Kalamata  olives, thin slices of purple onion, and a generous sprinkling of freshly chopped mint. A simple dressing of fresh lime juice and extra virgin olive oil tops it all off. It’s at once sophisticated, easy to assemble and delicious. And if you’re feeling creative, you can halve and hollow out several small, round watermelons and slice the bottom off to stabilize them on a plate. Fill each with salad and decorate with a mint sprig. It’s pure summer on a plate.

As simple as this salad is, it requires best-quality ingredients, especially a perfectly ripe watermelon. I don’t know about you but searching though huge bins of these beauties at the market always overwhelmed me in the past. After all, how was I supposed to know which ones were ripe? There was no scent, and color offered no clues. I hate to tell you how many times I ended up with a mediocre pinky-white, flavorless melon. Then I learned the secret of selection from Beyond Wonderful produce expert, Dan Avakian.

First be brave; walk right up to the bin and look for a couple of potential favorites. Reject anything that is damaged or has soft spots. Now put both hands on one, like you’re going to give it a shoulder massage. If it “gives” or springs back slightly, it’s ready. But let’s be doubly sure. Pick it up and hold the watermelon in one hand and run your thumbnail across the top of the melon. If the green “peels” slightly, it is ripe. This is because the rind starts breaking down when it is ripe and beyond. A “green” or unripe watermelon will not peel when scratched.

I told Dan that I had read one should thump watermelons to test for ripeness. He laughed and said, “you can thump or slap them, but it doesn’t guarantee ripeness. If you must do it, listen for a thud that vibrates.” Dan swears by the thumbnail test and so do I. Give it a try the next time you’re in the market.

Back in the kitchen, I grabbed my sharp, trusty chef’s knife and cut into the watermelon. Score! It was a beautifully ripe, pinky-red and very juicy melon—perfect for my salad. Cutting watermelons is easy when you know this technique:

Later at lunch, one of my friends admitted that she was a bit apprehensive about combining feta cheese and olives with watermelon, but was determined to try it. After one bite she exclaimed “perfection! Who knew? It’s absolutely exquisite.” I agreed, and continued to savor my salad politely with knife and fork. Mother would be proud.

Get a printable copy my Watermelon, Feta, and Kalamata Olive Salad and illustrated, step-by-step instructions for How To Slice Watermelons.

Imagine a sari-clad north Indian village woman making fresh chapattis for her family over an open fire, as generations have done before her. Now fast forward to a crowded, urban center like New Delhi where cooks everywhere prepare this protein-rich unleavened bread daily. At Leela Manilal’s table, her large boisterous family enjoys a seemingly endless supply of just-off-the-fire chapattis served by Niranjan, the family cook, and his wife, Kamla. Simple perfection—and something I wanted to learn.

In the beginning, the appeal of these healthy, beautifully round and thin chapattis was lost on me. Truthfully, I could take or leave them until I discovered that when torn into smaller pieces they make great shovels for scooping up my favorite curries, dals, and rice with bits of stuffed red chili pepper pickle.

At breakfast one morning, Leela made my day by announcing that Kamla—our resident master chapatti maker—would teach me how to make the breads later that afternoon. “Barbara, you’ll be using my copper pan that once belonged to my mother-in-law—it’s over 100-years old. She gave it to me years ago and it has supplied us all with thousands of chapattis over the years. Now you’ll be part of its history.” I was humbled and couldn’t wait to begin.

In the kitchen, Kamla collected our ingredients—a tub of atta flour (”atta” is the Hindi word for high protein durum wheat, similar to that used in pasta), salt and a pitcher of water that she placed on the marble countertop. Speaking Hindi, she motioned me to scoop about two cups of atta and some salt into the pan. Kamla poured just enough water into the mixture to start forming the dough. I thought it a bit dry, so she sprinkled some more water over the top and showed me how to work the mixture effectively using just one hand. Once I achieved a “kneadable” consistency, Kamla dusted a bit of flour onto the counter and had me knead the dough for several minutes until smooth. She placed it back in the pan and covered it to rest for 20–30 minutes.

Throughout my lesson, Leela and various family members came to see how I was doing. Leela told me said that resting the dough is a critical step. “If you skip it you’ll produce tough and inferior chapattis, and that’s no good.” I’d made it through dough making 101; soon it was time to get rolling—literally.

Kamla broke off two pieces of dough approximately 1 ¾ inches in diameter and handed me one. She rolled her dough between the palms of her hands until smooth, then flattened it slightly into a perfect fat circle. Finally, she dipped the dough in atta to prevent stickiness. I followed her lead and was soon ready for the next step—rolling the dough flat.

 I sprinkled some atta on the counter and dusted the rolling pin. Kamla wielded the pin first, and within seconds she had a perfectly round, flat chapatti. I was impressed.

Now it was my turn, so I gripped the rolling pin with eager fingers. “Nay, nay.” (”No, no” in Hindi.) She adjusted my fingers outward and showed how I must keep my hands loose, letting my fingertips do all of the work rolling and turning. This is not as easy as it looks, and my chapatti looked more like the Indian sub-continent that the perfect circle I desired.

Leela came up behind me and took a look at what was shaping up to be a thickish, glandular-looking creation. “Pretty good for a first attempt.” Then she laughed wickedly and said, “It’s a good thing that you’re not a new bride, because Indian mother-in-laws have been known to give them a good smack when they lacked good chapatti-making skills.” Very funny. “Keep it up and you’ll have it down in no time,” she chuckled.

It was time to cook my imperfect chapatti so Kamla quickly heated an Indian tava (a slightly concave griddle used to make flatbreads) over medium heat. I place the chapatti in the center and cooked it briefly, then flipped it to finish.

As I pulled it off the tava, Kamla handed me a clean kitchen towel to press and seal the edges, ensuring that the bread would puff properly in the next stage of cooking.

My favorite part of the chapatti-making process occurs when you place the bread on an open flame and it fills with steam and puffs like a balloon. I was so pleased watching mine that it started to burn. Sacre bleu! (Or whatever they say in Hindi.) I didn’t come this far to have it catch fire, so I turned it quickly and tried to keep it moving in a circular motion as Kamla had demonstrated. When finished, it was a chapatti only its maker could be proud of. But I kept at it and produced five or six more that improved with each attempt. Thank goodness!

I’m someone who’s always trying new things, so I know that developing a new skill, no matter how simple, takes practice, practice, practice. My first chapatti may have been ugly but my current ones are quite good. Maybe even good enough for an Indian mother-in-law.

Print a copy my Chapatti recipe or illustrated, step-by-step How To Make Chapattis for your convenience.

If I say, “curry” what comes to mind first? Chicken. Maybe lamb or a spicy fish dish. But how about cheese? Huh? Vegetarians and carnivores take note; Indian paneer—a homemade farmer’s cheese, is the key ingredient in a variety of beautifully spiced curry dishes that are once exotic, nutritious and inexpensive to make at home.

I recently took up temporary residence at Leela Manilal’s home in New Delhi, India, eager to cook, learn, eat and write all I could about Indian cuisine. Almost as soon as I arrived, we sat down in her large drawing room with tall cool glasses of nimbu pani (sweet lime water with black salt) and went over a list of dishes to be added to her International Home Chef, India section on Beyond Wonderful. As we talked, I confessed the need to master the simple art of making paneer. While many had told me how easy it is, I’d never gotten consistent results. Sometimes my cheese was firm and perfect; other times it was tasty, but crumbly like cottage cheese. Not pretty. It made my favorite matter paneer (a fragrant spice-infused tomato-based gravy with green peas) look messy and unappealing. I yearned to produce reliably firm, perfect paneer every time.

Leela laughed and said, “Barbara, it really is easy; we’ll go through each step and as a reward I’ll teach you how to make my palak (spinach) paneer, too.” I was thrilled because Leela makes the best version of this dish that I’ve tasted. Her creamy, lightly spiced spinach it the perfect compliment to the paneer. And after all our hard work in the kitchen, we’d get to eat it for lunch.

At 85, Leela depends on Niranjan, the family cook, to help her prep ingredients when cooking, and to prepare the daily family meals. She asked him to make a fresh batch of this un-aged, unsalted cheese and let him know that we would both be in the kitchen to observe his process.

Everything was ready when we arrived and Niranjan got to work. Now, you must realize that he speaks Hindi with a few words of English and my Hindi is limited, so Leela became the translator. In between there was lots of gesturing.

 Niranjan poured about eight cups of very creamy milk (no skim or low-fat allowed—the creamier the better) into a heavy-bottomed pan and brought it to a rolling boil. He curdled the milk with acid (in this instance a tablespoon of vinegar), lowered the heat so that it wouldn’t boil over and stirred as the curds separated from the pale greenish whey (liquid).

Leela watched and said, “I prefer to use dahi (Hindi for yogurt) for the acid, but you can also use lemon or lime juice to curdle the milk.” I told her I often used lime juice, and vinegar on occasion. “Well, there is your problem, Barbara. Lime juice produces a crumbly consistency that we use is a specific paneer dish. Vinegar makes it firmer.” Voila, the mystery of the firm cheese was solved with vinegar. Who knew? It was a delicious end to years of frustration.

As we chatted, Niranjan poured the curds into a waiting mesh strainer set over a heat-resistant bowl to let the excess moisture drain away. About 30 minutes later he laid the paneer on a large piece of thin cloth (cheesecloth works well), formed and wrapped it before placing it in the refrigerator with a heavy weight on top. Niranjan chose a bowl of whey, but you could use a heavy pot. Leela watched him work and stressed the importance of the weight, and patience, as this step presses out any remaining excess moisture to produce a firmer cheese. “Let it sit overnight before cutting it into cubes and lightly frying them for your recipe,” she advised.

Betty Manilal, Leela’s daughter-in-law, came into the kitchen and suggested that we go to the local open-air produce market for the spinach in the early evening when it’s cooler outside. Indian markets are always an adventure, especially for Westerners. Filled with scores of individual vendors all hawking their just-harvested seasonal fruits and vegetables—some familiar, some not—this is not your familiar US farmer’s market. One thing you can depend on is that vendors triple their prices when they see a Westerner, especially an American. Betty is a tough bargainer and takes none of their shenanigans, often walking off and not coming back until she gets a fair local price.

As we moved through the crowds, I realized that I’d already become accustomed to maneuvering around the large lumbering cows and buffalos and the constantly honking cars. Bicycles are an entirely different matter, as they whip by ringing their jingly bells a hair’s breadth before impact. I’ve learned to jump back quickly and control my mouth. Even though they don’t speak English, the bicyclists know when someone is abusing them verbally, and then we have completely different cultural problems. I was relieved when an old woman agreed to sell us two kilos of spinach at a good price.

Close to lunch time the next day, Leela and I were back in the very hot, busy kitchen. Her legs were bothering her so Niranjan helped by lightly frying the paneer and prepping the spinach and other vegetables. Leela checked his beautifully minced onions, crushed garlic, tomato puree and spices and got ready to begin.

Leela approaches the stove like a maestro stepping up to the podium. She poured and heated some vegetable oil in a heavy-bottomed pan and threw in some cumin seeds, infusing the oil with their earthy scent and taste. Soon the onions and garlic were sizzling and perfuming the air. She sprinkled the coriander, chile and turmeric over the mixture then gave it a good stir before adding the tomato puree. As the acolyte, I was taking notes on my well-used yellow tablet and hoping that no one would hear my growling stomach. As Leela completed the dish with pureed spinach and the lightly fried paneer, we each reached eagerly for a spoon. Hmmmm, just a little salt and it’s perfect.

Heading to lunch with the family, I felt good knowing that I could now make paneer in my sleep and had even cracked the code of Leela’s heavenly spinach dish. Sure proof that no matter how well or how long you’ve cooked, there’s something new and delicious to learn—and to share with others.

Get a printable copy of Palak Paneer and How To Make Paneer for your convenience.

 Aloo Tikki

 Pakoras

Hello from New Delhi, India where I’m staying with my great friend, Leela Manilal and her large extended family. Leela is a retired journalist and the Beyond Wonderful International Home Chef, India. We’ve spent the last 25 years cooking together; developing and sharing Indian recipes, all while giggling, chatting and generally solving the problems of the world.

I’ve spent a lot of time in India—this is my tenth trip—and made lots of friends that have become family. On this visit, Leela and I are putting the finishing touches on a new batch of sumptuous recipes soon to debut at Beyond Wonderful.

But first, let’s take a detour with the kids in the house. Everyone here knows that I always arrive with Mary Poppins-style suitcases, bringing something magical and unexpected. Since Easter is near—and Indians do not celebrate the holiday as we do in America—colored, decorated eggs were an obvious choice. None of the kids had a clue what they were, but all were open to spending the afternoon on the veranda giving them a try.

I walked to the local market and went shoulder-to-shoulder with a large, lumbering cow while buying three dozen eggs. Back at the house, the cook hard-boiled and cooled them for later. Leela wondered if we needed so many eggs, but I find that a large supply is essential once the creative juices begin flowing and the kids crank out multiple masterpieces.

I usually set up kid events in advance, but this time I wanted Annamae, Dipika, Saana and Kibir to experience filling the colorful egg cups with water, dropping in the dye tablets with vinegar and watching them fizz. On a whim, I had purchased a swirl egg coloring kit that used oil and water to produce multiple colors and effects. It proved to be the most popular as the kids created amazing designs.

From the moment we got started, one would never have guessed that these kids were new to Easter eggs. Saana loves purple and guided her eggs there first. Kabir flat-out loved green and started all his eggs in that cup. As he worked, he regularly wiped his wet green hands on his shirt and laughed that no one could tell the difference.

Silly me, I quipped that Peter Rabbit would be proud of the kids’ creations—“Peter who?”  Whoops! The Easter bunny is a whole other cultural experience best saved for another time. After all, how do you keep a straight face when telling children in another culture that there is a giant rabbit bringing millions of Easter baskets filled with chocolate, sweets and presents to children all over America?

As the kids put the finishing touches on their eggs, I covered a large tray with vibrant green bunny grass and encouraged them to display their finished masterpieces. Like children everywhere they took great pride in their accomplishments and began counting to see who had created the most eggs.

Now what do we do with them? I suggested egg salad sandwiches or egg curry since we were in India, but was quickly shot down. It turns out the kids were much more interested showing off their colorful eggs than in eating them. I, on the other hand, collected the eight plainly colored, cracked eggs that they’d left behind and headed to the kitchen.

Happy Easter from the veranda in New Delhi, where I’m happily residing with my laptop and a very large bowl of egg salad—all to myself!

Get printable copies of this recipe and illustrated, step-by-step how to:

Easter Egg Salad Sandwich

How To Hardcook Eggs

Carne asada—grilled steak spritzed with fresh lime juice—is one of those Mexican classics that many diners order at restaurants but would never consider making at home. Strange since it only takes two minutes on the grill, is delicious and makes an affordable choice when planning three or four meals around one main ingredient.

Did you know that carne asada is used in tacos, burritos, fajitas, tostadas and nachos as well as with breakfast eggs and in salads? Pair it with tortillas, lots of fresh produce and homemade salsas (bottled if you must), and you will have nutritious, satisfying meals in minutes.

This week I grilled lots of carne asada for a meal with rice and vegetables, tacos de bistek with salsa de aguacate and a wonderful “garden grill” salad with steak. No one in my family felt they were eating leftovers because each meal was different and delicious.

Homemade Mexican food opens up the wonderful world of ethnic markets from small mom and pop’s to supermarkets that serve the everyday culinary needs of their community. Unlike our mainstream supermarkets that offer limited Mexican ingredients as pricey specialty items, these stores have a high turnover that allows for lower prices. Plus, they are great fun to explore. I often ask for guidance and look forward to treats like steaming hot tamales made from chicken and pork.

Earlier this week I headed to the Azteca Market for bistek (long thin, flavorful steak cut from the cow’s belly), tortillas, creamy Hass avocados, tomatillos, limes and chiles. While I depend on traditional bistek, you could easily substitute skirt steak. Be sure to tell your butcher that you are making carne asada and need it cut in half lengthwise. Otherwise it will be too thick and not work in the dish.

I couldn’t help doing a quick price comparison because the difference was so apparent. Bistek sold for $5.75 a pound compared to $9 for skirt steak. Ripe avocados for my salsa were 99 cents each compared to $1.69 at my usual market; tomatillos were $1.69 a pound compared to $2.99. A two-pound bag of Mexican limes was an affordable $2.49, while Persian limes ran 39-cents each or $4.48 for two pounds. A package of 30 tortillas cost $2.99 while a dozen at my market ran $2.50 to $3 depending on the brand. These are significant savings for a family on a budget.

Hungry?—let’s get started.

Day 1: Grilled Carne Asada with rice and a simple salad.
How easy is easy? You decide. Take your bistek or prepared skirt steak and sprinkle salt on both sides. Set aside. Heat a grill or dry, heavy-bottomed skillet over a medium-high flame and lightly brown the steak for 40–50 seconds (skirt steak may require more time as it’s often thicker). Adjust the heat as needed to prevent burning. Flip the steak and cook for approximately 30–60 seconds on the second side. Squeeze lime juice on both sides of the meat and serve promptly with rice and a simple salad

Day 2: Tacos de Bistek (steak tacos) with Salsa de Aguacate (avocado and tomatillo sauce)
A standard at taco stands across Mexico, this flavor-packed meal is super quick and nutritious. Place your carne asada on a clean working surface and cut into ¼-inch strips. Turn the strips and cut again to create ¼-inch dice. Sprinkle the meat with fresh lime juice and set aside. Warm the tortillas on a grill to soften. If the grill is “dirty” with meat juice from freshly grilled steak, even better. Fill the warm tortillas with the diced carne asada, chopped onions, salsa de aguacate and cilantro.

Salsa de aguacate is a quick blender sauce made with ripe Hass avocados, tomatillos, chiles, onion, garlic and cilantro. Chop, toss, blitz and you’re done. And the good news is that the acidic tomatillos prevent the avocados from discoloring for a day or two. A nice change from guacamole, salsa de aguacate is a great party dish served with tortilla chips.

Day 3: “Garden Grill” salad with steak
This is one of my all-time favorite salads because every bite is an adventure for the taste buds and beautiful to the eye. It’s filled with mixed greens and herbs like basil, Italian parsley, Marjoram and mint (torn not chopped!), multi-colored strips of grilled bell peppers and squash and a riot of red, yellow and orange tomatoes—all shapes and sizes when in season. Add some cubed feta cheese and steak strips and toss with a simple balsamic dressing. Dig in!

Try these three dishes and you’ll know why carne asada is a great main ingredient when planning meals on a budget. You are only limited by your imagination. As I finished the salad on the third day, I had to ask, how can I be on a budget when it tastes so good?

Print these recipes for easy reference:

Carne Asada

Tacos de Bistek

Salsa de Aguacate

“Garden Grill” Salad with Steak

Print these illustrated, step-by-step How To’s for easy reference:

How To Make Carne Asada

How To Make Tacos de Bistek

How To Grill Vegetables

Can you feed a family of four for $10 or less a day? Cooks across the county are doing it with careful planning, thinking outside of their daily comfort zones and budgeting—many for the first time. One of my tricks for consistently producing delicious, healthy meals is selecting one affordable main ingredient (today it’s rotisserie chicken), then building three to four meals around it.

Now, are you ready for the best cook’s tip of all? Costco’s three-pound, five-buck birds! Hands down, there is nothing on the market that can beat them for flavor and value. These tasty time savers are moister than any I’ve tried and don’t have added hormones, steroids, preservatives, MSG, glutens, flavors, colors or things that make you glow in the dark. In many instances this ready-to-eat product is close in price to its uncooked counterpart.

A recent trip to the superstore yielded three birds— or nine pounds of roasted chicken – for $15. Compare this to two, two-pound rotisserie chickens that I bought several weeks ago at a local market for $10.99 each—or $21.98. By my calculations, at regular market prices, my Costco birds would have cost $50, which means I saved $35 by shopping smart. What would you do with the bonus bucks? Personally, I vote for a nice bottle of wine or some sinfully dark chocolate cake to finish one of my meals.

With chickens in hand your meal options are unlimited. I try to offer my family a variety of choices based on the season and the weather. If it’s cold and raining outside, a hearty stew or soup offers lots of comfort. Warm sunshine, on the other hand, turns one’s thoughts to crisp salads, tacos and other easy meals that showcase fresh produce.

Day 1: Rotisserie chickens and herb roasted vegetables.

This super easy, elegant meal is ready in 30 minutes. All that’s required is reheating the chicken and chopping some potatoes, carrots, celery, onions and mushrooms for roasting. Put the vegetables on a baking sheet, toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and set them in a preheated 450-degree oven with a couple of sprigs of fresh rosemary and roast for 20 minutes. Halfway through, flip the vegetables over so they’ll crisp on both sides.

Put everything on a platter and decorate with sprigs of deep green Italian parsley for color. Add a basket of warm crusty bread with soft butter and get ready for lots of appreciative oooooh’s and aaahhh’s at the table.

Day 2: Chicken enchiladas with enfrijoladas sauce.

Be different and try a new cuisine. This Mexican classic is quick, easy and great for a crowd or Sunday brunch. All you need is a couple of cups of shredded chicken, corn tortillas and a simple blender sauce of beans, chipotle chiles, bay leaves, browned onions, salt and milk. Whiz, zip and you’re done. Make the enfrijoladas sauce a day or two in advance and let the flavors deepen—assembly is a breeze.

Day 3: Cobb Salad

Bob Cobb, owner of the famous Brown Derby restaurant in Los Angeles, raided the refrigerator for a late night snack in 1937 and found a bevy of treasures: chicken, crisp romaine lettuce, cheese, creamy avocados, crumbled bacon, watercress, tomatoes, chives and hard-cooked eggs. Cobb dressed his salad with French dressing, but I prefer creamy blue cheese.

Pair this complex composed salad with good bread or warm corn muffins and life is good.

Day 4: A hearty homemade soup—you decide.

What are you in the mood for—chicken noodle, Indian mulligatawny or perhaps Mexican tortilla soup? A favorite at my house is chicken-vegetable soup with lots of alphabet pasta thrown in for the kids. Most learned to spell their names eating this soup, while I knew the value of N for nutrition, F for flavor, S for silly fun and C for cheap (we’re talking scraps of chicken, leftover vegetables and homemade stock).

Have you grown feathers yet? If not, know that rotisserie chicken meat makes the best pot pies I’ve ever eaten. Simply combine some chopped meat with cooked potatoes, carrots, and celery in simple cream gravy. Spoon the mixture into pie tins or heat-resistant bowls and top with homemade pie crust for pennies, or best-quality store-bought crust for convenience. Bake to golden flakiness or freeze and bake when you, the cook need some delicious comforting.

Bones, bones, bones—always save the chicken bones for homemade stock. You may think its way too much work; don’t worry. Yesterday, I filled my stockpot with cold water, halved an onion, chopped two carrots and two ribs of celery, and broke apart a bulb of garlic then threw it all into the pot. A handful of whole black peppercorns, two bay leaves, five sprigs of thyme, six whole cloves and three chicken carcasses soon followed. In less than five minutes, stock was on the stove. So, easy and now there are eight four-cup containers of stock in my freezer for stews, soups, gravies, sauces and rice and bean dishes.

Four healthy, flavor-packed meals make me once again ask, how I can be on a budget when it tastes so good.

Print these for your convenience.

How to roast vegetables
Enchiladas enfrijoladas with chicken
Cobb salad
Chicken vegetable alphabet soup
Rotisserie chicken pot pie