David's Pico de Gallo

David and I are blessed with some very wonderful friends. Last night, we had three of them over for dinner: Yuval Sheer, Adi Marom, and Karlo Colon.

Yuval and Adi are our favorite couple...two Israeli's with big hearts. Yuval is a politically aware and plugged in Israeli lawyer. He fights for justice at here, and has dreams of going back to Israel and becoming engaged in politics back home. Both he and Adi understand the deeply complex relationship between Israel and Palestine, and they both abhor the violence and hurt that the colonization of Palestine has created. Adi is a tremendous artist. A graduate student at NYU, her work combines the very real and the whimsical. I particularly am a fan of her kinetic sculptures that combine art and robotics.

Karlo Colon is an extremely talented "painter of faces," aka a make up artist. He has worked with some of the top celebs and top fashion houses on the planet, yet he is so down to earth and sweet and real and wonderful. He is David's and my first friend that we made together. I met Karlo one evening at the Hispanic AIDS Forum's Sol Awards, and it was the greatest gift I received that evening.

So, last night, we decided to have these three fantastic individuals over for dinner. David'd made veggie tacos for the non-meat eaters. Karlo brought veggie Puerto Rican beans, which we served with brown rice. We had freshly made pico de gallo and tortilla chips for appetizer, and I also made a delicious chicken to go with the rice and beans for Karlo and I. And for a green, we had fresh green beans sauteed with butter and garlic.

This week, I am going to post the recipes for the pico de gallo, as an easy cheap appetizer that is full of fresh goodness, and I will also include the chicken recipe...which will have you lickin' your fingers and drunk on the flavors.

Here, first, is the Pico de Gallo recipe.

David's Pico de Gallo

8-10 ripe plum tomatoes diced
5-6 cloves of garlic minced
3-4 large jalapenos minced
1/2 cup cilantro minced
1/2 medium sized red onion minced
1 lime
salt to taste

Pico de Gallo is quick, delicious, and highly healthy. In a large bowl add the diced tomatoes along with the garlic, jalapenos, cilantro, and onion. Cut the lime in half, and squeeze each half over the pico, with a large spoon gently stir the pico de gallo together...be careful not to mash the tomatoes over much...this is not a pureed salsa. After mixing, salt to taste. Serve with tortilla chips or, if you like Yuval, grab a bowl, a fork, and eat it as a side salad.

The pico makes a delicious fresh and light appetizer that is way low in calories, and you control the saltiness of it. The whole shebang, minus the cost of the chips, will run you about $3-$4, and it heartily fed five people to their fill.

PS The great picture on this recipe page is courtesy of the incomparable Karlo Colon.

Welcome to the Fairy Chef!

Food is something that is and has always been important to me. As a child, I would stand around in the kitchen, watching my Mom fry, chop, broil, and bake. The smells of homemade bread often filled our small apartment, and, though I grew up dead damn broke and on welfare, my Mom made low cost sumptuous fare...and she was so adept at it that she fooled us into thinking common dishes, like buttered egg noodles, were expensive delicacies to only be eaten on occassion.

From my Mother's kitchen to my Grandmother's kitchen, from watching my Step-Father cook to learning to avoid my Birth Father's cooking at all costs, I learned how to experiment, recreate, and create anew old time recipes and create new recipes of my own.

Please note, I am not in anyway a trained chef. As a matter of fact, I am a writer. My recipes usually come with stories. I cook at home for my partner, and it is the greatest honor I can think of bestowing on a loved one to cook for them. Knowing that I have created a palate pleasing recipe that sustains the amazing people in my life, gives me a deep glowing satisfaction that is spiritual in nature.

I also post these recipes on my established blog, My Feet Only Walk Forward, which is a funny and silly and serious and ranting journey through life, love, politics, poetry, art, sex, and queerness.

While I now live a comfortable life, I am in no way a wealthy person. And so it is important that I am able to make good food, with fresh ingredients, cheaply. I understand how difficult that can be in a fast food world in a fast pace life when individuals, let alone families, juggle a million responsibilities on ever shrinking budgets. The recipes you will find here should all run you no more than $10 to $20 in ingredients, and, since I grew up in a large family, all of the recipes you will find here will make more than enough to feed two to four people (depending on your appetites).

I will post a number of recipes I have posted on my other blog, and, starting this week, I will post one new recipe a week. Some will be oldies but goodies and others will be new experiments I've whipped up and force fed to my beloved partner David. He didn't know he was signing up for guinea pig duty when he signed up for the life time gig with me.

So, grab your oven mitts and strap on your favorite cooking gear...cuz it's time to cook it up with the Fairy Chef.