Dried Chipotle and Tomato Salsa

Mexico has been on my mind a lot lately, especially Guanajuato. It started with our trip to Guatemala. We spent half of our time in the former capital of Guatemala, Antigua. With it's bright colors, colonial style buildings and cobblestone streets, it reminded me a lot of Guanajuato. One thing that sets Guanajuato apart from other colonial cities is that it's situated in a valley. The main streets of Guanajuato were built where rivers once flowed between the hills, explaining all of the curves and the reliance on a tunnel system. Houses were built up the hillsides, so the colors of the city rise up from the valley. A climb up to El Pípila monument gives a beautiful panoramic view of the city. Unfortunately, none of my photos of the city do justice to its beauty.

In Guanajuato, I lived with a family. My host mom was incredibly welcoming and my favorite part of the day was mealtime because she would stand across from my roommate and I in the kitchen, talking to us. The best practice I got speaking Spanish was with her. I didn't see her husband often because he worked up north in the mines. He frequently came home on weekends and it was nice to have him because he too was very friendly and caring. Whenever he was home for the weekend, he'd spend Sunday on the balcony barbecuing. I didn't see my host siblings much because the only one who lived with us was a high school student who spent all of his time with his girlfriend. The others lived elsewhere (Michigan, Switzerland, and I'm not entirely sure about the youngest but I think he lived with a Swiss couple somewhere else in Guanajuato).

There was a lot of coming-and-going of faces. We frequently had other language students stay with us. One was a friendly guy from Canada who loved to share his sweets from La Catrina. Another was from Korea and mostly kept to himself. Our host sister was home from Switzerland with her boyfriend for a week or two. The only two people who were consistently home were our host mom and her maid, Lupe.

Lupe was quiet and kept to herself. I always said hello and asked her how she was doing, but that was the extent of our relationship. Lupe did a fair bit of the cooking. Every day at lunch, we'd get a huge bowl of soup or rice followed by some sort of meat. Along with the first course, we'd get a stack of warm, fresh tortillas, a plate of limes and avocados, and dishes of salsa (usually two--one green and one red). I believe the green salsa was bought commercially, but when the red one was chipotle salsa, it was made by Lupe. I don't remember exactly how it tasted, but it was my favorite. I could have eaten just her chipotle salsa on corn tortillas for lunch and been perfectly satisfied. I will always remember Lupe by her chipotle salsa and shy smile.

Unfortunately, I have no idea what went into Lupe's salsa. Since I can't remember what it tasted like, there was really no hope that I'd be able to recreate it. If I ever make it back to Guanajuato, hopefully I can learn her secret! If not, this version will have to do! It's surprisingly flavorful for the few ingredients  used to make it.  The color is a deep brownish red. It has a good amount of kick from the chipotles, but it's not super hot. Really, I know that it seems like a lot of chipotles, but it's delicious and not too spicy. It's easy to make and can easily be doubled (or more) for a large crowd. Be sure to let it sit in the fridge overnight to cool and meld. It's a great salsa for tacos but is also great as an appetizer with tortilla chips.

Chipotle Salsa
Adapted from Mesa Mexicana
Makes 3 cups

Materials
1 14-oz. can diced tomatoes (feel free to use a flavored variety or fresh tomatoes)
1-2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/2 cups water
5 dried chipotle chiles, stems cut off (about 1.25 ounces)
salt and pepper, to taste

Methods
1. Combine the tomatoes, garlic, water, and chipotles in a medium saucepan.
2. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20-30 minutes (until the liquid has reduced by about 1/3 or the mixture is thick but there's still a little water). Set aside for awhile to cool before blending.
3. Pour the mixture into a blender and puree. Season with salt and pepper. Allow to cool completely then refrigerate overnight. Will keep for a week or two in the fridge (just give it a stir before serving).

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

After I graduated from college, I moved to Crested Butte, Colorado where I spent the summer doing field research on bumblebees. At the end of July, both of my roommates were preparing to head home because they were finished with their research. That week, a family of bears started breaking into cabins looking for food. I was terrified that my roommates were leaving and I was gong to be spending the next few weeks by myself in the cabin. Jamie, who'd been living in our cabin every summer for the past 8 years, told me that the tares in the screen of our "patio" door were from a bear trying to get into our fridge. I believed her because she had no reason to lie about it and because it looked a lot like slashes made by a bear paw. I thought that surely I was going to have a late night run-in with a bear! (Thankfully, I didn't.)

Anyway, to celebrate the end of our time living together, we donned the nicest clothes we had in our lopsided, dusty cabin and headed down the mountain for a nice dinner. Jamie and Rebecca were deciding which appetizer to order and suggested hummus. They were shocked to learn that I was 22 and had never tried hummus! The waiter placed the platter in middle of the table and my roommates looked at me, expectantly. I grabbed a slice of cucumber, dipped it in the hummus and took a bite. It was good, a little garlicy, but good! My roommates explained that there were other, less garlicky flavors of hummus that I might like better.

At the end of the summer, I moved back to Wisconsin to work for a year while I applied to graduate school. I started cooking and baking nonstop! One day, I decided to make homemade hummus. Following the suggestion of my roommates, I made roasted red pepper hummus. I have no idea where I got the recipe, but I've spent the past 3+ years optimizing it. I promised my mom this recipe years ago, but I don't think I ever sent it to her! Here it is, optimized to be flavorful with a slight kick. I often serve this hummus with crackers and veges but it's also delicious in a wrap with cucumber, tomato, spinach, kalamata olives, and feta cheese.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

Materials
15 oz. can garbanzo beans, drained & rinsed
1 roasted red pepper (feel free to use one from a jar)*
2 tbsp. lemon juice (fresh-squeezed if you can)
2 tbsp. lime juice (fresh-squeezed if you can)
1 1/2 tbsp. tahini (sesame seed paste)
1 clove garlic
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
1-2 tbsp. olive oil (or more)

Methods
1. As annoying as it is, slip the skins off of the garbanzo beans. Gently pinch each bean, and slide off the skin. If this is too tedious for you (I hear you), leave the skins on, but know that your hummus won't be as smooth as it could be (you'll still enjoy it, I promise).
2. Combine all of the ingredients except the olive oil in the blender. Pulse a few times to combine. With the food processor running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Once the hummus is whirling and looks moist, stop adding olive oil.
3. Continue to pulse until smooth and well-bended.
4. Refrigerate and serve cold.

*Alternative: use 3-4 roasted piquillo peppers