This is a quick and easy recipe that can be used as a marinade, dipping sauce, or as topping to grilled fish or poultry. I even use it as a flavoring in rice. If you are using the sauce for dipping after it’s been used as a marinade, for safety’s sake it must be simmered for 15 to 20 minutes before serving.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup diced onion

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

• 2 large tomatillos

• 1/4 cup lime juice, fresh preferred

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

• 2 tablespoons yellow hot chile juice

• Freshly ground black pepper

• 1 pound shelled shrimp

Instructions

Heat the oil in a skillet and saute the onion and garlic in the oil until soft.

Put the tomatillos, onion mixture, lime juice, cilantro, and chile juice in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Season with the pepper.

Marinate the shrimp in the mixture for an hour. Remove the shrimp and thread them on skewers for grilling.

Put the remaining marinade in a saucepan and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Heat the grill until medium-hot.

Grill the shrimp for about 6 minutes or until they are pink and opaque. Remove and serve the shrimp with the sauce on the side for dipping.

These muffins have all the ingredients you would find in a traditional Thanksgiving meal with the exception of one the Pilgrims never heard of–chile! With the availability of frozen cranberries and canned pumpkin, you can enjoy these tasty muffins anytime of the year–you don’t need to wait until the fall.

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

• 3 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

• ½ cup vegetable shortening

• 3/4 cup sugar

• 2 eggs

• 1 cup canned pumpkin

• ½ cup milk

• 1 tablespoon habanero juice

• 2 teaspoons orange zest

• ½ cup cranberries, fresh or frozen, cut in half

Instructions

Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F.

Sift all the dry ingredients together in a bowl.

In another large mixing bowl, cream the shortening and sugar together until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the pumpkin and mix well.

Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the mixture and combine well. Add half of the milk and mix. Then add another third of the dry ingredients, and then the remainder of the milk, habanero, and the zest, and finish with the remainder of the dry ingredients.

Lightly oil a muffin pan and fill two-thirds full with the batter. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean.

Cool the muffins on a rack before removing and serve them warm or at room temperature.

I always make this soup in the spring when the fresh asparagus is plentiful. It does freeze well but the asparagus doesn’t, so I omit any garnish pieces of the vegetable when putting this soup up. Although a creamy soup, the texture is achieved by adding potato rather than cream (although I will sometimes add a dash before serving). I would normally add heat by throwing in some chiltepins when cooking, but the serrano juice worked well when added just before serving.

Ingredients

• 1 pound fresh asparagus, cut in pieces, reserving the tips

• 1 large potato, peeled and chopped in small pieces

• 1/4 cup chopped onions

• 4 shallots, chopped

• 2 cloves garlic, chopped

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

• 1/4 teaspoon fresh thyme

• 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

• 1 quart chicken broth

• Salt to taste

• 1/4 cup cream or half and half, optional

• 2 tablespoons serrano juice

• Garnish: Rosemary leaves

Instructions

Combine the asparagus, potato, onions, shallots, garlic, rosemary, thyme, pepper, and broth in a stock pot or large saucepan. Bring the soup to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes or until the vegetables are very soft.

Remove the pot from the heat and put the contents in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Strain the mixture, through a sieve, back into the pot. Season with salt and add the asparagus tips.

Simmer the soup for 5 to 6 minutes or until the tips are just done.

Remove the soup from the heat and stir in the cream and serrano juice.

Ladle the soup into a tureen or individual soup bowls, garnish with a few rosemary leaves and serve.