jalapeños. one way or another, I’m gonna get you…

The biggest disappointment from my summer garden this year was the jalapeño crop. Yeah, I lost my tomatoes but I can get those easily from my favorite farms. Jalapeños are a different matter. I only know one farm that grows them and their price is outrageous. If my mother ever found out how much the farmer’s market price is, well, she would faint… and yell at me for purchasing. So, I usually grow my own with the hopes of pickling enough for the year. I always fail and finish my last jar within 3 months. I love jalapeños with scrambled eggs, on pizza, in my tuna melt, with mac and cheese, in a salsa fresca, roughly chopped with green onions and cilantro, in tortilla soup, chocolate covered and filled with peanut butter, and on and on… I still dream of the gorgeous specimen I had eons ago from Mark Miller’s kitchen, it was filled with goat cheese and dipped in a cornmeal batter. Sublime.

I’m usually so happy eating jalapeños en escabache, pickled jalapeños, that I don’t eat them fresh. I know I know… That has got to change! I decided that I would start making a jalapeño dish for taco nights. Um, taco nights happen at my house at least twice a week! This is a simple recipe. Quick, flavorful, and a great addition to your usual taco fillings or it can stand on it’s own, for those healthy vegetarian taco moments. Sorry, carnitas.

Jalapeños with Mushrooms

• half a red onion, thinly sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, cut into slivers
• 5 jalapeños, seeded and thinly sliced
• 1/2 cremini mushrooms, brushed and sliced
• olive oil
• salt

Nothing could be easier. Add olive oil to skillet, add onions and slowly cook. Once translucent, add the garlic. Cook for a for a minute or two, then add the jalapeños. Cook for a few minutes, or until the jalapeños have wilted. Add the sliced mushrooms and sauté gently until the mushrooms are plumb, juicy, and slightly browned… about 15 mintues. Add salt as you please.

Though this was a great addition to roasted chicken leftover taco night, and would be great in a goat cheese quesadilla, I wish I had some pickled jalapeños to add to the avocado salad… The search begins for good jalapeños, and lots of them.

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