Spaghetti with cheese and black pepper

This basic recipe came from SmittenKitchen by way of my sister, Doodles. She thought this dish would taste wonderful in my new pasta bowls. She was right it was tasty but made too much for just the two of us. I had half the dish leftover (more about the leftovers later.)

This is a pretty simple pasta dish but does, in my opinion, require a very good cheese and since I was ready to splurge I picked up some Parmesano Reggiano at Whole Paycheck. Seventeen bucks a pound but since there is nothing else in this recipe to mask the flavor of the cheese so go for the best.

Also grind your own pepper. It calls for 1 1/2 teaspoons but I used more. I love pepper and for this dish I used smoked peppercorns. Giving it a lightly smoked flavor. Your call. I also used penne instead of spaghetti.

What's great about this recipe is it's a start to as many variations as you can think of and I tried a bit of a twist with the leftovers. Here's what I did:

Fry one slice of bacon crisp and removed from pan, chop finely and set aside. To the pan add half cup finely diced leftover tri-tip steak. Fry gently in the bacon fat and add the leftover pasta. If it's dry add water a few tablespoons at a time. Toss with tongs and remove to bowls. Top with the reserved bacon and more cheese. A little chopped parsley couldn't hurt, now could it?

There ya go, a simple pasta two different ways. This is a recipe I'll keep and use again because I love quick and easy meals for nights when I just don't want to cook. As long as you keep your pantry stocked with the basics you're home free.

Spaghetti with Cheese and Pepper [Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe]
Serves 4 as a main, 8 as a first course

1/4 cup olive oil

1 pound dried spaghetti

2 tablespoons butter

4 ounces Pecorino Romano cheese, finely grated

1 1/2 teaspoon finely ground black pepper

Salt (optional)
Cook spaghetti in well-salted water to your al dente tastes in a large, wide-bottomed pot. (You’ll have fewer dishes to wash if you use this pot to assemble the dish as well.) Drain spaghetti, reserving 1 1/2 cups of pasta cooking water.

Dry out your pot, then heat the olive oil over high heat until almost smoking. Add drained spaghetti and 1 cup of reserved pasta water and jump back, this will splatter mightily, also known as “I made this three times, and never once learned my lesson. Do as I say, not as I do.”
Add butter, 3 ounces cheese and ground pepper and toss together with tongs. Taste, adding more pasta water, cheese, pepper or salt (which should not be necessary, as Romano is very salty) to taste.

Serve immediately, sprinkling with reserved cheese and an extra grind or two of black pepper.

Throw me somethin' mister

My friend Crystal, who was born in New Orleans, told the story of how she got her name. When they'd pass by this sign her momma 'n them would tell her that's where they got the idea for her name, Crystal Preserves. I found this photo on the Crystal Hot Sauce site. It made me smile because our dear Crystal died a few years back and I sure do miss her, especially around Mardi Gras. Even though she was transplanted to California she always planned our Mardi Gras "feast" at work complete with "throws" she'd collected. She was a doll.

Sorry you're not with us anymore Crystal but, wherever you are, I know you've written and directed a play, sewed all the costumes--and made a great pot of red beans and rice for the after party.

Let the good times roll,
Crystal M. St. Romain
July 8, 1957 - May 16, 2003

In Crystal's honor I made a big pot of Red Beans and Rice. Everyone has their favorite recipes and I'm no different, but I did tweak it a bit. I didn't simmer the beans on the top of the stove but here's what I did.

• Soak one pound of beans over night in four quarts of water and three tablespoons salt.
• Drain and rinse the beans and add them to ovenproof pot with onions, celery, green pepper and a ham bone. Then cover with water and bring to a simmer.
  
• Place the covered pot in a 250 degree pre-heated oven to cook for one hour. Test the beans and cook longer if not done. They should be soft throughout.

This is a great way to cook the beans. The skins were not tough but the bean was not falling apart, either. I always mash half the beans and they were nice and creamy. I added some smoked sausage and it was a fine pot of beans but since I'm the only one that eats Red Beans, I had to freeze the rest. None will go to waste because this is a dish that freezes well.

Potato Pancakes

a bit different but tasty pancake. Found this in a Bed and Breakfast cookbook that sister and I have traded back and forth for several years.

I am giving you this recipe from memory because I'll be darned if I can find the actual cookbook.

5 medium potatoes to end up with approx.

1 1/2 cup shredded

1 bunch green onions cut small include some of the green

1/2 cup all purpose flour

2 large eggs

salt & pepper to taste

canola oil for frying

Sometimes I cheat and use a package of already shredded potatoes. Don't judge me I live in an RV and space is valuable lol!! Whichever potato you use be sure to squeeze the moisture out of them. Try two clean dish towels that usually works well for me.

In a large bowl mix together all of the above ingredients except the oil, put some oil in the frying pan heat to a medium high. While you are frying up the pancakes keep a piece of plastic wrap over the mixture sometimes it will discolor if you don't.

Make a patty, put the mixture in a medium hot pan, let set for a minute but don't let burn. Serve the pancakes as you make them because they do not hold well in a warmer.

How we do it: hamburger

Let me ask a question: what kind of hamburger do you buy?

• I examine each package for fat content
• I buy what's on sale
• I throw in one of those plastic sleeves of hamburger because I can't stand the look of ground meat.

If I had a meat grinder I'd grind my own meat. I'm not so sure what actually goes into the hamburger coming out of the large processing plants and I'm not so sure I want to know. Your local (add your favorite market) does not grind their own meat for hamburger. Once they did but for some reason they decided butchers were too expensive to have around each store and now it comes from a town far, far away. Well, unless you live near a meat processing plant but I think our meat comes from Pleasanton, CA and anyway, I like to know just what is in my ground meat.

A few months ago I noticed Von's had a boneless chuck roast for sale and asked the man stocking the bins if he could grind this for me. Oh, it was his pleasure and was back in just a few minutes with my ground chuck. And when I cooked this hamburger it actually tasted like something other than cardboard; it tasted like beef. Imagine that. So when I hand the butcher my chuck roast it comes back just that chuck roast and nothing else.

I've been fortunate to find boneless chuck roasts on sale. This one was $2.99 a pound and I don't think that's too much for good tasting chopped meat. I'll leave it up to you but I now look for roasts on sale and when I do we have dinners like meatballs or meatloaf or chili, but the chili, that's another post.

If you try this let us know. Do you taste a difference or if you think this is way too much trouble and just buy one of those plastic sleeve o'meat.

Give-away winner

Our winner for the give-away was chosen very scientifically. The names for both sites were written down, cut into strips, and put in a hat. They, one name picked out. Check out the Facebook page for the winner.

Thanks

Valentine's Day Give-away

Since PBE has expanded to Facebook (see badge at left) we thought we'd celebrate by having a give-away. Valentine's Day is Sunday and we'd like to add some Fans to our Facebook page. To win the prize, a hand-made felt Valentine pin, simply answer this question in the comments. Now, you might have received or given this gift but, tell us what made it so memorable.

What was your best Valentine's Day gift, ever?

Winner will be chosen at random from the combined comments on Blogger and Facebook so only comment once, please. All comments must be made by Wednesday, February 10, 2010, 9:00 a.m PST; we want to mail your prize in time for the big holiday. Winner will be announced on Wednesday afternoon. If the winner is outside the US you most likely won't get it by the 14Th but, we'll try. Good luck!

Superbowl snacks

Planning a Superbowl party on Sunday? Here's a great snack that is easy and fit for either Colts or Saints fans. I've made this for many a party and never had to worry about leftovers. Enjoy.

Smokey Chipotle Hummus
2 15 oz cans garbanzo beans, drained
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons tahini
3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2-4 tablespoons olive oil
1-2 tablespoons minced canned chipotle chilies*
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 4-ounce jar sliced pimientos in oil, drained
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
bagel chips or flat bread

Blend garbanzo beans and next 7 ingredients in processor until smooth. For a thinner or more spicy hummus use more oil or chipotle chilies, if desired. Add pimientos; process until pimientos are coarsely chopped. Transfer hummus to a medium bowl. Stir in cilantro. Season hummus to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and chill. Can be made one day in advance. Bring to room temperature before serving. Accompany with bagel chips or flat bread torn in bite-sized pieces.

* To save the leftover canned chipotle chilies puree the remainder and scoop tablespoons on foil-lined cookie sheet and freeze until solid. Peel off the foil and store in zip-lock bag.

Meatloaf: revisited

This post has two purposes; a new method for meatloaf and a product review.

For the past few years I've been trying to recreate my Mom's meatloaf. I loved it but can't seem to hit on the exact recipe. It's not from trying but since my beloved doesn't love meatloaf like I do I don't try it too often. My last attempt Meatloaf on the Grill was a very complicated, many ingredient recipe from America's Test Kitchen. Though tasty, it was not what I was looking for plus it had way too many ingredients and prep.

As they often do, ATK had revisited the recipe and created different. Far less steps and indredients but more of a change in procedure. Check out their website for the recipe or adjust your own favorite but here might be the secret.

• Add crushed saltine crackers instead of breadcrumbs.
• Saute whatever vegetables you use. I like onion and celery.
• Use a mixture of plain yogurt, egg and Dijon mustard.

Now for the product review. For Christmas I'd requested a French Blue Steel skillet and got a wonderful de Buyer pan. It's 12" with an extra handle because this sucker is heavy and that handle makes it easier to get in and out of the oven. It browns meat perfectly and even doubles as a roasting pan.

Treat it just like any cast iron pan, make sure you season it first and don't wash it with soap and don't let food sit in the pan. I wipe out the pan and "scour" it with kosher salt then run water and scrub with a hard bristle brush. Rinse, dry and wipe a bit of vegetable oil in the pan and good to go. I've yet to have a problem with sticking.

Here I'm using it to bake my meat loaf. Always put a tiny bit of oil in the pan before putting in the meat.

The recipe calls for bacon to be wrapped over the meatloaf and baked until the bacon is crispy and internal temp is 160 degrees. Don't forget to let it rest for 20 minutes.

Very good, not my mom's but I liked to just the same. Now, my beloved isn't that crazy about meatloaf so he drowns it in ketchup. I think I like it cold in sandwiches the best but since he's not a fan I don't usually make it for just the two of us. Wanna come to dinner?

Do you crave food?

It's OK sure you do, we all do. Some better for ya than others.


I woke up thinking about this salad dressing my sister introduced me to awhile back.  She posted the recipe  here


I remember that I made a fruit salad a few years ago that we really liked. I have the same ingredients on hand plus a few other items. Perfect for the salad dressing I have been craving.

Well I made this added some napa cabbage, a few pieces of gorgonzola cheese, pecan pieces, a few dried cranberries then added this wonderful dressing.

Try this, I know it's out of the norm.  If bannanas are not your thing add manadrin oranges, navel oranges or even fresh pineapple.  Let me know!!

And no I do not know where the name of this dressing came from.

A fitting name, The Oinkster

We don't usually do restaurant reviews but a post is a post so here's what we got into on a beautiful sunny Southern California Sunday. I'd heard about The Oinkster but Eagle Rock is about a 45-minute drive and nothing else out there I wanted to see but with two good friends wanting to go, we made a day of it.

Guy Fieri is to blame. After watching all the fun places he goes to I had to find a new one for us and thanks to Yelp, I stumbled on to this joint's website. First, let me say, I don't always believe everything I read on Yelp except when there are lots of current reviews. Most were positive with a few that thought the everyone was crazy for liking this place. We wanted to make up our own minds so off we went.

Driving there I'd remembered the area and talked about a fabulous Italian Bakery/Deli I thought was nearby. We searched the Garmin and sure enough, it was down the street. It's the Eagle Rock Italian Bakery and Deli. If you're in the area, it's quite a treat.

Lunch ordered we took a table outside. It was 12:30 pm and still not real crowded and a perfect day to eat on the patio.

Everyone ordered the Pulled-pork Sandwich with coleslaw and grilled onions. Their BBQ sauce, a vinegar-based Carolina style, came in a bottle. Not being a fan of the sauce I ordered the Rotisserie Chicken with Belgium fries and Roasted Garlic Aoili.
They make their own sauces and it's hard to say which one was better the Aoili or the homemade ketchup. I could have drank the ketchup but that garlic mayo was great too. Imagine it on a burger. Sigh.

What I wished to try, but didn't, was their House Cured Pastrami. It was as big a sandwich as the pulled pork and though a bit pricey, almost 9 bucks, it looks fantastic. I should have share it with someone. That doesn't mean my chicken wasn't delish, it was tender and juicy and full of flavor.

I might have been expecting something different with the Belgium Fries. They were soft but not greasy and a great way to get the ketchup into my mouth. They did have a very fresh flavor.

The menu also has beer and wine though we opted for soda and one of their handmade malts that was pretty hefty.

This place needs a return visit but being so far out of the way I'm not sure when. And the Italian Bakery? Yes, we stopped there and each got a loaf of their Italian bread. Oh brother was that good.

Christmas Guest Chef

We had a guest chef in the PBE kitchen this morning. She comes from a long line of fantastic cookie bakers. I felt honored just to be in the same kitchen let alone her helper.


Here are her 2009 Christmas Cookies. I'm sure they'll be copied as soon as the public sees them. I'm just hoping she lets me help her again next year.

Shut the door, I'm dressing!

One of my favorite cookbooks is The Junior League of Pasadena California Heritage Cookbook. I've had it since 1976. My dog, as a puppy, chewed the corner and many of the pages have stains. I love this cookbook. One of my favorite recipes is something they call Mexican White Dressing. Reading the recipe you might also wonder why it's called this, it's puzzled me forever.

This is one of those sweet dressings that goes well with avocado and citrus salads but the following is an old standby of mine. First, the dressing.

Mexican White Dressing
1 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon celery seed
1 tablespoon of powdered onion
4 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon salt

Mix all the ingredients in a 1-quart covered jar and allow to stand at room temperature for 24 hours. Refrigerate 1 hour before serving. Shake well just before using. This dressing will keep for 1 week in the refrigerator.

Now, the salad. It couldn't be easier. You can add candied nuts or Gorgonzola, whatever you enjoy. The sweet dressing is a wonderful compliment to the strong cheese.

Napa Cabbage Salad
Chop into bite-sized pieces a medium head of Napa cabbage.
To this add walnuts and crumbled blue cheese and toss with dressing.

Artichokes and cream: what's not to love

If life were perfect I would have created this dish but nope, it wasn't me. It was another food blogger, Ree Drummond at Pioneer Woman. She's just come out with a cookbook but I've been reading her blog all along. She takes a million photos of the process for each recipe and has fun doing it. She has a handful of home schooled kids and a working cattle ranch. She is way too organized but has an honest blog that is fun to read and is a damn fine cook.

Spaghetti with artichokes and tomatoes

She touts this as almost entirely made from the pantry and I did use canned artichoke hearts but I had enough fresh Roma tomatoes so I blanched and pealed them. I had thought frozen artichokes but they might be to watery and Trader Joe's has a very nice canned product. It is easy, quick and very filling. I like to have a meatless dinner ever so often and this fits the bill.

Ree added the cheese a bit differently. Hot pasta into a bowl, drizzle with olive oil and then sprinkle a fair amount of grated Parmesan. Then top with the hot sauce. I think that helped to incorporate the cheese better. And like her, I use tongs to help mix this all together. Where ever would I be without tongs. They are on my family crest.

Editor's note: I got so wound up about this dish I missed one thing. It was delicious! My beloved enjoyed it and didn't even miss the meat. I could have eaten the whole bowl but held myself in check. Red sauce is on for me but I really have trouble with the acid. This had a yummy tomato flavor without the acid-reflux I usually experience. Do make this. Go to the store right now.

Hot Fudge

Sometimes hot fudge sundaes for dinner is just what you need. I mean, really, let's throw caution to the wind and enjoy what we want. Life is stressful enough these days, but I'm an optimist; I feel we are getting better.

When my beloved decided he wasn't hungry for dinner I asked if he had room for dessert. He quickly agreed he had room for a hot fudge sundae. Friday we had friends over for dinner and since I don't bake much in the summer, we had a simple dish of ice cream with peach sauce for dessert. That meant there was ice cream left in the freezer.

A few days ago, in an unusual fit of cleaning, I ran across a recipe for my mom's hot fudge. This was not your usual chocolate syrup this was something divine. I had never made it but had asked mom quite a few years ago how she concocted this delightful pleasure. It is way too easy.

Hot Fudge
1 can of sweetened condensed milk (try some of the La Lechera that Doodles posted about)
powdered cocoa
milk
pinch of salt (optional)

In a small sauce pan heat the condensed milk slowly and whisk in enough cocoa powder to taste. Some people like it more chocolaty than others. As it heats, thin it to the right consistency with milk. You want to be able to pour the syrup. Add a pinch of salt. Heat and stir until it's smooth, no need to come close to a boil.

Pour over your favorite ice cream but pour enough you want a bite of that tasty fudgy syrup with each bite of ice cream.

It's September

Some areas of the country are beginning to feel some coolness to their weather, not where we are but hey Southern California always has to be different.

I read somewhere that September is National Fruits & Vegetable month. Well I know for a fact that there are some tasty fruits around this time of the year. Farmer's Markets have an abundance of fruits and veggies and for that I am so thankful.

But have you noticed in your market the vast supply of avocados, my word this must be a bumper crop year. Oh and where we are right now the price is very good thank you very much.

I love me a good avocado salad with red onion, chick peas, chopped tomatoes and for a dressing just fresh lime juice and good extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. I add chopped cilantro but not everyone likes this herb so leave it out if you want. If I have some red cabbage or even savoy cabbage, I slice that thin and add it, gives it a crispness Maybe add some fried/baked tortilla strips to use instead of croutons.

But one of my favorite ways to eat an avocado is to mash it with a little lime and salt and add just about a nickel size dollop of some pepper paste, you know that stuff you get in a tube, add that, then spread it on a piece of sourdough bread that has been under the broiler for a few seconds.

Well since it's still September I'm gonna go think of some fruits and veggies to share that is a bit out of the ordinary.................do you have some to share?..................email and I'll post them as well................stay tuna'd

Sweet

We had company the other nite for dinner...........friends were leaving so I made a pork roast with all the trimmings, nothing special just the carrots, onions and potatoes. What I liked the best was the gravy I made from the juice, quite tasty with the addition of the smokey paprika I rubbed on the roast.

But this post is not about the main meal it's about my new favorite desert or should I say desert addition. It was a bit too warm to bake a pie or a cake. And given the time of year and the great fruit that abounds in this area at
least.

Peaches are at the top of my list with a few blueberries and raspberries added as well as some toasted pecan pieces added after a drizzle of this delectable sweetened condensed milk. I just recently found this product and was quite pleased with the fact it is not as heavy sweet like the sweetened condensed milk I have been using for many, many years.
The wonderful locally grown peaches are spectacular, added to the peaches were some dried cranberries and some toasted sliced almonds.


Next up using this to make my key lime pie recipe..............that will be the real test I'm thinking.

Not enough butter in your diet? We have the answer

Buttercream Frosting! I was feeling like the blood through my arteries was moving much to fast so I decided to make honest to goodness buttercream frosting. This is a Cook's Country recipe and it's pretty easy though I'm sure very high in cholesterol. This recipe makes enough for a small cake or about 24 cupcakes. I cut it in half for 15 and I still had a bit left. What ever to do with a 1/4 cup of frosting?

Buttercream Frosting
4 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
pinch table salt
1 pound unsalted butter, softened and each stick cut into eights

Combine eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt in bowl of standing mixer, place bowl over pan of simmering water. Whisking gently but constantly, heat mixture until thin and foamy and registers 160 degrees on instant-read thermometer.

Beat egg mixture on medium-high speed with whisk attachment until light, airy, and cooled to room temperature, about five minutes. (I put an ice pack around the outside of the bowl because it was pretty hot in my kitchen.) Reduce speed to medium and add butter, one piece at a time. (After adding half the butter, buttercream may look curdled; it will smooth with additional butter.) Once all butter is added, increase speed to high and beat 1 minute until light, fluffy, and thoroughly combined. (Can be covered and refrigerated up to 5 days.) Do let it warm up and restir to make it fluffy and spreadable again.

I frosted the cupcakes and sprinkled some toasted sugared slice almonds. Just perfect. I kept them refrigerated until a few minutes before serving because that butter sets up solid when cold, just like it does in your arteries.

a new find.............goat cheese

Not a new find to me but to my dear husband. While checking out the local farmers market Mr Doodles found the goat cheese vendor. My word you would have thought he had found the hope diamond but he did find some killer goat cheese.

What Mr liked was the creaminess of the cheese with the additions of dried cranberries. Then there was a variety with the cheese in a jar with lemon juice,good olive oil, a sprig of fresh rosemary and some black peppercorns. Another variety was plain cheese rolled in a variety of items, one was cilantro very finely chopped. So because Mr was enthralled with the cheese he had to have a very long chat with the fellow who was also the owner,he and his wife are the owners actually, wife happened to be at another farmers market.

We went to lunch later and I was telling Mr about 'lil bird', my sweet niece, wanting to have a few goats and make some cheese. Well he laughed hysterically and said if only we were younger we would do that. We had one goat once upon a time, Doone was a very sweet goat. Mr reminded me a a cute photo of sweet niece feeding Doone but Doone decided he liked niece's dress she was wearing and started chewing on the hem. As I remember it was Easter and 'lil bird' was dressed in all her Easter finery. I think I'm gonna look for that photo.

Anyway back to the goat cheese,
one of the cheeses I purchased was the creamy goat cheese rolled in some wonderfully sweet and moist dried cranberries.

Gonna go look for some recipes that uses goat cheese............stay tuna'd.

Reprise of an old favorite: part two, the guacamole

You can hardly call this guacamole since there is so little avocado in it but that's what they call it at Cielito Lindo's. You can call it damn delicioso and put it on anything, well maybe not dessert.

Let's get this finished. I had so many pix for the first installment and my camera decided to be uncooperative for the second so we are gonna proceed photoless.

Take the approximately 3 cups of the Salsa Verde you made from the previous post and add one half a medium sized ripe avocado. Yes, that is correct, one half, 1/2, or medio; however you say it–it's just a tiny bit of the whole sauce.

Liquefy in the blender until smooth and bring to a simmer in a small sauce pan. Simmer for about five minutes. This cooks out the "raw" taste of the avocado. Not a bad taste but somehow different once you cook it.

Now thin with a bit of what's called in the restaurant biz, "profit". That would be water to us folks. This sauce is very thin, like a heavy tomato juice. Adjust the salt and let this cool; refrigerate and serve cold over the taquitos. It is also good on tacos and I love it mixed in with frijoles.

I hope this helps the readers who can't make it to downtown Los Angeles for their taquito fix and maybe spur someone else to try this classic Olvera Street favorite.

Reprise of an old favorite: part one, salsa verde

Editors note: Lots of photos on a blog site, not my thing but sometimes you need to show the process so if you have a slower computer, I sincerely apologize, there are many photos with this posting.

We've received a number of questions about the Guacamole Sauce used at a famous taquito stand in Los Angeles. Ok, two is a number, right? I posted about recreating the recipe and came pretty close. If you've been to Cielito Lindo's you know what the big fuss is about. Recently, we've had a few other questions and I thought it time to do a thorough post, with pix, to help everyone out. Since this can be a complicated recipe and would be too long for any sane person to read, I'll serialize it.

First you need to make the Salsa Verde. I rarely make it from scratch because I live near an ethnic Mexican market that makes it fresh but if you can't find this make this recipe or find canned, Herdez Salsa Verde. It works in a pinch. Do stay away from any canned Salsa Verde that has sugar, yuck. Once in a while I find canned tomatillos just packed in brine. This will work too but you have to cook the other veggies so why not do it all.

1 lb of Tomatillos, husked removed
Note: These look like green tomatoes with a papery skin. Peel off the skin and wash the tomatillos thoroughly. They are sticky, very sticky; they should make glue from tomatillos.

3 whole jalapeño peppers
Note: I use Fresno Hots because I grow them in the summer. These are hot mamma jammas and need to be treated, as all hot peppers, with respect. Seriously wear gloves and wash before you touch any skin, yours our someone else's. I also used one of my Anaheim Green chillies, they have such great flavor but you can make it with just jalapeños.

7 or 9 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 medium white onion, quartered (I know the photo shows a brown onion)
1 can of 14.5 oz. chicken broth
a small bunch of cilantro with stems, about a cup roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Cut the tomatillos in quarters. See why? You can't tell from the outside if it's got a bad spot.
Cut the peppers in quarters and if they are really hot remove the seeds.
Cut onions in quarters and peel the garlic.

Everything, including chicken broth goes into a pot. Don't worry if the broth does not cover the vegetables. Bring to a boil and simmer with lid on for about 20 minutes or until everything is soft.
Because you can never be sure how hot your chillies are you can, in a separate pan, boil a few chopped and seeded chillies.

This will smell wonderful. I believe this is what heaven smells like.

I took this snap before I added the cilantro stems but don't bother chopping them everything will go into the blender when cooked. Give it a taste and if it isn't hot enough for you add a few of the extra cooked chillies. If it's too hot, I have no idea, it's never been too hot for us. It needs to have some heat. Adjust the salt.

Here it is finished cooking. Now, didn't that all go together nice? Yes, it did.Let this cool before you process it, please. I have had Salsa Verde colored kitchen walls before. You could use the salsa, to cook pork or chicken or a sauce for enchiladas. It is very versatile.
For our Guacamole recipe whir in a blender until completely liquefied. Strain the salsa through a fine mesh strainer while you push it through with the back of a spoon. I strain it this way because the tomatillo has those pesky little white seeds. You do what you want but the resulting sauce should be quite smooth. You should have somewhere near 3 cups.
You are halfway there. Stay tuned for the second installment of the recipe; making the guacamole. It is totally different from guacamole you eat with your chips in a Mexican restaurant. It is for dipping taquitos and licking the plate after.

Use one quart of the Salsa Verde in my version of Chilaquiles.