green sauce, red (more like orange) sauce, and kevi's tostadas!

sauces are like the accessories of food-without them, many dishes are bland and boring. when you have a few good sauces with simple ingredients in your repertoire, you can spice up your most basic meals. we often pick up a whole roasted chicken from a favorite rotisserie in town. it comes with jasmine rice, black beans, and a special (green) sauce - which is by far the best part of the meal! the kids love this sauce so much that they ask for it every time we eat any kind of chicken. as you can imagine, i had to come up with a recipe to make this magical sauce at home-mine is slightly different (i'd like to think it tastes a little bit better) than the original. we now use the (spicy) green sauce in the tostadas we make with avocados, tomatoes, and cheese (see recipe below).

for the green sauce:

blend the following ingredients together in a blender

• 1 bunch organic cilantro (roughly chopped)

• 1/2 jalapeno pepper (remove seeds if you don't like spicy)

• 1/4-1/2 tsp sea salt

• 1-2 cloves of garlic

• freshly squeezed juice of 1 lime (large)

• 1/4 cup sour cream or creme fraiche

kevi's tostadas:

• corn or flour tortillas

• shredded cheddar or monterey jack cheese

• chopped avocados

• chopped tomatoes

• spicy green (cilantro) sauce

• hot sauce (we like tapatio) or fresh salsa

in a small frying pan (or on your grill) heat both sides of the tortilla, then add the cheese on one side and let it melt (medium heat), when the cheese has melted, top with the chopped avocados, tomatoes, hot sauce or salsa, and the spicy cilantro green sauce. eat right away.

roasted red bell pepper sauce:

years ago, we had the most delicious halibut (and bacon) kabobs at a good friend's house. she served them with steamed calrose rice and a delicious sauce. to this day, i associate halibut (a favorite fish) with this creamy red pepper sauce- which is thankfully so simple to make, delicious, and works with (almost) everything:

• 2 medium organic red bell peppers, cleaned, cored, and cut in large slices

• 1/4 cup creme fraiche or sour cream

• extra virgin olive oil

• sea salt & pepper

• a touch of cayenne (for spicy)

1. roast the bell peppers in the oven with olive oil, sea salt, & pepper for about 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees.

2. allow them to cool down, then peel, and quickly blend with the cream in a blender. if the sauce seems too thick, add a tiny bit of water or olive oil. tonight we had this sauce with some nice alaskan halibut baked in the oven (wrapped in foil) with a few drops of extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, cracked pepper, and a small squeeze of lemon juice. i highly recommend this combination-see pictures below:

you can freeze any remaining sauce in the freezer.