{"id":292,"date":"2011-02-11T04:44:43","date_gmt":"2011-02-11T04:44:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/feedingandrew.com\/?p=292"},"modified":"2011-02-11T04:44:43","modified_gmt":"2011-02-11T04:44:43","slug":"fighting-fire-with-fire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/feedingandrew.com\/?p=292","title":{"rendered":"Fighting Fire With Fire"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\"\"<\/a>\n\t

Mom's Salsa<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cDad, we\u2019re hot and bored,\u201d Andrew moaned as we walked through the searing heat that was coming off the ground at ten in the morning at the Park City Utah Street Fair.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to go to the hot salsa store and wait for you there.\u00a0It\u2019s air conditioned,\u201d he informed me and with that Andrew and his two buddies took off.<\/p>\n

It was fun to watch Andrew exert some independence, and I was glad I had decided to invite a couple of his friends along for a month in the mountains.\u00a0\u00a0However, there was more to this trip than fishing and camping.\u00a0 We were also in Utah to celebrate my parents\u2019 50th<\/sup> wedding anniversary and had just had a big party the day before. The day after was being spent with extended family. I needed to gather the boys up and get them back to the cabin before they arrived.<\/p>\n

I hurried up the street and went inside the hot sauce store.\u00a0 The boys had managed to find the hottest sauce in the world: Mad Dog. The store clerk assured me that they were right.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease Dad?\u00a0Please can you buy it?\u201d came the instant plea.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo way.\u00a0You guys will never eat this stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

More pleading ensued and in a moment of goofiness, I thought, \u201cwhat the heck,\u201d and purchased it.\u00a0\u00a0The clerk made some comment about indulgent parents and swiped my card.\u00a0 I was a bit shocked by her attitude as I didn\u2019t think spending a couple of bucks to try \u201cthe hottest salsa in the world\u201d was that extravagant.\u00a0 Unfortunately, by the time I paid attention to my receipt it was too late; I had just indulged my son and his friends in a $40 gag gift.<\/p>\n

Back at the cabin everyone was arriving. The house was soon filled with relatives from all over, and I was excited for Andrew to experience his new family in this extended context.\u00a0 Disappointingly, the boys were nowhere to be found.\u00a0 Eventually I located them in the basement watching TV and missing out on the festivities. \u00a0I called them to come up stairs and spend time with the family, but they were applying teenage selective hearing and remained downstairs.\u00a0 Instead of going \u201call tough dad\u201d on them, I decided to fight fire with fire.\u00a0 Mad Dog fire.<\/p>\n

The bottle of salsa \u201cfire\u201d came with a miniscule spoon about the size of the end of a Q-tip.\u00a0 It also came with instructions to use one of these teeny spoonfuls for every gallon of liquid. I took out a bottle of my mom\u2019s homemade salsa and poured some in a bowl.\u00a0 I then dropped in a spoonful of the Mad Dog.\u00a0 Not satisfied, I repeated the process about four or five more times before just pouring some from the bottle.\u00a0 I then got a bag of chips and headed to the basement.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, boys, since you\u2019re stuck in front of the TV, you might as well have some chips and salsa.\u201d<\/p>\n

They were duly appreciative and I went back upstairs and started counting out loud: \u201c10, 9, 8, 7\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWATER!\u00a0 OH MY GOSH!\u00a0 WATER!\u201d and with that the family was together.<\/p>\n

They were sputtering and we were laughing.\u00a0 They laughed too, but not until they could breathe again.<\/p>\n

That evening after everyone had left, I put out a plate of cookies for the boys and asked them to save one for me. \u00a0I was going to visit my cousin in a nearby cabin.\u00a0 When I came home, I couldn\u2019t believe it, they had left me a cookie, nicely displayed on a small plate.\u00a0\u00a0There was something so pleasant about them remembering me and going out of their way to make sure I got a cookie.\u00a0 I was feeling some pride in their maturity as I took a very large bite.<\/p>\n

What happened next was a slow realization that I had been duped as the afternoon\u2019s heat sensation started to roll over me like a wave on the sand.\u00a0 Suddenly, I could barely breathe.\u00a0 I looked at the bottom of the cookie and, sure enough, they had soaked it completely with Mad Dog.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t help myself from bursting out laughing.<\/p>\n

Not one to let a good prank go \u201cunrevenged,\u201d I grabbed a clean cookie from a hidden stash and went upstairs to greet the boys.\u00a0 I casually leaned into the room and let them see the cookie in my hand.<\/p>\n

They didn\u2019t miss a beat.\u00a0 Not one of them even hinted they knew something I didn\u2019t.\u00a0 Casually, I took a bite and continued to talk to them.\u00a0 Their eyes grew wide, but not one break in character.\u00a0 I took another bite and slowly devoured the whole cookie.\u00a0 I lingered long enough for them to see that there was no visible effect, and then said I was going to bed.<\/p>\n

\u201cBed? But isn\u2019t your mouth too hot?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, why would it be hot?\u201d I played dumb.\u00a0 \u201cGood night, sleep tight,\u201d and I closed the door.<\/p>\n

Soon they were downstairs trying to determine how their plan had failed and then to my bedroom demanding an explanation.\u00a0\u00a0 My laughter gave way to confession and soon a flood of prankster stories were told and even some future pranks were planned.\u00a0 Slowly, however, the conversation turned to weightier matters and the stories were now about growing up with all its fears and expectations.<\/p>\n

We stayed up chatting late into the night and, as the boys went off to bed, I knew Andrew had experienced a side of me that he had never seen and I knew he felt a certain pride that his dad was more than just a rule maker.\u00a0 I, too, had seen Andrew in a new light.\u00a0 He was still my little boy who needed me to be his dad, but I got an inkling of who he was fast becoming and I felt so blessed to be a part of it.\u00a0\u00a0The $40 spent on Mad Dog suddenly felt like a bargain.<\/p>\n

______________________________________<\/p>\n

This is a recipe that has been evolving in our family for over 30 years. \u00a0Back in the 70\u2032s my parents had frequented their favorite Mexican restaurant in Auburn, CA and were obsessed with the table salsa.\u00a0 My mother lobbied (read hounded) the owner to divulge the recipe for his salsa to no avail.\u00a0 Even on the eve of their departure for a move to New York, my mother\u2019s pleading was met with stoicism. \u00a0\u00a0Crushed, but not beaten, my mother determined to recreate this recipe.\u00a0 We were subjected to many reincarnations that didn\u2019t make the mark, but she eventually got it right.\u00a0 Our family thinks it\u2019s better than the original.\u00a0 We finally forced her to write down the quantities of everything so we could reproduce it with some consistency.\u00a0 This is like divulging a family secret, but it\u2019s so good it really needs to be shared.\u00a0 It\u2019s great on nachos, as a dipping sauce, for enchiladas and especially, Huevos Rancheros.<\/p>\n

Mom\u2019s Salsa<\/p>\n

Makes 2 quarts<\/p>\n

4 teaspoons red wine vinegar<\/p>\n

\u00bd tablespoon oregano<\/p>\n

\u00bd tablespoon cilantro<\/p>\n

\u00be tablespoon black pepper<\/p>\n

1-1\/2 teaspoon cumin<\/p>\n

\u00bd teaspoon salt<\/p>\n

1 teaspoon sugar<\/p>\n

4 medium cloves garlic<\/p>\n

Juice from \u00bd lime<\/p>\n

10-12 chile de arbol dried chilies, or to taste<\/p>\n

2 (28 oz.) cans tomatoes<\/p>\n

Place all ingredients into blender and blend until completely smooth.<\/p>\n

Refrigerate.\u00a0 Will keep in refrigerator for two to three weeks.\u00a0 If it sits a long time, you might need to shake it before using.\u00a0 Warning:<\/strong> Gets hotter as it sits.<\/p>\n

Note: I use a Vita-Mix blender and it\u2019s powerful enough to blend a rock into baby food.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t have a blender that will grind the dried chilies really well, I suggest placing the chilies in a saucepan and cover with water.\u00a0 Bring to a boil (make sure you have the lid on the pan or you will be coughing) and boil for about 3-4 minutes.\u00a0 This will make it easier to pulverize the chiles.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cDad, we\u2019re hot and bored,\u201d Andrew moaned as we walked through the searing heat that was coming off the ground at ten in the morning at the Park City Utah Street Fair. \u201cWe\u2019re going to go to the hot salsa store and wait for you there.\u00a0It\u2019s air conditioned,\u201d he informed me and with that Andrew […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-recipes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/feedingandrew.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/feedingandrew.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/feedingandrew.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feedingandrew.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feedingandrew.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=292"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/feedingandrew.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":304,"href":"https:\/\/feedingandrew.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292\/revisions\/304"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/feedingandrew.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feedingandrew.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feedingandrew.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}