It’s not brujería, nopales can be a breeze to prepare without haven’t to boil a giant pot of water to end up with slimy nopales. Listen to this; dry pan. No water. No oil. Just the nopales and aromatics. Cover and cook over medium, stirring every few minutes and within 10 minutes they will be a gorgeous olive color. Rinse with cold water. Perfection. Cactus Paddle Salad with Farro and Chicharrón This is simply cooked cactus paddle slices (4 bags worth, each is about 1.5 pounds), a couple cups cooked farro and salsa ingredients -6 roma tomatoes, diced -1/2 white onion, diced -1/2 red onion, thin slice -1 bunch cilantro, minced -1 bunch parsley, minced -3 serranos and/or jalapeños seeded, diced -1 lemon, juiced -olive oil to taste -Red wine vinegar to taste -1 cup diced chicharrones -1 avocado thinly sliced TIPS -Aromatics for both nopales and farro? 1/2 onion, bay leaves, a jalapeño, crumbled oregano and salt. All get discarded when you rinse. - Why farro? Nopales in salsa bandera are an explosion of bright and tangy flavors. I wanted something to bring it all back to earth and feel a little more satisfying. - We always need fat and crunch, hence the avocado and the diced Chicharron. -This in a charred corn tortilla with a slice of panela and plenty of hot sauce is heaven. HEAVEN. Questions?

Run to the newsstand! My Shaved Brussels Sprouts and Chile-caramelized Pecan Salad is in @people Magazine with some great recipes for Turkey Day! Made me wanna go back in time to when this recipes was developed for one of our fist online cooking classes. All those recipes became the Familia cookbook that’s out now! These photos are from 2020 and with my favorite people on earth! @carinaluzvalladolid717 @pdbutton

San Diego earned it’s title of America’s Finest City today. Went on a hike in Torrey Pines with these people. They’re nice.

Send help.

Gadamadre… se me fue.

On our last trip to Merida and at our favorite spot, @casatho.concepthouse we had the toasted sourdough with guava butter EVERY morning! Had to make it at home. You don’t need a guava tree. You need a friend with a guava tree. Gracias vecina Señora Ayala. Underripe guavas are better because they will hold their shape. I didn’t want a spreadable jam, I wanted more body and bite, like a compote. 2 cups diced, firm guavas (with peel and skin, just remove core) 2 cups sugar 1/3 cup water Room temp unsalted butter Maldon Salt Place sugar and water in copper pot and cook over medium heat without disturbing until simmering and sugar dissolves. Add diced guava and cook 15 to 18 minutes until thick. Cool completely. How much you stir into the butter is up to you. I could add a couple tablespoons per stick with some of the preserves over the top. DO NOT FORGET THE SALT. Spread over grilled sourdough TE CALLAS LOS OJOS Y TE MUERES TRES VECES. Provecho!

Now we’re sharing ideas because I need to be doing something with all that darn pan. The Pan Era may be one of my best so thanks for hanging around The picadillo is very simple 1/2 white onion 2 garlic cloves 2 pounds ground meat 1 carrot 4 bay leaves 3 russets, cubed 2 large vine ripened tomatoes, blackened and blended with 1.5 cups chicken broth and a dried Guajillo. Strained. Sauté onions and garlic 5 min. Add meat and break with back of wooden spoon to break apart. Add potato cubes. Strain tomato sauce into pan and bring to boil. Add the whole carrot, 4 bay leaves and if you’d like some seasoning. Cover reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender about 40 min. I usually serve all this stuffed in pita bread but hey, when there’s pan we might as well use it…

I’m not denying I would sleep with the cheddar jalapeño loaf. I swear I’ll get back to enchiladas soon this is really helpful with anxiety and stuff so ride with me familia RIDE WITH ME.

Crazy how the question I get asked the most is the timeline so I’ll share mine very quickly. 8am feed Pedro Birote (my white starter) on a 1:1:1 ratio. (That means if you have 100 grams of starter you feed it 100 grams warm water and 100 grams flor) 3pm My starter has more than doubled but is not falling back yet. Mixing my dough to a shaggy mess and letting sit one hour. 2 folds 4 to 8 pm bulk ferment with folds every 30 min 8pm PRE-SHAPE 8:30pm FINAL SHAPE AND INTO BATONNET 9pm INTO FRIDGE TO PROOF OVER NIGHT NEXT DAY Bake any time between 7am and noon-ish. This is sorta following @fermentersclub basic sourdough which has been my base recipe this last month of obsessive bread-making.

It’s our turn… A Calaverita is a satirical poem written for Day of the Dead. As we do in Mexico, it is meant to bring lightness and a little bit of humor to difficult or uncomfortable subjects… like D💀ATH. Sergio Luna Garcia has been writing Calaveritas for over 70 years, winning competitions still at his 82 years of age. His daughter, Lulu, has been a part of our family for over a decade. Gracias Don Sergio, que honor que escriba para mi. Feliz Día de Muertos Familia….

Have fun. Be safe. Be kind. Try not to get abducted by aliens. Off to the parade… Happy Halloween!

Here’s another Pollo Noodle Sopa THROW EVERYTHING IN A POT 1 whole organic chicken 1 whole pobano 1 organic unpeeled carrot, halved 2 celery sticks, halved 1/2-inch piece of a cinnamon stick (very small piece) 3 bay leaves 1/2 white onion 1 teaspoon oregano 10 to 12 cups chicken broth or water Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer until chicken is cooked thru. Season with salt. Remove chicken and shred, reserving skin. Strain broth and reserve vegetables for another use (like feed to dog or baby or you can purée everything and add it back in for a thicker soup. My kids don’t like that so no) Cook a pound of egg noodles according to package instructions. Fry the chicken skin in olive oil until crisp, transfer to paper towel to drain and sprinkle with salt. Assemble by adding noodles and shredded to bowl and pour boiling strained hot broth over chicken and noodles. Top with anything you want. Maybe sourdough. Dave would want a soft boiled egg with this. You def need something hot. SECRET INGREDIENTS -Cinnamon- a very small piece will add a subtle warming flavor that won’t even be detectable. Brings chicken soup to a whole new level. -Sherry vinegar- we all know to finish with acidity but Sherry Vinegar is slightly more sophisticated flavor and will cut straight thru the fat with a nice, bright kick. Of course they get a piece of sourdough! Hoping hot soup will bring cooler weather. Typing this while it’s 82°F outside…