Wednesday, May 9, 2018

From Joe Mack Crawford's Kitchen

 In one of my interviews about Joe Mack Crawford, the hero in The Little Girl in the Bayou, I stated that Mack loves barbecue. That's an understatement. Most of his meals are from his homemade grill and all meats are marinated in his special sauce. I wanted to share his recipe with you, but it's his "mystery sauce" and he doesn't give that recipe to anyone. Not even me--his creator.

Of course, any Texan worth his salt loves Mexican food, and Mack is known for whipping up a batch of Ninfa's Green Sauce. Ninfa's is a famous Mexican restaurant in Houston that Mack frequents, and Mama Ninfa created this "Green Sauce" for her customers. Mack likes to think he has the original recipe for Ninfa's Green Sauce, but it's common knowledge that the family shared a modified version of Mama Ninfa's original recipe. Modified or not ... it's still good, and Joe Mack Crawford shares it here:

Ninfa’s Green Sauce
Servings - 5-6

Ingredients

– 3 medium-sized green tomatoes, coarsely chopped
– 4  tomatillos, husked and chopped
– 1 to 2 jalapeños, stemmed and coarsely chopped
– 3 small garlic cloves
– 3 medium-sized ripe avocados, peeled, pitted and sliced
– 4 sprigs cilantro
– 1 teaspoon salt
– 1 1/2 cups sour cream

Instructions:
Peel avocados, remove seed and place avocados in a blender. Set aside.
Combine chopped tomatoes, tomatillos, jalapeños, and garlic in a saucepan. Bring to a boil (tomatoes provide the liquid). Reduce heat and simmer for approximately 15 minutes or until tomatoes are soft. Remove from heat and cool slightly, then place all ingredients in blender with avocados. Blend until smooth. Stir in sour cream
Cover.
Chill.
Enjoy with your favorite chips or raw veggies.
 
Mack reminds anyone who tries the Green Sauce that it won't last more than a couple of days: one, because it's so darn good and two, because the avocados turn dark, making it look yucky.

 
https://www.amazon.com/Tick-Tock-Stitch-Gwen-Gardner-ebook/dp/B079J796TK/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1525838421&sr=1-1
 

J.R. Ferguson is a staff writer for Southern Writers Magazine and the author of The Little Girl in the Bayou. She enjoys imagining what kind of meals her characters prepare in the kitchen.

14 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Thanks, Alex! Give it a try and thanks for commenting. :)

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  2. Ooooh, yummy. Thanks for sharing Mama Ninfa's modified recipe. LOL. I grew up on the Mexican border in San Diego, so I luuurve Mexican food :)

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    1. So do I, Gwen. One thing I hate about being vegetarian is no beef tacos and no fajitas. ☹️

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  3. Brilliant! We don't handle spiciness well, but I bet I could modify it to be safe for my family :)

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  4. I love spicy food! The recipe sounds yummy! Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Me too, Michelle. In fact, I love my jalapeno olives on just about everything... especially pizza and veggie burgers!

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  5. I've got a wimpy Canadian palette so I might cut down on the jalapeños, but it sounds delicious! :)

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    1. I don't think it's that hot. Of course, I love spicy-spicy! :)

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  6. I just happen to have all of those ingredients in the kitchen. Guess I'll take out the old blender and give them a whirl. Thanks for the suggestion. :-)

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  7. Substitute vegan sour cream and leave out the jalepenos and I could eat it.

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    Replies
    1. I'm not a fan of sour cream period--on anything, but this I can handle. Diane, are you vegan?

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