I have many friends that are amazing cooks and love to entertain. I decided to add a new feature, Friends that Cook, I hope you enjoy reading about their cooking adventures.
I am excited to feature Jocelyn Hsu in my first segment of Friends that Cook. Jocelyn is an avid cook and creates marvelous recipes.
Jocelyn Hsu has loved cooking since she was in high school. She has worked a “day job” as a government contractor since 1993 but on the weekends, she loves to host multi-course dinner parties, using her best friends as guinea pigs with mostly good results. She has accepted many cooking challenges over the past 30 years, including making Peking Duck from scratch in college, catering a wedding for 50 people, and teaching cooking classes for her local Whole Foods Market. She was a co-founding board member for the non-profit Real Food for Kids www.realfoodforkids.org where she volunteered for ten years with other parents and chefs to bring healthy choices and nutrition education to school children. Along the way, she has cooked thousands meals for her husband and two children who are both now in college, leaving her more time to experiment and work on her cookbook.
Jocelyn’s Veggie Tacos –
At the end of the summer, the squash and eggplants are so beautiful at the farmers market but I’ve already made ratatouille a few times. So I used the same veggies and some different spices to make veggie tacos. This is an easy weeknight meal but also makes a great addition to a taco bar party.
Jocelyn Hsu’s Veggie Tacos
Ingredients
- 3-4 small eggplants, mixed varieties, diced
- 1 large zucchini or similar squash, diced
- 1 large bell pepper, any color, diced
- 2 large Roma tomatoes, diced
- 1 small red or white onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- fresh oregano, minced (optional)
- olive oil
- 2 tablespoons cumin
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons coriander powder
- salt and pepper
- corn tortillas
- Cotija or Monterey Jack cheese
- your favorite hot sauce
Instructions
-
Dice the eggplants first and put them in a colander over a sink, sprinkle with a teaspoon of salt and toss to cover with salt. (This helps to remove some of the bitterness from the eggplants. Dice/mince remaining veggies, onion, garlic, and oregano, if using, Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and lightly coat the bottom with 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the onion and garlic and cook about 1 minute until the garlic is fragrant. Add the oregano if using. Rinse the eggplant with water and shake well to remove as much water as possible. Add eggplant and other veggies to the pan and still well to combine. Sprinkle with the spices; add salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and cook until the veggies are soft, about 10 more minutes. While the veggies are cooking, warm your tortillas in a dry skillet over medium low heat until they are soft – about 20 seconds per side. Place veggies in a serving bowl and serve along
with tortillas, cheese, and hot sauce.
Oooh, this looks so yummy! What a beautiful dish to use the delicious end-of-summer veggies. Thanks for sharing, I just made this for lunch after hitting the farmers market this AM, and I added a little turmeric as well.