California Black Bean Huevos Rancheros with homemade salsa

Saturday was a very special day for me.  My Arabian horse came home, after two years of living on a ranch in Paso Robles.  It was a matter of economics, and an offer I couldn't refuse, to move her 120 miles away.  "Savvy" has been well looked after and she was doing well. The problem was, I wasn't.  I found myself longing to brush her, feed her carrots, nuzzle her mane and to appreciate what only a true horse person can understand-- that "equine smell" of horse sweat, with notes of mustiness and ... well, horse. As luck would have it, someone I have known for decades owns a ranch about 12 miles from my home.  Charlene graciously offered to trailer my mare for the two-hour long haul back to Salinas, California. Excitedly, I called out to my girl, "Savvy!!" and I could hear her whinny as the trailer pulled in to her new home.  She unloaded a bit stiffly, so we took her into the arena.  It took less than a minute for her to sniff, paw and find just the right place to buckle her front knees and plop down for a good roll.

Savannah Sue, has officially checked out her new home and I was grinning from ear to ear. I missed that 27 year old horse more than I imagined!   Her new digs are quite lovely, I must say.  It's also a good 20-30 degrees cooler. I wilt in weather that is higher than my coastal 70-80 degrees. While Savvy got to sniff around, and her new neighbors came to check her out....

...we drove up to the main house. The owners are away at their second home in Hawaii. Nice, huh?

The top right photo is not a small house. It's a "Chicken Condo".  I'd say that there won't be a coyotes, foxes nor or any kind of predator that can get to these chickens!  Next door, is a more typical chicken coop with Mr. Rooster. The caretaker handed me a carton of fresh eggs, freshly laid that day!  Score!!  After brushing my horse, and feeding her carrots, we headed home.  I felt like all is right with my world, just  knowing that my horse was 15 minutes away from home.  

This morning, I pondered how to enjoy these eggs.  If you've never tried farm fresh eggs, I can tell you that the yolks are more yellow. I personally believe that they taste better.  Huevos Rancheros, I decided, would be perfect. I fact, just last week, I had  received a box of California Grown Avocados-- courtesy of the Foodbuzz  Tastemaker Program.  I've been enjoying them a few different ways (which I will blog very soon).  All I needed was salsa, but my homegrown tomatoes aren't ready.  Pioneer Woman to the rescue! Fortunately, I stockpile canned tomatoes in all size, shapes and flavors.  You need a 28 ounce can of tomatoes, a can of Rotel Tomatoes-- which I didn't have. I simply added minced mild green chilis, which are a pantry staple in my home. A food processor makes this a breeze to make:

You also need onion, fresh jalapeno, fresh cilantro and a garlic clove.  If you've never worked with jalapenos, just remember a few things-- the membrane holds all the heat. Remove the seeds, too, and wash your hands! If you accidentally rub your eyes, you will be very sorry! If you hate cilantro (Chinese Parsley), leave it out. Thankfully, we love cilantro and grow it in my own backyard.

Toss all of your ingredients into the food processor. Add 1/4 tsp of cumin (or more, if you wish), a pinch of sugar and salt, and fresh lime juice.  I coarsely cut the canned mild green chilis and then pulsed these ingredients about 3 times-- we don't want puree!

Now add the undrained tomatoes and pulse this a few more times. Taste with a tortilla chip. Mine needed more salt. Yummy!
TASTING NOTES: I see no reason for me to buy salsa in the deli section nor jars at the grocery store.  This is much easier to make, and you can adjust the "heat".  1 whole jalapeno gave this some kick.  1/2 jalapeno would be more my preference, but my boys like it hot. If you want mild,leave out the jalapenos, altogether but don't skip the minced green onion. If you have Rotel tomatoes (which are tomatoes with mild green chili peppers, and some seasonsings) that works, too.  Salsa is ready. Next, you need eggs, a can of black beans (drained and rinsed), corn tortillas and cheese. I used Cotija cheese.

I lightly cooked each tortilla in a little vegetable oil, until soft. Then I drained and patted it with paper towels.
Now for those lovely eggs-- sunny side up.  To the black beans I added a bit of chicken stock to make them a little moist,  and mashed them just a little bit-- or, you could puree them.  Since the salsa has kick to it, I didn't season the beans. Let's build it-- layer 2-3 corn tortillas. Next, some beans and a little bit of Cotija cheese. I decided to broil it for about 30 seconds, to melt the cheese. Next the salsa, then the eggs.  Sprinkle with a little more cheese and slices of avocado.

We were so hungry that I didn't photograph the egg-- which was cooked perfectly, with just the right amount of beautiful yolk.  I've provided printable recipes for the Huevos Rancheros and the Homemade Salsa, at the very bottom of this post. I hope you'll try this. We loved it.

I'm looking forward to spending more time with my horse-- and more fresh farm eggs wouldn't be so bad, either!  UPDATE: My beloved mare went to her pasture in the sky, just a month after I posted this.  I have decided to keepher photos on this post, in memory of the joy she brought into my life.

Happy Summer!