Pico de Gallo - a recipe for your tomato crop from ChefShop

I love salsa in large part because it is delivered to the table with chips or at some party on a table. Just dive in—no effort involved.

Except, what if you have a ton of tomatoes from your crazy good harvest from the garden? Then what's the easy solution?

Salsa? Well, actually, I am thinking of Pico de Gallo. Though I really didn't know the difference and I used the names interchangeably. Actually, it was more that I called everything salsa if it had tomatoes in it.

Making Pico de Gallo is easy, and making it awesome is just as simple! With just the right inclusion and substitution of ingredients, the results can be crazy delicious!

In this hot weather, getting my vegetables and fruits (tomatoes are a fruit, and we think of them as vegetables) in a dip seems just right!

And when the utensil is edible, salty, supplying a starchy vegetable, "whole" grain, and a fruit (corn chips—what are they?) to transport the Pico de Gallo is like a complete meal!

The term "pico de gallo" translates to "rooster's beak" in English.

While the name's exact origin remains uncertain, pico de gallo's creation can likely be traced back to the indigenous peoples of Mexico. They utilized local ingredients to prepare flavorful and nutritious dishes. Over time, the dish evolved and gained popularity, eventually becoming a staple in Mexican cuisine and garden parties.

This recipe started as any normal salsa recipe would. Except, when I was putting it together I realized didn't have any citrus acid like lemon juice available, so I rooted around in the pantry looking for acid and chose the Espelt de Garnatxa vinegar.

The result was Wowza! Super delicious, and the vinegar made it cooler and more refreshing! With time, the flavor becomes even more alive and vibrant.

The Mung Bean is perfect for both, Savory and Sweet dishes!

It is a bean that is everywhere, except perhaps in your pantry. History tells us that India was the first to cultivate the bean in 1500 AD. The bean then spread to the diets of East, Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent.

Today, it is widespread, although not common here in the animal protein dominant US.

Moong dal is the mung bean split in two, either with or without its skin. With the skin the bean is green, and without it is a pale yellow. Either/or can be used in recipes, with only the cooking times adjusted for the difference.

In Indian cooking, out of all the beans, Moong dal is perhaps the most popular. Considered to be easily digestible; according to Ayurveda, the Mung bean is "tridoshic", (a quality that is a supremely rare quality in a human). Tridoshic is described as an equal balance of Vata, Pitta and Kapha doshas, the elements responsible for the mental, emotional and physiological health.

Though my knowledge of Ayurveda is minimal, I find it quite interesting. Food is a key ingredient to one's health; what's not to like about that?

This weekend we are sharing classic recipes that use Moong dal as the base. One of the big benefits is that these recipes include some of my favorite nostril-filling spices.

So you get the potential benefits of Moong dal mixed with spices that all have wonderful health properties, as well. (Keep in mind, I think all food is good for you, especially salty and sweet!)

A perfect way to get a little of that healthful cocoa powder into your morning smoothie routine. This homemade chocolate berry smoothie recipe is perfect for the early summer when the mango and strawberries are just coming into the market. Frozen or fresh fruit works just fine.

Having consumed our fair share of bagged corn nuts with overly giant-sized kernels, we were intrigued. You know the old saying, "bigger is better"? More fun to say than it is in practice! It is when it comes to corn nuts, anyway!

When it comes to taste, flavor, and crunch, these little, normally-sized corn kernels are da bomb! Crunchy through and through, each one crunches just right. Eat one at a time, and you will get 11 crunches (of biting) before you are done, depending on your crunch speed, about 6 seconds of time!

With three flavors—Toasted Corn, Spicy Toasted Corn, and Salt and Pepper Toasted Corn—there is something corny here for everyone! See below.

Starting with non-GMO corn kernels, the just plain "Toasted" version is my favorite. A little oil and salt, and it is perfect in every possible way! I thought bigger kernels were better, but not anymore.

It's hard to explain exactly why we love these so much, but they are the perfect munch food. For your desk or a long car ride, they are the just-right grab-and-bite-sized treat.

Toasted corn is exactly that, corn kernel unpopped, unboiled, but toasted and most often oiled and salted.

CornNuts (Kraft Foods), Cornick (Philippines), Diana (El Salvador), Cancha (Peru, Ecuador) are all variations of a Corn Kernel that is "toasted". The base variation is seasoned with oil and salt. Garlic, chili cheese, adobo, BBQ, ranch, etc. are just some of the many flavor variations available today.

Toasted corn was first introduced here in the US by Albert Holloway in Oakland, California, in 1936. Originally sold as a free tavern snack food (in 1900 there were an estimated 265,000 legal and illegal taverns), it later became the CornNuts with a hybrid of the Cuzco corn from Cusco, Peru, being grown in California.

A handful of mixed nuts are hard to beat. Finding the right mix is harder to do than you think. And that's where Fastachi's Cranberry Nut Mix, which has been with us for virtually forever, comes into play.

This is our go-to, always-have-in-hand staple, the best bag of nuts you can find.

This mix, the nuts themselves, hand-salted with sea salt to perfection, double-sifted to ensure whole nuts in your hand, with just the right combination of soft, hard, harder, crunchy, salty...it doesn't get much better than this.

A handful of the right nuts is a good mouthful for creating joy for life!

This cranberry nut mix is simply roasted in small batches with sea salt for clarity, perfection, and a clean, distinctive flavor. Fastachi's secret way of incorporating sea salt to the nuts makes these so special. We have enjoyed these assorted roasted nuts for years and find that they are perfect for an office snack or a party mix. These are good!

From the producer, who describes it best...

"The cranberry nut mix is a one-of-a-kind twist that leaves a tart and salty taste dancing on your tongue. The assorted roasted nuts are chewy and have a crunchy texture with cranberries, salted pistachio meats, salted almonds, roasted unsalted almonds, salted hazelnuts, roasted unsalted hazelnuts, salted peanuts, unsalted peanuts, red skin peanuts, sesame peanuts, and salted cashews. They will keep you coming back for more."

...imagine sweet perfection in a fruit you can carry with you and is always ready to eat!

Though we automatically pop these particular prunes into our mouths right away because they are such a treat, prunes are a special way to naturally sweeten your recipes.

Prunes do especially well with pork in savory dishes. Even simple ones like bacon-wrapped sausages with prunes are super easy to make and celebrate the prune.

California is the source of most of the prunes in this country, but France is the home of the most splendid prune of all—Pruneaux D'Agen from Agen, France.

When you try one of these pitted sun-dried plums for the first time, you realize that not all prunes are the same. Those dried, wrinkly, chewy ones you grew up with are nothing like these, which are a totally different eating experience.

What's Happening in the Store Next

Did you know the store often has more?

Come, taste and check it out! Pick your favorite and meet friends new and old who all love food. We love it when you hang out!

See the Event list HERE for 2026
Monday - Saturday 10am-5pm
ChefShop Retail Shop, 1425 Elliott Ave West, Seattle

How Paula found this recipe is a wonderful story and shows that she lived her life to learn these recipes and share them in her cookbook. This one is from the Rif Mountains, where the people do their own thing. Paula Wolfert's cookbooks are fabulous and having at least one in your collection is essential!

Eat them right out of the bag! Not so sweet, in the summer they are a refreshing treat. More dry with sugar than a syrup sheen makes them perfect to handle with your fingers.

These delicious French candied orange peels are neither too sweet nor too stiff, and they're perfect for a whole host of applications.

Use them as-is to dip in your favorite dark chocolate couverture for a wonderful treat.

Or, you can dice them up and use them in an array of baked goods and confections; from cookies and cakes, to puddings and tarts. Classic bitter orange flavor, and nicely coated with inverted sugar, so they don't stick together.

This is an easy recipe and amazingly delicious.

We have carried this curry for years. It was the curry powder that used to be in every grocer across the country.

Established in 1876 for export to England, the Sun Brand Madras Curry Powder tin encases a recipe that has been handed down from generation to generation, maintaining the quality that the two founders, Merwanjee and Poonjiajee, created 145+ years ago.

Madras Curry is like many spice mixtures; there are many variations of the ingredients and proportions. Madras, (or Madrasapattinam) India, now called Chennai, in Tamil Nadu, India, is on the Coromandel Coast and is the second largest port in India.

Sun Brand Madras Curry was one of the first Indian curries to be exported.

We carry Sun Brand Madras Curry Powder because many of our curry lovers tell us it is the best out there. Of course, you can make your own...but we like the very fine powder and the ease of having it in our Essential Pantry.

A yellow curry powder with a following! Try this Indian curry powder brand out and see what people are talking about!

Bring some flavor to your egg salad, hummus, popcorn, or just top your veggies, potatoes, etc. in your air fryer.

One year in Aspen, Charlotte and the other two of the triplets, created this mind-blowing dish. They created it on the spot, using the ChefShop ingredients the chefs had requested we bring to the stage, and the protein left over from the demos.

The recipe calls for chicken and fish, and any firm, light-colored fish will work.

There are lots of adjustments you can make to the recipe to fit the day and your preferences, and you can always make it spicier!

Without a doubt, some of the best sweetened, dried cranberries we have ever tasted. None of that super-sweet stuff here. These cranberries are sweetened with a touch of all natural sugar, so they are not overly sweet, and you can still taste that great cranberry flavor.

Organic and vegan, this umeboshi furikake contains mostly sesame seeds, brined ume plums, dried brined shiso leaves, and nori seaweed. Easy-to-use condiment perfect as a topping on rice, meat, fish or salad. Our organic furikake is made only with plant-based ingredients, and it's free from additives and artificial flavors. Considered a typical and necessary stable seasoning in Japan.

Hey Boo Coconut Caramel Spoon ready all day long! This Coconut Caramel is a combination that has come together perfectly in a jar. Combine creamy delicious coconut milk into the caramel making process and you have a spoon ready spreadable dessert that has a twist that is delish!

Smooth and silky, as soon as you dip your spoon (or finger) into the glossy "sauce" and your visual mind immediately goes to spiraling it over your favorite vanilla ice cream. To the taste, that first taste is truly an anticipatory moment of curiosity and pleasure!

The smoothness and the sticky-ness melts away into flavors of questions (think of the coconut), sweetness, and smokiness of sugars. It seems simple to one taste bud and to the other bud, complex and fascinating.

The fabulously "butteriness" flavor is dairy free with coconut milk being the first ingredient. Next cane sugar (no corn here), organic agave syrup, inverted sugar, salt from the sea, and cream of tartar. The result is, as you might be able to tell, heaven on a spoon.

Let us start with breakfast (who doesn't wish for sweetness early in the morning) pancakes, waffles & toast. Granola, dutch baby, or mix it into your cream cheese. Stir caramel sauce into your coffee with a cinnamon stick or bake your bacon with a brushing of coconut caramel sauce! If breakfast is not your thing (just get a spoonful on the way out the door), then add it to your popcorn, mustard sauce, cookies, applesauce, top the freshest fruit you can find, or mix it with bourbon and mix it into banana smoothie!

For nighttime add to hot chocolate, chai lattes, or a dollop to your hot toddy tonight! Cheers!

Professional pastry chefs are using ChefShop Grande Brut because it does several things well at once: deep flavor, smooth texture, rich color, easy blending, low acidity, and real versatility across applications. It is a many-trick cocoa powder.

We stock it now because after working with it ourselves, we found it spectacular! It makes a giant difference!

ChefShop Grande Brut contains 22% to 24% cocoa butter. That is significantly higher than most cocoa powders on the market, and it is one of the main reasons we chose it. That extra cocoa butter is not a minor detail. It changes how the cocoa tastes, how it blends, and what your finished desserts actually feel like.

Most people focus on cocoa percentage (and with cocoa powder it is always 100% as it has no sugar) and overlook fat content entirely. It is the balance between cocoa mass and cocoa butter that matters. Cocoa butter is the natural fat in the cacao bean, and it shapes everything about how cocoa performs in a recipe.
Shop now for ChefShop Grande Brut Cocoa Powder here!