My Favorite Recipes: Meet Luz Guidron, Colfax

Luz Guidron of Colfax amidst spring flowers on the private deck outside her home.

For long-time Whitman County residents, it is hard to believe that Sol Vallarta in Colfax has been open for 23 years. Luz and Felipe established their restaurant, and even people who cannot pronounce Vallarta in Spanish have been enjoying delicious food there for decades.

Luz and Felipe were in Chicago for nine years, living the busy life of young immigrants. They were working, taking cooking classes and English language classes, and their two sons were born there. She had a little background in English while a student in Mexico. Felipe worked at a Lowe’s store, and Luz worked in a bakery. However, safety and the sheer size of the city were concerns for them when thinking of raising their boys there.

Luz and Felipe are both from large families, with six sisters each and a few brothers as well. From Chicago, she called her sister in Pullman, who owns Nueva Vallarta, and her sister urged them to come to the Pacific Northwest. Luz “visited here and loved it! It’s a paradise, a good life. Great for life, great for my boys and everyone is so friendly.”

They both have family still living in Chicago, so they visit there once or twice a year. They love playing tourist there and enjoying all of the other ethnic foods available in the city, especially Italian and Greek cuisine. Her mother still lives in Mexico, but she visits her children in the United States one or two months at a time.

Home in Mexico is Jalisco, and their menu reflects the food there. Luz prefers the food there to the dishes of Acapulco and Cancun. Fresh fruits and vegetables abound, and this is berry season in Jalisco – strawberries and raspberries.

Luz is a lover of color and flowers, which is shown in Sol Vallarta. There is an elegant orchid plant on the back console in the main dining room, but her love of flowers really shows on their private deck outside their home. Patio pots and huge clay containers overflow with petunias and other flowers on the sunny deck. A large umbrella helps give relief from the sun at their table.

In addition, the family gardens at Peace Lutheran Church’s garden space. Luz grows tomatoes, strawberries, cilantro, cabbage, onions, potatoes, peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, rosemary, oregano and basil. Their cousin Juan, who works at the restaurant, is also a gardener there, with his own little patch of produce, including tomatoes, cabbage, onions, cilantro and many other summer treats.

For hot summer weather, Luz recommends seasoning water with basil and peppermint leaves and chunks of lemon, adding ice, and enjoying a fresh-tasting, delicious drink. If you like Nutella, she likes to spread it on a warm crepe, top with strawberries, and finish with a white chocolate drizzle. She uses pineapple juice to marinate the family’s Thanksgiving turkey, an interesting touch to the all-American bird.

Their boys are grown up and out of school, both graduating from Colfax High School. Abel lives and works in Milwaukee, Wis., a salesman for a large furniture store for the past five years. He was number one in sales at this family-owned business, and Luz enjoyed surveying four huge floors of beautiful furniture. Omar works in the kitchen with Papa and also in Pullman, following his parents’ interest in and talent with food.

The Guidron family have made friends in Colfax, many of their friends are frequent diners at Sol Vallarta and many frequent diners become friends. Young people who grew up here often stop at Sol to enjoy Mexican food and catch up with Luz, Felipe and Juan.

Recipes:

Tropical Pico

de Gallo

1 cup pineapple

1 cup chopped tomatoes

1/4 cup diced red onion

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Mix well, and serve with chips or with Mexican dishes. Pineapples are grown in Mexico, and Luz loves using them in traditional foods.

Lentil Soup

This soup’s origin is Spain, Espana.

1 1/3 cup lentils, cleaned and soaked

1 potato, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 red pepper, chopped

1/2 green pepper, chopped

Ham hock or meaty ham bone, with meat cut off and diced

6-8 ounces German sausage, sliced

2 teaspoons Knorr powdered chicken stock

1/2 onion, chopped

1/2 tomato, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Using a stock pot, sauté onion, garlic and tomato, season with salt and pepper in a little oil. Add Knorr chicken stock powder.

When onions are tender, add water, chopped carrot and potato, red and green pepper, lentils, sausage and ham. Cover and simmer until lentils are tender.

Serve in bowls topped with chopped cilantro.

Enchiladas Suissas

A favorite at Sol Vallarta

20 corn tortillas

Grated Parmesan cheese

2 whole chicken breasts, cooked, shredded

2 cups sour cream

Black pepper

1/4 onion

3 tomatoes, cooked just until tender

1/4 cup fresh oregano leaves

1 teaspoon salt.

Fresh chopped cilantro, optional

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Cook three chopped tomatoes in a little water.

In a blender, combine onion, three chopped cooked tomatoes and the water in which they were cooked, oregano leaves and salt.

Heat oil in a sauté pan on medium high. Pour blended tomato-onion mixture into pan; add sour cream and stir or shake as it heats. After 10 minutes, taste and adjust the seasoning.

In another pan, add a little oil, heat to medium high and heat tortillas quickly. Place a tortilla in the pan, flip over and remove, and then reserve and keep warm. Each tortilla only takes a few seconds to heat.

When the tortillas are ready, fill a tortilla with shredded chicken, some grated Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and tomato-onion sauce. Roll and place in a greased 9x13 inch baking dish. After all tortillas are filled and rolled, pour remaining sauce over the pan filled with enchiladas.

Bake for 20 minutes at 375 degrees F. Serve on hot plates, and top with chopped cilantro, if desired.