In the course of my work as a food and nutrition journalist, I interview dozens of interesting people with stories that go far beyond what I can capture in short quote. So I am bringing them to life on my blog, where I give them a chance to talk about themselves, their heritage, and their food. This is my first Story Behind the Story post.
Meet Alfonso Cano, produce director at Northgate Gonzalez in Anaheim, CA. Alfonso and I first chatted for a story I wrote for Produce Business on marketing fruits and vegetables to Hispanic shoppers.
Tell me a bit about your family background My parents were born in Mexico and I was born and raised in Orange County, California.
What was your childhood like? I grew up in Huntington Beach, in a town where the cool kids were athletes and surfers. So I played sports and I surfed. I even worked in a surf shop.
What types of foods did you eat growing up? My mom wanted my siblings and me to fit in with our classmates. She served us typical American foods like sloppy Joes and macaroni and cheese and made traditional Mexican foods like enchiladas and chile rellenos only for my dad. I ate beans, rice, tortillas, and quesadillas but not other types of Mexican food.
You work as a produce director, so surely you love fruits and vegetables, right? Actually, I personally don’t like to eat vegetables but I love promoting them to customers. And we serve healthy food at home. In fact, one of my daughters is vegetarian. I do like fruit.
Can you share an interesting food story? Believe it or not, I tasted avocado for the first time when I was 19 or 20. Growing up, I saw only adults eating avocado so I thought it was grown-up food. I was working at Albertson’s and saw how excited people were about avocados so I gave them a try. I love them!
Alfonso’s story inspired me to create an open-faced deluxe quesadilla with avocado (it’s actually more tostada than quesadilla). What bothers me most about quesadillas is that they dish up too big a portion of tortillas. By making mine with just one tortilla on the bottom, the bread portion became more reasonable. Here is my tribute to Alfonso — don’t tell him I sneaked in some vegetables!
Alfonso’s Avocado Quesadilla
Makes 2 servings
2 medium size tortillas (I used Trader Joe’s Tortilla Made With Whole Wheat)
1/2 cup guacamole
1/2 cup refried beans
1 cup sauteed peppers and onions
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
Preheat the oven to 350° F.
Put the tortillas on a baking sheet and shmear with guacamole. I used a smooth guacamole that’s most avocado because it’s easy to spread. Chunky would work too but you might need more to cover the tortilla.
Spread the tortilla with the refried beans. I made my own by heating up a can of drained pinto beans, adding cumin, and mashing them with a potato masher. Several companies sell them canned and ready to use; that would have been too easy.
Scatter the peppers and onions over the beans. These were random pepper slices leftover from cutting pepper strips for crudite. I sauteed them in a skillet with a bit of oil, but broiling or grilling are fine.
Sprinkle with the cilantro and cheese. Then bake until the cheese melts and the toppings are warm.
Serve as is or topped with guacamole, salsa, and/or something white and dairy, or non-dairy (I like Greek yogurt but lots of people prefer sour cream or light sour cream.)
