Hello from Mexico! 
Somer
20 y
2,015
I live in Mexico, and am shocked and amazed to find that lots of people don't know you DO NOT have to add tons of grease to refried beans!!
In fact, you don't have to add any! All you have to do is cook your beans--red, yellow, pinto, black-- with whatever you like--I always put onion, poblano pepper (like a spicy bell pepper), oregano, cumin and garlic...
Then put some in a fry pan, and mash with a potato masher or fork, leaving some beans whole, and cook until you get the consistency you like! An old Mexican trick to thicken them if they are very juicy is to tear up day old corn tortillas and toss them in--tasty, and thickens the beans nicely.
NOTHING beats this as a dip with fresh whole grain tortillas or chips or veggies! And of course for nachos, tacos, tostadas, enchiladas... whatever! Beans satisfy.
(Homer Simpson voice) Mmmmmmmmmmm... beans.....Advertisement
Hulda Clark Cleanses
Wormwood, Clove, Clarkia, Turmeric, Epsom Salt, Uva Ursi, Goldenrod
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- More Mexico! Somer
20 y
1,864
This is a reply to # 439,419Another great Mexican item LOTS of people think has to be loaded with cheese... the chile relleno (stuffed chile).
Get poblanos, or New Mexico peppers. In a pinch, you could do bell peppers (even red)...
Char the livin daylights out of the peppers over a gas burner (use tongs! Those babies get warm!), on a bbq grill, under a broiler... Char the entire pepper, 1-2 per serving, and put in a pot with a lid to sweat.
When cool enough to handle, the skins will slip off with a knife (like scaling a fish) and NOTHING smells like roasting peppers!!!
Of course peppers at this stage are ready for many recipes, the most simple being simply cut in strips (removing seeds and stem) and drizzle with olive oil, lime juice and a little salt/pepper.
Anyhow, with your whole roasted chiles, make a slit in one side and using a small sharp knife cut out the seeds at the stem end, leaving the chile intact. Takes a liittle practice!!
Set prepared chiles aside--they are ready to fill with any good thing!
Cold: Stuff with a good tuna or other seafood salad made with yogurt, green olives, green onion, chopped almonds, cilantro... whatever you like. These keep beautifully in the fridge til you have done them in! Great in summer.
Hot: Stuff with any vegetable mixture (like corn, green onion, black olive or whatever). You can add some grated cheese (I like a pepper jack) to this, or not... stuff in the peppers and eat cold or, for hot traditional rellenos,
(A veggie/rice mix is also nice.
Add seafood or other meat if you like.)
Separate about 4 eggs for 6 peppers. Beat whites stiff, beat yolks til thick, and fold together with a little salt and pepper. Dredge your peppers in the eggs and lay reverently in a fry pan with a small amount of your favorite oil, heated just before smoking temp. Lower heat to medium and fry til brown on one side, then carefully turn with a big spatula (fork assistance if required), and cook the other side.
Serve with your favorite fresh homemade salsa, homemade fat free refries, and get rave reviews!!
These are great microwaved just til heated, and make a wonderful burrito tucked into a fresh whole grain tortilla!
Provecho!
Somer
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- Re: Sounds delicious! betta
20 y
1,824
This is a reply to # 439,419WAY TO FLY!!! I love to hear it! Don't forget sourdough when the weather gets cool! Just make a starter from whole wheat flour, about 1 tsp. of yeast and enough water just to make it almost pourable (some like it thinner, some thicker). Put it in a large enough glass or pottery container that it can double and a half without crawling all over your counter, and cover loosely. Let it rise, then fall, then ferment. When it has fallen and has lots of bubbly action happening, and SMELLS WONDERFUL, you've got it!
You never had better biscuits, flapjacks or bread in your life. And it extends the keeping quality as well as gives a wonderful flavor and aroma.
I don't do it in summer as starter is a little hard to keep fresh. Cooler weather is better for developing a good starter. Once it is going, keep it in the fridge. You must use it at LEAST once a week, and replenish whatever you take out with equal parts flour and water (no more yeast). Leave it out to rise and fall again, then back in the fridge.
There are many fine recipes out there for sourdough, but basically add a cup or so to two loaves, and jump back! You will blow yourself away!
NOTHING beats your own bread. Well, I have had some pretty good small artesanal bakery goods, but generally... and particularly where I live (Mexico), I'm it!
GOOD FOR YOU! Good for you! Nice to hear from you.
SomerAdvertisement
Hulda Clark Cleanses
Wormwood, Clove, Clarkia, Turmeric, Epsom Salt, Uva Ursi, Goldenrod
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- Mexican Rice Somer
20 y
1,948
This is a reply to # 439,424Several. Mexicans adore rice! They call the stuff we think of as Mexican rice a "sopa seca", dry soup. They have all the ingredients of a good soup, absorbed by the rice!
Mexican white rice has a starchy powder that must be rinsed. American rice is ready to cook as is.
Here's a traditional red rice:
1 cup long grain rice
1 clove garlic
1/2 t. salt
2T oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 cup water
1 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup frozen peas, thawed
1 small carrot, peeled, cooked and diced (microwave it til tender crisp)
1/2 t. more salt
Heat the oil in a large pot with lid. Add the rice and stir over medium heat til light brown. Smash the garlic with salt, and add to rice with onion. Stir til onion is tender. Add tomatoes and cook til softened and blended into rice and add water. Cover and simmer til water is absorbed. Stir in broth, peas, carrots and remaining salt. Cover and simmer til most of the liquid is absorbed, 3-5 minutes more. Reduce heat to very very low and steam 30-45 minutes til rice is tender. Will serve 4 as a side dish.
Sopa Seca de Arroz
1 cup long grain rice
1 clove garlic
1/2 t. salt
2 T. butter
1 T oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cups chicken broth
2 T. chopped fresh parsley
1/2 t. chopped fresh oregano
Heat oil and butter, add rice and stir til lightly browned. Add onion and garlic mashed with salt. Stir til onion is tender. Add broth, parsley and oregano and simmer til most of the liquid is absorbed. Taste for salt. Reduce to very very low and steam 30-45 minutes til tender.
The tomato-less version is very popular as a side dish.
There are lots of versions, but these two will get you in!
Best,
Somer- Re: Mexican Rice betta
20 y
1,884
This is a reply to # 439,429Muchas gracias, somer. It is very nice of you to post those recipes. I have also been thinking of buying masa and making my own corn tortillas. Pre-made corn tortillas in our stores don't taste good at all. Is it possible to make them without baking powder or baking soda? I tried to make them a few weeks ago, and they tasted very bitter. I know corn flour can get rancid very quickly, but I'm hoping to find some fresher flour. I would greatly appreciate any advice about this, and hopefully by tomorrow, I can have a Mexican feast.
Thanks again,
betta- Re: Mexican Rice Somer
20 y
1,798
This is a reply to # 439,431Advertisement
Hulda Clark Cleanses
Wormwood, Clove, Clarkia, Turmeric, Epsom Salt, Uva Ursi, Goldenrod
You betcha! Just a cup of the instant masa and 1/2 cup of water is all you need. Let the dough stand a while to absorb the water before you make your tortillas, and have the griddle very HOT! They should get dark spots and puff up! or your griddle is not hot enough.
Smell the masa. If it does not SMELL fresh, don't use it.
Alternatively, make Northern style flour tortillas, incredibly delicious homemade:
2 cups flour (white, wheat or blend)
1/2 t. salt
1/4 cup good quality margarine (traditionals use lard)
about 1/2 c. lukewarm water
more margarine and flour
Combine flour and salt, and rub in the margarine like you are making biscuits (in essence, you are!) Some cooks add baking powder, and I have tried both ways and it really makes NO difference in the outcome so... I leave it out!
Make a well and add water. I use one finger to get the mixing started, then when all the flour is moist (NOT wet), knead it briefly like bread dough to make a coherent soft dough, well blended. It should not be sticky. If it is, sprinkle flour on little at a time and keep kneading til it is nice. If too dry, sprinkle more water in little by little.
Divide the dough in quarters, then divide each quarter in 3 pieces. Make a nice round ball of each, coating lightly with margarine (butter your hands and rub the balls, so they won't stick together). Put them back in the bowl and cover to rest for at least 20 minutes, up to one hour.
Preheat your griddle, again you want a HOT griddle. They should start bubbling up and puffing and getting brown spots very quickly. Be prepared to turn before they burn! Brown the other side lightly (spots), and tuck in a napkin lined skillet or basket and cover.
You can get a rhythm going where you roll while they are cooking, and keep ahead of yourself. I pre-flatten the balls with my hands to make little discs, which makes it easier to roll out a nice circle (more or less) with a rolling pin.
I used to go home with my chicana friend after school in Arizona. Her job was to make all the tortillas for the family -- like 14 kids! Dad had gone off somewhere, and mom was doing a fine job with all the kids' help. Anyhow, she used an enamel washtub to mix the dough, and ended up with an enamel wastub full of flour tortillas for the day! She used the end of a broom handle cut off as a rolling pin. Those were absolutely the best tortillas I ever had! And the Remijios used them as plates for everything you can possibly imagine to eat--one of my faves was potato salad. She and I would sit in the back of our Advanced Spanish class (she and I were the only students!) and eat burritos on her tortillas and I was in burro heaven!
¡Provecho!
Somer- Re: Muchas gracias otra vez. betta
20 y
2,238
This is a reply to # 439,432I went to the store today and forgot to buy the masa. I'm upset that now I have to wait til tomorrow. It sounds easy enough. I can't wait.
Thank you, Somer
Betta- Re: Muchas gracias otra vez. Somer
20 y
2,493
This is a reply to # 439,433Where do you live that you don't have a tortilleria? Even the Pacific Northwest has a huge latin population these days...
Have fun making those tortillas. Also try making gorditas. There are several versions, but you can make a neat shell to fill later with beans, shredded meat, chopped cabbage or lettuce, a little cheese, some homemade salsa... about 3 to a diner.
Take a large golf ball size hunk of masa prepared for tortillas. Put it on a plastic bag, put another on top and press it with the bottom of a pot (or gently with your trusty tortilla press) until about 1/2" thick. Take off the top bag and with your fingers, press a channel around the inside edge to thin out about 1/2", then go in another bit and make another channel. The channel should thin out the masa, but never break through. You will be left with a thick disc of masa with channels creating a bulls eye effect, thick in the middle with a couple thinner channels. This will help the masa to cook better. Put the discs on your hot griddle til spotted nicely brown on the bottom, then turn and allow the top ridges to spot brown. Put in napkin lined basket and cover to cool. You can stack them when cold and put in the fridge, or even freeze them. To serve, put them in a lightly oiled skilled over medium heat, and fill with a spoonful of beans and a little cheese. Cover with a lid til cheese melts. Put the gorditas on a plate and cover with your nice salad, seasoned with lemon or lime juice, salt and pepper, and fresh salsa.
YUMMY!- Re: Muchas gracias otra vez. betta
20 y
2,006
This is a reply to # 439,434Advertisement
Hulda Clark Cleanses
Wormwood, Clove, Clarkia, Turmeric, Epsom Salt, Uva Ursi, Goldenrod
I live in Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia. I don't know of any tortillerias, but we do have soft pretzels, tasty cakes, steak sandwiches, and Philadelphia cream cheese. Unfortunately, none of these things are good for you. I think Philadelphia is one of those cities that is in the top 10 unhealthiest cities to live in. The corn flour tortillas sold in the stores taste like cardboard. You can find white wheat flour ones that taste good, but I try not to eat white wheat flour. I never heard of gorditas. They sound delicious, too, and I am going to print out the directions for them, also.
I tried making fresh salsa a couple of weeks ago, but it didn't taste right. Good tomatoes are not available yet, but when they are, I plan on trying it again. What do you put in your salsa?
Thanks again, Somer, I really appreciate the recipes.
Betta
- Re: Muchas gracias otra vez. Somer
20 y
1,895
This is a reply to # 439,436Ah yes, salsa...
6 very ripe Italian plum tomatoes
1 medium white onion, chopped fine
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
juice of 2 limes
2 jalapeño peppers finely chopped
salt to taste
Cucumber salsa
3 5" cucumbers, peeled, seeded and chopped fine
1 med. white onion, chopped fine
2 serrano or jalapeño chiles, chopped fine
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
3T fresh lime juice
salt to taste
A very common condiment served in every taco stand in Mexico, and one of my faves. Eat on tacos, gorditas etc.
1 large red onion
1/2 c. good vinegar
1/2 t. salt
1 jalapeño chile
clice the onion into 1/4" slices (rings). Wash 2-3 times in cold water to reduce strength. Dry well. Place in a non reactive bowl with vinegar and salt. Toast the chile over a gas burner, under a broiler or on a bbq til black all over. Put in a plastic bag to sweat til cool enough to handle, then scrape black skin off with small knife (wear bags on your hands or they will burn!). Place the chile in the bowl with the onions to add flavor and heat! Let stand at room temp or refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. Gets better.
Do the same thing with cucumber and radishes.
- Re: Muchas gracias otra vez. Somer
20 y
1,895
- Re: Muchas gracias otra vez. betta
20 y
2,006
- Re: Muchas gracias otra vez. Somer
20 y
2,493
- Re: Muchas gracias otra vez. betta
20 y
2,238
- Re: Mexican Rice Somer
20 y
1,798
- Re: Mexican Rice betta
20 y
1,884
- Mexican Rice Somer
20 y
1,948
- More Mexico! Somer
20 y
1,864
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