onion

Camp cooking at home

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Hi all, Greetings from sunny Tucson! Amy here, at my new urban homestead. Taking out a wall left me a pile of old bricks to re-purpose, so I made a little outdoor hearth. This bucket of rainwater helped me level the cooking rack, sturdy enough for my over-sized, seldom used, cast iron cookware.

Making dinner for myself outside to admire the newly cleared yard, I cooked what was on hand from my Tucson CSA share: a butternut squash, Yukon gold potato, yellow onion, and French breakfast radishes. I decided to make a dish from my camping childhood, a foil meal cooked on the fire!

I cut the veggies into bite sized pieces, added a sprinkle of salt, and doused with olive oil and Mano Y Metate Mole Verde powder.

Then I sealed the foil seams very well and made a mesquite fire.

When the fire was almost down to coals, I put the sealed packet on the grill.

After about 45 minutes, the potatoes were perfectly tender and the embers glowing more dimly.

The steam from the veggies and the Mole Verde powder made a slight bit of sauce in the packet. It was mildly spicy and herbaceous from the cilantro, parsley and epazote in the mole powder. Of course, this would work with many other veggie and meat combinations, and any of the mole powder varieties.

I ate my dinner by the fire and dreamed of what might come next on this old urban lot.

Buenas noches, Amy

 

What to do with tomatillos? Carne en su Jugo

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Hello, Amy here, with tomatillos from my Tucson CSA share. Some people asked me what to do with them if they don’t like salsa. Try a soup! Carne en su jugo, meat stewed in is own juices, is a traditional Mexican dish that features tomatilos and makes a little meat go a long way. Mole Verde powder contains lots of green chile and cilantro, so I used that for seasoning and it worked perfectly.

Start by sorting, soaking and boiling pinto beans.

Use any cut of beef; trim and cut into tiny bites. Boil the trimmings to make a broth. Cut a few slices of bacon into tiny bites and fry to make it crispy and render the fat. Set aside the bacon and save the fat in the pan.

Then husk and boil tomatillos in water.

They will start bright green but are done when soft and dull green.

Drain the tomatillos. Then peel and mash, or just puree whole in the blender.

Next, brown the beef in the bacon fat. Salt to taste. Add some sliced garlic and onion, to taste. I used elephant garlic and red onion from Tucson CSA. Then add some home made beef broth and stew until tender.

Add the pureed tomatillos. In a separate pan, I cooked a couple tablespoons of Mole Verde powder in a little oil and then thinned with more beef broth. All that went into the pot, too. Salt to taste again.

Spoon in some cooked pintos. Cook for a few minutes for the flavors come together and the stew thicken a little. At the last moment, stir in the crunchy bacon or sprinkle on top of each serving. Eat with hot corn tortillas. Enjoy!


Chilaquiles with Mole Dulce y Negro

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Hello Friends, this is Amy.

Chilaquiles are breakfast favorite, made with fried corn tortillas, sauce, cheese and toppings. The sauce can be smooth red chile or a fresh salsa, but today I used mole. I mixed two varieties of mole in one dish: Mole Dulce adds the sweetness and Mole Negro the heat. Feel free to use whatever mole you have and what suits your taste.

It all starts with old corn tortillas. I cut two tortillas per person into bite sized pieces and left on the counter to dry for a bit, so they fry better. Whenever I go to a restaurant and they are too generous with the tortillas, I wrap them up and take them home to make chilaquiles!

Then the tortilla pieces are fried in shallow oil until toasty brown and crisp. Any frying oil will be fine; I used grape seed.

For the sauce, I used half Mole Dulce and half Mole Negro from the mole powders I make (ManoYMetate.com).

Heat a splash of mild oil, add the mole powders and cook until fragrant and a shade darker. Add broth and simmer for a few minutes until thick. I had turkey broth handy so that’s what I used.

Unlike enchiladas, chilaquiles are eaten before the sauce completely softens the crunchy tortillas. SOOOOO good! So it’s important to have all the toppings ready. I like to rinse raw onion and drain. Crumbled queso fresco, crema, cilantro, green onion, avocado, roasted green chile, radishes, cucumbers, lettuce/cabbage, pickled carrots…whatever you like.

Once all the elements are prepared, set the table and assemble the people. Fried eggs and/or beans traditionally accompany chilaquiles, so have those ready, too. Scrambled or with a runny yolk are both excellent. Start the eggs in another skillet.

Now, add the toasty, crisp tortillas to the hot mole along with a handful of cheese, if you like, and stir briefly. It doesn’t even have to be completely combined.

 

Plate everything and enjoy for breakfast or any time of the day.

¡Buen Provecho!

Onion rings spiced with Adobo

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Hello, Amy here on a crisp and sunny winter day, making crisp and sunny food. I wanted to make something spicy and different, and onion rings sounded fun to make.

I started with tempura batter: rice flour, egg yolk, salt and cold seltzer water.

For half a cup of rice flour, I added half an egg yolk, combining the other half of the yolk with the white to scramble for breakfast. Then a dash of salt and enough seltzer water to make a light batter. Then I added a tablespoon of Mano Y Metate Adobo powder.

I sliced an onion, but many other veggies could go into the same batter.

Through the batter went the rings…

…and into hot oil!

When the vigorous bubbling subsides, they are ready to flip. When golden on both sides, they are done. I skimmed the stray bits of batter and sprinkled over a crispy lettuce and radish salad.

Draining the rings on a wire cooling rack prevents any condensation they might get resting on paper towels, and the whole tray can go into a warm oven for holding.

For additional zip, I sprinkled with extra salt and Adobo powder. Eat as soon as they are cool enough to bite!