Mexican food

Apr

20

Chiles Rellenos, Revisited

I’m still in my yoga pants after working out this morning, and have been thoroughly enjoying the day despite the great awful that I woke up to. When my alarm went off at 7, I wrenched my head off the pillow to peep out the window. Snow. Slush. Grey. Blech. Michigan, I thought, I know our relationship has been on the rocks but this is the last straw. After turning my alarm off and going back to sleep, (the snow did get me out of going to work!) I got up around nine and headed off to the gym. On the way back I stopped and did some thrifting, finding a summery green dotted tee. After achieving some level of productivity (working out) I’m letting myself loaf around for the rest of the day ;) This includes, but is not limited to, reading about Spain, Skyping with my newly engaged best friend(!), texting, laying in bed watching movies, drinking coffee and eating chocolate.

This time last year snow and slush wasn’t even a worry when I got up in the morning. It’s hard to believe that it’s been over a year since I was living in Mexico! We had some chilies in the fridge so for lunch today I decided to whip up some Chiles Rellenos, like my host mom had taught me how last February.

Start by charring the life out of your peppers. You want them burnt and black!

Peel them. This is the messy part.

I found that peeling them under running water helps get the skin and burt parts off quicker, and keeps your fingernails a little cleaner!

Set them on a clean towel to dry.

In the meantime, mix up your batter for dipping the chiles in. I was only making three, so cut my original recipe in half and used 2 eggs. Start by beating the whites until stiff.

Add your egg yolks + 1 TB Flour after the whites are stiff.

Give it a quick mix.

Now grab those chiles and stuff them with cheese! I recommend Queso Chihuahua or a Mexican Queso Blanco, which I’ve found even at Mejier. I was doing this on a whim, so just used the provolone we had in the fridge. Chiles Rellenos mean Stuffed Peppers, and you can add whatever you like- Chorizo is a popular stuffer.

Coat the peppers in flour. About now is a good time to start heating up some oil in a fry pan.

Coat ‘em up!

Immediately put them in HOT oil, and when they are brown flip them over. Test your oil out with a little egg batter before frying them. If it’s not hot enough you will have an oily, eggy messy on your hands.

Set them on paper towels/napkins to absorb any excess oil… ‘Cause we want to be healthy with our fried, cheese-stuffed foods, ya know? ;)

I had mine with a side of leftover black beans+chicken and some fresh avocado +tomato.

Fresh cilantro.

Yummm. You can wrap them up in tortillas, they are great with refried beans, a side of rice, a little salsa+plain yogurt- however you like!

Feb

22

Mmm, Papaya.

Blog Posts / she cooks she bakes / 1 comments

{papaya and lime}

{tamales with a poached egg and chipotle sauce}

Feb

17

Sopa de Cebolla…. Also known as delicious.

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I thought soup here couldn’t get better after yesterday’s Sopa Azteca, but ¡sorpresa! this soup came pretty close. I don’t think you can get the exact dish that I enjoyed with out “Maggi”. She is the secret ingredient. I don’t think you can find her in the States, but soy sauce would be your best bet to replace her.

And to prove that I am learning something here and not only eating, and for my own personal practice, a sketchy Spanish translation is included below.

Yo pensé sopa no poder estar mas mejor despues yo comí Sopa Azteca ayer, pero ¡sorpresa! esta sopa fue muy cerca. Yo no pienso tú puedes preparar la exacta sopa sin “Maggi”. Ella es la secreta cosa. Pero yo no pienso tú puedes comprar ella en Los Estados Unidos. El mejor sustituto sería jugo de soya.

Sopa de Cebolla

Green Onions (Cebolla)
Butter (Mantequilla)
“Maggi” Jugo
Water (Agua)
Chicken Base (Pollo ….)
Dried Garlic (Ajo Polvo)

Cook the green onions in a significant amount of butter until nice and soft. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for about 10 minutes. Serve with Baked Tortilla pieces and a soft, white cheese. Chihuahua is known for their cheese, it’s soft and creamy…… and I am bringing some back with me!!

Guisar las cebollas con manteqilla hasta flojo. Agredar todos los otros ingredientes y guisar por a cerca diez minutos. Servir con queso blanco y tortillas. Chihuahua es famosa para sus queso. Los quesos son riquisimos! Yo voy a llevar alguno conmigo a mi hogar en mayo!!

Feb

16

Sopa Azteca…. es deliciosa!

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I had such an absolutelyricisimodeliciosowonderfulytasty lunch.

Sopa Azteca.

This recipe is coming back to the states with me and will probably find it’s way onto my table a few times a week!

Okay, here is the lack of a recipe….

Sopa Azteca

Tomatoes, a lot.
Jalapeños, a few.
Onions, less than you add of tomatoes and more than of the jalapeños.
Chicken Base, oh a little.
Garlic Powder, however much you like garlic.

Boil the above in water for a long time. Until everything is really soft. Put it all in the blender, then heat up on the stove. Sopa=Done! Now comes the extra delicioso part.

{4/26 Update: Photos!}

Serve up an extra-big portion (or normal if you like going back for second, because you will want to ;)) and top with the following…

Chopped Avacado
Sour Cream
Lots of Cilantro
Green Onion
Baked tortilla pieces (Best if you buy them fresh today from the tortilleria down the street ;) )
Chicharrónes (fried pork rind)

When I make this in the states I will probably eat it with yogurt instead of sour cream and black beans, too. If you want you could add a meat for extra protein, chicken or pork would be tasty. I love this meal because it is so simple and good for you! Tomatoes, chiles and onion makes up the majority! If I really felt like being uber-healthy I’d leave off the tortilla and chicharrónes. But who wants to be THAT healthy? I miss cooking so much! And natural peanut butter. And flax in my oatmeal. And Fustini’s vinegar on my salads. So excited to have my own place this fall. It’s going to be superb.

Now I am getting off my laptop, I feel guilty for being inside on such a lovely day. Time for shorts, sunshine, and homework.

Feb

16

Chiles Rellenos

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Mmm, Chiles Rellenos! They are SO GOOD. A chilaca pepper stuffed with queso blanco and dipped in whipped egg then fried. Yes, fried. My host mom cooks with a lot of oil…. I suppose you could try and bake these, but I don’t think it would work very well. To be enjoyed in moderation, I suppose =P. Oh, apologies for the horrid pictures. This was a quicky and I just wanted to capture what was happening!

Here’s how you can make these absolutely delicious fried peppers…..

Start by stuffing your pre-cooked chilaca (? I’m not sure exactly what kind of peppers they were…poblano would work great.) with “queso blanco” or a cheese or your choice. These peppers were roasted then had the skins peeled off.