Whatcha Cooking today?

[Sue_CT]

Yes, lol, but thankfully does not apply to the person making it or I would think you were calling me an ass. You are entittled to possibly think that, but please don't post it.

[worth1]

Yes, lol, but thankfully does not apply to the person making it or I would think you were calling me an ass. You are entittled to possibly think that, but please don't post it.

Could yoy possibly emagin the burrito being translated to English little donkey on the menu?
People would think they had donkey steak on the menu.
One friend I had from Kenya saw jumbo fries advertised.
In Africa jumbo means elephant.
He thought we ate fried elephant over here.
He learn English English not American English.
So he would have known fries ad chips.

[worth1]

Meat on the grill cooking.

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[Cornelius_Gotchberg]

Nice looking/heavy duty grill there, @worth1!

Speaking of nice looking, up in these here parts, I happened upon a coupla nice looking packages of Po'k Chops @Metro Market that were looking for their Forever Home; them being heavily discounted made that a reality:
BEFORE:

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AFTER:

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The Gotch

[pepperhead212]

I had some leftover sambar, from last night, but I also made a few roti, to have with it this time. I used a heaping tb of golden flax seed, and a heaping tb of sorghum flour, blended together, until seeds were ground up. Then I mixed that with 1/2 c of WW atta flour, and a little salt, then added 1/4 c yogurt, and just enough water to make a dough with it. I let it sit 20 minutes or so, then rolled out 3 balls, and pressed them into about 6" roti. I cooked them in a CI skillet, over medium heat.
First roti, just put in the medium hot CI skillet. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

First roti, just flipped. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Second roti, flipped a second time, to show the browned second side. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[Sue_CT]

Would you substitute veg oil or ollive oil for the Avacado oil or lard in refried beans? I don't have any of them, I am ready to fry the cooked beans, that is all I have other than coconut oil, and it is pouring rain out with occ. thunder. Already got over 1.25" rain today. Not looking forward to going out in that although I could pick some up when I run an errand later, but avacado oil is kind of expensive to use for one thing. How much difference is it going to make? It needs to be an oil I can purchase since I don't have any saved lard. Guess I could cook up a couple slices of bacon if absolutely necessary to get the bacon fat.

[Danny]

The bacon fat would give a better taste to the refries versus the oils. Bonus of the bacon, too, LOL.

[worth1]

Would you substitute veg oil or ollive oil for the Avacado oil or lard in refried beans? I don't have any of them, I am ready to fry the cooked beans, that is all I have other than coconut oil, and it is pouring rain out with occ. thunder. Already got over 1.25" rain today. Not looking forward to going out in that although I could pick some up when I run an errand later, but avacado oil is kind of expensive to use for one thing. How much difference is it going to make? It needs to be an oil I can purchase since I don't have any saved lard. Guess I could cook up a couple slices of bacon if absolutely necessary to get the bacon fat.

Avocado oil is tastless and expensive.
The big trend with avocados has ruined people's lives in many places in South America and elsewhere.
The plant itself sucks up many gallons of water to grow a crop.
Water we can't afford to waste on a fad nor rob from poor people that depend on it.
Just regular vegetable oil or olive oil is fine is fine.

[Sue_CT]

Thanks, I used the olive oil. Honestly, they are good, but have no heat to them at all, not even a little bite to them. I think they are good, but I would like even more flavor. Will try the Guajillo recipe next time. Any thoughts to additions now that I just finished cooking them? It makes a large amount and I only about 1 1/2
tablespoons for a taco with Pepperhead's sausage and my first ever time finding and trying Queso Fresco cheese. I like it but I prefer Montery Jack, Pepper Jack or Cheddar.

PEPPERHEAD'S recipe for Sausage is a hit! I only fried up 1 ounce of it to put in a single taco but it is really good! THANKS, PEPPERHEAD!

NOW, how do best freeze the sausage? I want to freeze it for single serving use in the future for tacos and Burritos. Should I freeze it raw and make small sausages out of it wrapped with plastic or fry it up and freeze it cooked? It fried up beautifully with nice browing and crumbled well. So flavorful 1 ounce was a good amount for the taco and gave the taco most of its flavor.

One more thing. Not loving the flour tortillas I bought. Warmed one up in a pan and don't really care for them. Maybe old, or not a good brand? I believe they are Mission. I thought they were supposed to be good. Maybe I don't like flour tortillas and I just need to stick to corn tortillas.

[worth1]

Let's see now, things you need.
A molcajete.
A 12 inch comal.
A large tortilla press.

[pepperhead212]

Glad that you liked the chorizo, @Sue_CT! And I agree about the flour tortillas - just not the same as corn tortillas. Even if made with some really good lard, they don't hold a candle to the masa.

As for freezing the chorizo, I freeze it raw, in 8 or 16 oz packs, vacuum sealed, and they store indefinitely.

[Sue_CT]

Can you make tortillas without a press, just rolling them out?

[Sue_CT]

Worth, you might want to try Pepperheads recipe. With only 2 tsp of vinegar you might actually like it. I might add some heat in the future.

[Danny]

Can you make tortillas without a press, just rolling them out?

Flour tortillas are easier to make by hand without a press than corn. If you do not have a press, use some plastic ( like a ziplock baggie cut open) and use two flat bottom pans or a rolling pin. Mexican ladies been making them by hand a long long time.

The items mentioned by worth are handy, but not required. If you get the grinder (molcajete), prepare to grind some cheap raw rice at first to get all the loose stone bits out.

Either tonight or most likely tomorrow evening, making Japanese style pork cutlets, sides to be dtermined as yet, LOL. Maybe some curry gravy, rice and coleslaw with miso/sesame dressing and quick pickled cucumbers and peppers. Need to start some mung beans for sprouts, craving them a lot lately and cheaper to grow my own than buy. Store bought sprouts go limp so quickly!

[Seven Bends]

One more thing. Not loving the flour tortillas I bought. Warmed one up in a pan and don't really care for them. Maybe old, or not a good brand? I believe they are Mission. I thought they were supposed to be good. Maybe I don't like flour tortillas and I just need to stick to corn tortillas.

I can't stand the already-cooked flour tortillas you get in grocery stores, but I like these ready-to-cook ones a lot: https://www.tortillaland.com/flour-tortillas/

They're much fresher, taste good, and it's fun to watch them puff up in the skillet. I used to be able to get them at Safeway, but now the only place I can find them around here is Walmart.

[Sue_CT]

I find the flour tortillas are fine if I am using them for a burrito and browning them in a pan. Not so much for tacos, just warmed up until pliable. I will try to look out for those. Thanks.

[Sue_CT]

Worth, the skins were tough. I put them through a food mill before dropping some off for a neighbor to try. Didn't think I would need to but thanks for the info, because I did like them better. I need to heat them up and add some water to thin them out a bit again before doing the rest. Thanks for the information.

Followed the Villa Cocina traditional recipe exactly. A bit heavy on the garlic, and I like garlic, lol. Uses a combined 10 cloves of fresh garlic to one pound of beans, 7 cloves in the initial cooking of the beans and 3 more when frying them. I would cut that back a bit next. Neighbor thought the same thing. Her ex-husband is Puerto Rican and her kids like refried beans, she said otherwise they were good.

[pepperhead212]

Can you make tortillas without a press, just rolling them out?

You can make the corn tortillas, by rolling them out, assuming you have a source for masa harina. It takes about 1 c masa to 2/3 c water, to make about 8 five inch tortillas. You can roll them between thick plastic (I used to use a ziploc bag, with the 4 edges sliced off, and used this to press them between. Without a press, I would get 2 pieces of something (I have a bunch of dowels and other wood, from my workshop, 1/8", 3/16", 1/4", 3/8", and 1/2", for rolling out pastries) the thickness of the tortilla, to space it with.

I would always check one first - if it separates from the plastic wrap (or rather, the ziploc) easily, and doesn't stick, and the outer edge isn't uneven and ragged, it's good. If sticky, I'd have to add just a little masa; if the edge is uneven, it needs a little more water. It's easy to adjust, as there is no gluten, so either ingredient is easy to add to the ball.

Been over 20 years since I made tortillas on a regular basis. A friend and I would get together, and I would fire up all 6 burners on my stove, and he would roll out the tortillas, and I would cook them! Cooking 50 or 60 tortillas took too long one at a time, but this went fast. Now, I only press them when I want some fresh dough, for some quesadillas, or other filled recipe. It's so nice having a source for tortillas here in town!

[Sue_CT]

I can't make a burrito to save my life, lol!

Fried up some chorizo and removed from the cast iron skillet
Fried up a few potatoes in the same pan with some smoked paprika and removed
Scrambled two eggs in the dirty pan with a little butter to get the fond off
Warmed up some refried beans. Too much to fit in the Burrito, had to go on the side
Put tortilla in pan with Pepper Jack and Montery Jack cheese until it melted
Added Chorizo, potatoes, scrambled eggs, some purchased tomato salsa, the left over pickled jalapenos (pickled in fresh lime juice) I made last week, sour cream and "Gator" hot sauce on side to dip in.

It was UGLY as sin, lol! But Ohhhh, sooooo good.

Burrito (labeled since you might not recognise it!)

I need to start warming the tortilla only slightly, then stuffing and rolling it off the heat and put it back in the pan to crisp it up. Not only was it over stuffed, it was too hot to handle, so it got too browned before I could get it rolled up. Cripes you would think I had never cooked before. These Mexican things take a little practice!

[worth1]

You might try putting the tortilla under the running sink water for just a dash on both sides before putting on the comal to just heat up but not toast.
Just a quick flip.
This will make them very soft and pliable.
Then once the burrito is made toast the thing on all sides with a little butter.
To seal the burrito just use a little water to soften and glue together.
The beans aren't traditionally spicy but you could add some serrano at the very end.
They also aren't exactly fried either.
Just put in the hot oil and mixed up.
This is after they are mashed.
There's a reason you don't salt the beans while cooking.
Its an old myth.
Some say it will turn them dark.
And it won't matter because they're going to get mashed anyway.
You need enough water or fluid to make them into a mixture about like bowl of oatmeal.
They shouldn't stand up on their own.
Less is more with refried beans.

Next Mexican food isn't necessarily hot and spicy.
To many people's dismay they find it rather bland or not hot.
That's because their expectations come from TexMex.
Asian food uses peppers for heat.
Mexican food uses peppers for flavor without all the heat.
Also you have to remember Mexico is a huge country with many states and concepts about food.
Just like the US.
Flour tortillas norh corn tortillas south.
Traditionaly the corn tortilla is use for tacos and in many cases served with two corn tortillas not one.
They are always soft.
A crispy corn tortilla taco is simply a folded tostada not a traditional taco.
It's not to say I don't like them.

Last but not least I've been to some of the best Mexican restaurants in Austin and other places.
They aren't your usual TexMex places but places where you find very few if any white people.
At the time for some silly reason white people were and are petrified to go there.
Just like the store I go to.
I have never been treated better in my life at these places.
The people customers and staff are friendly and polite.
The kids behave too.