Mexican Rice:

A.K.A. Arroz Mexicano

Many people refer to this dish as Spanish rice however it's actually not made in Spain. Go to Spain and ask for it. They will look at you all cock-eyed. Looks like this one is a Mexican dish through and through. And quite a tasty one at that.

I've been eating Mexican rice all my life. Growing up in a (mostly) Mexican family, it was something my grandma always had on hand. That and her refried beans. Those are very good memories, let me tell you. However, these days, I gotta abstain from such delights because she cooks the rice with chicken stock  and the beans are made with bacon fat. But, as the old saying goes, "necessity is the mother of invention". Which goes hand in hand with the saying "where there's a will, there's a way". That being said, I have embarked on this little mission of mine to make food taste just as good as, if not better than, the original meat-centric dishes. And think of all the little creatures still wandering this good Earth that will thank you for their lives.

I love cruisin' past farms and seeing those cows out there. I yell at them, "I don't eat you!!". They look at me like I'm crazy. One day, I'm gonna have a farm where I can save these poor bastards. I'm gonna have an old folks home for cows, goats, dogs, cats, and whoever wants to come and chill at the crib. 

As I build my Mexican recipe collection, this was obviously one the first recipes I had to get right. I tried several different recipes and combos thereof before I came across this one. I happen to love this recipe. It's lighter in color than some of the recipes I've run across that, to me, call for way too much tomato. I like to keep it simple. I don't want chunks of tomato, peas, corn or anything like that in my rice. Yes, you read it right...peas and corn. What? Oh no he di'int put peas in his rice! Just give me a milder tomato flavor infused with straight rice. Save the peas for your fried rice, people. Or better yet, put them in a pot pie (coming soon to blog near you).   

This is a side dish. That much is definitely true. But it's also a great one to roll up in a tortilla with some beans, diced onion, cilantro, a splash of lime juice and something spicy. Knock 'em back with a cold brewski and it doesn't get much better than that.........Crap, now I'm hungry. 

Arroz Mexicano

Ingredients: 

• 4 Tbsp vegetable oil (I like to use peanut oil)
• 2 cups long grain white rice
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 4 cups vegetable stock

Preparation:

1. Rinse the rice in a strainer under cold water until the water runs clear, about a minute to a minute and a half. Then let it drain very well. This is going to help stop the rice from being sticky and should help it to fluff up nice. 

2. Heat the oil in a pot over a medium high heat. Add the rice and fry until the rice begin the brown just a little.  Add the cumin, salt and onions and continue to fry for another minute or so. 

3. Add Add the tomato sauce and vegetable stock to pot and bring to a boil. 

4. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover the pot and let simmer until all the water is absorbed, about 15-20 minutes. 

Habanero Hot Pepper Sauce:

Slow Burn

I have always had an affinity for all things hot. Ever since I can remember, I have doused my food in hot sauce, salsa, pepper sauce and whatever else that would give my meal a kick. When I was much younger, it was all about the heat. The hotter the better. I mean, what better way to draw attention to yourself than to eat the hottest peppers around. It's obviously the measure of a man, right? The hotter the sauce you can eat, the more manly you are?........Young men can be foolish. I remember the first time I ever saw a habanero pepper. It was probably about 10 years ago. I was at my brother-in-laws house. He had a few of them on the counter and asked me if I'd ever heard if them before. I told him no as I popped one in my mouth. He did that "nooooo" thing as his he reached forward as if to snatch it back out of my mouth. I said "Don't worry dude, I'm a REAL man. I can handle it". And I did too. But I'll admit, I did tear up a bit and the second he left the room, I guzzled down the beer I'd been drinking. I never did that again. I can look back on it now and smile. It was a good time back then and I learned a lot from it. The difference now is that I got nothing to prove. And that makes life much easier. 

But times have changed. My hair is bit grayer. My belly is tad larger. I nap more often that used to. One thing I learned from those days is that heat is not the end. Sure, heat is all well and good and don't get me wrong, I still love a good burn. But it's only one little part of a much larger and much prettier picture. 

For me, these days, the most important element to any hot sauce, above anything else, is the flavor. That's why I did my searching for a good sauce that contained habaneros. Yes, they are hot. I got that. And believe me, there are much hotter peppers out there. If fact, habs are on the milder side of things these days compared to nasty little beasts such as the Bhut Julokia. Google it, just don't eat it. 

I like habs because underneath all that fiery exterior lies a sweet little thing with so much love to give. Unfortunately, it seems most folks never get past that exterior. But trust me, if you can, you'll soon realize they are fruity. There's an element of citrus. They are truly are wonderful. 

This recipe was inspired by a recipe written by one of my favorite bloggers, Lisa Fain of The Homesick Texan. Oddly enough, the recipe was actually found on another site: Serious Eats. I did change it to my liking. I'm a bit more anal about measurements so I dialed those in a little more. Also, I made this one a bit brighter, saltier and wetter. I wanted it to play more like "hot pepper sauce" than a salsa. So the outcome here is completely different then the original recipe. Hope you like it.

Habanero Hot Pepper Sauce

Ingredients: 

• 1 Tbsp olive oil (or vegetable oil)
• 2 medium carrots, diced
• 2 medium roma tomatoes, quartered then cored
• 1/4 yellow onion, sliced
• 6 habaneros, halved
• 3 garlic clove, crushed
• 3 Tbsp lime juice (use fresh limes, not that bottled crap)
• 2 Tbsp white vinegar
• Salt to taste (I use 2-3 tsp)
• 1 cup water

Preparation:

1. Heat the oil in a skillet on medium heat. Add carrots and saute for about 5 minutes. Add the tomato, onion, habaneros, and garlic. Continue to cook, stirring frequently until the tomato starts to break down, about another 4 minutes or so. 

2. Place the contents of the skillet into a blender. Add lime juice, vinegar and 1 half cup of the water. Blend until smooth. Continue to add water until you reach the desired consistency. 

3. Add the salt to taste

Suggestion: 

My favorite thing is to splash this sauce on my eggs and wrap it up in a tortilla. 

This goes good on tacos as well as being served with chips.   

The Musical Fruit:

Mexican Bean Stew

I'm not sure if it's a "Mexican thing" or if it's just me but I can most assuredly tell you that I love beans. And I own it. I'm a card carrying bean fanatic. I could eat them most any day and not get tired of them. As such, I'm always on the lookout for a good bean recipe. As far as I'm concerned, you can't have too many bean recipes. 

I read recently that the pinto bean is one of New Mexico's official state vegetables along with the chile. That's a pretty killer combo if you ask me. The article went on to say that the Incas and Aztecs first began cultivating this bean over 5000 years ago. They made their way to Europe with the Spanish explorers in the 15th century who in turn, along with the Portuguese, traded them in Africa and Asia. This resulted in the Phaseolus Vulgaris, or "common bean" as they are referred to, being the most widely used bean today. 

But none of that matters really. What really matters is what they taste like rolled up in warm, homemade corn tortilla. With maybe a little cilantro, onion, hot pepper sauce, and a splash of lime. Oooh. They're actually cooking on stove top as I'm writing this and I'm starting to make myself hungry. Better stop that for now because they got a solid hour and a half to go. 

And, as luck would have it, my wife is not a fan of beans. This means that every bean I make, I eat. Mine!! All mine!!! If she were here, she'd tell me that this was my "only child syndrome" rearing its' ugly head. Only child syndrome or not...mine!!!!!

This recipe is really quite simple. Although it takes over two hours to make, you're only in the kitchen for maybe ten minutes. I swiped this recipe from the cooking show Mexican Made Easy. When I make food, I'm usually not too thrilled with the recipes I dig up so I'll take bits and pieces of several recipes and kinda create my own. This one, however, is pretty much right on the mark. The only thing I did differently is that I added veggie broth to the mix instead of straight water. 

Ingredients: 

3 cups dries pinto beans
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 white onion, diced
2 bay leaves
3 cup vegetable broth
water (to be determined)
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste 

Preparation: 

Combine the beans, garlic, onion and bay leaves in a medium to large pot. Add veggie broth and about 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil over a medium-high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat, cover, and simmer until the beans are tender. About 2 hours or so. 

Every 20 minutes, check the beans. Stir them and add water as needed. About a cup at a time. When done, the beans should be somewhat soupy, similar to a chile or a thick stew.  

Ladle into a bowl and garnish with Mexican crema, cilantro and chopped white onions. Alternatively, you can drain them a bit and use them as a filling for soft tacos.

Enchiladas:

The Green Ones

Enchiladas have been a favorite in my family for many many years. My grandma has been making them longer than I have walked this Earth. And they are wonderful, let me tell you. When she makes them, my dad, uncles, and my aunt all go nuts almost to the point of violence. Well, not really, but you get the picture. It's an event. It's something to behold. It's bigger than all of us. 

The problem I have now is that her enchiladas are filled with beef. And since I no longer eat my fellow Earthlings, I had to come up with an alternative. I fancy my standards pretty high when it comes to the culinary arts. If it isn't amazing, why waste your time, right? That being said, I needed something that might rival my grandma's legendary enchiladas. (Grandma, if you're reading this, they'll never be as good as yours) Now, I don't know if mine are even close but they are pretty freakin' good if I might say so myself. 

You can fill an enchilada with a million different things and make them taste good. But the most important component of a good enchilada is the sauce in which you cover it. I have searched the world (wide web) over for a decent enchilada sauce. The vast majority of those out there are tomatillo based. And this is all well and good but in my humble opinion, tomatillos are a touch too twangy. Say THAT 5 times fast! Now, I'm not adverse to a touch of twang. But gosh twang it, to much twang is twagic. Okay, I've gone too far. Sorry.

  

So I did what any desperate dude would do in a situation like this. I looked at the ingredients list on the the back of a can of Las Palmas enchilada sauce. The main ingredient? Green chile peppers!! Not a tomatillo to be found.

My brain did, however, tell me that no tomatillos at all is probably not the right way to go. After all, why would 90% of all the enchilada sauce recipes out there call for them if it wasn't right? Right? A little twang is good but we needed to counter-balance it with a bit of mild chile pepper flavor.

The plan of attack was to make a tomatillo based sauce and, also, to make a chile pepper based sauce and do a side-by-side comparison. The tomatillo sauce was fantastic. However, it was a bit twangy. How did I not see that one coming? The chile pepper sauce was also fantastic but it need a bit of.....I dunno.....twang. 

Eureka!! A combo!! Half tomatillo, half chile pepper. 

This recipe will make roughly 20 enchiladas depending on how well you portion your filling. I like to make extra so I have leftovers for days. You can easily cut this recipe in half if you want a smaller batch. However, if you choose to go full throttle, you're gonna need two baking dishes to accommodate the 20 enchiladas.

Ingredients: 

For The Sauce:

2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 pound Anaheim peppers, rough chopped and seeded
2 poblano peppers, rough chopped and seeded
1 pound tomatillos, quartered
1 medium onion, yellow or white
5 garlic cloves
1-2 jalapenos, chopped
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp salt (I use a seasoning salt called Johnny's. Better flavor than salt and less sodium)
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp cumin powder
1 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 cups veggie stock

For The Enchiladas:


1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 half red bell pepper, julienned 
1 half yellow onion, julienned 
1 tsp black pepper
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese, shredded and divided
2.25 oz sliced olives (you can also used diced if you prefer smaller pieces)
2 15 oz cans of black beans 
1 15 oz can of vegetarian refried beans
1/2 cup of cilantro leaves, chopped (from about 10 sprigs)
24 corn tortillas

Preparation: 

To Prepare The Sauce: 

Heat oil in a large skillet to a medium high heat. Add the anaheims, poblanos, tomatillos, onion and garlic. There will quite a bit of veggies here so you may have to do it in 2 batches. Blacken the veggies a bit in the skillet making sure not to over burn them. See the photo above. This is how they should look when they are done. That blackened parts on the veggies will give your sauce a little bit of smokiness that really adds depth. 

Next, place the cooked veggies along with the remaining sauce ingredients and blend until it's smooth. Pour the sauce into a sauce pan and heat on a medium high until it begins to simmer. Turn down the heat and continue to simmer on low for about 10 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes or so. 

To Prepare The Enchiladas: 

Heat the oil in a skillet. Add the bell pepper, onion and black pepper. Saute for about 3-5 minutes. You want the veggies cooked about halfway but still a little crisp. Remove from heat and add to large bowl. Add 1 cup of the cheese, the olives, black beans, refried beans, and cilantro to the bowl. Combine the contents of the bowl with your hand or a spoon until evenly distributed. You'll want to "fold" these ingredients together being careful not to smash the veggies and the black beans.

Take a half cup or so of the enchilada sauce and spread it around the bottom of your baking pan. This will help your enchiladas from sticking to the pan after baking. 

Wrap your tortillas in a kitchen towel and heat them in the microwave for 30-45 seconds. I do them in batches of five so they are not all heated at once. This way you can heat five, assemble five, then heat five more and so on. You want them warm so they are pliable and you can easily wrap your ingredients in them without breaking the tortilla. Some people might fry them in oil to achieve this but it just adds too many unneeded calories. Once you have your first five tortillas heated, take one and dip it into the sauce to coat. Then, add your filling to the center of the tortilla and roll it up. Place it into the pan and repeat this process until all the enchiladas are assembled. 

Once all are assembled, spread some more of the sauce onto the top of the enchiladas to cover them a bit. Don't feel obligated to use all of the sauce. This recipe may make a bit more sauce than you actually may need or prefer. Then take the remaining cheese and sprinkle it evenly over the top of the enchiladas. Cover the pans with aluminum foil and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes. 

Additional Tips: 

Traditionally, enchiladas are topped with shredded lettuce. I usually put the lettuce on the plate under the enchiladas and serve them immediately before the lettuce wilts. I personally prefer Romaine or iceberg lettuce. It gives a little crunch with each bite and the contrast of the warm enchiladas to the cool lettuce is quite nice. 

You can also top them with avocado, sour cream, Mexican crema, fresh diced tomatoes, etc. Me? I just like the enchiladas over the lettuce only. I don't like to smother them with too much other stuff. This way, I get the full flavor of the dish. 

Guacamole

Guacamole:

The Rustic Delight

One of my favorite things on this Earth is guacamole. I'm quite certain I could eat it every day and never get tired of it. It's such a simple and easy thing to make. Not too easy to mess up but stranger things have happened. I've have some pretty funky guac in my day.

I'm always dumbfounded when I hear people say they hate it. Or that it tastes gross. I don't know why that shocks me but it does every time. I always think there's something wrong with that person. I wouldn't think that if they said soup or cereal or lasagne. But guacamole? Come on man! I know, it's kinda weird, but I yam what I yam. A ga ga ga. (sorry for the lame Popeye reference). On my way home the other day, I was listening to the radio and there are these two deejay's in the afternoon that were going on about how they hate it. Both of them. That's downright un-American, if you ask me. I actually switched over to the pop station. And if you know me at all, that's a pretty powerful statement. 

In days of old, I was the type of guy who'd buy of those guacamole flavor packets they usually sell right next to the avocados in the supermarket. And they served their purpose for the times I used them. But I've always had a much greater sense of accomplishment when I was able to create something on my own, without the assistance of a flavor packet full of a mysterious powdery substance. Yeah, it takes longer, there's more effort, it requires thought, etc. But in the end, it's so much better. 

Before writing this post, I scooted about the internet to see if I could find any interesting tidbits regarding this amazing treat. But alas, I wasn't able to dig up anything too remarkable. From what I was able to gather, and I'll make this quick, it was invented by the Aztecs and dates back over 500 years. Several sites mention that the Spaniards first came across it when they paid their little visit to the Aztecs. Curiously enough, that too was about 500 years ago. Who knows how long the Aztecs were making it before then. Oh yeah, and the word guacamole is derived from two Aztec words meaning "mashed testicles". Mmm mmm good!  

For the record, I like my guac a little more rustic. I like it chunky and I like the occasional crunch of a green onion or a little piece of jalapeno (which I totally forgot to put on the plate in the photo above, duh). I've had the guacamole that is mashed completely smooth and it's ok but I think a superior guac has texture. It's mashed but only about halfway. And then there's the question of lemon vs. lime. Me? I prefer the lime. I like the flavor a bit more and it gives me an excuse to make margaritas with the leftovers. Of course, the 28 limes I bought may have been a bit of overkill but hey, my blender sports 3 horsepower. Grunt grunt (sorry for that lame Tim Allen reference).

Now, before you make this guacamole, throw out all your other guac recipes because this will be your new "go to" recipe. Trust me. 

Ingredients: 

6 medium avocados (5 if they are larger) 
juice from 1 half a lime
1 tsp of salt (I use a seasoning salt called Johnny's. Better flavor than salt and less sodium) 
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp of hot pepper sauce (Tabasco, Tapatia, etc.)
1/2 cup of cilantro leaves, chopped (from about 10 sprigs)
2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2-3 green onions, chopped
1-2 jalapenos, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced

To make the guacamole: 

In a bowl, add chopped avocados, lime juice, salt, pepper, and hot pepper sauce. Using a potato masher, mash the contents into a rough mash. Leaving the mixture half mashed and half chunky. 

Add the remaining ingredients and fold them in using a spoon, being careful not the mash the avocado any further. 

Serve with chips you stole from the Mexican restaurant.  

  

The Stuffed Pepper: A Story of Quinoa

Oven Roasted Stuffed Poblano with Chipotle Asado Sauce

People tend to take two steps back when I tell them I am a vegetarian. There was one woman that looked at me literally from my head to my toes, back to my head, then back to my toes again before exclaiming "You are a vegetarian?!!" While I can admit, I don't fit the physical profile, I do find it humorous that some folks think it's so truly odd. When I told my doctor, however, he maintained his composure. A true professional. Although, his eye did flutter a bit as he held back his surprise. His advise was to see a dietitian to discuss how to be a vegetarian and still get all the good things I need in order to eat a more balanced diet. Cool.

After my visit with the very nice dietitian lady, I came away with all kinds of good info, booklets, pamphlets, and ideas. One of which was quinoa. Quinoa, she told me, is an excellent source of protein and it seems I'm not getting enough of that based upon the food diary she requested I bring with me to the meeting.  Now, I've heard of quinoa. Saw it on some random vegan website or maybe it was a cooking show on Food Network. Don't really remember. But I figured what the hell? Worst case scenario, it sucks. And then I don't buy it anymore. Man, was I surprised. Not only do I dig, I really dig it. And trust me, this isn't the poor sad vegetarian trying to convince himself that quinoa is good. I truly mean it from deepest sub cockles of my heart. 

So now I'm excited, right? I find this recipe for Stuffed Poblanos. Stuffed with what you ask? My new bff, quinoa. So I make the recipe and love it. When my wife and I try a new recipe, we always ask each other if it's a "do-over". In other words, will we make this again? This one is definitely a do-over. Aside from my new found love of quinoa, the chipotle asado sauce was one of favorite parts. It takes on a nice bite from the chipotles and the whipping cream gives it just the right level of richness. In fact, the base of this sauce, has the potential to grow into a nice salsa. I'll definitely have to play around on that one on another post. 

I had to laugh because the next day, I was telling a friend about this dish and she crinkled her nose at me when I said the word quinoa. Then I said the word poblano and her nose crinkled even more but this time she added the tilted head, similar to how a puppy looks at you when it's thinking "huh?" I quickly changed the subject as I knew this one was a lost cause. Not everyone is ready to take on quinoa. Apparently, and I say this facetiously, it's only for the connoisseurs. The true foodies. And those in the know...know. Quinoa rocks. 

This recipe is an adaptation of the one I found on the Food Network website. I made some simple changes to make a few of the ingredients easier to find and also to try to make it a bit healthier. I was able to drop quite a few calories per serving with this version and it's just a tasty as the original.  

Ingredients: 

For the Stuffed Poblano

5 fresh poblano chiles
1 Tbsp olive or vegetable oil
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced1 cup quinoa, rinsed
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded and remainder julienned
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
4 ounces shredded pepper jack cheese
1/2 cup egg whites
leaves from 4 sprigs fresh thyme
salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the Chipotle Asado Sauce

6 ripe Roma tomatoes, quartered
1/2 small yellow onion, julienned
3 clove garlic, peeled
1 1/2 Tbsp canola oil
saltfreshly ground black pepper
leaves from 4 sprigs fresh thyme
2 chipotle chiles in adobo
1/2 cup heavy cream 

To make the Stuffed Poblano:

Preheat oven to "broil" and roast the chiles until skin blackens, making sure to turn frequently. Remove chiles from the oven and place into a stainless steel mixing bowl. Peel the outer skin, being careful not to tear the flesh of the chile. With a sharp paring knife, make a long slit the length of each chile and then gently remove and discard all of the seeds. Set the chiles aside while you make the filling.

Heat the oil in a 4 quart saucepan over medium high heat and saute the onion until translucent. Add quinoa and toast for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Add salt, pepper, and 2 cups of water to the quinoa. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until water is absorbed and quinoa is tender. Turn out onto a baking sheet and allow to cool. In a clean pan, saute the mushrooms in butter over high heat. Season lightly with salt and freshly ground black pepper and allow to cool. In a bowl, combine the cooled quinoa and mushrooms with pepper jack cheese, eggs, thyme leaves, salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stuff each of the chiles with the filling mixture until they are very full and then set aside while you make the sauce.

To make the Asado Sauce:

Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F.

Quarter the tomatoes and then place into a stainless steel mixing bowl and combine with the onions, garlic, oil, salt, pepper, and thyme. Turn onto a baking sheet and roast in the preheated oven about 15 to 20 minutes or until the tomatoes and onion start to turn black. Remove from the oven and process mixture in a food processor along with the chipotles. In a 4-quart saucepan, combine the processed onion-tomato mixture with the heavy cream and heat over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes. Reduce heat to low and keep the sauce warm until you're ready to serve.

To serve:

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the stuffed chiles into the oven and roast for 20 minutes or until heated through. Ladle enough of the warm asado sauce on 5 dinner plates to form large pools and then place 1 stuffed chile on each plate and serve.