First Whack at Mexican Food and Frozen Custard!

The last week has been a whirlwind, I finally got back to the old house to get clothing (so I am no longer limited to my wide selection of yoga pants) and to start getting it ready to sell. We are meeting with a few realtors to get the best listing/buying agent set up.

So, on to the food.

I had a small overnight trip to Roswell, I resisted going to the museum, because I have been once and hubs has never been so we will go together. I stayed at the Holiday Inn Express, which my friend from Roswell says is "like the nicest hotel there" but I personally love Holiday Inn Express hotels! I love them because I have stayed in "luxury" hotels, Dreams, Westin, etc and have never felt the comfort that I do at H.I. I checked in and got...gasp...the FREE wireless password with my room key! Plus, I had a cold and the tea in the room was caffeinated so I called to the front desk and with a short elevator ride and walk I had my selection of about 10 different herbal teas. It seems silly to qualify that as a best hotel trait, but it was paired with: free real breakfast, extra amenities in the room like make up remover, q-tips and shoe polish!

Back to the "edible" portion of the trip, I met my same dear friend at Classics, formerly known as caliches at least that is how I think it was spelled. Also, Sen. Bingaman's favorite rural NM delight. If you are in Southern NM, find one and enjoy!

Mexican Taste Testing....
Upon return from Roswell, I planned to fulfill my lenten season promise to eat fish and make fish tacos! Well, since I already blew the day and was tired and sick we got pizza. But I made tacos on Saturday! They were amaze balls. So flavorful and light but enough food. Which is how I feel Mexican food is. So onto the recipe:
I combined an epicourious and cooking light recipe then made it my own...I Terah-fied it.  Haha, ok back to it

Fish Tacos!

• fish - I used tilapis but you can use any firm white fish
• marinade tilapia filets in 1/4 cup evoo, 1/4 cup chopped cilatro, 1/4 cup chopped jalapeno, 1.5 tsp oregano, 1.5 tsp chile, 1tsp cumin, 1 tsp tajin (see pic below) 
• mix, coat, and marinade 20 min
• cook in non skillet, no oil, 4 min first side, 2 min second side
• slaw - 4 cups thinly sliced red cabbage (I like the color), 3 stalks of green onion sliced, 1/2 cup chopped cilantro. Toss with 2 Tbsp lime juice, 1 Tbsp evoo, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp tajin
• creama - 1/2 cup light sour cream mixed with cayenne, tajin, lime juice and salt to taste
• tortillas - cook 4 tortillas at a time, microwave for 45 sec in a damp towel (double tortillas to avoid tacos falling apart)
• serve with sliced avocado...yum!

 Tortilla Soup
What do you do when you get home at 4:30, realize you didn't defrost meat and rush hour is outside your front door? Use the leftover rotisserie chicken from last night to make tortilla soup! *adapted from simply recipes tortilla soup recipe

• Bake fresh tortillas for about 10-15 min at 200 to dry out...hot oil and water don't mix!
• Shred leftover chicken *I learned from experience, take the chicken out of the fridge for about 10-15 minutes so it doesn't freeze your hands!
• Cut 6 tortillas in half then in 1/4 inch strips
• Use a small saucepan with about 1/2 inch of high burn temp oil and fry the strips, drying on paper towels over a plate
• pour 1 tsp or so of tortilla oil into pot, saute 1/2 chopped onion until clear, add 2 chopped green chile pods (I use sandia hot), 2 minced garlic cloves
• add one 14 oz can of tomato sauce *we don't like tomato chunks, if you do use diced tomatoes
• add one can of chicken stock and one refill of the can with water
• add 1.5 cups of shredded chicken
• add 2Tbsp lime juice, salt, pepper, tajin, chopped cilantro to taste
• simmer until desired consistency
• to serve: put a pile of strips in the bottom of a bowl, add soup, garnish with cilantro, tortilla strips and cubed avocado (sour cream if you want)

Tajin
On our recent trip to Cabo last Christmas, I picked this seasoning up at the airport. It's a mild chile with lime, it's delicious on almost everything. See picture below:

Mardi Gras in the Mountains!

The February 18th weekend was filled with fun and good/bad cuisine!

UNM v. UNLV awesome basketball game! The PIT was rockin and the 'Bos served UNLV
- not so good? the chicken nachos supreme, the chicken was flavored (yick) and the pickled jalapenos were neither pickly or hot, all around fail. The PIT needs to fire Canteen, they make gross food!

Then we grabbed a quick sub from Dion's and headed up to Red River for Mardi Gras in the Mountains
- Timbers Steaks, pretty decent. The potato skins were the highlight of the meal, the steak was a little tough. But the potato skins were the bomb
- Timber Steaks Bar, maybe the best bar like ever. Good selection of micro brews for the hubs and maybe the most shocking scotch menu for me

That is right aged single malt scotch for less than $10! These would normally cost anywhere between $14 - $40+ in Abq or Santa Fe!

It was just what I needed to get me back from my scotch hiatus. If imaginable, I out-scotched myself during my UK trip in 2009. There was a lot of scotch.

We also hung out at The Motherboard which is a hoot,  loved it!

On our way home, Matt noticed....Shock!....Double Shock!...Sopapilla Factory is open on Sunday!!! Whaaa?!

The Sopapilla Factory is located in Pojoaque, in the grocery store/true value parking lot. It is the best red chile in New Mexico hands down, don't come at me with some El Pinto or the Shed BS. I don't want to hear it, I know chile and S.F. is where it's at. Think Tomasitas when it was good. I get the tapaqueno, a flat iron steak which is always cooked perfectly with a cheese enchilada, beans and a corn cake garnish...smothered with red chile. Hubs gets the carne adovada burrito smothered in red. What can I say, we love red chile. If you are ever in Santa Fe, or anywhere North of Albuquerque, it's worth the drive. And try the queso, I love it.

Two weeks of cooking...and not working out

So now that I have Vday bonanza out of the way, I will give cooking and exercise updates and a promise to be a better blogger.

Exercise: none to report, but I did "take it up" for lent, then I got sick. But now I am better so that starts tomorrow. Other things "taken up for lent?" not eating meat on Fridays (I failed this Friday with a carne adovada breakfast burrito, ham sandwich and pep pizza...oops)

Now to my fave, food!

What do you do with a pound of ground beef? Split it up!
I made burrito mix and chile
Burrito mix

• saute 1/2 onion diced, add a couple of chopped garlic cloves
• add beef
• while the meat is browning, add cumin, salt, pepper, a pinch of oregano, paprika
• load into a tortilla and add cheese or whatever else you want, yum!

Chile - yes, it's spelled chile because it's New Mexican, don't come at me with no-heat TexMex crap!

• in a pot, saute 1/2 diced onion, add a couple chopped garlic cloves 
• add beef
• while the meat is browning, add cumin, salt, pepper, a pinch of oregano, paprika, a pinch of chipotle (1/4tsp) and cayenne
• sound familiar? haha
• add a can of drained Bush's pinto beans (yep, week night shortcut!)
• simmer for about 20 minutes and let cool for a bit so you don't burn your tongue!

What do you do when you have tenderized round steak?
Make Chicken Fried Steak!
I used the Pioneer Woman's recipe since I am not Southern and thought I needed something special for this meal but really didn't.
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/02/chicken-fried-steak/
I recommend at least doubling the spices and adding more salt to the gravy. But hubbie says it's a do again!

What else can you do with ANOTHER pound of beef?! (we have a lot from the fresh qtr cow we bought)
Make tacos!!

• clean and microwave a couple potatoes in the microwave for 4 minutes or till soft, let cool and dice
• saute 1/2 onion diced, add a couple of chopped garlic cloves
• add beef
• add potatoes
• add cumin, salt, pepper, a pinch of oregano, paprika and cayenne
• spray taco shells with pam
• load mix into shells in a deep baking dish so they stay upright, add cheese
• spray one more time with pam
• bake 375 for about 15 minutes or till the cheese melts
• serve with your favorite fixings

Valentine's Day Bonanza!

So in 2003, I got a fondue pot for Christmas.  I then decided to use it for the first ever Valentine's day bonanza on V-day 2004. My friend Sarah, and her bff/roomate/guy I quasi-dated Gray, and I were the only attendees. I didn't really grasp the concept of a fondue pot so we ended up eating over the stove. It was a blast and so a tradition had been created.

Every year, I celebrated my favorite non-holiday with friends, their boyfriends, girlfriends, coworkers, anyone who had a good attitude!

The menu has definitely matured since the first menu of melted Hershey bars and shrimp cocktail with red bull and vodka. But the staple has been made, cheese fondue, chocolate fondue, wine & beer and taboo!

This year's menu:
- typical cheese fondue (I get the cup o' fondue from trader joes because past years we have had a block of cheese - to this I say, know you're weakness and use that shortcut :)

• dippers: granny smith apples, sourdough bread, pretzels

- mexican chocolate fondue

• dippers: pretzels, large marshmallows, strawberries, cubed pound cake

•  80% cocoa chocolate chips, cream, mexican cinnamon, mexican vanilla, cayenne, chipotle
• heat the cream in a double burner and add chocolate to melt, add spices to taste, I add a ton of cayenne because I like it HOT!

-  crostini with steak and maple red chile sauce

• Steak - I picked a london broil because it pan cooks well
• heat up a cast iron skillet, cook for 4-5 min each side, let rest, slice diagonally
• Red Chile Maple Sauce - this is my recipe so you can change it if you like, which I suggest to make every recipe your own, but I digress
• seed red chile pods, soak in warm water, puree in blender
• in a saucepan: heat bacon fat, add a little flour to make a rue, pour in real maple syrup and reduce
• add red chile puree and reduce more, add cayenne or chipotle to taste if you want

- tadig "Bellinis" with ghormeh zabzi

• tadig bellini - I call it this because they are the shape and size of a bellini and I have no other description
• boil basmati rice till 1/2 cooked, drain
• mix rice, 1/2 cup melted butter, saffron, yogurt, 1 egg salt and pepper together
•  spoon into a mini muffin pan, use something to smash down
• bake at 375 for like 20 minutes or until hard
• spoon ghormeh zabzi on top of each tadig (I will post a recipe to make this soon. meaning: once I make it again and remember how I do it :)

- Caprese crostinis

• thinly slice a baguette
• I buy the prosciutto double packs at costco and use one, I also buy the mozzi double pack and use one, one pound of roma tomatoes seeded and cut into thirds and fresh basil
• cut the prosciutto in half lengthwise, layer tomato, basil and mozzi and wrap with prosciutto 
• bake each on a baguette slice at 400 for like 10 min or till the mozzi is melted

Everything was a HUGE hit but I learned a few very valuable lessons this year:

• do not go to a lobo basketball game before the party, you will be rushed and get into an argument with your husband :)
• do not prepare 3 things that need to be individually plated right before serving AND make two fondues that need to be made right before serving, you will still be in your yoga pants when people show up :)
• no matter what, have a glass (or bottle) of wine, eat and play the games and HAVE FUN!!!

I love this party so much, I hope it will inspire some to do something similar. Just give props where they are deserved, do not try to make it seem like an original idea, no one will believe you! :-P

Couch to 5K day ONE!

Well, good news, I go out there. It wasn't easy, I can't find my earbuds and had some other difficulties but I made it out. A 30 minute training, 3 days a week for 8 or 9 weeks in the program. I'm using the ease into 5k app which plays your iTunes playlists and chimes in when you should walk or run.

I did the whole thing, not well, but I did it. Tomorrow I will take the dog for an hour long walk and explore the new neighborhood. Then I will be better equipped for the next training Thursday.

Still Moving!

We are day three of moving in and I almost have the kitchen all set! I was able to cook today, bademjan. It's a persian stew served over rice. So, here's the process:
I browned beef cubes with onion, salt and pepper
- After the meat is brown, combine in a pot with 1 can chicken broth and 1 can tomato sauce, 1/4 cup of lemon juice, cinnamon
- Put a sauce pot 1/2 full with water with a little salt (simmer)
- Start sauteing (sp?) sliced, peeled eggplant
- Once the water starts to boil, pour in 2 cups of basmati rice
- Cut the cooked eggplant slices into bite size pieces and pour into pot mix, reduce temp to low
- Drain the rice when 1/2 cooked
- Return the pot to the burner on low, add some olive oil then add the drained rice, cover with 2 paper towels and lid
- Once the towel is wet around the edge, the rice is done
- Serve the stew over the rice and enjoy!

Hope you like it, it's maybe one of my favorite dishes and pretty healthy!

Moving Day! Good bye to my favorite appliance, my oven (sad face)

Today is moving day, which is probably why I have not worked out yet but that is beside the point.  The move is bittersweet for me. My husband bought our house before I met him and I came and made it our home.  I know that home is where the heart is but I will definitely miss my stove! LOL I'll miss a lot more but the stove for sure. 

There comes a time for every appliance to die.  The oven component of our stove crapped out about a year ago and we replaced it with a stainless steel Frigidaire smart convection stove.  It has five burners, including two rapid boil, one simmer, one regular and my favorite - a long burner with a griddle attachment.  The perfect burner for making gravy from a roasting pan or doing anything in large quanitites.  The smart convect oven cooks perfect potatoes in like half the time and I just love the whole thing!  We are moving to a separate stove-top and a double oven, one door is broken but that will be fixed next week. It should expand my cooking options by a bazillion!

In the mean time, we made beef and broccoli stir fry with brown rice.  It was delicious but I always feel like some flavor component is missing in every stir fry we make.  Probably msg, lol.  Here is a link to the recipe we used: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Stir-Fried-Beef-and-Broccoli-13212?mbid=ipapp

And by we, I mean my husband, because as many who know me know and you will soon find out I cannot follow a recipe to save my life. My relationship with recipes will be explained in a different post.

No workouts yet, but yummy food!

Although I haven't been able to build up the guts to workout I have enjoyed some of Albuquerque's best food! Well, kind of. I had a pastrami and provolone sub from Dion's yesterday, always delicious.  You know, in a business class I learned that the owners of Dion's came to Albuquerque and only sold pizza to make money while waiting for their Greek cuisine cooking equipment! It's amazing how life happens while waiting for your plans to pan out.


Cheers! Happy eating! And soon working out! Lol probably not :)