Our Foray Into Mexican Cooking - Jan. 21, 2008
Posted in Geography
Since we are finishing our geography lessons for
After pouring over the only Mexican cookbook I had which happened to be a Better Homes and Gardens magazine, we made our menu and shopping list and we were off. Two and a half hours later we dragged the groceries into the kitchen more ready for a nap than a new experiment in cooking. But, there were men in the house and they needed food, so we tackled the salsa first.
I should mention here that I have experimented with homemade salsas before, and haven’t made a good one yet. Today was no exception. At least we have another recipe to add to our “Never Make This Again” pile. Don’t get me wrong, it was edible, just very plain. Did that stop us? Nope, we plowed onward to the tamales!
Do you know that you are supposed to soak those cornhusks overnight before stuffing them with the masa harina mixture? I found that out about 5 minutes before starting them! The recipe has you put the husks, about a dozen at a time, with two tablespoons of water in the microwave. We don’t own a microwave. The package says to soak overnight. I didn’t have that kind of time. So, I poured boiling water over the whole mess, covered it with a towel and prayed. We giggled a bit, too. By the way, do you know how many of those husks are crammed into one of those bags from the store? We needed about thirty. There had to be about a hundred in there! Oh, and they aren’t in a big hurry to soak up the water either. After a lot of turning the husks over and over in the water and a few more giggles, we finally got enough peeled off the pile to make our potful of tamales.
The tamales were in the steamer, the stuffed peppers were in the oven, so it was time to make the flautas. Do you know that flautas are fried? I don’t fry. And, because I don’t fry, when I do fry, I don’t do it very well. Oh, and do you know that flour tortillas go from golden brown to burnt to a crisp within seconds in the fryer? Now you do.
Three hours and many sinkfuls of dishes later we exhaustedly served up, in the midst of a smoky haze, stuffed
And you know what I like the best? The three hours in the kitchen with my teenage daughter! We had such a good time together! The food was mostly edible, but our time together was unforgettable.
I can’t wait until Thursday. We are exploring the foods of the islands! I figure if we cover it with enough pineapple, anything will taste good, lol!
Thank you for stopping by. I think there are still a few flautas that aren’t black.
Betty
“Grace and peace be yours in abundance.” -1Peter1:2b
Comments
Jan. 22, 2008 - Hi Betty,
Posted by MOMflippedisWOW
Sounds like you two had a wonderful time! I'm looking forward to hearing about your next cooking adventure!
Peace and Laughter!
Vicki
Jan. 22, 2008 - How fun
Posted by ClagettsFLStyle
We love doing things like this. Sounds like you had a great time!!
Jan. 24, 2008 - I can definitely sympathize...
Posted by kympossible
with the good intentions and less than great results with unfamiliar cooking!!! I am not much of a cook at any rate, so experimenting with recipes from other countries is a bit risky at my house. And I have picky eaters which doesn't help. I'll be back to find out how the island food turned out! Anything with pineapple and coconut can't be bad, IMO. 8~)
Thanks for visiting my blog - hopefully our next European meal will get better reviews! ;~)
Blessings,
Kym
