Vegetarian – Page 14 – Experiments in my New World Kitchen and Garden

Scissor Salsa (or Rancho Relish)

I love this stuff. I don’t think I’ve written about it before. I thought it was obscure and rare until my friends in Hidalgo confirmed that they make it.

Here’s a link to the original recipe.

Note that Diana has you heat the chiles on a comal. This isn’t to toast them or cook them. It’s really to soften them if they are old. I’ve made this countless times but the best is with our banana vinegar. I also add some Oregano Indio. You can’t beat the combination!

I added three small spoonfuls to scrambled egg batter and the result was fine! Add two heirloom corn tortillas and you’re in business.

The best use is as above, with some fresh mozzerella. Golly I could live on this.

Direct Canning Dried Beans

This was a new one on me. Check out this video.

I was intrigued and I had to try it. One internet commenter asked why one would bother. Why not just make them in a pressure cooker? For me, some beans like baby limas or garbanzos, I just want a little bit. I don't need a whole pot. I also like the idea of beans in my larder, ready to go with just a little heating up.

I bought a pressure canner (yes, I know I'm a little obsessive) and went to work. I differed from Aunt Duddie in that I added 2 cloves of garlic, a teaspoon of Oregano Indio and about a tablespoon of olive oil in each jar before filling them with boiling water. I did everything else as suggested and guess what? They came out great.

I can't wait to try this with different types of beans and see how they do.
My concerns, and if you are a canner i'd love to hear what you think, are the olive oil and garlic. Will this remain shelf-stable even though I added oil? Does it make any difference.

I heard all the jars "ping" and I checked their seals this morning and the lids are on tight.

One other concern is I left some head space but some of the beans continued to suck up the liquid and the head space is more than recommended. Does this extra air matter?

Now I'm fantasizing about soups and chili. What do you think?

Pinole: A Toasted Corn Treat

Yunuen from Xoxoc was very excited when she told me about a special pinole (peen-oh-lay) made from heirloom blue corn. I wasn’t 100 percent sure what to do with it but I knew if vaguelly had something to do with a kind of atole drink, not unlike gruel.

It turns out there are many uses for it and a delicious hot beverage is not uncommon. To make Atole de Pinole, you start about a litre of water to boil. In a measuring cup, add a cup of milk or almond milk and mix in 1 cup of the pinole. This is to avoid lumps. Add it to the soon to be boiling water. When it reaches a rapid boil, turn the heat down so you have a gentle boil and let it roll for about five minutes. At this point, you add more sweetener or milk and of course you can play around with these ratios, keeping in mind the more milk and sugar, the higher the chance for scorching and you’ll need to keep stirring constantly.

My youngest son asked for me and then later asked me to make it again, so in our house, it’s a hit. I searched the internet for information on it and most of it comes from runners, who mix it with chia for a potent energy food.

Visit the Pinole page at Rancho Gordo

A Better Cup of Mexican Chocolate

How do you improve something as divine as Mexican chocolate? Let me tell you. Many indigenous people drink it made with water. I have tried and it's fine but really, I need the hot milk to really be sent to the moon.

Well, a wise friend told me to try it with almond milk. My instincts are to say no and run in the opposite direction but when you think about it, almond milk is almost like an almond horchata drink and almonds and chocolate go so well together. Well, it's better than when made with milk! It's rich but not as filling. I'm a convert. By the way, this keeps things vegan.

Here's how to order our stoneground chocolate online.

Mushroom-Avocado Tacos

Is there anything that doesn't work on an heirloom corn tortilla? No.

Sauteed wild mushrooms with lots of garlic, plus avocado. What's not to like?

Carrot Salad

I was trying to make the Spicy Moroccan Carrot Salad from Ottolenghi's Plenty but I lacked most of the ingredients. So I fudged and this is what happened.

2 lbs carrots
1/2 cup olive oil
1 medium white onion, chopped small
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 serrano chile, finely chopped
1 inch piece of fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 teaspoon cumin, ground
1 teaspoon, Spanish smoked paprika
1 teaspoon Oregano Indio
1/3 cup Banana Vinegar
salt
1 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped.

Peel the carrots and cut them into even discs. Boil in salted water for 10 minutes. Drain and allow them to dry out a bit.

Saute the onion in the olive oil over medium heat until the onions just start to turn brown. Add garlic. Then add the rest of the ingredients except the parsley. Stir well and then add the carrots. Turn off the heat, mix in the parsley and serve.

Serves 4

Mushroom Epazote Taco (Vegan Before Six a la Mexicana)

Three very debauched weeks in Mexico have led me to Mark Bittman's VB6: Eat Vegan Before 6:00 to Lose Weight and Restore Your Health . . . for Good
program. It's very simple. Eat vegan for breakfast and lunch and for dinner you eat what you want. If you're in tune with your body, you probably won't crave meat. I refuse to BE vegan but if it means weight loss and an improvement in my health, I'm happy to EAT vegan, at least for awhile.

The book is great but it really doesn't address the way I eat, which is mostly Mexican. I'll be posting my successes here as they happen and any notable failures as well. I am cheating with two ingredients. I'm taking a little milk with my first coffee in the morning and I'm using my good chicken stock for flavor. I know there are prefab "good" stocks out there but I'm not really into settling for vegan substitutes of known things. I'd rather do without cheese or creamer or whatever than have a Trader Joe's version with 75 ingredients. But I can't do without my chicken stock and it has few if any calories and it's just my compromise.

If you are a serious vegan I can see how Bittman's book and my even weirder interpretation of it could be considered offensive so I apologize in advance if this is the case. At this point, my issues are weight loss and a concern of what it takes to bring a pound of beef to market, organic or not. Maybe this will all change and I've learned never to speak in absolutes about these things but essentially, Vegan Before Six with milk for breakfast and chicken stock for flavor feel just about right, for the moment.

These tacos were made with sauteed mushrooms in olive oil with onion and garlic and then tossed with chopped epazote. My instincts were screaming "Queso fresco!" at me but I ignored them and this was delicious. Next time a little thinned out guacamole/tomatillo salsa.

Frijol Xculibul: A New Heirloom from the Yucatan

Some of our projects take longer than others to come to fruition. When I had these beans in the Yucatan, I knew I wanted them, but the growers there ran a very small co-op and it's taken awhile to get Xculibul beans into the Rancho Gordo warehouse.

No one here really knows exactly how to pronounce Xculibul. My version always ends up sounding like Ish Kabibble, the old Borscht belt comedian. But they do deserve a little more respect as they are delicious, dense and they have a bean broth with hints of chocolate.

Like most good busines transactions in Mexico, this one started with food: a delicious lunch of chicken in a chile sauce with potatoes and rice. The cook and her son were pretty bored of us but I appreciate her excellent skills in the kitchen! I remember thinking this wouldn't be too hard to duplicate at home and I loved the plain steamed rice instead of the ubiquitous "Spanish rice" served almost everywhere.

It was really hot out and after eating, we were told it could be quite a long wait. All the chairs were taken so I ended up in a hammock, as did Gabriel. The next thing I knew I woke up to the sound of my own snoring! I was so embarrassed and as I woke up startled, everyone laughed.

My narcolepsy was a good turn, it turns out. One of the farmers had been suspicious about working with a gringo (me) and he was sure that anyone who could sleep as easily as I could had a clean conscience and was a good person to do business with. There were a few fits and starts but now we present to you the Xculibul bean. Dig out your best recipe for Cochinita Pibil or Guajalote in Escabeche and enjoy the fruits of our labor.

Frijiol Xculibl on the Rancho Gordo website.

Quick Bean Casserole

I don’t like calling beans “leftovers” because a lot of us cook beans to have on hand long after they’ve been made.

For an easy casserole, layer cooked beans, cooked greens (like chard or dandelion greens) and then top with panko crumbs dotted with butter. I think I use some leftover poached chicken I had on hand for this version.

Bake it at about 350F for 40 minutes.

Florida Butter Beans (a.k.a. Calico Pole Beans)

Back from retirement! If you like baby limas, you'll love the Florida Butter Bean. I like their kooky markings but they taste great, too. Quick cooking and a natural match for butter make them a southern favorite.

More on Florida Butter Beans from the Rancho Gordo online store.