Homemade Flour Tortillas

Nothing goes better with green chili than a batch of homemade flour tortillas. I know the foodie in me should prefer corn tortillas, but when I'm being really honest with myself, I realize that I don't actually like them at all. I will always choose the soft, chewiness of flour over corn. These turned out really well, and I was happily surprised at the lack of lard or large amounts of fat. 

A couple quick things about this recipe: First, it's not mine. I lifted this one straight from a blog called Homesick Texan (http://homesicktexan.blogspot.com/), which has a lot of great recipes, so check it out if Southwestern food is your jam. Second, these are a bit of a pain in the butt, so I would definitely recommend making a double batch and freezing them... or eating twice as many.

  

Homemade Flour Tortillas
(adapted from The Border Cookbook by Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison)

Ingredients:
Two cups of all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons of vegetable oil
3/4 cups of warm milk

Method:
Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and oil. Slowly add the warm milk. Stir until a loose, sticky ball is formed. Knead for two minutes on a floured surface. Dough should be firm and soft. Place dough in a bowl and cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap for 20 minutes.

After the dough has rested, separate into eight pieces and roll into small balls, place them on a plate and then cover with damp cloth or plastic wrap for 10 minutes. After dough has rested, one at a time place a dough ball on a floured surface, pat it out into a four-inch circle, and then roll with a rolling pin from the center until it’s very thin, about eight inches in diameter. Don’t over work the dough. Keep rolled-out tortillas covered until ready to cook.

In a dry skillet heated on medium-high, cook the tortilla about thirty seconds on each side. Large brown bubbles will form when it's done. Keep cooked tortillas covered until ready to eat.

Green Chili a la Gringa

Comfort food means different things to different people. To a girl from Colorado, there is nothing more comforting than a bowl of green chili with fluffy, homemade tortillas.

First things first- if your local grocery store has fresh Hatch Green Chiles, get some! And if you're lucky enough to shop at a store where they not only have them, but roast them on-site, get lots and freeze them. They are the reason I decided to make green chili on a Tuesday... at 7pm... after working 8 hours. Which, by the way, I would not advise. Although it turned out great, it will only get better with additional simmer time. Two hours on low is what I'll recommend, but one hour would definitely suffice.

I started with a traditional green chili recipe and then made some changes that are simply a matter of preference. Feel free to add, subtract or change major ingredients as you like. As long as the basic recipe and proportions stay the same, you'll end up with a delicious finished product.

 

Green Chili

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:
2 lbs. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cubed (I would probably be ridiculed relentlessly in many (ok most) circles for using chicken instead of pork, but I prefer chicken, so that's what I used).
2 1/2 Cups roasted, chopped green chiles
1 14.5 oz. Can of diced tomatoes
1 Large white onion, diced
1 Teaspoon of garlic, minced
5 Tablespoons of flour (3 or 4 if you'd like it thinner- I did 5 because I wanted it more stew-like)
32 oz. Chicken stock
1/2 Cup water (or more depending on desired thickness)
1 Tablespoon oil (Olive, Canola, Vegetable, whatevs)

Salt and pepper to taste
1 Can black beans (optional, I added them because I wanted the chili to be a complete meal)

Method:

Heat oil in large stock pot. Add onion and garlic and cook over medium heat until fragrant and translucent, about 8 minutes. Add cubed chicken, and pinch of salt and pepper and stir until chicken is cooked through.

Sprinkle flour over the chicken, stir in and cook for about 3 minutes. This will cook out the flour, so your finished chili doesn't taste pasty. 

Add diced tomatoes, green chiles, chicken stock, water, black beans, salt and pepper to taste, and bring to a boil. Then reduce to low and simmer for two hours, stirring occasionally. *This recipe can also be made in a slow cooker if that's more convenient. 

Peach Butter with Cardamom and Ginger

    

This recipe is so sexy, I gave the finished product its own photo shoot.

It's a long story, but the basic gist of it is, I was supposed to go to a food swap last weekend, (which I WILL do at some point, and blog about it, so stay tuned) and I had very grand plans to bring lavender peach butter for my first offering. At the grocery store, I searched high and low for fresh or dried lavender (I got so desperate at one point, I was considering buying camomile/lavender tea) but to no avail. 

When faced with the decision of driving another 20 minutes to a different market or changing up the recipe, I chose the latter. I smelled all of the spices in the bulk spice section and eventually decided that cardamom would be the best substitute for the lavender. It's exotic and slightly floral and it turned out to be the perfect complementary spice when paired with the acid in the peaches and lemon.

In the end, this recipe was insanely delicious, but made much less than I needed for the swap. So, it was both a success and a failure. I will absolutely make it again and I would encourage anyone with peaches on hand to try it. 

Peach Butter with Cardamom and Ginger

Recipe makes about 2 1/2 8oz. jars

Ingredients:

2 1/2 lbs. fresh yellow peaches

3/4 cup granulated sugar

Zest and juice of one large lemon

3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon of ground nutmeg

Method:

Blanch and peel peaches. This is a super simple technique, but if you've never tried it before, here's a short video how-to that I found very helpful: http://video.about.com/homecooking/How-to-Peel-a-Peach.htm.

Pit and chop the peaches roughly and combine with all other ingredients in pot on the stovetop. Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Simmer for 20-25 minutes until the peach butter clings to the back of a spoon. 

Remove from heat and cool. When the mixture has cooled, run through a food mill or sieve, or blend with a food processor or immersion blender. Package in cute mason jars, or that disposable tupperware stuff, whatever floats your boat. Store in the fridge for about 10 days. Yummy on toast and pancakes, or just eat it out of the jar with a spoon.

2012 Summer Favorites: Grilled Vegetable Salad

The day I realized not all salads are made from raw, leafy greens, was a day that changed my life. I like a big ol' bowl o' roughage just as much as the next gal, but I'm not always in the mood for it. 

That's why this recipe is so fantastic. It takes the best things about summer: Produce at its peak, lots of fresh herbage and cooking on the grill, and marries all of the flavors in one scrumptious salad... without the rabbit food.

Easy peasy, beautiful and delicious, this dish will impress dinner party guests and possibly, even your husband. Mine loves it.

Grilled Vegetable Salad

Ingredients:
2 Red Bell Peppers (orange or yellow will also work) 
1 Large Zucchini
2 Large Portobello Caps
1 Bunch Asparagus (buy the bunch with the fattest stalks you can find, that way they won't fall through the grates)
     *I also used eggplant, until I realized I hate it. Other veggies welcome. 
Drizzle of olive oil
Sprinkle of garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Dressing:
About 1/2 cup of olive oil
About 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar
Juice of one lemon
Lots of fresh herbs: My favorite are Thyme, Basil and Oregano (careful with the Oregano, a little goes a long way).
1 tablespoon of Dijon Mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
Sprinkle of sugar or a few drops of honey if needed 

Method:
Light grill and preheat to medium.

Wash, and prep all veg by cutting into large pieces. You see from the photos that I left mine quite large, just cut in half. This will keep them from falling through the grates and makes the grilling process much easier. 

     *A produce guy once told me that the gills on the underside of a Portobello mushroom are like its intestines, so it's best to scrape them out before eating. I have never noticed a difference in the way Portobellos taste when I take this extra step, but I've also never been able to get those words out of my head. Now, neither will you. You're welcome.

Next, trow everything into a very large bowl and drizzle with olive oil, (not too much) and sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Lay vegetables directly on your grill grates and turn after about 10 minutes of cooking. Cook an additional 10 minutes or so on the second side. You're not looking to cook these vegetables to death, you still want some crunch, so use your best judgement. If they look like they need to come off sooner, go ahead and remove them. 

Once off the grill, squeeze the juice of one lemon over all of the veggies and toss with a large spoon. While the vegetables are cooling, combine the olive oil, red wine vinegar, fresh herbs, Dijon mustard and salt and pepper in a bowl and whisk with a fork. 

When the grilled veggies are cool enough to handle, cut them into smaller bite-sized pieces, put them in your serving bowl and drizzle with dressing. Toss everything well and sprinkle with extra herbs, if you've got them. Enjoy!