Poco-Cocoa

Every now and then, it’s nice to remember where you came from. I came from a little town in New Mexico, where I lived with my mom and dad, my sister, my brother, and my grandma. My grandma lived with us until we moved to Texas, and she taught me so many things. I learned to read in Spanish as I read from her prayer book every night. I learned to keep things neat and tidy, and that you should smooth the covers after you sit on the bed so that it looks perfect and inviting when you jump in at night. I learned that prickly pears are edible and delicious, and that you could save the seeds from marigolds and replant them the next year. I learned manners and respect for elders, and that a pair of nice earrings can always make you look pulled together.

Unfortunately, I didn’t learn to make her recipes. I remember being in the kitchen when she was rolling out tortillas, or stuffing tamales, or frying gorditas. She would give me a tiny piece of tortilla dough to play with and roll out, and every so often I helped put the masa (tamale dough) on the corn husks. But I never found out what goes in the dough or how to make perfectly round tortillas. It’s a shame.

Well, yesterday I decided to go back to my roots. I made empanadas. They’re not exactly like my grandma’s, but they’re close enough. They remind me of Christmas and family and menudo cooking on the stove. After making a batch of 16, I realized why she always made huge batches. They’re fairly time consuming, so it’s worth making a double or triple batch to freeze for some day when you need a taste of home. I can’t wait to tell her that I made these.

Notes: The original recipe called for 1/2 cup raisins in the filling; my grandma never put raisins in, and since I’m not a huge fan of raisins in baked goods, I left them out. Also, my grandma never put walnuts in the filling–hers was smooth and pumpkin-y. But I like the crunch that the nuts add. I might reduce the amount of brown sugar a tad next time, since the filling is really sweet; then again, it offsets the dough nicely.

Pumpkin Empanadas

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk

Pumpkin Filling:

• 1 (16-ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender or a fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a separate bowl, beat eggs with milk. Add to flour mixture, stirring until combined (use your hands to knead in the flour). Form dough into a ball; cover and chill 1 hour.

Meanwhile, mix all the pumpkin filling ingredients in a bowl.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Remove dough from refrigerator. Divide dough into 16 portions. On a lightly floured surface roll each part into a 6-inch circle. Place about 3 tablespoons pumpkin filling on one side of the circle. Moisten edges with a little water; fold in half, pressing edges with a fork to seal.

Place empanadas on a baking sheet. Brush tops with a little milk; sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes 16.

Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Mexican Cookbook (1977!).

When I was just starting to mess around in the kitchen, years ago when I was still in college and thought that Parmesan cheese only came in a can, I received a Better Homes & Gardens cookbook from Justin as a gift. I thought it was beautiful. My mom always had one just like it, old and stained, stuffed in a drawer in her kitchen. There were always recipes jammed between the pages, extracted from newspapers or magazines or on torn pieces of paper in the handwriting of an aunt or a friend. My copy was brand new. Shiny pages and hundreds of recipes at my fingertips.

One of my first experiments from this cookbook was cornbread. The recipe was perfect–the cornbread was sweet, airy, and beautiful. I made other recipes from the book, but this is the only one that has stayed with me. I’ll have to revisit that cookbook, dusty and forgotten on the top shelf of my cooking library…

Cornbread

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 beaten eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup canola oil

Preheat oven to 425°. Spray the bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of a 9×9-inch baking pan with nonstick spray; put aside. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center of the dry mixture; set aside.

In another bowl combine the eggs, milk, and canola oil. Add egg mixture all at once to dry mixture. Stir just until moistened. Spoon batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

Makes 9 servings.

Source: Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook.

Justin is always quoting that line from some old movie (maybe Mr. Mom?). Maybe someone out there knows that line, too.

Last night I made chili and cornbread for the premiere of “Girls’ Night…starring Leti and Crystal.” We’ve decided to get together once a week and hang out. Last night included eating a delicious dinner of chili, hearts of romaine salad, and cornbread, then heading to the mall to shop at Eddie Rodriguez. We were very upset to find that the store had closed, the website no longer exists, and there seems to be no trace of this wonderful Latino fashion designer with sheer fabrics and beautiful styles. So we came back home and shopped on itunes.

This chili was my first experience with TVP, or textured vegetable protein. TVP is made from soybeans, and is dried, so it can be stored in the cabinet for a really long time. It’s super cheap…I paid 30 cents for about 1 1/2 cups of it from the bulk section at HEB (our local grocery store). When it’s cooked with liquids, it absorbs all the flavors surrounding it, and the texture is reminiscent of cooked ground meat. I was a little skeptical that it would taste too 1970’s hippie-like, but it was actually really good!

As for the chili itself, I was really happy with it. The sweet potatoes added a nice flavor, and the cashews gave it a nice crunch. The whole apartment smelled yummy while it was cooking, although afterward we had that “I just cooked something with cumin” smell lingering in the kitchen. Oh well, it’s the price you pay for good, homemade food.

Notes: This is actually half the original recipe, and still made enough to feed six people. I also added the green bell pepper about 5 minutes before the chili was done, because I wanted it a bit more tender. I added about a cup of water toward the end because the chili seemed dry.

Nutty Portobello Chili

• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 portobello mushroom, chopped (stems included)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 (14-ounce) can crushed tomatoes, with their juice
• 1 small sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 cup TVP
• 1 can kidney beans, drained
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 small green bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped cashews (toasted or untoasted)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

In a large, heavy pot, heat the canola oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the mushrooms, garlic, chili powder, and cumin and saute for 2 minutes more.

Add the tomatoes, sweet potato, TVP, beans, salt, pepper, and 2 cups water and mix well. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the sweet potato is tender.

Remove from the heat and stir in the bell pepper, cashews, and cilantro. Add a little hot water if the chili seems too dry. Season with salt and pepper.

Makes 6 servings.

Adapted from Entertaining for a Veggie Planet by Didi Emmons.

Last night I made this soup for dinner, along with hummus, tomato, and avocado sandwiches. It was fabulous. I had made it before, but I’ve been avoiding it because it requires an hour of roasting for the vegetables, which turns our little apartment into an oven. Yesterday I braved the heat and made the soup, and it was so worth it.

The soup is light and summery, but deep with the flavors of caramelized leeks and carrots. It’s a delicious way to get some veggies in. It’s fairly easy to throw together, and perfect for summer when tomatoes are ripe and cheap. The leeks are always a little more expensive, but they add such a perfect mild onion flavor to the soup. The original recipe calls for topping the soup with fresh basil, which I opted not to do, simply because I didn’t have any on hand.

Notes: Be very careful when pureeing hot liquids in a blender. It’s best to use the lid, but leave the top hole open to allow the steam to escape; use a folded dishtowel to loosely cover the hole and prevent splashing.

Roasted Vegetable Soup

• 6 beefsteak tomatoes, halved and cored
• 2 leeks, white and pale-green parts cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 carrots, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Coarse salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cans (14.5 ounces each) vegetable broth
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

Preheat oven to 425°F. In roasting pan, toss tomatoes, leeks, carrots, garlic cloves, and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Roast in a single layer (tomatoes cut sides down) until tender, 1 hour. Using tongs, peel off the tomato skins. In a saucepan, bring vegetables, broth, and water to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 10 minutes. In batches, puree in blender. Stir in basil.

Makes 4 servings.

Source: Everyday Food magazine.