March 15th Bread Braid with HBin5 Part Uno (I)

Assignment: 1/2 recipe of Avocado-Guacamole Bread, pgs 160-161
1/2 recipe Pesto Pine Nut Bread, pgs 98-99,
We can make substitutions, but share what and how we substituted with the group in our blogs.
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Avocado-Guacamole Bread
Substitutions:
4 c AP, 3 1/4 c WWW (white whole wheat for whole wheat)
Added 2 c shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Added 1 ½ c chipotle salsa
3 tbsp sliced pickled jalapenos

I love any kind of Mexican food…as I’ve mentioned before we were sailing along the Pacific Mexican coast for 9 months on our way to Panama a few years ago. We stopped in many ports and coves, enjoyed so much wonderful food, both peasant and haute cuisine types. One of our favorites were empanadas. These wonderful stuffed doughs ran the gamut from savory to sweet, and were always best from the places the locals frequented.

So when I saw the ingredients required in this dough, I couldn’t even think of making a bread with it at first. But, I will say, the very first thing I thought of with this dough was a wrap. I tried making some with the ½ recipe but they were awful. I couldn’t get the dough to roll out well. I’m not sure if it was because I had originally used the Pesto dough or not.

What I did was make a full recipe of the dough for the Pesto dough which calls for spelt flour as well as whole wheat and all purpose. After mixing the dough, I then split it apart, in half, and added the pesto to the first hal.   In the other I added the guacamole which I made by mashing an avocado and adding a cup of chipotle salsa I bought at Sam’s. I was very surprised that the avocado stayed bright green. Yet, the pesto (homemade last summer from basil I grew) turned brown due to oxidation.

Anyway, as I said the wraps were a dismal failure (no pictures). The pesto dough did do well made into pitas. I’ll talk about those in the next segment.

But I didn’t want to give up on the Avacado-Guacamole dough. So I mixed up a full batch of the recipe but added 1½ c chipotle salsa, and 2 c shredded sharp cheddar. Then I couldn’t resist adding 3 tbsp pickled jalapenos to add that extra kick. The dough rose beautifully, and felt much resilient and very workable.

In the morning I mixed the filling:

From a roasted chicken debone and dice 1 breast, 1 leg and thigh, put into a bowl and add the following, then mix it all up:

1 c chipotle salsa
9 oz frozen corn
1 small can green chilis, chopped
One 14.5 oz can black beans
8 oz. queso fresco (Mexican cheese)
Fresh cilantro

I weighed out 5 ounce lumps of dough and formed them into balls. Then let them rest for a few minutes. At first I tried using my turnover shaper that my sister had given me a few years ago. But the rolled out dough stuck to the form. I then switched to just forming the empanadas by hand. After I rolled the dough out into a round about ¼” thick, and brushed it with beaten egg around ½ of the round edge, I put about 3 spoons of filling it in, then folded over and pinched the edges together.

The filling recipe made 12 empanadas before I ran out of filling. With the last of the dough I made 5 rolls that will be perfect for chicken sandwiches or hamburgers. After letting them rise for about 30 minutes, I brushed the tops with a beaten egg, and baked in a 450 degree oven for 30 -35 minutes. While there was a bit of leakage out of a few of the empanadas, they all came out beautiful and delicious smelling.

I let them cool for about 10 minutes, and then cut one in half and put on a plate.

Again harkening back to our time in Mexico, I could only think of serving the empanada with tropical fruits. So I cut up a perfectly ripe papaya and placed about ½ c of it on slices of pineapple. But wait…it wasn’t a perfect meal yet!

Agua de sabors were a big part of our days in that tropical heat in Mexico and Central America. The “water of the day” as it translates was whatever fresh fruit was available…watermelon, papaya, mango, guanabana, banana, passion fruits. Another big favorite is rice milk laced with cinnamon. The first time I was offered rice milk I thought it was made with milk and declined it since I am lactose intolerant when it comes to straight milk. But then I learned that it is made by cooking rice in about 2x the amount of water you would normally use to cook rice, and you can add a vanilla bean to it. After the rice is cooked you blend it until very smooth, strain it and then add more water to taste. Once I learned THAT’s what rice milk is I drank it every chance I got. Here in the states I’ve usually bought rice milk but it’s loaded with sugar! So I’ll be making my own soon now that I’ve found a good and easy recipe for it.

http://www.recipezaar.com/D-I-Y-Rice-Milk-51109

OK, back to how rice milk enhanced this meal, I simply poured rice milk into a glass and sprinkled a bit of cinnamon on top. What a wonderful breakfast this was! Even Ken loved the empanada!

Wanetta and Wayne, and another taster, Rosalind also loved the empanadas…in fact all three said they wanted them again, soon!

One final note:
Since I was in the mood for agua de sabors, I decided to use the last of the pineapple, some of the papaya, some rice milk, and blended it with ice and a bit of Splenda. What a refreshing drink! I sometimes throw in some soda water but this time thinned it with just regular water. We drink this type of concoction a lot during the hot days of summer.

See part II to see how I had fun with the pesto dough!

Easy Recipes using Roasted Chicken from grocery stores

Part I

One of my favorite meals is to buy a roasted chicken from Wegman’s, Sam’s, Costco (all are usually just under $5.00) or even from our local grocery stores (usually less than $9.00).

I swear they must be putting something addictive in these chickens! The flavor is delicious, the skin is crispy and one chicken will last Ken and I through 3 or even 4 meals. 

The price, if I buy it from Wegman’s, Sam’s, or Costco is less than if I bought a whole raw chicken and baked t myself. I’m also now in the habit of calling my neighbor’s Wayne and Wanetta to see if they need me to pick up one for them. I brought them home one about 6 months ago and that was all it took! Now they usually want me to pick them up one when I buy for Ken and I.

Wegman’s is my favorite place to buy them since they have them in a variety of flavors including lemon, and barbeque! But alas, it’s a longer drive than I want to do at the end of a busy work day. I usually buy one a week at Sam’s.  But Wegman's also has Kosher roasted chickens!   They are a bit more expensive but even better!  

I stopped in on Sam’s on Wednesday night to pick up a prescription and decided to pick up a chicken for us due to the big storm coming in. It was a party while more than a dozen of us waited for the chickens to be taken out of the roasters! Conversations buzzed with, not the impending storm, but how good the chickens are and what we do with them! LOL.

Here are two examples of my favorite uses for the roasted chickens. First let me say that in my house these chickens get divided perfectly. Ken loves breast meat, and I love the dark meat. Ken eats ½ chicken breast for a sandwich or just with some steamed veggies for dinner. I’ll warm up a thigh or leg and do up a wrap for lunch.

After about the second day I start picking the meat off the bone for the recipes below. Oh, by the way, I cook up the bones and make extra broth and use it in soups.

Enchilada Suizzas

We first had this recipe in Acapulco, Mexico. We were stuck in the bay on our sailboat waiting out the storm season after a very scary aborted attempt to get to Hualtulco, Mexico, which is below the hurricane belt. 

After a full day’s attempt, during which we ran into a very bad storm, and lost the ability to use our rudder, we ended up back in Acapulco Bay looking for repairs. Also at my insistence, we were looking for another person, with sailing experience, to travel with us for a bit. This is when we met Jon, an Acapulco University student who wanted to learn English. I talked about him in an earlier post.

We had to put Cadenza up on the hard, (positioned on stands on land) for repairs at the Acapulco Yacht Club. In search of an inexpensive meal one day we stumbled on Mama Mia’s just a few blocks from the Yacht club. 

What a find it turned out to be! For $2.99 a person we got a soup of the day, an entrée, and a beverage! So the three of us could eat for under $10.00. What made it even better and more worthwhile was that the food was cooked fresh, was very tasty, and served on the patio of the owner’s home. We were shaded by trees, had just enough of a breeze and the gals who cooked and served were always a delight to talk to!

Their enchilada suizzas were new to us and we quickly learned the best day of the week to find them on the menu. As is usually the way with us, we analyzed what was in the dish so I could recreate it when we were no longer in Acapulco.

The main ingredient is salsa verde made with tomatillos. 

If you are not familiar with the name tomatillos, you probably have seen them near the tomatoes or in the exotic fruits and vegetables section of your grocery store. Tomatillos are in the shape of tomatoes but are green with a papery husk around them. You peel off the husk and there is a bit of a sticky substance on the skin. Wash that off and you have a wonderfully citrusy vegetable that looks likes a green tomato.

I’ve often made my own salsa verde because most of the commercials versions have so much vinegar and lack any other flavor that I can’t stand them. So when I can find tomatillos at a good price, less than $2.00 a pound, I’ll buy a couple of pounds and make the salsa and then can or freeze it.

But I’ve also learned that there is one brand that is excellent. It’s imported from Texas to Brown’s Orchard, here in York and Loganville, PA. Bless this store! It’s expensive at $6.99 a jar, but great to have as a backup when I don’t have any homemade on the shelf or in the freezer!

I haven’t written down the recipe at this point, so will have to do that soon. In the meantime, buy or order a few jars of D.L. Jardines Roasted Tomatillo Salsa. It is worth the price! http://jardinefoods.elsstore.com/view/product/?id=35719&cid=2871

Let’s finally get started with this recipe!

8’x8’ cake pan coated with Pam on the inside

1 jar of D.L. Jardines Roasted Tomatillo Salsa or 2 c of your homemade Salsa Verde

Shredded 4 blend Mexican cheese (variety of brands in the stores) or a blend of shredded jalapeno jack cheese and cheddar cheese and Queso Mexican cheese

Shredded roasted chicken with skin removed

½ chopped white or Spanish onion

6 corn or flour tortillas

Warm up the salsa in the microwave on the stove. If using corn tortillas you want it very warm. Pour the salsa onto a plate of pie pan.

Put a tortilla into the salsa to coat it on both sides. Lay into the cake pan and put in a Tblsp or two of chicken, onion, and then cheeses. Roll up enchilada style. Push over to the corner. 

Repeat for all 6 tortillas. Pour left over salsa over the rolled up and stuffed tortillas. Sprinkle the leftover cheeses on the salsa and left over onions.

Bake for 20 or 30 minutes at 350 degrees, or microwave at 70% for 10 minutes or so.

Let sit for a few minutes. Serve with a salad on the side, chips and any salsa you want.  This is just as good reheated as well!  

Tuna Stuffed Jalapenos

As I have mentioned before, we cruised from San Diego, CA, to the Panama Canal and then through it on our sailboat, Cadenza. During those 18 months, we captured many wonderful memories both in the camera and in our hearts.

Such is the case with Tuna Stuffed Jalapenos!

When we were stuck in Acapulco for the summer, something you don’t want to experience believe me, we met John. At the time John was a university student planning to be an English teacher. He was also a sailor, as was his dad and his brother. John joined us on Cadenza to learn English, and he helped us sail from Acapulco on down the coast to Panama and beyond.

John

I was always begging John to bring me some of his mother’s recipes so I could learn to make some of his favorite dishes for him, and for us. He never seemed to be able to remember when he would come back from visiting his mother. But one day when we were in a little tienda (store) in Huatulco, he pointed at a can of pickled jalapenos with a big smile on his face. John said they always reminded him of the parties he and his friends had. They would buy a big can of them, and stuffed the jalapenos with tuna fish. At last! I finally had a recipe to work with, and an easy one at that!

When I told Ken about it he decided we would stuff them with his favorite tuna fish recipe. Ken’s tuna fish recipe is one that he and his daughter, Kim, love, but frankly for a long time I did not. But over the years I’ve learned to love it! So he would make the tuna fish and then we would stand around and stuff the jalapenos.

There’s a saying in the cruising community that you have to have 200 tuna fish recipes because that is the one thing you can get reliably almost anywhere on the coasts. So now we had 201 tuna fish recipes!

But we ran into a real shortage of jalapenos problem once we were out of Mexico! Due to the climate conditions and the different cultures and eating habits of those in Central America, it’s almost impossible to find jalapenos! When we were in Costa Rica we really had a problem! Remember I said that John used to buy the big cans of pickled jalapenos? Well, down there you are lucky if you can find even a 6 oz can of them!

In fact one day I came out of the grocery store with a sad expression on my face. John, who was waiting for me, asked what was wrong. “John, they have no jalapenos! “

“NO jalapenos! “ He exclaimed. “Si John, NO jalapenos!” I emphasized!

“Bloody Hell!” He said in a perfect parody of our English friend Alan. I stood there laughing like a loony, as I realized just what a variety of English John was learning!

In Panama I did actually find fresh jalapenos. It was a bit confusing finding them however! We were staying on a mooring ball at the main marina in Bahia Panama awaiting our turn to go through the canal. On the morning radio net I asked if anyone knew where we could find jalapenos, either fresh or canned as we were completely out!

Someone called back letting us know about a grocery store that she knew carried them. She gave us directions and off we went. When we found the store we were delighted! They did in fact have jalapenos and I was willing to pay the exorbitant price to have them! But it was very confusing to be in a store in the Jewish section of Panama that was owned by a Chinese family! On the counter were Israeli papers in Hebrew, local papers in Spanish, and others in Chinese! I was at a loss as to what language to say ‘Thank you!” in!

Ah, good memories and fun times!

The reason I am writing about this today is all Diane’s fault! She is one of my co-workers and has been bugging me since last year to make her some Tuna Stuffed Jalapenos. I brought them to the International Potluck last year and it was a very popular dish.

Just recently I had discovered that our local Wal-Mart was finally carrying cans of jalapenos and I was telling Diane that. So on the way home I picked up a can of them and started in making them right away.

When I asked my husband to taste the tuna mixture, Ken said it wasn’t right. He’s a good guy but very particular about his tuna fish! So he came downstairs from his office and made it for me. Here is his recipe:

1 can (6 ounce size) white albacore tuna fish (any brand)

6 tbsp mayonnaise

3 tbsp Balsamic vinegar

Juice from ¼ lemon

¼ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp celery salt

3 tbsp vinegar

1 pinch dill weed

You have to mix all the ingredients together very carefully.

Watch the video to see how precisely Ken does it.

Once mixed, open a 12 oz can of Green Pickled Jalapenos. These should be whole or halved. I am lucky to find the whole ones so I buy those. If you have the whole ones, cut the jalapenos in half lengthwise. With a small narrow spoon scoop out the seeds and membranes carefully.

Then using the same small spoon or even a pastry bag filled with the tuna mixture, stuff the jalapenos. You can garnish them with hot pickled carrots that usually come in the can with the jalapenos, or put a sliver of pimento on top. Or if you want to be fancy, put some fresh dill or capers.

Arrange on a plate and serve. Be sure to have some good beer, or tequila on hand to go with it!

Salud Diane!