steamed bread

my host mom, zola, made this bread one evening. it was one of the best things i ate while in south africa. my host mom is only like 3 or 4 years older than me, so we were more like sisters. i have no idea how she made this bread other than it was in a pot that was in another pot with water and it was steamed on the stove. i sooooooo wish i had been there when she made it, but it was just finished when i got home one day. so, we ate slices of it nice and warm and fresh.

ceviche monterrico

ceviche!

after a looooooooong drive from tikal...back to guatemala city for a night...then to monterrico...we found a quaint little place to spend the night right on the beach with a 'restaurant' that served amazing ceviche. these bowls were huge! i think i maybe finished half...all the seafood was so fresh it could have only been caught that day. it just goes to show that sometimes the best food you'll ever eat can't be found in posh little restaurants in the city. you have to stay in a place with no locks on the door and mosquito nets, where most people pass out on hammocks 50 yards from the waves.

navel oranges

my favorite fruit is the navel orange. i'm not a huge fan of fruit...i do like mixed berries and berry shakes and such, but fruit by itself has never been something i really crave. i definitely go through periods of being an orange addict though. i don't like peeling them and eating them by the wedge...instead i prefer to slice them up and refrigerate them for a bit, so they are nice and cold. this is a simple and elegant addition to the spread at breakfast or as a refreshing summer dessert.

trivia: i ate on average 3 navel oranges a day when i was pregnant with suki.

superbowl 2010

so...what do the zizak's eat on superbowl sunday? do you need to ask? mexican food of course! we do live in california people (says johnny). anyway, it's easy to make and economical and you can make a ton and have it turn out as delicious as if you make it for a party of one. that doesn't mean we have a ton of people over, of course. my superbowl philosophy...love it...love football...could care less about the parties...i'll cook all day and drink all day and pig out all day and enjoy the game, but i will not go hang out at other people's houses with a bunch of people i do not know and have no desire to hang out with...but anyone who knows me knows they are always welcome to stop by here and if you want to invite us and only us or us and people we know over...we'd love to spend time with you :)

back to the food...i think that's what this blog is supposed to be about. being a sunday we don't eat breakfast until after church, which ends up being brunch or lunch. today we opted for brunch and it consisted of pillsbury cinnamon rolls and milk...five satisfied customers, which is great for the short order cook (usually me, sometimes johnny). mid afternoon snack involved another instant and easy pleaser...blue corn chips with melted cheese...a.k.a. nachos...only 1 minute in the microwave. and for dinner...drum rolls please...homemade tamales, homemade guatemalan black beans and an attempt at spanish rice. i'm full from brunch and snack, but i'm definitely drooling thinking about supper...will the colts hurry up and win, so we can get to the pigging out?

i will say that i had a blast cooking today, while watching the game. this was my second time making homemade tamales and i had some feedback from the first time and some tweaking of my own that i wanted to implement. the two things that i really wanted to focus on were the masa consistency/spreadability and the amount of meat in each tamale. last time i had trouble spreading the masa, so i thought i should try and make it a little bit more moist. also, there was feedback that there should be more meat in each tamale for the amount of masa...which i agree with because although i love masa...it shouldn't be the bulk of the tamale...the meat should be.

all the key elements prepared and ready to be assembled

with those two things in mind i went to work. i increased the moisture of the masa, but found that i was having the same problem spreading it onto the corn husk thin enough to create a wide enough disk to increase the amount of meat. then by some random occurrence i started spreading the masa with the heel of my hand versus my fingers and wouldn't you know it the masa spread beautifully! i love discovering new techniques...of course this is probably what all the native tamale makers do, but i'm learning off the internet, so i don't have anyone showing me the best way to make these things. with that discovery increasing the amount of meat per tamale was easy. so, now i'm wondering if i really needed to make the masa more moist or if it was just my spreading technique. i really liked the consistency of the masa in my first batch, so i'll have to make a judgment after i eat some from this batch. anyway, without a doubt a fabulous cooking experience.

the only thing i would change about today is that i worked alone, as everyone else had things they had to get done. i am looking forward to suki growing up and helping me with tamales and teaching her my ever so particular way of doing things.

only 58 tamales this time!

pizza rolls

this is a favorite for potlucks. they're easy to make and they're kid friendly. max loves them, so i like to make a batch and put the extras in the fridge...they last a couple days and then i can just pop them in the microwave for 20 seconds whenever max wants a couple.

1 to 1.25 lb. ball of dough (most grocery stores sell this...if not on the shelf ask the bakery)
1/4 lb. sliced pepperoni
shredded cheese of your choice

1. let dough rise in a bowl (cover with towel) for about an hour.

2. roll dough out to 1/8" thickness and shaped like a rectangle.

3. sprinkle lightly with shredded cheese...a nice layer, but don't over do it!

4. line up pepperoni...i don't overlap them.

5. start rolling into a log from one of the longer sides, so the roll is long not short.

6. slice at about 3/4" to 1" thicknesses and place on a nonstick baking sheet...or pizza stone.

7. bake at 375°F for about 20 minutes or until tops are golden brown.

8. remove and cool on cooling rack. serve with ranch dressing and marinara sauce for dipping. one ball of dough makes about 24 pizza rolls.

i haven't tried to make them with different ingredients like veggies, but i'm looking forward to creating variations. i think with vegetables i'll have to calculate in the moisture factor...so more to come on this one!

tamales

mexican food slash central american food has always been one of my favorites! i can't seem to get enough of it. so, now that i've been actively trying to learn how to cook for about two years i thought it a good time to finally learn how to make tamales...something i've wanted to learn for going on two decades. my experience with tamales has been quite mixed. i should say that i absolutely love tamales because i've had the luck of tasting a few really good ones. the problem is that most restaurants i've been to don't make very good tamales and it isn't very often that i come across a situation where i get to enjoy some really authentic homemade ones. well, my quest is finally over because i have officially learned how to make delicious ones of my own at home. i searched through at least 20 recipes and finally settled on one that i found on the internet...grandma salazar's tamales. i highly recommend that you visit this link because there is a wonderful story about grandma salazar, as well as some beautiful pictures of the tamale making process (my pictures are always rather amateur). i've copied and pasted the instructions from the deliciousdays.com website for your convenience.

Ingredients
(using 6 pounds of meat makes about 10 dozen tamales and will take over a large American freezer, so feel free to cut this recipe in half or more, but don’t decrease onions or garlic)

3 pounds pork roast
3 pounds beef roast
2 large onions
4 cloves garlic
1/3 to ½ cup chili powder or more (depends on heat of chili powder and spice tolerance of tamale eaters)
salt
pepper
cumin
8 cups masa harina
2 cups shortening or lard
Corn husks (2-3 packages for full recipe)

Day 1 - getting the meat prepared

1. Cook meat (pork or beef, or both in separate pots) in a large pot of water (or in a slow-cooker filled with water) with an onion, 2 garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon of chili powder, salt and pepper. Cook for the day, 4 hours minimum. The more broth you can generate from the meat, the better!

2. After the meat is cooked (so that it falls apart and shreds easily), remove from pot, set aside to cool, and puree the onion and garlic with the broth. Season broth mixture to taste with chili powder and salt.

3. Shred meat finely with two forks (you can even chop it after shredding), and store covered in refrigerator separately from broth.

4. Soak corn husks in water overnight.

Day 2 - assembling the tamales

1. Rinse and clean corn husks thoroughly. Drain well and pat dry.

2. Season shredded meat with chili powder, salt, and cumin (optional) to taste. As you season the meat, add a small amount of broth to moisten meat, but it should not be runny.

3. For every 2 cups of masa harina (meal), add ½ cup of shortening or lard, 1tsp. of salt, and enough chili powder to make a pink dough. Add broth mixture a little at a time to masa and mix with your hands to get a smooth, spreadable consistency. If you run out of broth, you can use hot water, but you will wish you had plenty of broth. (If you use about 6 pounds of meat, you will likely use about 8 cups of masa harina in total).

4. Assemble the tamales: spread masa about 1/8 inch thick on corn husk with fingers, leaving about ½ inch border along the sides and 2 inch border along the top and bottom of husk. Use about 2 Tbsp. of shredded meat to fill the tamal (like a cigar). Fold sides until they just overlap, fold narrow end under, and place tamale folded side down. Grandma Salazar tears thin strips of the corn husks to tie a “little belt” around each tamal to keep it secure. Although this isn’t necessary, it does look the nicest and makes each tamal a little gift to be opened.

5. To cook, steam fresh tamales for 15 minutes or until masa is no longer sticky.

6. Store in freezer. Steam frozen tamales for 20 minutes. (This is a real treat a few days or a few weeks later. After you’ve recovered, it’s almost like someone else made them for you!).

the home stretch...
i had to recruit the kids to help assemble around tamale #75

wow! 90+ tamales in our inaugural batch.

steaming the tamales!