Camping, Princess Style

[heidih]

52 minutes ago, lemniscate said:

Duritos are a snack food, I've not tried them in a long time.  I think they remind me a bit of rice crackers.

 

Yes, street vendors sell them here in large plastic bags. I don't get them either but maybe eaten alongside those great fruit (including cucumber) cups they also sell along with the chili-lime salt they provide a textural contrast? Plus that wagon wheel shape is kinda fun

[heidih]

OK so this from wiki makes sense  "They are typically seen served by street vendors in a plastic bag and topped with salsa and chili, lime, salt, mixed in soda water or with hot sauce and lemon juice that is sprayed into the bag, then finished with chili powder.[4]"

[suzilightning]

7 hours ago, Smithy said:

 

Ah, but in Minnesota (and parts of Wisconsin and Michigan) the default term for almost any hot baked melange is "hot dish". When I moved up there I had to learn that the word "casserole" was unused, and a bit uppity. 

still  NO tater tots....NO hot dish.   I am a purist😁

[Smithy]

5 hours ago, lemniscate said:

I have regularly used frozen green chile for my sauce and stew.  I like it and the heat levels are true to the labels, sometimes the fresh roasted chiles are a surprise in temperature vs. labeling.  The brand I used a lot was Baca's and it looks like that turned into Bueno's.  

 

I am guessing the chiles left on the wilting plants may be for harvesting seeds for future crops.  A little known secret is the seeds for the "Hatch" chiles originate on a large chile farm in southern Arizona.  Letting seed crops dry on the plant naturally is the best way to get viable seeds for the next year.

 

Duritos are a snack food, I've not tried them in a long time.  I think they remind me a bit of rice crackers.

 

Thanks for the information on the seeds. That hadn't occurred to me. Reason #11,298 that I love eGullet! 

 

4 hours ago, heidih said:

 

Yes, street vendors sell them here in large plastic bags. I don't get them either but maybe eaten alongside those great fruit (including cucumber) cups they also sell along with the chili-lime salt they provide a textural contrast? Plus that wagon wheel shape is kinda fun

 

4 hours ago, heidih said:

OK so this from wiki makes sense  "They are typically seen served by street vendors in a plastic bag and topped with salsa and chili, lime, salt, mixed in soda water or with hot sauce and lemon juice that is sprayed into the bag, then finished with chili powder.[4]"

 

Aha! I've been puzzling over the duritos and looking at Wikipedia. The thing I tried yesterday was a bit on the rubbery side, and not at all crisp. Now I realize I was trying the dried, but unfried, wheels. Maybe sometime I'll see some at a snack stand and be able to try them. If I like them, I can try my hand at frying and seasoning them!

[Smithy]

I wrote above that the intoxicating aroma of freshly roasted Hatch chiles, plus fresh and warm tortillas, set our dinner plans for the night. Those plans changed, of all the unlikely possibilities, when we stopped for fuel. This truck stop didn't have a "pay at the pump" feature. I had to go inside with our credit card before they'd turn on the pump. 

 

Tantalizing smells of spices and cooking hit me. "Wow, that food smells good!" I exclaimed to the woman at the cash register. "Where is it coming from?"

 

"That's the restaurant," she said, "Indian food. If you like curry, you'll love their stuff."

 

 

I went to the other end of the building. The Desert Sky Cafe (link goes to their Facebook page) looks like any other diner, but a cafeteria-style cart was set up with various curries, dahl, and fluffy rice. They advertised an Indian buffet for $10.99. I went back outside. I already had dinner plans!

 

I went back inside and bought one takeaway meal for the two of us to share. It would be lunch.

 

The chiles and curry smells competed, but fortunately did not war with each other, on the drive back to our campground. We stowed groceries, then sat down to eat.

 

 

I had selected butter chicken and a curry. Two roti were included with the meal. We tasted one, then the other, and back again. We tried the roti, both on its own and with bites of the main course. We liked both dishes. The butter chicken was hotter than the other curry, but both had complex flavors. I can't be more specific about the curry that wasn't butter chicken, because I've forgotten how they labeled it. I thought it had been called a chicken curry, but the structure of the meat seemed more like beef. It tasted good, but the sauce overwhelmed any distinctive meat flavor.

 

Thanks to this late lunch, we weren't hungry when dinner time rolled around.  We admired the sunset,

 

 

 

then settled in for popcorn and a movie. 

 

[Smithy]

The Hatch chiles were roasted so they were soft, but they needed to be peeled and seeded. They were almost the right heat level for us, although we might have enjoyed the "Hot" batch. Based on last year's "hot" chiles from Hatch, I'd been leery of that label.

 

 

I pulled out the Instant Pot Mini and made a batch of pinto beans.

 

 

When the beans were done, I gave the pot a quick rinse, then put a film of oil on the bottom. I began layering corn tortillas with a mixture of chopped chicken breast, the chopped chiles and diced onion, then more layers as one would a lasagna dish. The chicken had been seasoned with cumin, oregano and a couple of other spices I've forgotten.  I put about a cup of chicken broth into it: typically, my attempts at this have come out wet because of too much liquid, but I had more layers of tortillas than usual this time and not as much chile juice. The whole lot was topped with cheddar cheese, and left to pressure cook for half an hour while I did something else. The "set it and forget it" aspect of the IP is a lovely feature.

 

 

Dinner. The IP concoction was dry because it had too much tortilla for the other ingredients. This was rectified at the dinner table with sour cream and salsa from home. Sour cream and cheddar on the beans was pretty darned good, too. I really liked the chunkiness of having cubed the chicken to 1/2" - 1" instead of a finer dice.

 

 

The beans tasted good but not as soft and creamy as I'd have liked. The next day, I simmered them with extra water for at least another hour. It's amazing how much water those beans can take!

[Smithy]

By the way: for those of you who love pinto beans, how do you prepare them? Ratio of water to bean, time and method of cooking, seasonings added....? I fell in love with pinto beans because of Cooper's, in Llano.

[kayb]

27 minutes ago, Smithy said:

By the way: for those of you who love pinto beans, how do you prepare them? Ratio of water to bean, time and method of cooking, seasonings added....? I fell in love with pinto beans because of Cooper's, in Llano.

 

I do mine in the IP; overnight or all-day soak, drain, then saute an onion and some garlic in the pot, add beans and other seasonings/ingredients excepting salt (meat, peppers, etc.), add water or broth (generally water) to cover by two inches. Manual 40 minutes. Take a potato masher to them to break up some of the beans and make a creamy sauce, salt to taste, low saute with lid off for a few minutes if needed to reduce. Have to stir fairly frequently during that step so they won't stick and/or scorch.

 

[Porthos]

I don't have an IP but I cook pinto beans every day for my Northern faire feast.  Stove top, an onion coarsely chopped,  a quart of water for each cup of beans (I use 3 cups of beand), and a generous Tbl of sallt per cup of beans, bring to a boil, then simmer until they are done. Because of how we put the feast together we add whatever seasoning strikes us on any given day. The onion dissolves into the beans.

Edited November 14, 2018 by Porthos (log)

[robirdstx]

11 hours ago, Smithy said:

By the way: for those of you who love pinto beans, how do you prepare them? Ratio of water to bean, time and method of cooking, seasonings added....? I fell in love with pinto beans because of Cooper's, in Llano.

 

No Soak Beans in the Oven In 90 Minutes

[heidih]

Pintos are my favorite bean. I love the earthiness. I simply stove top slow simmer (no soak). I may add a pasilla which is a  dry smoky sweet chile and some smashed garlic cloves. Maybe a pinch of Mexican oregano.  I cover with about 2 inches of water. I do salt. I know, I know - but it works for me. I just keep checking back and adding more water if needed. When they are edible but too firm for my taste I take the potato masher like kayb and bounce it around a bit in the pot and continue at low simmer until "perfection" achieved.  Never had a fail. 

[Shelby]

I always salt my beans before cooking. 

[quiet1]

20 hours ago, Smithy said:

The Hatch chiles were roasted so they were soft, but they needed to be peeled and seeded. They were almost the right heat level for us, although we might have enjoyed the "Hot" batch. Based on last year's "hot" chiles from Hatch, I'd been leery of that label.

 

 

I pulled out the Instant Pot Mini and made a batch of pinto beans.

 

 

When the beans were done, I gave the pot a quick rinse, then put a film of oil on the bottom. I began layering corn tortillas with a mixture of chopped chicken breast, the chopped chiles and diced onion, then more layers as one would a lasagna dish. The chicken had been seasoned with cumin, oregano and a couple of other spices I've forgotten.  I put about a cup of chicken broth into it: typically, my attempts at this have come out wet because of too much liquid, but I had more layers of tortillas than usual this time and not as much chile juice. The whole lot was topped with cheddar cheese, and left to pressure cook for half an hour while I did something else. The "set it and forget it" aspect of the IP is a lovely feature.

 

 

Dinner. The IP concoction was dry because it had too much tortilla for the other ingredients. This was rectified at the dinner table with sour cream and salsa from home. Sour cream and cheddar on the beans was pretty darned good, too. I really liked the chunkiness of having cubed the chicken to 1/2" - 1" instead of a finer dice.

 

 

The beans tasted good but not as soft and creamy as I'd have liked. The next day, I simmered them with extra water for at least another hour. It's amazing how much water those beans can take!

 

‘I wish to know more about this tortilla lasagna IP concoction. It sounds right up our alley.

[Smithy]

8 hours ago, quiet1 said:

 

‘I wish to know more about this tortilla lasagna IP concoction. It sounds right up our alley.

 

It's a work in progress, but in general we think it's worth continuing to develop. The basic ingredients are

• tortillas (I've tried both wheat and corn)
• chopped onions
• boneless-skinless chicken (we've been using breast), cut into chunks about 3/4 - 1" (bite) size
• green chiles of your preferred heat level, roasted, skinned, seeded to your level of patience, and chopped to about 1/4" (what you'd get out of a can)
• grated cheddar cheese (or other cheese of your liking)
• a small amount of cooking oil,
• spices such as cumin and oregano, possibly paprika, salt if you wish (we haven't)
• liquid such as the chile juice, if yours provide enough, or else chicken broth,
• and possibly
• cooked pinto beans. I didn't use them this time in the layered dish. I don't think I have in other attempts, but my notes are unclear.

There is no need to cook the chicken first. The first time I tried this, I started with chicken breast I'd sous-vided until lightly cooked but still pink, and I only pressure-cooked for 11 minutes at high pressure. The chicken was overdone. Twice since then I've used raw chicken and cooked for longer time, with better results.

 

Here is what I did this time. I'll get to lessons learned at the end, so you don't need to repeat my mistakes!

 

Cut the chicken into large but bite-sized chunks, and season with cumin, oregano, possibly paprika or smoked paprika, salt if you wish. Set that aside while you chop the rest.

 

 

Chop the onions into fairly small chunks - say, 1/4" - 1/2" dice. This is not a precision cooking exercise, so no need to fuss over the precise size. Mix that into the chicken. I didn't take a picture of that stage.

 

Chop the roasted, peeled, and seeded chiles. Use the type of chile that gives you the heat level you prefer. This photo is of just before I started chopping. As you see, I'm not a perfectionist about the seeds!

 

 

Place a small amount of oil in the pot - enough to film the bottom of the pot so nothing sticks. Place a layer of tortillas over the bottom. So far this involves tearing them so they'll fit. (Corn tortillas tend to be too small to cover the bottom, and wheat tortillas that we buy are too big.)

 

Place a good-sized layer of the chicken/onion mixture on the tortilla, and put chiles on top of that. Put another layer of tortillas, then chicken/onion and chiles. Do the same thing again, until you're out of filling. Top with another tortilla layer. Pour in the liquid around the edges. Top the whole thing with a goodly layer of shredded cheese.

 

Pressure cook on high for 1/2 hour, then natural release. (This took less than 10 minutes, because the pot was quite full. In a full-sized pot, or with the pot less full, I'd let it sit for 10 minutes than do a quick release.) Cut down through the pot so it comes out in layers. Serve with salsa, sour cream, and more grated cheese if you wish. If you want to get fancy you could shred lettuce or chop some greens (cilantro, parsley) to scatter over the top, but I haven't done that.

 

 

The first times I did something like this I was aiming for an enchilada casserole ("hot dish!" my darling says ) and used wheat tortillas. I was working with bags of prepared chiles I'd gotten from Hatch. I dumped ALL the juice in. It was too damp. By the way - be very careful to read the package label, or you'll blow your head off when you mistake hot chiles for medium!

 

This time I was trying for the lasagne-like layers. In order to keep them firm I used a solid layer of tortillas - corn, this time - overlapping each other. I didn't have much juice from the chiles, so I supplemented it with about a cup of chicken broth. The whole thing was too dry. Adding cheese or salsa to the layers, using more liquid, or (mostly likely) doing fewer layers so there's more filling per tortilla layer will be my next attempt.

 

I'm sure there are ways to improve this aside from the issue of dryness. Would a light precook of the tortillas develop the masa flavor more? Sauteeing the onions first would certainly provide a different flavor. However, I was all about ease here - and except for the dryness, we were pretty happy with it. Salsa and sour cream at the table helped with the dryness.

 

Comments, suggestions and questions are welcome.
 

Edited November 14, 2018 by Smithy
spelling (log)

[kayb]

I make something very similar to this, but I've never tried it in the IP. I'm astounded it works with the proportion of dry ingredients to liquid! I've also done it in a Dutch oven with the top layer a layer of cornbread...just make up the batter, spoon over the top, smooth it out, put the lid on and into the oven it goes. Particularly good with cornbread made with extra cheese and corn kernels.

 

I usually add layers of shoe peg corn, rinsed, canned black beans, either browned ground beef or chicken,  grated cheese, chopped black olives, and canned enchilada sauce. Garnishes served tableside include chopped avocado, lettuce, tomato, sour cream, salsa, and Pancho's dressing (recipe here, from the much loved Ark-Mex restaurant of the same name). Mexican rice for a side.

 

 

[Smithy]

The canned enchilada sauce crossed my mind, but I couldn't find any of the green persuasion and didn't think the red would go well with it - but it was drier than I'd have liked. Your Dutch oven version sounds a lot like my best friend's tamale pie...something I never liked as a child but thought was terrific when she cooked it last spring. I think it might have been the original inspiration for this IP concoction. Thanks for the suggestions on additions and garnishes.

[kayb]

BTW, you timed your trip through the lower Mississippi Valley well. We're in the midst right now of getting what is forecast to be 1-3 inches of snow as I type. Shoppers are currently reenacting the Visigoth sack of Rome in the milk and bread aisles at all grocery stores, and then forgetting how to drive. I am home, and staying there, away from the lunacy.

 

I am convinced that, down here, snowflakes are really pods for some alien bacterial invasion that sucks every vestige of good sense out of people as soon as they get in a car.

[ElsieD]

I too make something similar.  I use flour tortillas, layered in a springform pan.  The innards include corn, ground beef, sweet peppers (no green ones, thank you very much), spices, tomato sauce, onions and mozarella and cheddar cheese.  The very top has parmesan cheese sprinkled on top and it is baked.  I haven't made this in a while, I need to rectify that.

[Porthos]

@Smithy When we make our enchilada casserole, similar to what you are describing, we always use corn tortillas.

[Smithy]

How different the Sonoran desert is from the Chihuahan desert! We're in Tucson, nearly 2000' lower than Columbus and quite a bit warmer.

 

 

The vegetation still includes creosote, but the cactus population has burgeoned in variety and density. There are also flowers blooming here. It seems strange, considering the winter grey we left behind.

 

Before we left home I excavated and unpacked the freezer to the extent possible, and loaded it into this trailer's freezer. A couple of days ago I removed and thawed two packages. Their contents, treated and rubbed with a brine/rub from ChefSteps, are now vacuum-packed and taking a sous vide bath.

 

 

I had thought they were both chicken. On further examination one turned out to be duck backs. Ancient duck backs. They may be freezer-burned, but since they could be packaged separately I decided to give them a try. Whatever is edible out of this will get the skin crisped up. It will all go into a dinner salad. We've been consuming conspicuously the last few days.

 

As evidence of conspicuous consumption, I give you Exhibit A: leftovers for breakfast. There's a story behind those leftovers! Stay tuned....

 

 

[Smithy]

Yesterday, we went out for what we'd expected to be an hour but became an entire morning of automotive repair. Having shot the morning, we decided to reward ourselves with a trip to the Babylon Market. It was on my list of errands...but I hadn't intended to go quite so early in our stay. We are so far ahead of our normal schedule that we still have little to no room in the refrigerator and haven't used up much of our supplies from home. Still, this was the time to go.

 

Every time we visit this market, we see that it's better organized and the stock has expanded. Their deli now has a couple of tables for indoor eating. During our two visits since that addition, the tables have been full with happy chatting customers. I didn't bother with pictures of the interior this time, but I made a point of telling the proprietors how pleased I am for them that their business is flourishing.  We bought the few items I could remember we needed, ordered sandwiches, and ate outside:

beef gyros for him, chicken shawarma for me. Both delicious, as always; both slightly different than previous iterations, as always.

 

 

Rats! I forgot to buy more barberries! I think I have enough to make it until spring.

[Smithy]

I've been wanting to visit Barrio Bread, a local bakery that features Sonoran white wheat and red fife wheats, since I read about it last spring. (Trust @FauxPas to be an excellent guide to food and food sources in the Tucson area!) Last spring I made it to a co-op where I bought some excellent bread but couldn't find the wheat. I wrote about it here. Yesterday, we went looking for Barrio Bread itself.

 

It was a fraught and overwrought journey. Tucson traffic isn't bad, as city traffic goes, but our pickup is larger than most and not ideal for maneuvering through crowded streets. We updated our GPS just before we left, and have been rewarded with more than one wrong turn. The GPS led us to what looked like a parking lot entrance for a strip mall. There was no street sign. There was a small street that looked more like a pedestrian mall just ahead. "Where the heck is it?!" demanded my darling, the driver. "I don't know!" I countered, let's look!" "Well, I can't keep holding up traffic!" he said. (He wasn't holding up anyone; we were in a turn lane.) He continued apace down the street, demanding that I tell him what to do. I was trying to get Mr. Google to help us out on my phone. The upshot was that we went around several blocks before finally coming in toward the bakery from the back way. There was no place to park. We still didn't see the bakery, but we could see addresses. I got out while he looked for a place to park. Feathers Were Ruffled.

 

I looked again at the addresses. He'd let me out in front of the bakery! 

 

The store front is small. The staff greeted me cheerily, asked how I was doing, and I laughed about the difficulty we'd had finding them. At 12:30 p.m. the stock was already low. Oh, dear!

 

Bread was rolling out of the ovens at a regular pace, but the cashier explained that everything was spoken for - even the loaves you see here. Oh, double dear! Could I at least get flour? Could I take some pictures?

 

It was fine to take pictures. The owner explained that the holiday baking season was upon them and they're crazy-busy just trying to keep up with orders. Shelves I didn't photograph were full of bags labeled by the restaurant or store name, ready for pickup.

 

 

He evidently took pity on me and said one of the fresh loaves of Pan Rustico could be spared. Oh, lovely! My two bags of wheat mix came. As I was paying, the owner said, "Here, take this out to your hubby as a sweetener!" The bag contained several "ears" from a pain epi. Check out the seed coat on this! This bread has a chewy texture and the seeds are wonderful. My darling was touched.

 

 

The pan rustico has a very open crumb and delightful flavor.

 

 

All told, here's the haul from Barrio Bread.

 

 

 

I'd like to have had some of their bread for our Thanksgiving dinner, but it won't last that long. Guess I'll have to get baking...and see what differences I can tell by using these flour blends.

Edited November 17, 2018 by Smithy
spelling (log)

[heidih]

What was that flatter squarish more dense bread? Amazing how folks respond when you admire and appreciate their work.  I also admire your abilities to co-exist, often alone for long periods. It speaks to the strength of your relationship 

Edited November 17, 2018 by heidih (log)

[rotuts]

Im so pleased

 

@Smithy

 

you found bread with

 

"" different "" flours.

 

there is a lot of Huff-Puff about all sorts of flours

 

implying , well , what ever on the current flour we use.

 

no matter

 

I did see a british show called   

 

https://www.channel4.com/programmes/food-unwrapped

 

and they went to perhaps Sicily 

 

for different grains

 

I would love to taste bread

 

with these unusual and rear flours.

 

not a heath concern to me

 

just a taste concern

 

thanks for your ' log '

 

and im sure you will tell us 

 

what you do with those flours.

 

cheers  always

 

to your traveling

 

menagerie.

[Smithy]

23 minutes ago, heidih said:

What was that flatter squarish more dense bread? Amazing how folks respond when you admire and appreciate their work.  I also admire your abilities to co-exist, often alone for long periods. It speaks to the strength of your relationship 

 

 

Do you mean the flattish squarish bread on their wire racks? That was their foccacia. I like making (and eating) foccaccia, and sometime perhaps in the future I hope I'll get a chance to try theirs.

 

Thanks for the compliment. It helps to have a big trailer with multiple rooms.