Doña Lupe’s Kitchen

One of the things I loved that my grandmother made was Albondiga Soup, which is a meatball soup made with ground beef, rice, tomatoes, onions, cilantro, mint, carrots and cumin. I love albondigas and making the meatballs is always fun. It’s the perfect soup for a cold day and kids love it because of the meatballs.

I wanted to make albondigas the other day but I didn’t want to use beef and I didn’t want to use rice. I’m trying to follow the excellent example of Rachel Braver and eat a little healthier, drop some weight and get fit. I am helping to raise my grandchildren and I want to be sure I’m around to do so.

I also want to be in good enough shape to run around the park with them so one of the things I am doing is taking old recipes and trying to modify them for this healthier, leaner lifestyle. Oh, I know I’m still going to have those days where I’m going to fix something very traditional and completely enjoy and revel in it, but those days are rare and for the day-to-day, I want leaner choices. I think it’s a good example to set for the two grandchildren in my care as well and helps them to create good eating habits that will serve them all their lives.

I started out with ground turkey and pondered long on what I was going to use to hold it all together. I came across a bag on ajonjolli or sesame seeds that I had used for something else and I wondered if the sesame seeds would serve in place of rice. I figured what the heck, and tried it. I also thinly sliced cauliflower into it thinking that it would give some texture and work almost like breadcrumbs to help hold the meatballs in shape.

I was pleasantly surprised. The combination of sesame seeds and cauliflower did work to hold the meatballs together and as an added bonus, gave the meatballs a subtle flavor with a hint of a soft crunch. It was a great way to sneak in cauliflower for the kids too! I also used a variety of green vegetables we had in the fridge to what ordinarily would have been a tomato based soup with carrot slices and was also pleased with the taste. They’re not my grandmother’s albondigas, but I’d think she’d approve.

Turkey-sesame seed Albondigas

For the meatballs:
1 pound of ground turkey
2 tomatoes, chopped fine
1 small golden onion, chopped fine
3 cloves of garlic minced
a handful of parsley, chopped fine
1 oz. of ajonjolli or sesame seeds
thinly sliced cauliflower florets
thinly slice celery
1 shallot thinly sliced
salt and pepper to taste
dash ground cumin
1 egg

Mix ingredients with ground turkey by hand till it’s all blended evenly. Shape into golfball sized balls and set aside onto a plate until ready to be put into the broth.

For the soup:

2 qts. of water or organic chicken broth
3 tomatoes, sliced
1 clove garlic
handful cilantro
pinch of cumin
salt and pepper to taste
chopped celery
whole courgettes (small zucchini squash)
1 bunch of green onions, chopped into large pieces

Heat the water or chicken broth till it comes to a boil and add in seasonings, garlic, tomatoes, green onion and cilantro. Once it’s boiling, bring down the heat and let simmer for about 20 minutes to let the flavors blend.

Turn the heat back up to medium and add the green vegetables.

Taking one meatball at a time on a spoon, slowly lower each one into the soup. Take your time and be careful so they don’t fall apart. If the soup temperature gets too cool, wait a few minutes till the heat is up again before adding more meatballs.

This recipe cooks a lot faster than traditional albondigas because there is no raw rice in the meatballs to cook.

Simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes until the meatballs are fully cooked. Serve. I served ours with some red salsa I had made and a squeeze of lime.

I recently came across an amazing little book called Poems from the Table: The Fruits of the Earth in Verse at my favorite local book store Read Books. It really is the most marvelous little bookstore with the nicest people running it. The book I found is filled with poetry about food by some of my favorite poets. I was inspired to create a poem in food after reading May Sarton’s The Fig. I thought I’d take a poem every so often and create a recipe for it. I’m thinking a fig sorbet or a tart for May Sarton’s poem. I love poetry as much as I love cooking and am part of one of the best little things around the blogosphere, Poetry Friday. The thought of food as poetry made me smile and I set out to create something that would be a poem.

The book is beautifully covered in rich, dark burgundy spine with a black glossy front on which is a painting of the fruits of the earth. The colors are red, black, purple, cream and the palest, muted green. I was so impressed with the colors of the book that I decided to make a tart in the colors of the book to start with.

Off to my local Trader Joe’s I went, rapidly calculating what I would make. I’d use puff pastry and blackberries the recipe voice in my head was saying. Then I walked into the store and just started grabbing whatever called to me. I ended up with blackberries, black raspberries, morello cherries, pomegranate seeds, almonds, puff pastry, cream fraiche, a bar of bitter chocolate and French butter. I didn’t know what it was going to be yet, but I knew it was going to be completely, hedonistically decadent.

Once home, I opened up the puff pastry, brushed it with an egg wash and popped it into the oven. When it was golden brown and glossy I pulled it out to cool. I took a pastry wheel and cut it into small diamond shapes but left it intact on the pan.

I melted some of the French butter with half of the chocolate in the microwave. I was going to pull out the double boiler but was too excited. I ended up with a buttery chocolate syrup that I added a couple of tablespoons of sugar to till it was slightly sweetened. I turned the crème fraiche out into a bowl and spoon by spoon dripped in the chocolate and whisked it in using a wire whisk.

I drained the cherries and started adding cherries and blackberries to the puff pastry once it was cooled. Then added the black raspberries and pomegranate seeds. I covered the whole thing with the chocolate crème fraiche and sprinkled it with slivered almonds.

The result was a fruity, chocolaty, buttery piece of tart heaven that brought the taste of summer into a cold winder night. It was however one heavy piece of tart. It was a good thing I pre-cut the slices before adding all that fruit or I’d never have been able to get a gohttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifod slice. The fruit was just too dense and heavy. I served the slice in a bowl with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and everyone loved it. The next time I make it, I’ll do individual pieces and not go so heavy on the fruit.

The round up is at the Shockingly clever Karen Edmenstein’s on February 1st.

I am a taquito making machine. I can produce 100s of the little flute-shaped delicious finger foods in the shortest amount of time. I’m not quite sure why that is, maybe having four hungry and growing kids who always asked for taquitos (and they were hungry ALL the time) had something to do with it. Maybe it’s that I don’t used that darned toothpick to hold them together.

When I was a little girl, my job was to put the toothpick in the hot taquitos to get them ready for my grandmother to deep fry. It was the only job in the kitchen that I loathed. I hated being bothered with it and always thought there could be a better way. I grew up, had kids and found a better way. I don’t advise everyone to use my method, simply because I have a tendency to just stick my hands too close to hot oil (never been burned) and I would never recommend that to anyone. You can do it using kitchen tongs but in this recipe I didn’t. Aiden had run off with my tongs as he often does with my kitchen tools calling them “my toys” and I couldn’t pry them away for hours. So I used two forks.

You can make taquitos* or flautas as some call them (it means flute) with anything. Shredded chicken, turkey, pork, beef, it all works and is a wonderful way to use left over meat. I even do a special roasted lamb that I baste in tequila just for another taquito recipe and they are to die for. For this recipe, I used shredded beef that I had left over from a pot roast. I just shredded it and set it aside.

I serve these taquitos over a bed of fresh watercress and sliced radishes, then cover them with drizzled crema Mexicana and gobs of mashed avocad0 guacamole.

Guacamole can be made the traditional way, which is just mashed avocados and salt or you can get creative and add more stuff to it. If I’m making it to serve with nion, a little lemon and the liquid from jalapenos en escabeche or fresh chopped jalapenos. For taquitos, I like it plain. I leave an avocado stone in the bowl simply because that’s how my grandmother did it.

Ingredients:

Shredded beef
Corn tortillas (store bought is fine and what I used this time)
Olive oil
Avocados
Crema Mexicana
Watercress
Radishes

some good, hot salsa

Heat olive oil on medium heat.

Heat the tortillas on a comal or right over the flame on your stove which is what I usually do. I usually heat up a big stack and pile them up which keeps the heat in.

Working quickly, add shredded beef to the edge of the tortilla that is closest to you. Make sure you don’t add too much or you will have lumpy, unweildy taquitos that don’t hold their shape or look nice.

Roll the tortilla as tightly as you can and using tongs, grasp it by the middle. Slowly add it to the frying pan of heated oil and hold it there for a bit till the rolled edge hardens enough to hold itself together. Do one after another till there is no room in the pan.

Let fry for a few minutes, then turn. Fry till golden brown and crispy.

Place standing up in a bowl lined with paper towels and let drain.

Serve over a bed of watercress and sliced radishes with guacamole, salsa and cream.

I made a green serrano chile salsa for this. Recipe to follow.

*In San Diego they call them rolled tacos and for some reason, it drives me up the wall. You want to set my teeth on edge call my taquitos rolled tacos and it’s fingernails on a chalkboard. Ugh.

Rachel especially loves these fragrant little roasted potatoes with the herbal taste of rosemary and a slight zing from fresh lemon zest and lemon juice. I think you will too. I love to make them because they are easy to make and taste so good with just about anything. They are especially good with chicken.

There are no measurements on this because it’s a pretty intuitive recipe. A dash of this, a dash of that and you’re done.

Fragrant Lemon & Rosemary Roasted Potatoes

Fingerling or other small roasting potatoes (we use a mixture because Jasmine likes the purple ones we find at the Farmer’s Market in town on Friday nights.
grated fresh lemon zest
fresh lemon juice
fresh rosemary
onion
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Wash the potatoes and slice in half. Put aside.

Zest the lemon and then slice it and juice it. Remove seeds and set aside.

Cut onion in half then into thick slices.

Coat a frying pan with the olive oil and sprinkle the rosemary leaves onto it. Let the pan heat till the rosemary releases it’s scent, then add the onions and potatoes. Sautee till barely browned, then turn out into a baking dish, sprinkle with salt and pepper, pour the lemon juice over it and pop it into the oven at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes. That’s it!

One of the traditions I started in my family was the New Year’s Eve Buñelos. I love buñelos the way my grandmother Lupe made them, crispy and airy; bubbly and delicate. She always made them during Lent (no idea why, but I’m sure there’s a particular reason) and she always made rich, delicious miel (Spanish for honey but this is a syrup) flavored with cinnamon, anise estrella, a touch of orange zest and piloncillo.

She’d serve out the buñelos in a bowl with the hot spiced syrup steaming over it. We’d crack the buñelos into pieces with a sppon and scoop the crispy/starting to get soggy warm bites right into our mouths. Mmmm…nothing beats the taste. We’d always drink her Atole Blanco with it and I loved that too.

I don’t celebrate Lent, but gosh I love buñelos and I didn’t want my children or grandchildren to miss out on the whole process of making, then eating them so I started making them on New Year’s Eve at midnight while watching the Time’s Square ball drop on T.V. I like them even more now than I did at Lent. It’s wonderful here at midnight with the grandkids here in their pajamas and fuzzy slippers, sipping Atole Blanco and eating my grandmother’s buñelos en miel. I think you’ll enjoy them too.

Buñuelos

About 3 cups of flour, sifted twice
1 Tablespoon baking powder
Teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon and a half of sugar (use the Mexican kind of beige cane sugar for a better texture)
About 1?2 cup butter
2 eggs
The boiled water with tomatillo husks (still hot, but only as hot as your hands can stand)

In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt. Add the eggs one by one, and sprinkle on the sugar. Mix well. Cut in the lard with a fork or pastry cutter. Slowly add the hot water and start amasando or kneading the masa (dough). Add the water little by little or your dough will be too sticky. When it all holds together and is silky smooth without being sticky then it’s ready. I form it into balls and let them rest, covered with a cloth on the wood pastry board for about ten-15 minutes. Get your rolling pin dusted lightly with flour and sprinkle a little on the board. I use a wood board. It’s what my grandma used and it feels right. Make sure there are no splinters though.

Roll out your buñuelos as thin and as round as you can. If you hold them up, you should be able to see right through them. Slide gently into hot oil. I use canola oil and a cast iron frying pan. Fry till golden brown on each side. Only turn once or you end up with soggy or overcooked buñuelos. Pull out with tongs and let the oil drip off before placing on a try lined with brown paper to absorb the oil. Don’t use paper towels, use brown paper. It’s better. Set your buñuelos aside and make the miel and atole.

Miel

Piloncillo
Cinnamon sticks (canela)
1 anise estrella (star anise) – optional

Water Take about four cones of piloncillo and stand them up in a pan with two or three sticks of cinnamon. Slowly add in just enough water to cover the bottom of the saucepan and turn on the flame to medium. Keep on the stove for about an hour, slowly adding more and more water as it reduces. You should have an almost pancake syrup consistency and your whole house will smell wonderful. You can add more piloncillo if you like. If you add to much water in the beginning you’ll have basically sweet water. At the last minute add in little orange blossoms if you can get them. Ladle the hot syrup over a buñuelo and eat with a spoon. Some people just dust theirs with sugar and cinnamon but this is how we do ours. Warning: Very, very, very sweet and rich. Yum.

It’s New Year’s Eve and I’m spending a very mellow evening at home with my grandchildren Jasmine and Aiden while their mom is working. We went for a lovely walk in the sunshine to the market to buy ingredients for tonight’s dinner and had a great time doing so. Jasmine was excited to see that her favorite pink tree was once again in bloom and that sent her skipping with happiness. We chatted on the way to the market about what we wanted for dinner and finally decided on chicken.

I had thought to make a crown roast of pork for dinner and have a fancy sit down meal with my daughter-in-law and the kids when she got out of work, but nixed that idea right away. A 2-year old and a 4-year old don’t want a crown roast of pork. Not these two anyway.

I still wanted to have a nice meal but decided to make it just a bit more kid friendly. J&A love chicken, especially my roast chicken stuffed with oranges and sage and coated in a pomegranate glaze, which is just about as fancy as they like it without being too grown up. This, I know they’ll eat up. I’m going to roast carrots along with the chicken and do my famous (in this family) Fragrant Rosemary and Lemon Roasted Potatoes along with a simple green salad.

Orange Stuffed Chicken with Pomegranate Glaze & Citrus Gravy

1 whole chicken, washed and trimmed
2 cloves of garlic, whole
3 navel oranges
a sprig of fresh thyme
about six leaves of fresh sage
1 bunch of carrots
salt and pepper to taste
a few bits of butter
1/8 c. olive oil

Wash and trim any excess fat off the chicken. Pat it dry and place breast side up in a roasting pan.

Slice the bottom and tops off the oranges, then slice into sections leaving on the peel. Set aside.

Peel the garlic and gather the herbs. I have a little planter in my kitchen and just snip from it when I need to.

Peel and slice the carrots into chunks and set aside.

Rub the chicken all over with the olive oil. Stuff the cavity with the garlic, orange sections and sage. Add a bit of butter pieces to the cavity as well. Stuff the chicken until there’s no room left. Any left over orange sections always make a tasty and healthy snack for the kids to munch on while they wait for the chicken.

Lift the skin of the chicken up a wedge in some butter pieces and the sprig of thyme. Jasmine loves helping to do this. She calls it filling the chicken’s pocket.

Add the carrots to the roasting pan. I add then just under the cavity so juices spill out and season them.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper, then flip it over breast side down to prepare for roasting. Add a couple of sage leaves to the top of the chicken and pop into a 400-degree oven for about an hour, depending on how big your chicken is.

When the chicken is done and tender, drizzle the pomegranate glaze over the top and let bake for another ten minutes.

Remove from oven, let sit for about ten minutes before carving and serving.

Serve with the sides of your choice. We like ours with roasted potatoes and a nice salad.

Citrus Gravy

Brown about 2 tablespoons flour in a heavy skillet. Add the giblets you set aside earlier and drippings from the roasted chicken and whisk till there are no lumps. Cook on low heat for about 15 minutes and add salt and pepper to taste.