Mexican March Madness

Our stomachs made it through March and the 10...err, 24 recipes that we tried. Having a Mexican menu regularly is fairly simple as many of the same ingredients are used over and over again. Plus, there are all kinds of menu items to make, whereas Fish February always provided the main dish.

You're probably thinking that I'm employing hyperbole in this blog post. To prove my honesty, the twenty-three recipes we enjoyed:

Mexican Rice
Chimichangas
Mexican Steamed Zucchini


Homemade baked tortilla chips
Enchiladas (with a green sauce)
Mexican Tinga


Enchilada Soup
Pork Tacos
Refried Beans
Huevos Rancheros


Schizeranado
Roasted Tomatillo & Black Bean Tacos
Bean Burritos

(enjoying the leftovers at Whistler)

Breakfast Burritos
Agua Fresca
Enchilada Sauce
Enchiladas (with the enchilada sauce)


Mexican Lime Soup
Sopapillas
Nachos


Mexican Hot Chocolate
Lime-Chicken Tacos
Guacamole


and the one we didn't:

Chilaquiles Verdes.

If you made it through the list, you probably feel as full as we do!

There have been inquiries for where I get my recipes for my monthly menus and the answer for this month is Joy of Cooking, allrecipes.com, mexgrocer.com, Better Homes & Garden cookbook, and Vegetarian Times. The recipes that we really enjoyed are in larger font and linked if from the internet. If you want a recipe for any of the others, let me know!

What we learned:

1) Manchego cheese (from Spain, not Mexico) is amazing. On the other hand, queso fresco adds little flavor to meals.
2) We are not Mexican. We prefer flour tortillas over corn tortillas.
3) Tomatillos are a new vegetable in our repertoire.
4) Buy green chiles in a can in the States. There they are 89 cents and here they are $2.59.
5) You can make a great sauce (i.e. instead of taco seasoning) by combining a can of diced tomatoes and a can of chiles in adobo sauce. (see Mexican Tinga)
6) Baked tortilla chips are super simple and super sensational.

The Wonder of Weather

As you've heard about the Pacific Northwest, it rains often. We've found that it's normally sporadic enough that it doesn't really bother us. Well, the huge numbers of worms that come out and die on the sidewalk bother me, but the rain itself doesn't.

Today it rained. Did it ever. As it began to completely overtake the world outside the windows, I was supposed to be walking to the other side of campus. Fortunately, I was able to grab my 3 students before they headed out and we walked down the hallway instead. Knowing there'd be distractions with the big windows and the circling conversations, I still thought the cafeteria would be better than a classroom with soaked students and a sopping teacher.

The rain fell and fell and fell. It really was unbelievable; however, the distraction for me was found in my Saudi Arabian student. She was mesmerized in a way I have never seen before. Her eyes at times strayed to her books but were practically glued to the window. At least six or seven times during the class she randomly stated, "I love rain" or "Canadians don't like rain but Saudi Arabians, they would be outside saying wow" or "Teacher, it doesn't stop."


Sadly, the class ended and I could no longer watch her childlike fascination. As my next class started, it was still raining but none of the students seemed to even notice. One of them began his speech, and the outside world was forgotten.

But then we could hear it. The rain had turned to hail and it was loud. Almost all of my Chinese students turned their faces to the window, forgetting what was being presented. As soon as the current speech was over, those same students stood as one, walked to the windows, and took in the events beyond the glass. They had all heard of hail but, coming from the southern part of China, getting hail was a rare occurrence for most; two had never experienced it. They were completely consumed with awe, and I was engrossed once more in watching.

Last Weekend's Sporting Event

What does this stand for?


It's the official symbol for the Paralympic Games! We were able to get tickets for the alpine skiing events that were held at Whistler last Saturday, and we had a great time. As you might expect, the athletes were amazing. I can't describe the impressed and amazed feeling that I got from watching the events. Let me share a bit about some of the American athletes...


Here's Monte Meier - a Minnesotan! It was cool to cheer him on, especially since he grew up skiing at Afton Alps. This was his fifth Paralympic Games.


This is Heath Calhoun, an American soldier who lost both of his legs while serving in the Iraq War in 2007. I loved watching his family - his wife and three children - cheer for him as he raced.


Our favorite event was the visually impaired alpine skiing. They even did the slalom events. It was incredible. In case you're not familiar with the sport, let me explain. Two people go down the mountain at the same time for this event, but they are not competing against each other. Instead one is a guide who is speaking into a mic and telling the other person - the visually impaired person - what to do at exactly every moment. The spectators are actually asked to remain quiet until the skiers have crossed the finish line in order to make sure the skiers can hear their guide. Can you imagine the trust that you'd have to have in a person to follow their every word in that situation, let alone just being willing to go down the hill? The bronze medal winners in one of these events were Rob & Danielle Umstead, an American husband and wife team.


The women's super combined (meaning Super G & Slalom) sitting event resulted in gold and bronze for the United States. I loved how the announcer described it:

"It's an American Oreo with Austrian cream!"

Sopapillas

This blog post is dedicated to my dear friend Lorina. She loves Mexican food and when hearing that March was all about Mexican food, she suggested sopapillas.


Such a great idea since they are a favorite of John's! They were incredibly easy to make and tasted delicious. Anybody could make these anywhere.

However, upon researching them, I found that they are not Mexican. They are New Mexican.

Shamrock Run

Click here to view these pictures larger

We went down to Portland a few weekends ago for the Shamrock Run. My little bro was visiting, so all four of us sibs ran the 5K. It was lots of fun. The weekend really felt like a vacation, so ending with a photo-op at Portland's Paul Bunyan statue felt incredibly appropriate.

(Thanks Kari for the photos! We were enjoying ourselves so much that we didn't take any pictures!)

Spring & Style Survey

Spring is officially here. Footballs were being thrown and blankets were spread all across the university's lawn this afternoon. Took me back to those April & May afternoons spent by Lake Johanna when Sonia & I would pretend to study for final exams but really just take naps or talk.


The rhododendrons are blooming!


It was easy to convince John to go kick the soccer ball around since he'd spent the day inside watching March Madness and doing taxes.


And now for the survey. One of my wonderful students gave me this shirt from China and I love it! The question is - which side is the front?


Side #1...

or Side #2?

Refried Beans w/o the Refry

One food item that has been a must for Mexican March is beans. We like to make our own in the crockpot. If you like refried beans, I recommend you try this recipe as it is so easy, so good, and quite inexpensive. Just be ready for lots of beans - or put half in the freezer.


Place 1 chopped onion, 3 cups dry pinto beans, 1/2 chopped fresh jalapeno pepper (we use more), 2 Tbsp. minced garlic, 5 tsp. salt, 1 3/4 tsp. black pepper, and 1/8 tsp. cumin in your crock pot. Add 9 cups of water and turn on high. Leave alone for 8 hours.


Once the beans have cooked, strain them, reserving the liquid. Mash the beans, adding the reserved water if needed for your desired consistency.


There you go - refried beans w/o the refry!

This just out...

Table Topics

We've been using our Table Topics cube lately at dinner. What is that? It's a series of cards with a conversation starting question on each one. Ethan & Anika gave it to us for Christmas, and it really has generated good talks. Tonight's wasn't super serious:

Would you prefer money for a housekeeper, cook, gardener, or personal secretary?

John reasoned that a gardener would be no good, as part of the enjoyment of gardening is doing it yourself. His wife likes to cook, so he wouldn't want a different one. A housekeeper would be nice but he decided to go for the personal secretary. He wouldn't miss any appointments and he wouldn't have any lists lying around anymore. Plus, he wouldn't have to make phone calls!

None of the options sounded right for me. Personal secretary - no need. Cook - no thanks. Gardener - I like to do it. Housekeeper - I'm afraid that would be nice but it would allow me to be more messy, and that would not be good. So, I chose a clothes hanger-upper! Now that's someone I would appreciate.

What would you choose? Why?

Primer Día de Marzo

It's time for Mexican! Here's what we had for dinner tonight:

Bean burritos, Mexican rice, and Guava Jarrito

As British Columbian grocery stores have about 4 feet of aisle space dedicated to Mexican products, we made a pit stop on our way back from the States yesterday to stock up on the appropriate menu items. I'm very excited for everything we bought except for the pork rinds. My husband wanted to get them, I acquiesced, and then they STUNK up the car. Today he had some more but I told him he had to eat them outside. That's how bad they smell.

So I'm really looking for recommendations of recipes. My dear friend Mandy has already taught me some about authentic Mexican tacos - thank you Mandy - but I'd love to learn more. And yes, there are so many kinds of Mexican foods that I know of but what's your favorite?