¡Feliz Navidad!

Merry Christmas!  ¡Feliz Navidad!  This evening, Christmas Eve, we will be celebrating Christmas with our Mexican friends.  Mexicans celebrate the night of Christmas Eve – Noche Buena – until at least midnight of Christmas morning.  We will be enjoying both of these christmas dishes!  Ponche is similar to our idea of mulled cider and Dulce de Manzana is a creamy apple-pecan fruit salad.

Ponche

1 cup dried jamaica flowers (flor de jamaica)

5 tamarind “beans” whole in pods (remove as much of the pod as possible and rinse under running water)

1-2 cinnamon sticks

2 piloncillo cones (This is a solid cone of sugar with a lot of the molasses left  in it.  A light molasses can be substituted to give the ponche the right flavor)

2 whole 6″-1′ length of sugar cane (if available)

sugar to taste

10 guava fruits, sliced (don’t remove seeds or skin just the ends)

10 whole Tejocotes

2 oranges, sliced in rounds

3 apples, cored, peeled and chopped in chunks

raisins and chopped pecans

Bring about three gallons of water to a boil.  Add the jamaica flower, husked tamarind beans, cinnamon sticks, sugar cane, orange rounds, tejocotes and piloncillo/molasses.  Simmer on low for a half hour to an hour.  Add sugar to taste and extra water if it is too strong.  When it is closer to serving time add the guava and apples.  Simmer until the fruit is soft.  Serve in mugs with a heaping tablespoon each of raisins and chopped pecans and serve with a spoon, of course, to eat all of the yummy stuff! (The “un-edibles” have settled to the bottom by this time and the fruit will be floating.  Some people make the first part, strain everything, then reheat the ponche and add the fruit.)

Dulce De Manzana

4 # apples, cored, peeled and sliced

1 can pineapple chunks or tidbits (here in Chihuahua they only sell chunks, not tidbits, and only in syrup not in the natural juice)

raisins

chopped pecans

ground cinnamon

maraschino cherries, drained  (optional)

1  can of sweetened, condensed milk

1 cup + sour cream

Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl.  As with almost all mexican recipes this is entirely to taste!  There should be a good deal of creamy dressing coating the apples.

I hope you all have a very wonderful Christmas with family and good friends!

A Good Day

In early June, my coworkers and I moved into the Western Sierra Madre Mountains to be settled in our village home before the rains began in mid-June.  We all had one house to share and that was more properly called a shell because it was basically four walls and a roof.  So, into the shell we moved – two single women, a married couple, and their son.  We had planned and packed for five and a half months knowing that the rains would not end until October and more than likely we would get stuck on impassable roads if we tried getting out.  So, as the rains fell, we worked on building relationships with the native people, began to learn their language, and worked in the house to separate rooms with studs and plywood, install the kitchen sink and drain, finish the adobe walls, and build doors.

By the fourth month, I was keenly aware of the isolation and the depleted pantry.  We had counted up our remaining canned meat and, even though we had been careful, we had only enough left for one meat-meal a week.  I only had two teaspoons left of my lactose-free powdered milk.  It had been five months since we had received mail from home.  We had exhausted the magazines and reading materials that we had brought with us.  And, twice, the rain had thwarted plans for friends to visit and bring us fresh supplies and mail.  We all needed a little lift for our spirits.

Our minds wandered as we talked and we wondered if the UIM plane was coming past our village any time soon.  We got a little list together just in case and called our coworkers in the city.  To our surprise they told us that the UIM plane was planning to come through on Sunday and that they had been planning to surprise us with an airdrop.  They cautioned us not to get our hopes up too much because it would depend on the weather. However, there was no room for cautious optimism because already I was EXCITED!

Saturday dawned beautifully with no clouds in the sky.  We wished the flight was coming that day and prayed, “Lord, please let tomorrow be like today.”  On Sunday, we woke up to drizzle.  It was later than I usually wake up because of the dark, overcast day.  I prayed, “Lord, please clear up this rain and clouds.”  We had church together and afterwards I went outside.  The rain had stopped and the clouds were beginning to clear up. Above, the sun was shining in clear blue skies.  We got a call from the city, “The plane is ready to take off and your packages are inside!”

We began the hike to the nearest legal airstrip. Although we have a beautiful airstrip next to our village, we are not able to use it as its registration had previously been revoked by the government. Please pray with us that new registration would be granted!  Once we came to the airstrip, we waited less than 5 minutes before we heard the drone of the airplane.  A few minutes later we saw it!  What a glorious sight.  Friends were inside that plane!  As soon as it was close enough, I began to wave.  Pilot David Wolf and his wife Olivia flew over the village and then lined up to drop our packages.  They made five passes in order to drop four boxes and some candy with a parachute.  I took a few pictures then put my camera down and watched the plane and my friends.  Tears came to my eyes as I waved.  My friends and fellow missionaries were so close that we could look each other in the eyes for a few seconds and wave, but yet so far away that we couldn’t chat or hug.  After the last package, Dave dipped the wings in a sort-of good-bye and they headed south to another town.

We gathered up our boxes and made our way back home.  We saw clouds developing into afternoon thunderstorms and in a few hours it was raining again.  God pushed away the rain and let the sun shine through at the perfect time!  One by one we opened the boxes.  It was like Christmas!  Magazines!  Mail from family and other missionaries!  Milk!  Candy bars!  And canned chicken!  We skipped lunch to read mail, opened a few Cokes to help celebrate, and ate chicken sandwiches for supper.  Thank you Lord and UIM- this was a good day.

Mexican Rice Pasta

It may come as a surprise to many americans to learn that mexican pasta is served as a side dish nearly as often as mexican rice!   The word sopa refers to any of these side dishes – not usually to soups, as most of us would expect.  White rice is used for the mexican rices.  For the pasta sides star-shaped noodles, fideos (an extremely thin, 1/2 inch-long spaghetti-type noodle) or cantaloupe-seed shaped noodles are very common.  Since I continue to mention mexican rice and pasta side dishes I thought I had better post a recipe!  The quickest way to make these dishes is to buy chicken-tomatoe flavored bullion cubes from a mexican store (I have only seen these come in a flat, red rectangular box, usually with tomatoes featured on the front.).  If you want a more natural flavor, place 2 tomatoes, 1-2 cups water, a garlic clove and a bit of onion in the blender.  Add this mixture and regular chicken bullion to the recipe instead of the water and tomato-chicken bullion.

For red, mexican rice or pasta:

Fry rice or noodles over medium-low heat, in oil, stirring continually making sure that the noodles are completely browned.  Add water and tomato-chicken bullion cube (1 large cube is good for 2 cups of water) and stir until cube dissolves, or add the above-mentioned, blended ingredients.  Cook over low heat until rice or pasta is soft.  Fluff rice with fork.  (Since I have not given exact amounts, you will have to estimate, adding more water as needed.)  For the pasta, there should be extra water to create a small amount of broth.  The pasta should be served with a dollop of sour cream, or lime juice, or both.

For white, mexican rice:

Fry rice over medium heat, in oil, stirring continually.  Add water and salt/chicken bullion and frozen or canned yellow sweet corn.  (The corn shouldn’t be more than 1/4 of the whole amount of cooked rice)

Rajas de Chilaca

Rajas of chilaca (RAH – hahs) are strips of roasted anajeim (chilaca) or poblano chili peppers.  Chilaca and poblano peppers are more mild than jalapeños.  This recipe is used as a gordita filling, or is served on a plate accompanied with mexican rice/pasta, beans, and tortillas to sop everything up.  I have also added cooked, shredded chicken to this dish and served it with beans in flour tortillas as a complete meal.

6-8 chilaca chili peppers or 4-6 poblano peppers, washed

1 cup sour cream

3/4 cup canned/frozen yellow sweet corn

chicken bullion (for a more authentic mexican flavor buy this loose in a bag)

1 onion, sliced

salt and pepper, al gusto (to taste)

This recipe is much more simple if one has a gas stove or gas grill or camp stove.  But the chilis can also be grilled on a dry/slightly oiled griddle or skillet over medium heat until as many sides as possible are blackened.

Grill the whole peppers over medium flame until most sides are blackened.  Place hot peppers in a bag, or closed container, in the freezer for ten minutes (or in the fridge for 15-20).  (This allows the peppers to steam and the skin to loosen)  Hold pepper under running water while removing the blackened skin with fingers.  (This is much easier than the paper-bag method!)  Once skin is removed, slit open pepper with thumb and remove seeds and some veins under the running water.  (The more veins the more spice, though every pepper is different and cooking makes it more difficult to remove veins.)  Remove pepper stems and slice lengthwise into quarter-inch strips.  Meanwhile, in medium size skillet, saute´onion in small amount of oil until it turns clear and begins to soften.  Add chili slices and corn.  Flavor with 1/2-1 tsp of chicken bullion.  Stir in sour cream and salt and pepper to taste.

Gordita Filling – Carnitas en Salsa Verde

There are numerous recipes for gordita fillings.  The most simple is refried beens with cheese.  Mole, rajas con queso and carnitas en salsa verde are three of our favorites.  It’s impractical at home to make five different fillings for gorditas so an easy option is to fill some of the gorditas with refried beens and then make one other filling.  Another is to make rajas and mole meals on different occasions and freeze the leftovers for gorditas.  This recipe is for the gordita filling called carnitas en salsa verde:

2 lbs pork chops, cubed in 1/2 inch squares

one recipe of salsa verde for carnitas (recipe already posted under Salsa Verde)

homemade gorditas (recipe already posted under Gorditas/Flour Tortillas)

brown cubed pork chops in a large frying pan in a small amount of oil until the pan becomes darkened.  Add the salsa verde to the browned pork directly from the blender, taking care as it will splatter.  Cook over low heat until the pork is thoroughly cooked.  (For those lucky people who have eaten gorditas here in Chihuahua, this recipe for carnitas is practically identical to the gorditas that one buys at Soriana or in the restaurants.)  Stuff your gorditas with as much of the carnitas as you can.  Serve and enjoy.

Gorditas/Flour Tortillas

In Spanish, gordo means fat.  If you want to say someone is just a bit chubby you would say he is, gordito. No offense to us women, but this recipe means “chubby ladies!”  The dough for this recipe is the same dough for wonderful, fresh flour tortillas.  Unlike flour tortillas which have to be rolled out very thin and are hard to keep round (mine end up looking like puzzle pieces sometimes!) gorditas are supposed to be just that – CHUBBY!  You hardly roll them out at all!  This recipe only makes enough for one, hungry adult:

1 C all-purpose flour

1 heaping tablespoon of shortening (oil may be substituted)

1/2 tsp salt (this may be too much or too little for your taste – I don’t measure I just throw in what looks right)

a pinch-1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 C water – heated as hot as you can stand (you won’t use all of the water)

Cut the shortening into the flour, salt and baking powder.  Add some of the water and stir quickly with a fork.  Keep adding water until the mixture can be formed into a ball and kneaded.  Knead a little while.  You don’t add so much that you need a lot of flour later to roll it out.  You don’t add so little that the dough is stiff.  You’re looking for soft and pliable. Divide the dough into five balls by squeezing the dough through the hole made by your thumb and index finger and pinching it off by closing the hole.  (You can divide how you like, but this method forms beautiful balls which will make prettier tortillas or gorditas.)  For best results cover and let the balls set for a few minutes, especially when making tortillas.

For gorditas: Roll the balls to form SMALL, CHUBBY tortillas, using a bit of flour when necessary.  You are looking for a pita-type bread NOT a tortilla.  Only roll them out to about two and a half inches in diameter.  Heat a dry griddle or frying pan.  Cook on the griddle until the bottom side starts to brown.  Flip.  As the gordita cooks on the second side press down on it with the bottom of a stiff spatula.  Press hard.  Ivonne (see “Introductions”) uses an old-fashioned iron that looks like an antique clothes iron.  This helps the insides of the gordita to cook and encourages it to balloon with air.  When the second side is golden, remove from heat and immediately make a slit around 1/3-1/2 of the gordita with a serrated knife.  These directions seem lengthy since gorditas are very easy to make!

For flour tortillas form 3-4 balls out of the dough.  Roll into large, thin tortillas.  Cook on the griddle pressing as you press gorditas (This is not as important with tortillas).

Enchiladas Verdes

Green enchiladas are my daughter, Noël’s, favorite mexican dish.  Because Ivonne’s (read “Introductions”) husband doesn’t like cheese, we are used to eating these without cheese.  Although I usually forget the cheese, they taste “grate” with a bit grated on top of the hot salsa!

salsa verde – one of the cooked varieties (recipe already posted)

fresh corn tortillas

chicken, cooked and shredded

sour cream

shredded Monterey Jack cheese (or some mexican cheese from a mexican food store such as “Manchego” or “Laurel”)

vegetable oil

For a more health-conscience variety: spread or spray a griddle or large frying pan with a bit of oil and grill the tortillas until the are a tiny bit golden, but are still pliable.  For a more authentic variety, fry the tortillas in a 1/4 inch of oil until a bit golden and still pliable.  Drain these by standing them up in a colander that is sitting on paper towels on a plate.  Spread the shredded chicken down the center of each tortilla, sprinkle with a bit of salt and roll them up.  Place 2-4 on a plate.  Spread liberally with hot, salsa verde, sprinkle with shredded cheese and dot with sour cream.  !Listo para comer! Ready to eat!

Cultural Tidbit: Did you know fresh, corn tortillas have an inside and an outside?  A “right” side and a “wrong” side?  The inside, the “right” side to fill with food, is looser and tends to bubble and pull away when the tortillas have been fried or heated on a griddle.  The outside remains smooth and holds together better.

Salsa Verde

Green salsa is used in many mexican dishes.  There is more than one way to make this salsa.  In this recipe I will give three possible variations and will follow this blog up with more blogs that utilize the green salsas.

7-10 tomatillos, husked, rinsed and quartered (Tomatillos are like sticky, green tomatoes sometimes sold in the husk)

Cilantro, rinsed

1 leaf of lettuce (optional)

1/4 of a small onion

1 clove garlic

2-6 jalapeño peppers, with tops removed

chicken bullion (for more authentic taste, buy the mexican, loose variety)

Pour 1 1/2 – 2 C water in the blender.  Add the quartered tomatillos and blend.  Add a small bunch of cilantro (removing only the thick stem ends), lettuce, onion, garlic and ONE  JALAPEÑO AT A TIME, blending between each pepper.  (Jalapeños are all different.  Sometimes one pepper adds more than enough heat.  I made a batch of salsa with SIX  jalapeños and it was still as mild as can be.)  Add chicken bullion to taste.  If you stop at this point, you have a fresh salsa that tastes good on a variety of things: corn chips and tacos to name just two.

If you want to make Enchiladas Verdes or Chilaquiles Verdes place the raw salsa in a medium saucepan.  Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until salsa turns from bright green to olive green, thickens slightly and sticks to the sides of the pan.

Another variation of this salsa has a different flavor and can be used in place of the above mentioned, cooked salsa.  I like this variety particularly for the flavor it gives cubed pork chops (carnitas en salsa verde) when I make Gorditas.  (Recipe to follow)  For this variety: Spray, or spread, a griddle or large frying pan with a small amount of oil.  Heat over medium-high heat.  Grill the whole tomatillos, the onion quarter, the garlic clove, and the jalapeños until blackened on several sides.   Then blend as above, adding cilantro, chicken bullion and lettuce.

Dental Brigadas

When was the last time you went to the dentist.  Have you ever had pain in your mouth or in a tooth?

If you seldom leave your village how do you get dental care?  UIM Aviation addresses these issues at tribal locations.  Would a tribal missionary be interested in us bringing dental care to their area?  The responses were overwhelmingly YES.

God provided a Mexican, Christian dentist who desires to bring dental care to tribal villages.  Gabriel desires to use his professional skills to help the people of his country.  These tribal peoples have had little or no dental attention.

Using the UIM airplane and portable dental equipment, Gabriel commits a Friday and Saturday each month to a tribal village.  Working these two days he provides healing dental care to the needy.  We fly him back early Sunday to be with his family in Chihuahua and attend church.

The airplane allows recurring visits so the villagers can have on-going dental care.  This physical healing opens doors for the tribal missionaries to provide spiritual healing.

Only through the use of the airplane has regular dental care been provided.  Praise the Lord.

Salsa Sencilla

There are a lot of simple salsas (salsas sencillas) that are great on top of tacos (good for the barbacoa as tacos, recipe), with chips, on flautas, etc.  In this recipe you simply place all ingredients in the blender and blend, adding the amount of chile, cilantro and bullion to taste.  This salsa is also good without cilantro, if you don’t have any.  Cayenne pepper could be substituted for the whole, dried chiles.  Ivonne uses this salsa a lot when she needs a quick, easy salsa – in Mexico salsas are necessary on an almost daily basis.

1 small can of tomato sauce

fresh cilantro leaves, washed

small, dried chile peppers, stemmed and some seeds shaken out (chile del arbol, chile chiquín, etc)

chicken bullion (for a more authentic taste use the mexican bullion that comes loose in a bag)

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