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Asado de Bodas

final dish

Last week I was in a bookstore, and found my way to the cooking section (no big surprise there).  I was there with the intent to buy some food writing or a memoir.  I saw a number of books that were perfectly respectable candidates, but nothing spoke to me at that time.  Then I spied Diana Kennedy’s The Art of Mexican Cooking, and had to check it out.  For a while now, I’ve been debating whether to get a basic Mexican cookbook by Rick Bayless or Diana Kennedy, not sure which I’d prefer.   After perusing this book, I knew I had to have it.  And I’m glad I did.

There are so many delicious sounding recipes in here!  I knew I had some pork kebab meat in the freezer that I wanted to use, so I checked out the pork section.  I came across this recipe for Asado de Bodas – a northern wedding dish from Durango and Coahuila – and it looked perfect.  The flavors sounded wonderful – chiles, chocolate, tomatillos – and the method looked pretty simple (boiling, sauteeing).

I prepared it after work last night.  It took a little longer to make than I anticipated, but none of the steps were difficult.  It was worth the time and waiting – this pork is good.  It’s warm and tangy, which just the tiniest hint of bitterness in the background, not at all disturbing (I’m not normally fond of bitter things).   The tartness of the tomatillos takes care of the harsh bitterness you often find in chile soaking liquid.  As the sauce thickens, it tastes more intense, as would be expected.  I just loved it.

ingredient collage

I got to use some special ingredients, too.  I had a few stale tortillas from Tortilleria Nixtamal; the chocolate I used was made by Taza, so it is organic and stone ground, with a hint of cinnamon in it; and the pastured pork I used was sourced from the wonderful Lewis-Waite farm via my CSA.

While I’ve included the recipe as-is, I did make a few adjustments.  First, I halved the recipe, simply because I had one pound of pork on hand instead of two.  I used extra virgin olive oil, because I haven’t rendered my lard yet. I used ground cumin instead of cumin seed, because that’s what I had.   I also chose to cut the pork into slightly smaller sizes because I like it that way.

sauce collage

And I used a regular old Queens bay leaf instead of a Mexican bay leaf.  Interesting story – as T and I were walking around Corona one day, we noticed a house with a big greenhouse attached to it.  The older man who lived there came out and said hello, and we remarked how amazing his house looked with that green house attached.  He invited us in and showed us around – he’s growing citrus trees in there!  Also a bay laurel tree, and so he snipped off a handful of leaves for us.  Such a kind and neighborly thing to do – I’ve loved using these bay leaves in my cooking.

I ate this over millet cooked with chicken broth, but tortillas would be wonderful.  I hope you enjoy this dish as much as I do.

Asado de Bodas
From The Art of Mexican Cooking

The Meat
2 pounds (900 g) pork with some fat, cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm) cubes
1/4 medium onion, roughly sliced
2 garlic cloves peeled
sea salt to taste

The Sauce
6 tbs lard
4 chiles anchos, slit open, veins and seeds removed
the pork broth
About 8 tomatillos
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1 small slice dried French bread
1/2 dried corn tortilla
1/8 teaspoon cumin seeds, crushed
1 oz Mexican drinking chocolate, broken into small pieces
1 Mexican bay leaves
1/2 tsp dried Mexican oregano
Thinly pared zest of 1 orange
sea salt to taste

Put the pork into a saucepan; add the onion, garlic, and salt to taste. Cover the meat with water, cover the pan, and bring to a simmer; cook slowly for about 25 minutes. Remove 1 1/2 cups (375 ml) of the broth and keep warm in a bowl. Continue cooking the meat, uncovered, until it is just tender but not soft and the water has been absorbed – about 15 minutes (cooking time will vary with the quality and cut of the meat).

Melt 3 tbs of the lard in a frying pan and fry the dried chiles very briefly on each side until they are an opaque tobacco brown inside – about 3 seconds. Remove from pan an add to the broth.  Fry the tomatillos and garlic until golden and transfer them to the broth. Last, fry the bread and tortilla over very low heat until crisp and brown. Add to the broth. Set the contents of the bowl aside to soak for about 15 minutes or until the chile skins are soft.

Transfer the mixture to a blender jar, add the cumin seeds and chocolate, and blend until smooth.

Melt the rest of the lard in a heavy pan and fry the pork pieces until golden, about 10 minutes. Add the blended ingredients, bay leaves, oregano, orange, zest, and salt to taste and cook over low heat, scraping the bottom and sides of the pan until the sauce is fairly thick and the lard makes a shiny surface on the sauce – about 20 minutes. Serve with corn tortillas

Serve 6-8.

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Greens and Meal Planning Observations

dinner

As I mentioned earlier this week, I’ve planned out my meals for the week.  So far so good, though I had to replace soaked oatmeal for breakfast yesterday with a fried egg and sourdough toast with jam.  I spaced the night before and thought I didn’t have any milk or yogurt, but I did.  Oh well, the egg and toast were tasty!

One problem I’ve had lately has been incorporating enough vegetables into my diet, so I included them in the meal plan.  Since it’s spring, asparagus is in season, so I’ve had that a couple times already – once with quinoa and once simply roasted with olive oil and salt.  So good, especially this time of year (I rarely eat it out of season).

I also cooked up a couple bunches of organic swiss chard – when I am running, as I’ve started doing again, I often crave dark leafy greens.  Not sure why, but I do.  I just love them.  I’ll have them for lunch and dinner throughout the week.

I am convinced that if I hadn’t planned it all out, I would not have eaten those vegetables, and they would slowly rot in my fridge.  Not good.

I love to cook and explore new recipes, but I have to be careful about not tiring out in the evenings after work, especially now that I’m running and exerting a lot more.  So, a lot of the time I tend to fall back on just cooking, not following a recipe (however, I have reserved one evening this week to devote to something more elaborate).  I put together things that taste good together, using cooking techniques I’m comfortable with (sauteeing, boiling, roasting, etc.). This week that manifested itself into the following meals:

Meal 1
red quinoa with white onions, asparagus, and walnuts
sauteed chard with garlic and lemon
cubed cheddar cheese

Meal 2
roasted asparagus
cheese omelette

green collage

Both meals are easy to make and allow for some improvisation.  They contain, real, whole foods in season, with plenty of green veggies to counteract my recent habit of not eating many.  I also cooked the quinoa with the chicken broth I made on Sunday, making the dish even more nourishing.

Although both meals contain pretty straightforward dishes (you can pretty much figure out how to make them from their description), one tip I’ll pass on has to do with the garlic lemon chard – get rid of the excess liquid created by the chard after it wilts.  All that liquid dilutes the yummy garlic and lemon flavors.  Here’s the full recipe:

Garlic Lemon Greens

1 bunch greens (spinach is best, but chard and kale work, too)
1-2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt
1 lemon and its zest
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Cut off the stems and wash the greens to get rid of any dirt. Check over the washed greens for any discolored leaves and remove them. Chop into big pieces.

Add olive oil to a hot skillet. Add garlic then a little salt, and saute for about 30 seconds.

Add the chopped greens and immediately rotate them. Add a little salt. When they have started to wilt, add lemon zest and red pepper flakes. Continue to rotate the greens until they are quite wilted.

Dump entire contents of the pan into a sieve. Press the greens down to dispose of as much extra liquid as possible. Return greens to the pan.

Add juice of 1/2 to 1 lemon (depending on how lemony you like your greens) and mix with the greens. Drizzle another tsp of olive oil over the greens. Serve immediately.

This post is participating in Real Food Wednesday, hosted by Kelly the Kitchen Kop.

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Stewing Hen Goodness

On Sunday, I took the stewing hen I bought earlier this month through my buying club, and boiled it up, resulting in both meat and a luscious broth.  The meat really is tough – the stewing hen is a chicken past her egg-laying prime; no spring chicken, ha ha!  This is a true free-range bird, so it’s understandable about the meat’s texture.  However, it yielded probably the most delicious chicken broth I’ve ever tasted.

broth

I could have just stuck the whole bird in the pot with its integrity intact, but I chose to butcher it a bit.  I cut off the wings and legs, and left the rest alone – I further exposed the bone because I wanted to make sure that I’d have a good chance for the broth to be gelatin-rich.  Then I added half a chopped yellow onion, three large garlic cloves and a tablespoon or two of Mexican oregano.   Finally, I added a teaspoon of fine sea salt.

I boiled the hen for a couple of hours, then set the pieces out to cool down enough for me to handle then.  I shred the meat and will have it available this week for tacos, sandwiches, or chicken salad.  Since the meat is tough, I’ll store it immersed in the broth, which I hope will tenderize it.  I added an additional teaspoon of sea salt to the broth, and that was the perfect amount of seasoning.  Since I’ve cut back on sugar, my sensitivity to both sweet and salty has heightened, and I now find overly salty things to be much more intense than they used to be.

stewing hen collage

I strained out the veggies and herbs from the broth, and set the pot in the fridge to cool down overnight.  By tonight I’ll have a better idea of its gelatinous quality and the amount of fat in it (I’ll scrape that off it there’s enough, and use it for other things).  I’m going to freeze a bunch of the broth, but also leave some in the fridge for when I cook quinoa and millet this week.  Cooking the grains in this broth will make them even more nourishing and healthful.  Not to mention delicious!

Usually when I make stock, I use the carcas of a roasted chicken.  This is the first time I’d actually bought a chicken for the express purpose of stewing it and collecting the meat after the fact.  I’m looking forward to seeing how it works out this week.

final result

This was the first week in I don’t know how long, that I planned out my meals for the week.   I’m happy about this, and I have a lot of great meals in store.  Plotting out the week I expect will make lunches easier to handle, too.  Too often I just eat out, and I’d like to not do that so much (once a week, tops).  Bad for the pocketbook and the waistline, since it’s challenging to find truly nourishing food near my office.

I’m also starting a running training schedule this week, with my goal of running a 4 mile race in mid-Jully.  I miss racing and running, and really want to start up again; I’m really excited to “get back on the horse”, as they say.  I sustained a bad ankle injury a bit over a year ago, and have found it difficult to get back into running.  Having a schedule should make it easier to keep at it.

Here’s to an active, interesting, and delicious week!

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Gardening Progress

I thought I’d show you some pictures of what I’m growing these days.  I’ve grown everything from seed, and some things are progressing faster than others.  Right now the plants are in containers but I’ll transplant some of them into the ground or into bigger containers.  I am so fortunate to have some garden space at my current home, plus a large deck on which to do some container gardening.  Living in NYC, it is awesome to have this open space right outside my door.

Almost all seeds came from the Hudson Valley Seed Library, of which I’m a member, except for the Silver Fir tomatoes, which were shared with me at an urban gardening gathering last month.

First, my arugula.  It’s coming along quite well!  I’ll be keeping it in this container and hope to eat it as baby arugula; I’m not fond of arugula that is tool big or old.  I actually tried one of the sprouts yesterday morning and it was delicious – very green with some peppery bitterness.  It tastes like the real deal!

arugula long shot

arugula sprouts

I’ll have to thin it, and will eat the thinned baby leaves, yum.

I’m also growing lemon cucumbers, which is an heirloom variety of cucumber.

lemon cucumbers

These guys live in my kitchen window right now, and are getting big enough to transplant soon.  I also have a pot outside with two lemon cucumber plants, but these in the window are growing faster.  Go figure.  I always think of my grandfather when I consider lemon cucumbers.  I think he’d be happy that I’m growing them.

I’m also growing ground cherries and tomatillos.  These guys are slow growers and are still in the baby sprout stage:

ground cherry sprouts

tomatillo sprouts

Finally, I have four kinds of tomatoes growing, all heirlooms – Yellow Pear, Amish Paste, Pruden’s Purple, and Silver Fir.  I’ve planted them in paper pots (made from newspaper), and am in love with using these pots.  When I put them into the ground or a container, I can simply cut out the bottom and plop the entire thing into the ground – the newspaper will compost right into the ground.

tomatoes

I have plans to plant thyme, parsley, basil, and some braising greens.  Also some flowers – cosmos and butterfly flowers.  I think it would be nice to attract butterflies!

It’s been a lot of fun growing everything from seed.   It’s magical, the way they sprout up and then grow their second set of leaves.  It’s also the most economical way of acquiring plants and growing food.  I’m really looking forward to seeing them all continue to get bigger and then fruit.  And to eat it all!

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Queens Harvest Food Co-op

tomatoes

One of the most exciting food developments in Queens is the coming of the Queens Harvest Food Co-op, which happens to be the first food co-op to be developed in the borough of Queens.  I was involved in the very early stages of this project, so I know the efforts are heartfelt and determined by those involved.

According to their website:

The Queens Harvest Food Co-op is a new community driven venture into the world of fresh, high-quality food at affordable prices. They will be a member-owned and controlled market that puts community before profits. Anticipated opening in the Queens Plaza area in 2011.

The location of the co-op will greatly benefit western Queens’ low-income populations by being near the Queensbridge Houses and other housing developments nearby.  This will provide access to real, quality food to people that would otherwise not be able to easily find it.

The Co-op is participating as a host of the upcoming Queens Green Drinks, details of the event can be found here.  I am hopeful to attend so if you are local to NYC, perhaps I’ll see you there!

I will be very interested to see the co-op plans progress and excited to shop there once it’s up and running!

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Tortilleria Nixtamal – Tortillas the Traditional Way

Tortilleria Nixtamal Sign

A couple weekends ago, we decided to venture deeper into Queens to one of our favorite eateries, Tortilleria Nixtamal.  Located in the neighborhood of Corona, Nixtamal is the only place in the city that makes corn tortillas the traditional way – they start with the corn itself, soak it in water and lime (aka calcium hydroxide), grind it up into fresh masa, and make the best, most flavorful tortillas you’ll have outside of Mexico.

“Nixtamal” comes from the term “nixtamalization”, which is the process described above of soaking the grain in a slightly acidic medium.  Just like with any other whole grain, utilizing this soaking process makes the grain more digestible and the nutrients in the grain more accessible to the body.  On a practical level, it makes it easier to grind up, too.  This process was used by early peoples in the Americas.  According to Nixtamal’s website, “There is no precise date for when the technology was developed, but the earliest evidence of nixtamalization is found in Guatemala’s southern coast, with equipment dating from 1200-1500BCE.” Talk about a traditional technique!

The corn that Tortilleria Nixtamal uses white dent corn from Illinois. It’s a non-GMO corn, as well as non-transgenic.  It’s also certified kosher.  The resulting masa is used for their tortillas and their tamales, which are cooked with lard that is rendered locally in the neighborhood.  They also use the whole corn for posole (aka hominy, a sort of soup/stew made with corn).

They make the tortillas there with a giant tortilla machine that came here straight from Mexico:

La Machine

It is really a neat sight, and la machine is the only way they can make as many tortillas in a day that they need.  Often they sell out of tortillas by the end of day.

Shauna, one of the owners, usually takes our order and always has great suggestions and recommendations.  She is obviously proud of her work and business, and will even give you a tour of the downstairs cooking space if you ask!

I’ve tried a number of dishes on the menu, and my favorites are the guacamole and chips made from their tortillas; the chicken tacos and rajas tacos; and the unorthodox Italian tamale (filled with sausage and peppers as an homage to this traditionally Italian neighborhood).  However, everything I’ve had there is extremely tasty.

Nixtamal Guac

Sausage and Peppers Tamale

I do love their tortillas and always take home a pound when I leave.  Love how the tortillas are prepared, from the quality corn, to the traditional way of preparing the grain, to the final result – a soft, toothsome delight of a tortilla.  I know I will always get a wonderful meal when I’m there.  If you live in NYC, definitely make a run to Tortilleria Nixtamal!

Tortilleria Nixtamal
104-05 47th Avenue
Corona, NY 11368
http://www.tortillerianixtamal.com/

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Social Media and Sugar

topatopa2

This is going to be a relatively short post, as I’ve just been very busy this week and very tired from getting over some sort of monster bug.  It sucked a lot of my energy, so I spent more time sleeping this week and last than in recent memory.

I’ll take this opportunity to tell you about the Harmonious Belly Facebook page and Harmonious Belly Twitter feed!  Please feel free to become a fan and to follow me.  My social network presence is still in the early stages, so I hope for the quality of my content to grow and mature as time goes on.  I value the support I receive from you!

I mentioned above that I’ve been sick.  I do not know what it was exactly but it hit me like a ton of bricks.   I often cut out dairy when I’m sick, but this time I cut out all refined sugar and most unrefined sugar; I only put a little raw honey in my tea to help soothe my throat.  I think this was an excellent decision, and apart from feeling better a couple days earlier that usual, I’ve noticed other positive benefits – improved skin quality, less crazy cravings, and less mood swings.

Also, ditching the sugar makes everything else taste… better, sweeter – it’s pretty amazing.  I’ve now been off refined sugar for 12 days and hope to extend that as long as possible.   I do anticipate eating sweet things again, but my focus will be on unrefined, traditional sweeteners – maple syrup, raw honey, and coconut sugar.  However, the best fruit season is quickly approaching, so I expect that fresh fruit will accommodate my altered sweet tooth.  We’ll see. 🙂

Now, I’m not saying that staying off refined sugar has been easy; I’ve definitely been tempted, mostly by chocolate.  Being bed-ridden for a few days, and sleeping as much as possible, kept my mind off of the sweet stuff.  This past week has been the most challenging – for instance, when I was bagging my bulk cashews, the chocolate-covered almonds were calling my name!  I was able to resist, though, thank goodness.

I try to keep in mind how much better I feel when I don’t eat refined sugar, and how I feel when I do ingest it at higher quantities than my body can take (answer: not good).  It can be quite overwhelming, physically.  I understand that it suppresses the immune system, too – in fact, I ate a big bowl of commercial ice cream the day before I got sick!  Coincidence?  Hmm…

I will talk more in future posts about my struggle with sugar – it has been the most difficult thing to tame since eating a more traditional diet.  There may very well be some truth in the idea that sugar acts like a drug.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Photo is of the Topa Topa Mountains in Ojai, CA, one of the most beautiful places on earth.

This post is participating in Fight Back Fridays, hosted by Food Renegade.