The Joy of Tradition: Enchiladas!

Traditional New Mexican-style enchiladas, with sides!

In September, I made a trip to the Dallas-Fort Worth area to visit my young nieces and, oh yes, my sister Paula and her husband Jeff, too.  The girls and I got to spent some auntie-niece time when the parents went away for a few days.  Out of the 3 nights I stayed with them, at the girls' request, we had enchiladas two of those nights.  It's just what we do, and it's what we love.  In our family, enchiladas are soul food and enchilada night is family tradition.  My youngest niece, who is 11, wanted to help, and I was thrilled to be part of her desire to carry on this family tradition.  I had similar great joy when I read Amy's blog about enchiladas.

Enchiladas are just plain good food.  Really easy.  Relatively inexpensive.  Vegetarian.  Gluten-free, if the sauce is gluten free (Old El Paso wasn't when I first wrote this; they are now; always check ingredients).  The house smells like we took a trip south of the border.  So, as promised, here is the recipe our family loves, and freely adapts, for enchiladas:

Mack Family Enchiladas

This recipe serves one but can be multiplied to serve a multitude!

Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
Get out an oven-proof dinner plate.

Heat 1 can of enchilada sauce (a 15 oz. can will last for 8-10 tortillas) in a pan that is larger in diameter than the tortillas you will use. If you can find Hatch brand sauce, by all means use that.  Old El Paso is good, too.  My grandmother Deedie used to add a little oregano, cumin and garlic powder to the canned sauce as it simmered, so I do that, too.  She also thought that aluminum cans should be opened and allowed to "breathe" before using the contents.  I think my grandmother Lollie made her own enchilada sauce from dried peppers, and I haven't tried that yet.

Meanwhile, chop some onion and make sure you have some shredded cheese.  I often use what's packaged as Mexican cheese. Colby-Jack, Monterey Jack, or mild cheddar will do, too.

When the sauce is good and hot, then ...

Soften 4 corn tortillas per serving (or more, or fewer).  The traditional way to soften them is to pass them through hot lard or oil.  My sister Paula gave me a healthy hint that works great:  I now wrap 4 tortillas in a paper towel, sprinkle just a little water on the towel, and microwave for 45 seconds.  

One at a time, dip each tortilla in the sauce and put on a plate -- flat.  Sprinkle cheese and onions to taste. Continue layering sauce-dipped tortillas with cheese and onions until you have the desired number, usually a number that is between 3 and 9!  Our family fun comes with the special requests:  "no onions, light cheese, heavy cheese" and so on.

Put the plate in the warm oven to keep it warm.  When our whole family gets together, and we always have enchilada night, it takes all the racks of a double oven and one person's job is to keep the list of whose plate is in what place in the ovens.

Fry an egg for each serving, or poached egg works too.  Get the plate out of the oven.  Add the egg to the top and put more sauce over it.  Some people (see this picture) like a lot of sauce!  And some people also like to squeeze just a little lemon juice (totally optional) on top.

Whatever makes it yummy!
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This recipe is participating in Hearth and Soul Hop (Volume 18)

Dinner Tonight: First Day of Fall Soup

Today is the first fall day that feels like fall.  Hanging out at the house on my day off today, I needed to add a sweatshirt to my usual jeans and t-shirt.  The fall-ish weather inspired me to simmer up a big ole pot of soup.  I had already gotten the stuff to try Christy's Dal recipe at Home Celebrations.  She makes hers super easy by throwing everything in the Crock Pot.  I thought I would make mine just like she wrote it, but then I:

• forgot the cabbage at the grocery store, 
• waited too late to start it in the Crock Pot, 
• got bored dealing with that many veggies 
• pulled back just a little on the amount of curry powder, 
• and decided to serve mine over rice, gumbo style, topped with a little yogurt.

Other than that, it's a lot like hers!  (Thanks, Christy!)

This was perfect for a cool, rainy day and it made the house smell really good!

Red Lentil Soup over Rice

This was my grandmother's soup pot.

Heat 2 T. olive oil in large soup pot.

Add:
1 onion, chopped (I used a yellow onion)
1 large carrot, halved lengthwise & thinly sliced
1 rib celery, chopped
2 cloves of garlic minced (I used a garlic press)
1 zucchini, cubed (about 1/2" cubes)

Cook until tender.

Add:
1 T. freshly grated ginger
1 t. ground cumin
1/4 t. ground cloves
2 bay leaves
2 cinnamon sticks
2 t. curry powder (Spice Island)
2 t. McCormick Hot Madras Curry Powder

Stir it around and add:
1 lb. bag red lentils (look more orange to me)
28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
2 cups vegetable broth
2 vegetable bullion cubes
4 cups of water (I added more later)

Bring to a boil and then simmer for an hour or so.  Lentils cook pretty fast.  Add more water if you want a soupier soup.  Add salt to taste.  And, of course, remove the cinnamon sticks and bay leaves before serving.

I served this over cooked rice and topped with a dollop of plain yogurt.  Feel free to improvise.  I did!
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I am participating in Hearth and Soul Hop -- Volume 16.  There are tons more great recipes and ideas over there!

GF Magic: Chocolate for Breakfast!

Tomorrow is the Practical Magic Blog Party.  I'm posting today because I have to be present at an all-day seminar tomorrow called Legal Issues That Can Really Bite Churches if They Aren't Careful ... or something like that.

I was inspired by the movie version of Practical Magic,  and especially by this wacky commandment delivered by Frances:  

"In this house we have chocolate cake for breakfast and never bother with silly things like bedtimes, or brushing our teeth."

What could be more magical than letting go of some of the rules that were passed on to us as non-negotiable?  I'm not ready to let go of bedtimes or teeth-brushing, so let's keep those bedtimes flexible and let's relish toothbrushing as part of a bedtime routine that is healthy and relaxing!
PM Yoga anyone?

For chocolate lovers who learned well the lesson that the breakfast meal was off-limits to their favorite comfort food, I present

"Chocolate for Breakfast"

Chocolate for Breakfast

Huge thanks to Karina over at Gluten Free Goddess blog for developing and sharing her recipe for GF Quinoa Breakfast Brownies.  Doesn't it look yummy?  Karina is an awesome GF chef and her love for food finds expression in the most delicious recipes.  

I felt positively witchy mixing up all the ingredients.  I already had most of them in my kitchen, including the chocolate chips I had for melting onto my birthday cake and my morning-oatmeal-enhancing golden raisins.  I used a Pampered Chef medium bar pan, lined with parchment paper.  As Karina advised, I will wrap the squares individually in foil and freeze them in a freezer bag.

Voila!  Instant chocolate comfort food that is ready to go -- morning, noon or night -- especially when I'm in a witchy mood!

For something to sip along with these squares of chocolate joy, I put the "lime in the coconut" along with some frozen bananas to make this smoothie:

"Lime in the Coconut" Magic Smoothie

yogurt

coconut milk 

frozen banana

lime juice & finely grated lime zest

honey 

ice cubes

Amazing Grass Organic Wheat Grass Powder (optional; adds color and nutrition)

These are the actual ingredients in the smoothie pictured.  I can't give you exact amounts because I just threw stuff in the blender until it looked right.  You can "put the lime in the coconut" in your favorite smoothie recipe or conjure up something delicious using this guide.  Enjoy!

Gluten Free Awareness Day

Gluten-free cherry brownie bites

Today is Celiac Disease Awareness Day.  I don't know for sure if I have celiac disease.  The tests that were done were inconclusive and further testing has not been done.  What I do know -- absolutely -- is that certain conditions have cleared up and I feel much better eating gluten free (GF).

What I like about eating GF:  Fewer food choices.  It's easier to read a menu and navigate through a grocery store or pick something from a cookbook.  It's a relief, actually.  I am a fan of limitations.

What I don't like about eating GF:  Social occasions, parties and church dinners.  The challenging thing is being perceived as "difficult" &/or "special needs" even though I can always find food to eat. 

What not to ask someone with a health-related dietary restriction:  "What happens if you eat it?"  In my particular case, the answer is not so much gross as it is technical.  Either way, it's not the best dinner conversation to have.

My favorite GF meal:  Enchiladas, baby!  Divine providence spared my favorite soul food because it's naturally GF, when GF sauce is used.  I want to experiment with making my own sauce from scratch with dried red chiles.  For dessert:  Gluten-free Cherry Brownie Bites (photo above) from Carol at Simply Gluten Free.

Some of my favorite finds:

• Betty Crocker GF cakes and brownies ~~~ My chocolate birthday cake was delicious, but I had trouble finding wheat-free icing.  I kid you not.  Semi-sweet chocolate chips melt well onto a warm cake, I discovered.  I am looking forward to trying gluten-free Bisquick, too, but I haven't seen it yet.

• Bob's Red Mill ~~~ They have an extensive selection of GF ingredients, mixes, and flours.  I recommend the  GF hot cereal to anyone who is bored with the same old same old.

• Larabars ~~~ Nuts, fruit, and spices made into a delicious to-go bar with two to nine all-natural ingredients.  My favorites are the coconut cream pie and the cinnamon roll, but I have liked all of the flavors I've tried. 

• Gluten-Free Goddess ~~~ Karina won a contest for budget recipes at Whole Foods Market with her Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas.  That's just one of the reasons we call her a goddess.

• Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef ~~~ Her tagline:  Food. Stories. Recipes. Love.  'Nuff said.

I'm glad to know:  In the blogosphere, there are many, many kindred spirits ready to share their world of living with a galaxy of life circumstances, even if that circumstance seems, at first, like a limitation.  

And that reminds me of Becky's blog about the Blob, which is not GF but more FG (fun and games).   Enjoy!

News Fast, Day 4: The Joy of Limitations

Here I am on Day 4 of my self-imposed news fast.

What I miss the most:  Commenting on Facebook posts about news or news-related things.

What I don't miss at all:  Morning TV.  I have replaced that with music and podcasts from my iPod.  Nice!

What I love the most:  The limitation!

With "news" off the table, there are actually more things to explore.  I have downloaded podcasts to my iPod that I am now listening to when I would have been listening to, watching or reading the news.  I recommend Stuff You Missed in History Class.  (The link is to some top podcasts, including that one.)  OK, so I'm technically listening to old news!  How about A Crash Course in Miracles?  (Future news?)

Another limitation I have learned to truly enjoy is living gluten free.  There are so many things in the grocery store I just don't have to look at now.  I have enjoyed getting to know much better the international foods aisle and the health food aisles.  I didn't miss anything delicious in last night's dinner of Spicy eggs diablo on polenta.

Imagine other possibilities for creative limitations:

• Calorie limitations:  Dr. Oz promotes "extreme life extension" through a limited calorie life-style.  He calls it a "diet"; I prefer to adopt a "life-style."  Think of it as life extension rather than deprivation!

• The ability to say no:  Seven Simple Ways to Say No (from Zen Habits blog)

• Edited to add:  Haiku Productivity:  The Fine Art of Limiting Yourself to the Essential (also from Zen Habits blog)

To be continued ...

What's For Dinner

I enjoyed something easy, easy, easy and delicious for last night's dinner.

Searching the grocery aisles for dinner inspiration yesterday, I found something called "Recipe Inspirations" .  That's what McCormick calls its packet of premeasured spices enclosed with a recipe card.  The presentation is appealing and it I decided to plunk down $1.99 for the "Rosemary Roasted Chicken with Potatoes."  I normally would consider that too expensive for small amounts of spices that I could combine myself, except that I didn't have the rosemary.  When I added up the cost of the packet, the chicken and the potatoes, I spent slightly less that I was going to spend on a ready-made roasted chicken with no potatoes.  And I made it myself!

Bits and Pieces

I made a pretty decent quiche last night out of some ham, mushrooms, onions and green pepper I had hanging around in my fridge. I modified Chef Larry's Ham and Mushroom Quiche recipe to fit my ingredients. For fun and health, I put it in a whole wheat pie crust that made "healthy" pretty delicious.

Today is DAY 10 of my 14-day doctor-imposed medical vow of silence. Seems to me that not talking makes it harder for me to get things done as quickly. I apparently talk my way through my whole life, singing and cheering myself on constantly. So, I'm not quite on time with the church newsletter or this Sunday's worship bulletin. Other slow-me-down things: Babies, children, teenagers, empty house, summer gardening, fall foliage gawking, keeping warm in winter, spring fever, a cup of coffee with a friend, and -- stop the world -- being out of coffee.

The even harder thing, pastorally speaking, is that our church is in crisis and grief because one of our dear ones is suffering from a sudden,incredibly debilitating mysterious illness. "If one member suffers, all suffer together ..." (1 Corinthians 12:26a) To comfort without words? Is it possible to do? Sure. Just not the usual. Maybe better. Who knows?

I got a visit from a Pocket Faerie yesterday! She brought me a magic treasure chest, and it was filled with hugs and love!