in other words
july19
2018
9
An Unusual Culinary Column: Mexican Recipes
By Karen Kain
It all started back in 1976,
when I met my lifelong best friend
Barbara Ortiz. Her mother, Ofelia, and
father, Rudy, were born in Mexico.
They married and moved to the U.S.
where they raised their children. Every
time I visited Barb’s home, which was
often, her mother served me home-
made tortillas with homemade beans
and salsa. It wasn’t until two years ago
at her father’s funeral that I truly un-
derstood what an amazing family they
were. During his lifetime Rudy never
made over $25,000 a year. Ofelia nev-
er worked. Together they raised six
kids and helped raise five other family
members who were in need. There was
never a time I felt a bit of lack or unhap-
piness at the Ortiz household. If the fam-
ily was ever struggling I never saw it.
Most of my memories growing
up include some kind of crazy time that
I shared with Barb. Her mother was al-
ways praying for us. I believe that is how
I have made it this far. It is the Ortiz fam-
ily who is responsible for me wanting to
be of Mexican decent. I know that in my
heart I am, and always will be, Mexican.
I have recently been in Cali-
fornia, helping Barb care for her mother
in the end stages of life. Over the past
few weeks we have cried, cleaned ob-
sessively, and cooked up some wonder-
ful Mexican dishes. The entire time we
were cooking my computer was out and
I documented every move Barb made.
She works fast, and I have always be-
lieved that she has been holding back on
a few of the ingredients from her fam-
ily recipes when sharing them with me. I
think I have solved a few mysteries and
come up with some wonderful dishes to
share with you.
My very favorite salsa recipe is
this Salsa Quemada. It takes some effort
to make, so Barb roasts extra peppers
and onions, then freezes them in a zip-
lock baggy for the next batch of salsa.
You can always find a batch of fresh
salsa and homemade beans in her house.
Next, we made a batch of
Abuela’s Nopalitos, or cactus salsa. I
have never made this recipe before and
was happy to learn how. Nopales, or cac-
tus, has many nutritional values. It is a
good source of riboflavin, vitamin B6,
iron, copper, Vitamin A, C, K, calcium,
and magnesium. This is a great recipe to
be served with roasted chicken, tortillas,
Farmwoman’s Nursery
rice and beans. I highly recommend that
you give it a try.
After one long day Barb made
some Entomatadas. This is a “hot off the
stove” dining experience. Growing up in
a family with six kids and a dining room
table that only sat four, Barb’s family ate
in shifts. She explained to me that this
was one of her favorite family meals that
held many memories. I found them to be
delicious and am very happy to add this
recipe to my repertoire.
I hope you are all having a won-
derful summer.
Salsa Quemada “Burnt Salsa”
Ingredients:
3 Yellow chiles
4 Jalapeno chiles
3 Serrano chiles
¼ Large onion
3-6 Cloves garlic, peeled
½ Teaspoon salt
1 Teaspoon cumin
2 14.5-Ounce cans of stewed tomatoes
1 Handful of cilantro
Directions:
Heat up an iron griddle pan on the stove
top to high heat. You can also do this un-
der the broiler. Put the onion, garlic and
chilies on the grill. Turn as they brown
and burn on all sides. Remove from the
heat then discard the stems. Once the
chilies, garlic, and onion are roasted put
everything but the garlic into the blend-
er. Add the salt, cumin, and canned to-
matoes, then puree. Make sure you taste
test to see how warm the temperature
is, then add more chilies or tomatoes if
needed. Once you get the salsa to your
liking, finely chop the garlic, add it to the
salsa and serve.
Abuela’s Nopalitos
“Grandma’s Cactus Salsa”
Ingredients:
2 Cups chopped cactus, rinsed well and
drained
2 Teaspoons vegetable oil
¾ Cup chopped white onion
Salt & pepper to taste
2 Large tomatoes, chopped
1 Blackened serrano chile, chopped
¼ Cup Queso Fresco, crumbled
1 ½ Teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 ½ Teaspoon olive oil
3 Tablespoons cilantro, chopped
Directions:
Heat up a cast iron skillet to medium high
add the oil. Once the oil is hot add the
onion and the cactus. Fresh cactus is a
bit slimy. You want to cook the slime out
of it. Don’t let this gooey slime detour
you from trying this recipe. Keep turn-
ing as you cook until the slime is gone
and the cactus turns to an Army green.
Add the remaining ingredients and serve
with roasted chicken and tortillas or as a
caprese salad over an avocado.
Entomatadas
Ingredients:
2 8-Ounce cans tomato sauce
½ Cup spicy salsa, Salsa Quemada
works great
1 Teaspoon cumin
½ Teaspoon salt
Vegetable oil for frying
12 Corn tortillas
2 Cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
4 Sliced green onions
Sour cream, salsa, black olives for
garnish
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Directions:
Mix the tomato sauce, salsa, cumin, and
salt together in a medium bowl. Heat
up a large skillet to medium high heat,
add enough oil to cover the bottom of
the pan. Have all your ingredients ready,
once the entomatada is cooked you want
to eat it right away. Pour ½ cup of sauce
onto a plate. Start with one corn tortilla
at a time, place the tortilla into the sauce,
then flip if over and cover on both sides.
Then put it into the frying pan. The torti-
llas cook fast. Let it cook on one side for
about 15 seconds, using a spatula, gently
flip it as soon as it gets soft. Cook on the
second side then carefully transfer it to
your plate. If the tortilla tears, the heat is
too high or you cooked it too long. You
might need to practice with a few before
you get it right. Once it is done, stuff it
like you would an enchilada with cheese,
then roll it up. Once you are done cook-
ing all the tortillas, put a teaspoon of oil
into the pan, add the remaining tomato
sauce mixture into the pan and fry it until
hot. Pour over the entomatadas. Garnish
with sour cream, green onions, and black
olives. This goes great when served with
rice and beans.
Marie Krahn
Massage Therapy
Auto injury recovery/medical billing
Apply in person at
Olympic Forest Products
69480 Banzer Rd.
Mist, OR 97016
Monday - Friday
7:00 am - 3:00 pm
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• Reflexology
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mariekrahn@frontier.com