Friday, September 19, 2008

Caramelized Fry jacks


Not quite the fry jacks in Belize, but I tried... Next time I suggest that the sugar sprinkled on after they are fried.

3 c flour
1 1/2 tbsp baking powder
2 tsp sugar + sugar to cover tortilla
1 tsp salt
water
2 tbsp coconut oil  + coconut oil for frying

Mix together flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder well
add oil and mix well
add water until ingredients are wet but dough still sticks together and doesn't stick to you hands
knead until dough gets kind of elastic
pat out into a tortilla
cut in half
heat oil until almost smoking
cover tortilla with sugar (after doing it.. it's better if you do this step after frying)
place in oil until puffs up and is golden
yum yum!

In belize they make them without sugar and serve with refried beans and eggs.  They seem to puff better than mine. It's a work in progress!


Sweet pepper Quiche

Another Guatemalan trial with not many ingredients.

Ingredients:
7 packs of club crackers
1 stick butter
2 red sweet pepers
6 eggs
1 cup cream
salt

crunch up the saltine crackers with butter and water around the outside of the pan
Put pepper and onion in crust
Mix eggs, salt, pepper, and cream
pour over veggies
bake at 350 degrees until golden on top about 45 mins.


pepper

Pad Thai Guatemalan Style



It's really not Guatemalan style, it's just we didn't have any ingredients really. So I made it just with what we had and it actually tasted good.

Ingredients:
3 c cooked rice
2 garlic cloves
1 onion chopped
1 c chopped broccoli
2 carrots chopped
2 tbs ketchup
1/4 c soy sauce
2 tbsp mustard
3 tbsp peanut butter
1 tbsp vinegar
1 tsp hot sauce
parmesan as decoration

saute veggies until slightly softer but still crunchy.
Mix wet ingredients together
put cooked rice in pan
put in sauce
cook until everything looks mixed thoroughly
serve

Chuchitos





While I was in Santa Maria de Jesus, Guatemala, I helped make these with a Mayan family for the campesinos that were going to come and hopefully join a coffee cooperative. It was so much fun. Hard to understand. They went between speaking Kaqchikel and Spanish which I know only slightly. They gave me a traditional Mayan apron. It was so great!

Makes 140
Ingredients:
10 lbs Masa 
salt to taste
pepper to taste
8 Red sweet peppers 
6 tomatoes
4 green chilies
msg (yikes.. don't use that)
2 packets chicken bouillon
140 corn husks
140 pieces  of pork/chicken/carne

boil ground sweet peppers, tomatoes, green chilies, msg, chicken bouillon, salt, and pepper. Mix about 1/4 of Masa in boiled mixture
pat left over masa into tortillas
scoop tomato mixture onto tortilla, and make tortilla look like a taco
place in corn husk and wrap like the picture.
boil chuchitos for about 3-4 hours

Also good if you take it out of the corn husk and grill.

yumm... but don't eat local pork in Guatemala. pork = crazy rash and giardia... fun times!