Kitchen Adventures: Tortillas and Tacos

Are you feeling the chill today?  I know I certainly am!  We're past the winter solstice, the days are getting longer - but the real winter temperatures just now decided to show up!

We live less than one block from the Lake (Michigan), so when the wind blows off that frigid water, we definitely feel the bite of winter.  In weather like this, nothing warms me up better than some great spicy food - and my favorite Bears blanket, of course!

Today, I'm making a taco bar for me and the hubs.  I don't think I've made tacos yet in this kitchen, so I'm finally going to satisfy that craving!  It's been a while since I've cooked with beef, especially ground beef.  I'm usually making all sorts of chicken and veggies dishes these days.  Luckily, our grocer has an awesome meat and deli department.  All the fixings are only a short walk from my front door!

I discovered how much joy I get out of making bread last year while we were living with Stephen's parents.  There are few things more heart-warming than the smell of yeast and few sights more pleasing than a perfectly browned crust.  But bread-baking doesn't end there!  I've made pitas, tortillas, pull-apart loaves, no-knead Pyrex loaves, and more.

Tacos aren't really possible without tortillas.  I guess I could buy a pack from the store, but a lazy Saturday kind of begs for me to do some from-stratch cooking.  Check out my favorite recipe below!  (Credit to Chris Scheuer from http://thecafesucrefarine.com/)

Homemade Tortillas (Quick Rise Version)

3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil (I used melted vegetable shortening)
1 cup warm water

*Combine the dry ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook.  If you don't have stand mixer, prepare your arm muscles. :)
*Slowly add oil and water while continuing to mix (medium speed).  Mix for one minute, stopping several times to scrape down the sides of the bowl.  After the mixture comes together to form a ball, decrease speed to low.  Continue mixing for one minute until dough is smooth.  By hand:  Mix with wooden spoon until dough comes together in a ball.  Knead for 3-5 minutes, or until dough is smooth and elastic.
*Transfer dough to a well-floured surface.  Divide dough in half, and then halve again, and so on until you have 16 pieces.  Form each bit into a ball and flatten as much as possible with palms.  If dough is sticky, sprinkle a weensy bit of flour on the balls.
*Cover flattened dough with a tea towel for 15 minutes and let rise.
*After rest period, heat a skillet on medium-high heat.  Roll each piece of dough into a circle 6-7 inches in diameter, making sure to keep the rolling pin and surface floured.  Don't stack the rolled dough on each other or they will get soggy! :( (Tortillas should feel fairly thin, be gentle to avoid tearing!)
*When pan is hot, place one tortilla in the pan for about one minute - watch it carefully!  A few brown spots are ok as it cooks, but if it gets black or starts to burn, your heat is too high.  If it takes longer than a minute for the first side to cook, heat is too low.  Adjust accordingly.
*When bubbles begin to form and edges of tortilla start to firm and cook, flip tortilla over and cook for about 20-30 seconds more.
*Remove from pan, place in a container covered by a towel, or a ziploc bag to maintain temp and softness.

Tortillas can be frozen easily - just separate with parchment/wax paper before freezing in a heavy-duty bag.

I only had three left when I remembered to take a picture....oops!

These homemade tortillas are definitely a favorite - Stephen usually gobbles one (or two!) before I even finish baking the batch!  Start to finish, they take about 35-40 minutes to make - which is just enough time for my sous chef (read: husband) to cut veggies and brown the taco meat!

Stay warm out there, friends!  What comfort foods do you crave in the winter season?  I'm open to new recipes! :)

Nom nom for now,
Amanda

Kitchen Adventures: Tagines and Ras el Hanout

So, today was one of those days where I was determined to just get *everything* done.  I guess I wanted to start the year with a clean slate, and by gosh, there's no better day to begin than January 1st!

We had a great brunch with some awesome friends and then drove them home, and on our way back to the apartment, I had Stephen stop at a few places.  Ran some errands, made some returns and exchanges, and finally got rid of those annoying boot boxes that had been sitting in the living room for too long!  Shout out to Bed, Bath, and Beyond for replacing my broken mop without question or receipt!  What a treat!

Once we got home, I was itching to spend some quality time in the kitchen.  I mean, really - I cleaned everything last night, so...it's just begging for me to make a beautiful mess!

As I mentioned in our premiere post, my sister gave me a very thoughtful Christmas gift - a tagine!

My Lovely Tagine (and my slightly less lovely stovetop)

A tagine is an earthenware dish that originated in North Africa, specifically Morocco.  It is similar in concept to a crockpot or a dutch oven.  The dish is used over flame, stovetop, or sometimes in the oven with low heart for long cooking times.  Its conical shape is key to the chemistry of cooking for so many hours with such amazing results.  

When I first saw my tagine, I thought it looked a little like a conical flask.  Not surprisingly, it works the same way - by allowing evaporated moisture to collect at the top of the lid and re-condense onto the food in the bottom pan.  This re-wetting process maintains the moisture level in the food, and results in incredibly tender meats and veggies.  We're talking fall-right-off-the-bone tender.  

New Years call for new kitchen adventures, right?  I was determined to use the tagine today and created a really yummy dish - which I'll gladly share in a later post!

But before you can cook with a tagine, you really need to procure some Ras el hanout.  Ras el hanout is a Moroccan spice blend that can contain up to thirty different spices.  Whoa!  Talk about packing a punch!  The name translates literally from Arabic as "head of the shop" - its closest parallel is our phrase, "top-shelf".  Living in a very diverse neighborhood in the city, I knew I could easily find some ready-made ras el hanout - but where's the fun in that?  As you'll learn, I tend to prefer the from-scratch method when feasible.  

Doesn't it kind of look like a quilt on this plate?

I already had most of the spices I needed to make ras el hanout, and those which I lacked were commonplace enough to justify purchasing.  Plus, I have a lot of recipes in queue that call for some of the spices I picked up at (I'm kind of ashamed to admit this) Wal-Mart.  The only thing I didn't find that I wanted was saffron.  To be honest, saffron is so expensive and such a temperamental spice that I'm kind of glad I didn't splurge.  Note:  Most of the more obscure spices I had on hand (anise, cardamom, etc.) were bought from The Spice House.  I'm lucky enough to work near the physical store, and oh my goodness the fragrance in that shop!   

Here's the ras el hanout I created, customized by me and my unwillingness to buy/store all thirty spices:

1 Tbsp ground coriander

1 Tbsp ground ginger

2 tsp ground chili powder

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground paprika

2 tsp ground black pepper

2 tsp ground turmeric

1.5 tsp ground cardamom*

1.5 tsp ground mace

1.5 tsp ground nutmeg

3/4 tsp ground anise seed*

3/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper

3/4 tsp ground fennel seed*

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp ground culinary-grade lavender buds* (ground from whole, then strained through a fine sieve)

Other optional additions:

Saffron**

Allspice

Orris root

Fenugreek

Bay Leaves

Rose petals (dried)

Grains of Paradise

Monk's pepper

Ash berries

*These spices I ground from whole myself with my mortar and pestle, although a spice mill would be much easier.  Hmm...you guys, my birthday is in February...

**Saffron may overpower the blend when added, so many dishes call for saffron to be added separately - this is what my tagine recipe specified.  I would recommend leaving it out of the blend, but it is called for in many Moroccan dishes, so it's good to have on hand! 

It's really simple - mix the spices together and store in an airtight container.  I recommend a canning jar or an actual spice jar.  You can find some great deals on bulk glassware from Specialty Bottle.

When you're ready to use the blend, I suggest toasting them slightly before adding to the dish.  Heat a small skillet on medium - when hot, add spices and stir/flip/swirl for no more than thirty seconds.  Use your nose to gauge the toasting - burnt spices are no good to anyone!  When it's ready you'll smell the aroma of the spices just starting to blossom; try not to eat it directly from the pan (it really does smell that good!). 

I can't wait to share the dish I prepared with these spices!  

For now: get into your kitchen and spice up your life, Posh!  

Ps - Most of these photos can be found in my Instagram - @moarpi34me Follow me! 

First Time for Everything

Hi friend!

So I've decided to start this blogging thing because (let's face it) Facebook can't handle my verbosity.  I needed to take a break from intense social media.  It's not you, Facebook.  It's me.

But more on that later.  :)

We're feeling blessed at the end of Christmas season.  We got to spend time with our families, give (and receive) some really great gifts, and make one killer meal with the help of Ju, my brother-in-law's girlfriend.  Of course, spending time with family in other states can become overwhelming.  Some weekends we felt like we were living out of our car and surviving on water and Red Bull!  I'd do just about anything to spend the holidays with my loved ones, so it's really just a joyful sacrifice.

At the end of the day, we were able to bless our loved ones with some really cool gifts - including homemade vodka infusions!  (Maybe a future blog post there?  That lightbulb just went on...)  And we received some really thoughtful gifts, as well, for which we are super grateful!  Hand-painted wine glasses, heated scarves, cool robes and sweaters, a tagine, and so much more!

Really, though, the greatest gift of all is the Peace of Jesus.  We've been feeling the craving for an answer that this earth cannot hold, something that will soothe the aches that burden all of us throughout life.  And God provides in His own timing, at the moment where we are most open to see His doing.  I don't claim to be a theologian, or even really a "mature" Christian (I still giggle at videos of cats farting) - but I have been blessed to grow in my faith over the last year.  2015 is going to be a big year for my heart, and for Stephen's; and, we pray, for yours as well!

A (sort-of) quick recap of 2014:

Jaunary: Stephen was hired from his contracted position, so Hospira became his official employer!  I started my current position at George Street Photo and Video.

February: I celebrated my 26th birthday, and we celebrated our first Valentine's day as a married couple.  *Swoon* 

March: I'm sure that we celebrated St. Patty's day (and our friend Maddy's birthday!) but I honestly can't remember how or where we were....whoops! ;) We must have had a really good time!

April:  Spring sprung, the ground got muddy again, and I think, for the most part, we had a pretty uneventful month.  In a good way!

May: I started walking to the train (about 4 miles) on days when I worked late - so much fun!  Naperville has a great trail system that connects our former home (thank you to the Colberts!) to the Metra.

June: We started discussing moving into the city, or a different 'burb toward the fall.  Any time we had together, we spent with friends who were in town for the summer, outdoors, or seeing some great summer Blockbusters.  ***Lots of friends, too many to name, graduated and/or were accepted into Master's or PhD programs.  Congrats, all! 

July: We spent the 4th of July avoiding the crowds and seeing a movie.  We do that a lot in the summers!  The month flew by, so forgive me if I'm forgetting a huge event of great importance!  I just remember the summer being very relaxed, mild, and well-spent.

August: Our dear friend "S" found an amazing little place on the far north side of the city.  We viewed it, and signed the lease within a few days.  Two weeks later, we moved into our first home - it's just perfect for the two of us.  Blessed doesn't even begin to describe our feelings about this sweet little apartment.  Thanks, S!  Stephen turned 26 shortly after we moved in and we got to celebrate by discovering an *amazing* sushi joint.  If you visit and you're game, we'll totally take you!

September: We celebrated our first anniversary, and Stephen's parents celebrated their 30th!  Our anniversaries are on the same day, so its doubly-joyous!  We were so blessed to spend some quality time with our friends "M' and "Z" when they visited Chicago.  Also, I tried my hand at couponing - and it wasn't a total failure!  I'll fill you in during a later blog post, promise!  ***Our friends "J" and "L" got engaged on the 7th!  We celebrated at Hofbrauhaus, and they set the date for next Memorial Day weekend!  

October: Fall is our favorite season, and we enjoyed one or two brisk walks on the shore.  It was a fairly warm fall this year, so we were able to delay sweater-weather by a few weeks.  I bought a few bags of candy for Trick-or-Treaters and none showed!  We still have some Starbursts laying around - you want some? ***Our friends "K" and "G" got engaged!  They set the date for June 2015, and we'll be traveling to the great state of Colorado for this happy event!  ***Our friends "A" and "B" got married, and threw one heck of a party! 

November: This was the month of the most epic road-trip!  15 hours from Chicago to Dallas, and we did it non-stop there and back!  We spent Thanksgiving in Fort Worth, TX with some friends, "J" and "J".  They got married the Saturday after the holiday, and Stephen was honored to serve as J's best man.  On our way out of town, we stopped in Dallas to catch up with our friends "E" and "J".  We had some amazing bbq at Pecan Lodge, and I got to explore Daley Plaza for the first time!  I really enjoy delving into history when we travel, so we kind of got a little bonus! ***Our friends "B" and "Z" become homeowners!  Their home is so perfect and we are so happy for them as they begin this new chapter in their life together!  

December: Isn't December always the busiest month?  We had such a wonderful time seeing our families, and catching up with our friends.  And the weather was so pleasant, driving from place to place was super easy!  I got to meet my friend "G"'s baby "I'.  He's a pretty special little guy, with some health issues that made me really appreciate the chance to hold him - even if just for a moment!  Maybe, if G gives her blessing, I'll blog about him later on.  You'll fall in love with him just like I did.  :)  We said adieu to 2014 with a low-key evening at our place with our friends, J and L.  Doesn't it seem that you never get enough time with the people you love?  That's how it feels to me, at least.  ***Our friend Joseph got accepted into his Master's program for Music Composition!  Congrats, Joseph!  We're so proud of you and so excited for all you will accomplish!  ***Our friends "V" and "K" welcomed their son, "M" into this world with loads of love and excitement!  

And that brings us to today - January 1st, 2015.  It's amazing how quickly a year flies by, and yet with such fullness and so many precious moments.  Our favorite moments, of course, are those filled with love!

Happy New Year from The Colberts to you, friend!

Ps - As you might have noticed, I've decided to use initials/nicknames instead of full names when discussing friends and family.  That's because I want to respect the privacy of my loved ones.  If you don't mind me using your first name, let me know!  I'd be happy to update this (and any future) post as desired.  Sorry if it gets tricky or hard to follow, but I think this is the best compromise for my purposes.