Frijoles Pintos - Pinto Beans

I have been cooking (and burning) beans for years.I've diligently followed my mother's recipe, but if you've been following us for a while, you'll know she doesn't provide us with specific quantities on ingredients. It's usually a little of this, a handful of that, etc. 

So the taste {and texture} of my beans always seems to waver a bit. Never quite as delicious as mom's, or grandma's, of course....

And, then a big percentage of the time I burn them. And if you've ever let a pot of beans burn, you know you'll have that reminder for the next 24 hours. Heck, the very first time I ever attempted to cook them, they dried out and burned so badly the neighbors could smell it!! Needless to say, they laughed at me. It was quite comical actually.

The thing about beans is that they take so long to cook, you have to make sure you'll be home for several hours to make sure they have enough time to cook thoroughly.

So I finally decided one day when I was craving "frijoles" and had to step out for a few errands...why not try the slow cooker? Wow. This took my beans to the next level. Here's how you too can make that happen.

Ingredients:

You'll need a Slow Cooker.

2 cups of whole pinto beans

1 quarter white onion

salt to taste

For added flavor:

1 strip of raw bacon OR 1 cube / 1 tablespoon of Knorr Suiza Bouillon  

Sort the pinto beans to search for rocks, dirt, debris, etc. Wash the beans. Place them in the slow cooker. Pour water in the slow cooker, enough to cover 3/4 of the pot.  Add onion, salt, bacon or Knorr Suiza Bouillon.

Turn slow cooker to High, and set to cook for 5 hours. Mine has never ran out of water, therefore, never burning. It covers the house in that yummy goodness fragrance, and the beans are soft and perfect!

Throw out the onion and bacon strip and serve up in a bowl with queso and avocado sprinkled on top, or refry them. 

Try it and let us know how it works out for you.

Provecho!!

Sonia and Sandy

How to make (fry) homemade tostada shells

Hey there!

We previously posted a recipe for mom's awesome tostadas. This is by far one of my family's favorite recipes. It's a good day in our home when it's TOSTADA day. Anyhow, the recipe previously posted called for buying premade tostadas at the store. There is ABSOLUTELY nothing wrong with premade tostadas...heck, I've got some in my pantry as we speak....er, as I type.

But if you want to step it up a notch....or 10....make your own. Depending on how many you want to make, could be time-consuming. But, it's a fairly simple process that will take the taste of your tostadas to whole other level. 

This is something you can make a day ahead if you don't want to cook the beans, refry the beans, cook the meat and make the sauce all on the same day. 

HOMEMADE TOSTADAS SHELLS

- corn tortillas- as many as you'll need. I usually calculate 4 per person
- vegetable oil- I start with about 2 cups

Pour the oil in a pan and heat at medium heat. Once it's heated add your first tortilla. I fry one at a time because they're temperamental, and that's why I say it could be time-consuming depending on how many you're frying.

I use tongs to push the tortilla down to make sure it's under the oil. I lift it every so often to check the bottom. Once it's golden brown, I flip over. I like mine brownish because they're crunchier that way. But you can play with the level of crunchiness you prefer.

Once it's golden brown on both sides, pick it up out of the oil with your tongs so the oil drips off as much as possible, then place the tostada shell on a plate with paper towels on it, 2-3,so the paper towels soak up more oil.

Put the next tortilla in the oil and repeat for each tortilla.

Helpful Tips:

-The first tostada will take longer to fry. The rest will become progressively quicker to fry, as the heat rises in temperature.

- You will notice the oil level will decrease. Add oil as you start to see that the tortilla can't be submerged in the oil as easily.

- Oil splatters...they happen! It can be cleaned up off your appliances and countertops, no problem. A bit of a mess. However, if it splatters on your skin, or eye, not so bueno. I use this handy oil splatter screen and it has made a world of a difference! We did not have these growing up. But I recently came across these and they make safety and clean up that much easier! You place it to rest on top of your pan so it covers the entire opening of your. Of course, when I'm prodding and flipping my tostadas, you can't just lay it to rest. I hold it in such a way that it's protecting my face and I lift it up on the side opposite my face, so I can get my tongs in there and push the tortilla down and flip, etc. When you're comfortable just leaving the tortilla alone to fry, you can simply lay it to rest on top of your pan...and no splatters!

I hope you take the time to make these. You'll never want to buy tostadas again...unless you have no time, and are having wine with a friend and you run out of time to fry....which is how I ended up with store bought tostadas in my pantry....

Until next time and buen provecho!!

Ginger Tea - Té de Jengibre

My mother always had some sort of 'remedio' to take care of our ailments while growing up. Many times I felt like 'what in the world?' But as I grew older and had my own children, it occurred to me that all these meds we're putting into our kids bodies can't be good (ie: antibiotics, etc.).

What really struck a cord with me was when my youngest son used to suffer from chronic ear infections. One Friday morning he woke up once again with an ear infection. I knew exactly how things would go that day. After my chiropractor appointment I would call his pediatrician, make an appointment for that morning, they'd see him, and prescribe antibiotics. Because even though you can't know for sure it's an ear infection at this early stage, just in case he does he'll get the antibiotics so they can start working their magic. 

So at my appointment I mentioned the ear infection we had to deal with that day to my chiropractor. He told me to consider seeing his partner as he specialized in chiropractic for children and he was really good. They fit me in to see him that same morning and once he checked him out said the discs in his head were dislocated and no matter how many antibiotics he took, he was always going to suffer from that 'chronic ear infection'. Because it wasn't an ear infection at all. He adjusted his head that very moment. We went back on Monday for another adjustment and that was the last 'ear infection' he had. 

He spoke to me about natural remedies a bit. And after starting my own research I started doing 'remedios' on my kids. I became my mother!! If only I could be half the woman she is...

As an ode to those 'remedios' and to my AH-HA moment, I've decided to share this tasty ginger tea. I recently had this at my mom's and boy did it hit home. 

Ginger has many proven health benefits as seen in this article. It helps with nausea (including morning sickness), reduces muscle pain and soreness, is anti-inflammatory, lowers blood sugar and improves heart disease risk factors, may  help prevent cancer, helps with menstrual pains improves brain function and protects against Alzheimer's disease amongst other things.

Ginger Tea

2 cups of water

1/4" fresh ginger sliced thinly 

1/4" fresh ginger squeezed with garlic press

Agave to taste

Boil water. Place sliced ginger in a cup and squeeze the other 1/4" of ginger in the cup (I throw portion left in the garlic press into the cup as well). Pour boiling water in the cup and sweeten to taste with agave. You can even throw a lemon slice in it for taste.

Enjoy your cup of tea and reap the benefits of this all-natural, warm beverage.

XOXO,
Sonia

A heartfelt Thanks

Who knew when Sandy and I started this blog that we would end up making so many friends with people across the globe...over Mexican food. We are thoroughly humbled by your support and friendship. May you enjoy today, with your family and friends.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sonia and Sandy
-Mexican Family  Recipes

A Recipe for Creativity- Memories With My Grandmother and Cable Knit Pillows

From a very young age I've been pegged as being creative. So I've grown up thinking that and just figured I have a talent. I'm always creating something whether it's scrapbooking, sewing, decorating, knitting, drawing, gardening, hot gluing, or even designing ads for my work. 

But I've recently come to realize that all this creativity, I've channeled from my grandmothers and my mom. I grew up watching my mom be creative with her resources. She used to make our costumes.  She crocheted these beautiful bedspreads when we were kids. She even took fashion design courses. My paternal grandmother, from what I understand, was also great at sewing and very talented in making very precise patterns for garments with no formal training. I guess creativity was a part of living back then. My ancestors had to be creative with their limited resources. It's just the way it was.

But some of my greatest memories of creativity are with my maternal grandmother. My Nina Chayo. I used to spend time during the summer with her at her home in Mexico. This place called El Chante, Jalisco. A little ranch we very quickly learned to love when we were kids. Those were days of carefree fun, when we could through caution to the wind. Walk to the local market unsupervised, stay out "late", ride horses, swim in the river, etc. I made great memories with my cousins. To say that we LOVED visiting my grandparents in El Chante, is an understatement.

So back to my memories of creativity. I spent vacations with my grandmother and on many occasions it was just her and I. So after getting up in the morning, helping with chores and running small errands for my grandma, like going to buy freshly made tortillas...yum, oh the memories of the smell in the tortilleria...Ok back to the story....She would tend to her jungle of plants and trees. Out of bordome, I joined her. This is where she would teach me to prune them, and pick the ripe fruit, and eat the fruit right off the tree...forget washing them, just eat them right up. She taught me that plants need love too. Talk to them with kindness and tenderness, like they're your babies. When they're not doing well, provide encouraging words, and compliment them when they're beautiful.

So again....back to the creativity portion of this blog....it's so easy for me to get lost in those memories. On our down time, my Nina Chayo taught me to make tortillas, make a pinata with crepe paper and a cantaro, cross stitch, embroider, crochet (although my mom started this lesson back at home in California), and she taught me to improve my knitting. From the age of 10 to 15, my father moved us to Mexico City where my cousin and I took a. knitting class. So on my next trip to El Chante I took my knitting. And guess what, my Nina Chayo knew how to do that too. And so she taught me a couple new stitches and we sat and knitted together. The details of those memories, of actually sitting there and talking for hours on end have faded. But I know we did it. I know that when I felt home sick she comforted me with her hugs, kisses, love and our little creative projects.

So last year when I received my fall Pottery Barn catalog and I oogled over the beautiful chunky cable knit pillow covers that grazed their glossy pages, I decided that since I know how to knit it was impossible for me to justify paying for mass produced knitted pillow covers. So I when out and bought chunky yarn and knitted a pillow. To my surprise, my friends and family loved it. So I made a couple and gave them as Christmas gifts. And when they were well received, it was suggested I sell them, and that's how my Etsy Shop came to be, DeLaCustom Boutique.

As I sit here and knit cable-knit pillow after cable-knit pillow, I can't help but to remember that my Nina Chayo was a huge contributor to my creativity and to my love of crafts and creations. I can't help but to remember the hours we spent together in her ranch home in El Chante, Jalisco. And although Alzheimer's and Dementia have robbed her of those memories, I still hold them very near and dear to my heart, for the both of us.


XOXO,

Sonia