A Morsel For Me?

Courtesy Susan Myrland

Guest Blogger
Sammi

I just don't get it.  The only time Mr. Big hangs out in the kitchen is to eat his standard issue cat food. Why doesn't he seem to care about all the other delicacies in the world short of his silly fish shaped cat treats?  Doesn't he know there's a wealth of culinary items coming out of this very same kitchen?

Actually, Mr. Big and I put on a fairly decent show for my folks when pet food is involved.  We are in cahoots when we spar, spit and hiss at each other giving off our warning signs to not get near our own assigned food dishes.  We don't want mom and dad to know we actually get along; that would break our respective code of silence amongst our species.  Even though we are usually pretty cozy as they come when they aren't home, we're not so cozy that I'm going to share with him any food that may trickle off those counter tops!

I've seen it with my own two eyes.  That princely cat sniffs and walks away from people food when offered.  Something must not be right in the zany cat brain of his.  Not to worry; I won't let the food go to waste.

Ever elusive Mr. Big won't give permission to have his picture taken.  Reenactment.

Don't get this doggy wrong, I'm very happy to eat my usual kibbles whenever they appear in my bowl.  But a potential bounty can happen anytime mom or dad are in the kitchen or dining room or patio or pretty much anywhere.  When my granddaddy is around, he's the best at sharing.

I'm ready just in case

My parents know I'm pretty smart.  The mere sound of a crunching cracker, cereal, nut or chip has me on their heels no matter how hard they try to conceal their chewing.  I can just imagine the salty bits I could crunch on too.  Drool.  Better make sure I keep my hearing in good working order so as not to miss out on future potential offerings.

I've mastered the pitiful, "don't forget about me" look

More waiting

I try really, really hard not to be a thief.  Typically I mind my manners quite well and wait till I'm offered the gift of a half of a persimmon cookie.  Sometimes though, it's more than I can bear if they are in the living room enjoying their pre-dinner drink before putting the final touches on their dinner and they happen to leave cheese within my reach. I plead the fifth.

The best reward of all is if I can wait patiently.  My parents are generous while making sure I eat things that aren't bad for me.   That cat hasn't a clue what he's missing.  All the better for me.  Woof!

Mmm...turkey!

The Allure of a Street Fair

Palm Springs Villagefest

Walking among the throngs of people last week at the Palm Springs weekly Villagefest, I wondered why so much interest among so many in street fairs.

Christmas Market in Paris

I've been to plenty of them around the globe from the Christmas Markets in France, the annual Chicago Neighborhood Festivals to numerous weekly farmer's markets.  Reflecting on each of the experiences, all of them were jammed with people.  What's the draw?  What do they all have in common?  My interpretation... they celebrate the character of the neighborhood and the people who live there.

Can it be we are all desperate to embrace our uniqueness?  Could it be that we actually like making a human connection with the vendors which is fulfilling and not frustrating?  Is it because there is an increased interest in preserving local cultivators and sustainable farming?  Or is it just a throwback to the rewarding experience of street markets and bazaars dating back centuries?  Grocery chains, department stores or malls just can't deliver the same experience.

The first street markets were the beginning of retail as we know it today.  Traders would travel miles to a city center on an assigned day of the week.  In historical markets, a charter was given to certain markets to protect their rights and competition from neighboring communities.   The fictional book, Pillars of the Earth, succinctly depicts the fierce competition for staking out markets in Olde England.

With all of the hub bub with the lack of transparency in recent years whether it be pink slime, no GMO labeling or manipulating our subconscious in what we purchase at the grocery store due to product placement, no wonder we revert back to a simpler format when given the opportunity.

I'd like to think we haven't evolved into zombies who succumb to only a national chain or brand as our only choice.  By supporting local artisans, farmers and businesses too, we can ask questions directly to the vendors, we actively keep the money in our respective communities, we reduce our carbon footprint, we promote our neighborhoods' uniqueness and we can be all the healthier for it.

Now to my latest discovery at the Palm Springs Villagefest.

No, not the Henna tattoos being marketed on the street

Not the Adobada meat on the rotisserie slathered in Red Chili Sauce

It was the Kettle Corn

Kettle corn is not unique to just this one fair; it's usually at every fair.  I just had never tried it.  I probably should have tried the Adobado meat with its surreal color, but dinner was awaiting us at home.  Thanks to my friend Mary Lou who bought a bag of Kettle Corn to share, John and I became enraptured.  I don't think I'll ever be able to go to another fair and not buy this sweet and savory delicacy! 

Holy Mole

A rich, velvety Mexican mole (pronounced molay) poblano sauce is such a rare treat.  I had no idea how rare or the appreciation of how complex until I decided to make it a project by making the sauce from scratch.

Last weekend was the perfect rainy day excuse to tackle the mole creation and John was a willing participant.  While researching recipes, I discovered there was a myriad of variations of the sauce.  Curious as to why that would be, Wikipedia came up with the answer. 

So the tale goes, a convent in Puebla, Mexico in the early colonial period received word the archbishop of the time would be paying them a visit.  The convent nuns went into panic mode because they were poor and had almost nothing to serve him.  With a little prayer and an inventory check, the nuns used the little bits of items they had, chili peppers, spices, day old bread, nuts and a bit of chocolate.  Their creation was a mole stew, drizzled over an old turkey they sacrificed.  The archbishop gave their culinary creation rave reviews.  The nun's approach was very much like the Italians and their strategy of putting a putannesca together.

Given the improvisational nature of its original making, different regions in Mexico would use different ingredients; some as many as over 30 different ingredients!  Our aim last weekend was to make the classic mole of Oaxaca.  I merged two or three recipes and set off for the San Fernando Valley's own Vallarta Supermarket which caters to the Latino population here in Los Angeles.



North Hollywood Store

All kinds of ingredients could be used including almonds, walnuts, peanuts, pine nuts, sesame seed, pumpkin seeds, raisins or other dried fruit, plantains, tomatoes, garlic, onion, cinnamon, peppercorns, coriander seeds, anise, Mexican chocolate and more.  Typical chilies used could be ancho, pasilla, mulato, tomatillo and chipotle.   Thickeners could be flour or corn tortillas and bolillo rolls with broth as the saucing agent.  Vallarta had most of these ingredient choices.

My choice of seeds

Chose dried anchos, a quick pan fry releases oils then soak for 30 minutes

Torn bolillo rolls and tortillas.  Hang in there...this will make sense!

Fruits & Nuts (I am from California after all)

Making a decision on which ingredients to use was labor intensive enough.  Had the weather been more enticing, we may have been dissuaded once we realized we had to now toast all the dry ingredients.

"Toasting" in a skillet the seeds

Same for the fruits & nuts

Roasting the tomatoes releases the skin for chopping

Plantains, Onion and Garlic get their time in the skillet

Only then to grind all the seeds/nuts into a fine powder and later food processed with the bread and chilies to create a paste.  Just think how long all this took "back in the day" when everything was done by hand!

Roasted seeds grind best in an old coffee grinder

Blend or food process everything

The paste is then mixed with a liquid and simmers until the sauce melds all those ingredients simmering until the sauce is fragrant and thick.  Some recipes call for all day simmers, others less than an hour.

The chocolate bits just dropped in

In our case we simmered about 30 minutes and then added the chocolate to give it its final color and sweet flavor.  While the sauce was simmering, we browned some chicken in an oven proof skillet.  Once browned to our liking, we drizzled half of our mole creation over the chicken to braise in the oven for an hour.   We put leftover sauce in the freezer for a future meal.

The final outcome tapped into my memories of previous mole meals. 

Oaxacan Mole Over Chicken

With so many ingredients to use, there can be tweaks to our recipe to make it your very own.  Most Mexicans now only make this on special occasions such as Cinco De Mayo, Christmas or birthdays.  Should you make an attempt at making mole, you will become part of a homemade tradition that is in danger of becoming extinct due to its time consuming nature.

My Version of Homemade Oaxacan Mole

3-5 ancho chilies
1/3 C sesame seeds
3/4 t anise seeds
1/2 t cumin seeds or a couple of pinches of cumin powder
1/2 t coriander seeds
2 cloves
12 black peppercorns
1 cinnamon stick
5 T vegetable shortening
3 T raisins
20 almonds
20 walnuts
1 plantain, chopped
1 white onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
3 plum tomatoes
1 flour tortilla ripped into small pieces
2 bolillo rolls
1 bay leaf
5 C chicken stock
4-5 oz Mexican chocolate
Cotija cheese, additional sesame seeds and green onion slices to garnish

Toast anchos in skillet for 2-3 minutes, then seed and soak the chilies for 30 minutes.  Gently toast the sesame, anise, cumin, coriander, cloves, peppercorns and cinnamon stick.  Let cool.  Once cooled, then grind the toasted seeds to a fine powder. 

Add 2 T of vegetable shortening to skillet to melt.  Add raisins and nutmeats, frying for 2-3 minutes.  Set raisins and nutmeats aside to cool.  Add more vegetable shortening to pan, then fry the plantains, onions and garlic another 2-3 minutes.  Roast tomatoes till skins bubble.  Peel and roughly chop tomatoes.

Place all the toasted and fried ingredients in a blender or large capacity food processor.  Add torn tortilla and rolls to blender.  Blend everything till it resembles a paste.

In a sauce pan, place the paste, chicken broth and bay leaf to make a thick, rich sauce.  Simmer for 20 minutes.  Place broken pieces of the Mexican chocolate into the sauce.  Stir well till all chocolate has melted.  Simmer an additional 10 minutes.  Pour sauce over your favorite prepped meat or enchiladas and bake as required.

Garnish with cotija cheese, sesame seeds and sliced green onions.  This is worth all the effort!