Mexican Foods and Recipes Blog

Friday, April 4, 2008

Patience is The Key to Good Cooking

If you are new to cooking Indian food, then our five simple pointers will help you make a mean Indian meal that will win you accolades, rewards, and a resounding chorus of finger-licking noises that's bound to make you beam with pride! These tips are simple, and will turn any cook into an cooking healthy food.
Remember, patience is the key to good cooking. Ensure your pastes are smooth, onions are deep brown in color, and spices used are freshly ground. The five steps below are very general to Indian cuisine, but very important:
Flour is not used as a thickening agent in cuisine. Rather pastes such as cashew nut paste or onion or coconut pastes are used as thickening agents. Flour should never be used to thicken sauces.
You must learn the art of toasting (Dry roasting) spices before grinding them into fine powder. Ensure that the spices are not burnt (acrid aroma) nor semi-cooked, this will cause bad flavors to come out. Properly roasted spices give out a full-bodied aroma that is hard to forget but difficult to master!

Monday, February 4, 2008

The Pellet Grill Recipe

Now I have to say, I was a long time fan of the quick and easy. Go out turn on the gas and start cooking. But now I have come to realize that the slow cooking approach is by far what real barbecuing is all about.

Getting that real smoke taste is almost impossible with today's gas or electric grills. Sure they serve a very specific need, but they're not the choice if you want that rich outdoor smoke taste with your food. The very popular outdoor gas grills are fine for quickly preparing a variety of foods. And yes you can create some real gourmet dinners on an outdoor gas grill just like you can indoors. But if it is that real outdoor barbecue flavor that you're looking for, than you are going to need something else to get it done.

The smoker has been around for ages and come in all shapes and sizes. Many people equate a smoker to large ovens that are used to cook large amounts of meat at one time. This has been and still is a very popular use of the large smoker. But for the rest of us who to cook something less than a whole side of beef for 200 guests we need something else.

One of the best solutions I've found is the pellet grill. What's a pellet grill? It looks like your standard outdoor barbecue but in reality is quite different. First, it uses wood pellets for fuel - not gas or charcoal. I've even seen other pellet fuel available such as corn. You can use almost any kind of wood you want - hickory, mesquite, cherry etc. - to get that special smoked taste you're looking for. The other big difference is that the fire is kept in a firebox away from the food. This allows for slow cooking and lets the food absorb the smoke flavor. It is like convection cooking.

Monday, December 31, 2007

What Type of Cuisine You Are in The Mood For

There are some individuals, rare as they may be, that could burn water. But thankfully, for the most part, anyone can cook a meal. All you need is a recipe, some cooking utensils, a means of making the food and you are ready to begin http://www.mexicanfoodsrecipes.com/Maxican-Foods-Fried-Cheese.htm.

If you find yourself at a loss as to what to cook then consider first what type of cuisine you are in the mood for. There are free recipes for cooking food anywhere you look. Soup cans, magazines and the internet boast a virtual smorgasbord of dining delights by offering up recipes. Take a moment, think about what you are craving and then find a recipe. Make sure the ingredients can be purchased locally.

The second step in cooking food is reading through the recipe and making sure you have the correct cooking utensils. Yes, it is possible to improvise on some utensils but a fork does not take the place of a knife. By reading through the recipe, you can see exactly what tools you will need for the job at hand. This is also the step where ingredients are checked off.

There is nothing worse than being in the middle of it and realize you have forgotten a key ingredient. As with utensils, some ingredients can be substituted but there are some that are fundamentally important and cannot be switched out. Thanks to such handy equipment as the microwave or pressure cooker, the time to cook can be cut down considerably. Our society has not reached the point technologically where with a push of a button the food magically appears.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Great Taste of Pasta

Are you bored with preparing the same old meals week in and week out? Well here is a recipe for Italian Meatballs with Spaghetti. It's delicious, it looks good, it smells good and it tastes great. It will delight you and any guests you have invited around for a meal. The whole meal is inexpensive to make, it only takes a few minutes to prepare and the cooking only takes up to an hour. Let me first tell you about the pasta itself taste Maxican foods fried cheese.

A good tip to get pasta the right texture is to remove a small piece from the saucepan and test it between your front teeth. It should be tender but still firm to the bite. Never simmer pasta but boil it in slightly salted water quite vigorously until it softens.

Then test it with your teeth after a few minutes. Always make the pasta towards the end when preparing this recipe. Do not leave pasta standing because it goes tough and unpleasant.
Place the bread in a dish and soak with water. The water should just cover the bread and leave it for about 5 minutes, then drain off the excess water and squeeze the bread to remove all the liquid. Heat in a saucepan the olive oil, add the onion and half the garlic and occasionally stir while gently cooking over a medium heat. Add the tomatoes plus juice, basil leaves, tomato puree and sugar and then season with salt and pepper.

Bring to boil all the contents then reduce the heat to a simmer. After about 20 minutes this should reduce to a thickened and pulpy mixture. Using a large mixing bowl put in the bread, minced beef, eggs, parsley, basil and remaining garlic. Mix them all together using your hands and add a little salt to taste.

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

My Favorite Food Recipes

I was one of those people who scoffed at the claims of some people regarding environmental sensitivities. At that time the focus was on dyes, inks, fragrances and environmental pollutants. Many of the people featured in news articles and documentaries were reduced to living in tents or “bubbles”. I thought they were all a little bit “nuts”. Then I became one. It sure taught me a thing or two Mexican food articles.

The list of things that I must avoid is daunting: milk in all its forms; wheat in all its forms; corn, which includes corn oil, corn starch and corn sugars; bananas, all citrus fruit; strawberries; chocolate; caffeine; nuts; peanuts; yeast; mushrooms and environmental fungi; artificial sweeteners; artificial colors; artificial flavors; preservatives; alcohol, whether taken internally or inhaled as in a hairspray; and all artificial fragrances and quite a few natural ones. All of the above items give me migraine headaches.

I had the migraines every day for about four years before I figured it all out. I have to severely limit my salt intake due to having Meniere’s Syndrome, which is too much fluid pressure in the inner ear. It causes extreme dizziness, ringing in the ears and gradual loss of hearing.

Because of all of these limitations, I have had to find alternatives to the things that most people take for granted. I have spent a lot of years researching food allergies and sensitivities and the alternatives. I would like to present you with some of the recipes I have developed for some of my favorite foods.

Monday, December 17, 2007

Great Mexican Food Cooking

In a large bowl, mix olive oil, sugar, brown sugar and molasses. Add the ginger, cinnamon and clove. Then add the flour and the rising agent. If it looks too loose or oily, add a little more flour until it doesn’t. If you add too much flour and it becomes to dry to hold together, add a little water. It should not stick to your hands taste and style of mexican food.

Take about a tablespoon and a half of dough in your hands and form it into a ball. Roll the ball around in the raw sugar and place on an ungreased, non-stick cookie sheet. They will spread out, so only place about 12 balls per average sized cookie sheet. About ¾ of the way through baking, the tops start to crack.

Bake for about 15 minutes.
Be a little careful as you remove them from the sheet to a cooling rack. They do not hold together really well until they have cooled. It will make at least 2 dozen, maybe more.
I have been told by countless people that these are the best ginger cookies they have ever eaten.

Another treat I dearly love are pancakes. I would eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner if I could. Actually, I have, but not all on the same day.

The trick with pancakes is to get them to hold together well. Also, to make them “gluey” enough to hold the gas produced by the rising agent so that they are nice and fluffy. Spelt and oat flours do not have nearly as much gluten as does wheat flour. The potato starch mentioned in the following recipe acts as a conditioner for the batter and the flax seed meal acts as the “glue”.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

About a Tablespoon

In a large bowl, mix olive oil, sugar, brown sugar and molasses. Add the ginger, cinnamon and clove. Then add the flour and the rising agent. If it looks too loose or oily, add a little more flour until it doesn’t. If you add too much flour and it becomes to dry to hold together, add a little water. It should not stick to your hands delicious foods from mexico.

Take about a tablespoon and a half of dough in your hands and form it into a ball. Roll the ball around in the raw sugar and place on an ungreased, non-stick cookie sheet. They will spread out, so only place about 12 balls per average sized cookie sheet. About ¾ of the way through baking, the tops start to crack.

Bake for about 15 minutes.

Be a little careful as you remove them from the sheet to a cooling rack. They do not hold together really well until they have cooled. It will make at least 2 dozen, maybe more.
I have been told by countless people that these are the best ginger cookies they have ever eaten. Another treat I dearly love are pancakes. I would eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner if I could. Actually, I have, but not all on the same day.

The trick with pancakes is to get them to hold together well. Also, to make them “gluey” enough to hold the gas produced by the rising agent so that they are nice and fluffy. Spelt and oat flours do not have nearly as much gluten as does wheat flour. The potato starch mentioned in the following recipe acts as a conditioner for the batter and the flax seed meal acts as the “glue”.