Quick and Delicious Tortas

This yummy sandwich was inspired by this recipe I saw on Mexico Plate by Plate on PBS.  The recipe gives the option of making these with grilled zucchini (which I will definitely try this summer), but I've been trying to clean out my freezer and had some left-over pork mojo from when I went a little citrus crazy in January.  The tart pork, spicy beans, and creamy avocado make an awesome torta.  For the beans, I like to use Goya's black bean soup, mashed and cooked down with some extra hot sauce or chiles.  While that is cooking, mash up some avocados with lime and cilantro.  Pile whatever you want in between the black beans and avocado and you'll be pretty happy.  If you are looking for a quick side dish (and have some fresh corn on hand or some in the freezer), corn browned in a super hot skillet with butter and chili powder is done as quick as you can make the torta.

Tortas
serves 3-4


1 baguette
1-15 oz can Goya black bean soup
2 cups shredded pork in mojo sauce
1 avocado
juice of 1/2 a lime
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
Hot sauce, to taste

1. Lightly mash black beans and cook down until thick.  Add hot sauce to taste.
2. Mix avocado with lime juice and salt to taste.  Stir in cilantro.
3. Split baguette and dig most of the bread out.
4. Smear black beans along one side and avocado along the other.
5. Layer in the meat or grilled vegetables.
6. If you bread isn't fresh, you may want to press the sandwich in a cast iron skillet.

The 366th Photo

When I began my Photo 365 Project last April 1, I didn't account for the leap year, so it should properly be called the Photo 366 project.  This is my last week and I've been putting together a photo book to document this year in photos.  It has been a challenge to take a photo every day (and, I'll confess, sometimes I cheated and took two in a day to make up for it), but I'm glad to have a record of some of the more everyday aspects of life.  

Saturday March 24: Farmer's Market

Sunday March 25: Draw Something - My New Obsession

Monday March 26: Wind Power at St. Phillip's

Tuesday March 27: Found a Nest in Our Front Tree

Wednesday March 28: Strawberries in Balsamic with Cream

Thursday March 29: Pretty Chard

Friday March 30: Hank Eyes the Mailman

Saturday March 31: Veronica and I helped at the Women Breaking Through Workshop

So there you have it, the 366th photo.  I'm sure I'll still be posting on Instagram regularly and if you want to follow me, my screen name is ells_bells.  

Feeding Friendship: Mussels Steamed in Beer

Sometimes when the feeding friendship ingredient is revealed, I spend a day or two thinking about what I want to make and researching options on the internet.  But more often than not, an idea comes to me right away and I just go with it, for better or for worse.  My local grocery store has been hawking their mussels for the past several weeks and each week I've stopped, admired, and then walked away.  This week, they came home with me.

This recipe is a riff on Moules à la Marinière, a classically French dish of mussels steamed in white wine with butter and shallots. I've substituted a wheat beer for the wine - I love the unfiltered wheat from Kansas City's Boulevard Brewery which is getting much broader distribution than it was a few years ago.  Mussels, like most shellfish, will get chewy when overcooked so I start pulling them as soon as they open, usually within three minutes on the heat.  Overcooked mussels are like checking on erasers.  So keep an eye on them and remove each as it is perfectly cooked.

Your mussels come with their own sauce which they will let loose into the pan to mingle with the beer you use to coax them open.  This is a pretty tasty mixture, but I couldn't leave well enough alone.  Once all the mussels were out of the pan, I added a few heaping tablespoons of stone-ground mustard and thyme.  When the sauce had reduced by about half, I stirred in some half-and-half and parsley.  Voila!

Along side the mussels, I served a spring mix salad with mustard vinaigrette and slices of pumpernickel bread which married nicely with the mustard-cream sauce.  Bread (or fries) are a must with mussels to soak up all the saucy goodness.  Geoff thinks this version is even better than it's wine-based cousin, and I think I have to agree.

Mussels Steamed in Beer with Mustard, Garlic and Thyme
serves 2, generously


2 lbs. mussels
6 oz. wheat beer, I like Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp. fresh thyme
3 tbsp. half and half
1 heaping tbsp. stone-ground mustard
2 tbsp. parsley, minced
1 tbsp. butter

1.  Clean mussels, remove beards, and discard any mussels that are open or cracked.
2.  In a very large pot, melt butter and cook garlic until just starting to color
3.  Add beer and bring to a simmer over medium.
4.  Add mussels, cover pot, and let the mussels.  Steam for about 3-5 minutes or until the mussels open.
5.  Remove mussels and split into two large bowls.  Discard any mussels that don't open.
6.  Add half and half (or heavy cream, use what you have on hand) to the liquid in the pot and simmer for 5 minutes to reduce.
7.  Stir in parsley and pour over mussels.

Slippers Just in Time

Just in time for 80 degree weather!  Seriously, it's already getting up into the 80s on a regular basis around here.  Nevertheless, I wanted some nice, cushioned house shoes that were not as warm as my beloved alpaca socks.  I had some leftover feltable wool yarn in chocolate brown, avocado, and red so I adapted my slippers from these short-row shaped slippers I found on ravelry. I looked at a LOT of slipper patterns and this was my favorite.  The directions are a bit confusing at first, but as you work through the pattern, it will start to make sense.  If you are interested in the detailed alterations I did, they are here.

Felting projects always make me nervous because you really don't know exactly how they are going to end up.  Now this is partly because I refuse to make and felt swatches, but also because felting things that are supposed to fit is hard (it's totally not just me).  The original pattern was for slippers about 5 sizes too small for me, but I over-compensated and ended up with roomy slippers.  Luckily, I had an extra pair of insoles.  Now they fit and are extra cushiony - perfect for long afternoons in the kitchen.

Bibimbap (or the best fried rice you'll ever have)

I had never heard of bibimbap until a friend mentioned it on Facebook.  A few days later, I came across a version in my Cooking Light magazine.  It seemed like the universe was telling me to make it.  My internet research revealed that bibimbap is literally "mixed rice" in Korean and the ingredients vary.  It's essentially a deconstructed fried rice.  What really set this apart was the last of my pickled carrots and daikon from when I made banh mi and the runny yolk of the sunny-side up eggs, otherwise, use whatever you have left over in your fridge.  

If you don't have pickled vegetables (and really, why would you), you can pickle them quickly while you cook the rest of the ingredients.  Cooking each ingredient separately is a bit tedious, but can easily be done in the time it takes for the rice to cook.  I've never had bibimbap in a restaurant, but evidently you can get it in a heated rock bowl that makes the bottom layer of rice crispy and the whole thing hot enough that the raw egg can simply be cooked right on top.  I don't have a bowl carved from the very earth itself, so I simulated the results by frying the rice in a bit of oil and cooking the eggs sunny-side up.  It was the best fried rice I've ever had!

Bibimbap
Serves 2


1 cup long grain rice
8 oz firm tofu
2 tbsp. ginger, minced
2 tbsp. garlic, minced
1/3 cup pickled vegetables
1/4 cup green onions
8 oz crimini mushrooms, sliced
6 cups kale, roughly chopped
4 eggs
3 tbsp. sesame oil
Sriracha, to taste 

1. Cook rice according to package directions.
2. Cook tofu, mushrooms, and kale individually with 2 tsp. of oil and 2 tsp each garlic and ginger. Season with soy sauce.
3. Fry cooked rice in 1 tbsp. of sesame oil and divide between serving dishes.  Assemble all toppings.
4. Cook four eggs sunny-side up until whites are just barely set and set on top of the rice.  Serve immediately.