Breakfast for Dinner: Chorizo Scramble

I've never made chorizo at home before, being unable to buy some from a Mexican market up in here in Montana (as there are none), so when I saw a home-made sausage stand at the local farmer's market, I decided to ask if he had any chorizo. To my surprise, he did! He assured me it was lymph node free, and the leanest, cleanest, tastiest chorizo I could ever find. I decided to scramble it up with some eggs from a local chicken-raiser and an organic, local red potato.
I first boiled the potato until it was mostly cooked, then cut it into cubes and pan-cooked them with salt, pepper and a tiny bit of oil. I next began to cook the chorizo most of the way through before adding the eggs and then the potatoes. The chorizo was extra lean, so it mixed in completely with the eggs, resulting in a not-quite-traditional look, but the taste was amazing, and spot-on. Served with a little Tapatio and freshly cooked tortillas. =]

These are the uncooked tortillas I like to use; they're super tastey and way better when you're the first to cook them. I highly recommend uncooked torts if you can find them. Costco sells some good ones too. 

Chile Verde!

For chile verde, I first make a salsa verde the way I usually do: spicy! I use tomatillos, anaheim peppers, and serranos. I roast them on a baking pan in the oven under the broiler and blend them with fresh garlic, onion, lime juice, salt, pepper, and cilantro. For this particular batch, I also made a completely mild batch of salsa verde, minus the peppers just so I could mellow out some of the spice (I like my salsa verde hot, but for a full plate of it I like it to be a little milder). I dissolved some boullion (chicken stock could be used) in water and added the two salsas to taste, and browned chunks of pork shoulder, combined them all in a glass pan, and cooked in the oven for 4 hours.

Before:
 (tomatillos from the farmers' market!)

After:

 
Chiles                                                                           Salsa verde                  

The meal:


And finally, my boyfriend enjoying two plates of it. 

Pozole!

Pozole! A favorite of mine, I figured this one out with the help of some online recipes I found and my grandmother's tips. I use about 2 pounds of pork shoulder for this soup, cut into chunks but I add the bones as well. It is often eaten around Christmas, but in Southern California, where I'm from, most Mexican restaurants serve it daily, or something similar, menudo (however, menudo also has tripe--the main difference and why I don't eat it). I slow cook it at a gentle boil for about 3 hours, and it takes 30-45 minutes of prep. It's typically served with cabbage, onion, cilantro, lime or lemon juice, pepper flakes, and radish. I  serve mine without the onion or radish.

Culture and Food

One of the most recognizable and distinguishing factors about a culture or community is the language spoken by its members. However, languages are often shared by broad communities across the world thanks to the empires of previous centuries. Yes, dialects exist and there is variation among the speakers of these languages, but the truest unique quality of a given culture is often its food.
Food and cooking have been integral parts of what make a culture, and passing those traditions on to younger generations help keep the culture alive. Learning from one's family can provide a lifetime of memories, skills, and a sense of belonging.
This sentiment is the reason this blog will include many recipes, pictures, and food related posts. Sharing food is the easiest way to share a culture. Also, I really really like food. =)

Happy Hispanic Heritage Month! Make sure to check out PRX's Hispanic Hertitage Month playlist for some interesting pieces.