Rathbone: Eggs for Hatching, Eggs for Eating, Eggs, Eggs, Eggs

[rathbone]

Chile Verde:

We have two ways of making chile verde: the recipe where we have all the ingredients and the recipe where we don't. So I will give you the full recipe but I will tell you that more commonly we eat the simple version.

Simple Chile Verde
three or four lb. of pork shoulder - trimmed and cubed
dredge in flour and brown in olive oil
Throw it all in a deep casserole dish and salt and pepper it - we like a lot of pepper (usually white)
Peel a whole lot of garlic - I mean a lot - and throw it in there.
slice up a cheap yellow onion and throw it in.
place whole jalapenos, anaheims and poblanos in there too
(I often put in cubed red potatoes and large chunks of carrot. Super flavorful and my boys love it)
pour in an inch or two of water, cover and bake at 350 till meat is very tender.

When the meat is tender, I can now use it as I wish.
One thing about chiles - my husband can look at them and smell them and tell you about how hot they will be. Me? I can't do that. I have small children so I want to control how hot this dish is going to be. Because the chiles were not opened they have flavored the meat a bit but it isn't too hot at this point. Typically I take out some meat and some garlic cloves and I shred the meat a bit and toss it about in some of the broth and the now mushy garlic. This stuff is all kinds of delicious. I can make burritos, tacos, etc. This is what I would serve to the kids and anyone who likes the flavor but doesn't want such a spicy dish.
I take the chiles out along with some of the garlic and onion slices and I put them in a molcajete. Since the chiles are fully cooked the skins slide off pretty easily at this point. I also take out the seeds. Now I smash them up.
You don't have a molcajete? No worries. Place all the chiles in a medium sized bowl and using the bottom of a sturdy drinking glass smash them up. Now taste it. How hot is it? You are going to add this back to your meat and broth a bit at a time and keep tasting to make sure you are not making it overly hot. I reserve some of the chiles and my hubby usually adds some of that sauce in to taste.

This is a basic chile verde recipe that we use a lot. Notice there are no tomatillos? I can't afford those all the time and truthfully, I love the flavor without them. I do a less spicy version of this recipe for my mother - no chiles and lots of bell peppers. Another variation would be to flame roast the chiles, remove the skins and seeds and veins (remember the heat is mostly in the veins). Then bake it in the oven.

 

[rathbone]

Correct Chile Verde:

3 - 4 lb. of pork shoulder (cubed)
2 yellow onions (sliced or chopped)
1 1/2 lb. tomatillos
garlic (at least 5 pieces)
jalapenos (at least 2)
add additional anaheims or poblanos if you like.
1 bunch of cilantro (washed and chopped)
salt & pepper
oregano and cloves

cube the pork, dredge in flour and brown in olive oil
don't crowd the meat - you want them to be nicely browned
Throw in the onion toward the end and let it cook till translucent

flame roast the chiles, peel and seed.
peel the husk off the tomatillos and slice them in half - place them cut side down and broil them about 8 minutes (till they are browning)
combine the above in the blender with raw garlic, cilantro, salt & pepper.

Pour the salsa mixture over the meat and cover and cook on low until meat is very tender.
Many people put in a bit of oregano or cloves - I don't care for either. My mother-in-law however does use these ingredients in her chile verde. (I do however love the cloves in her mole)

 

[Britesea]

thank you so much! I will probably try both versions to see which one I like the most. I fell in love with chile verde in one of those little hole in the wall type restaurants, and since then, most chile verde I've tasted in restaurants has been a real disappointment.

 

[rathbone]

Rathbone - Harlequin pix

So we had this great idea to do Hallowe'en pix as a family, maybe make some post cards to send out. Tatiana is the family photographer and always has great ideas. She had previously done a series of herself painted like a doll. So...yeah. We all started putting on our make-up. Don't you know one son refused to be made up. so much for the good old days when we always did what I wanted. Oh well, so much for a family photo. Here are some of us.

Adri

Papa'

Amarante

Tatiana whose original photo inspired us all.

This was FUN! So neat seeing our faces all changed.

 

[framing fowl]

Those are so fun!

 

[snapshot]

I bet you all had a blast doing those shots!!!!! Great job!!!!

 

[Britesea]

So much fun finding a different aspect of yourself!

 

[rathbone]

Rathbone - Making Laundry Detergent

Quite a while back I started reading on making your own laundry detergent. Sounded way too easy to be true. So I bought the supplies and waited; waited until our current supply of laundry detergent ran out. And frankly, it took quite a while.

IT sounds toooo easy.

First you grate a bar of Fels Naptha. Hubby was kind enough to help out with that part.

The smell took me back to my grandmother's laundry area. It had this exact signature scent.

Then you boil a gallon of water and stir in the grated Fels Naptha. Let it all dissolve. Add in a cup of borax and a cup of Arm&Hammer washing soda. Dissolve. Add in two gallons of water. Let it set 24 hours and it is supposed to "gel". And that is it. Seriously? This is WAY too easy to be true. Total was three gallons of laundry soap.

I quickly filled my three plastic detergent bottles I had saved. So we then filled a couple of glass jars.

I had a bit left over and thought I might give it to friends to try. It looked so pretty in the glass jars, rather like whey.

The jar on the right is my clothes-pin jar.

So for those of you who make your own... Do you have a pot and spoon dedicated to soap making? Does the detergent clean the clothing sufficiently and/or is it overly harsh on your laundry?

 

[hillfarm]

I also make it with Zote and I am about to use my own homemade soap. I have 15 gallons of gel laundry soap so I dont need any for a very long time, but I enjoy making it. I also make the dry version, just same stuff but no water. Works well in hot washes.

Have fun. Love the pics.

 

[TanksHill]

I use the zote as well. I find sometimes it just does not work quite well enough. I use one of my regular stainless posts. Then just wash it in the dishwasher. I do cheat and use my Cuisinart to shred the soap. It normally requires two washings to remove all soap residue.

g