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Friday, December 26, 2008

lather, rinse, repeat


C
ooking is a lot like following the instructions on shampoo and conditioner bottles, for some people it doesnt matter how many times they have done it they still read the directions, I am not one of those people. I read the instructions for all kinds of shampoos then I dont follow any of the directions, I use them as guidelines. Lets use cake mix as an example, I know without looking at a box of ready made cake that it takes an egg or two a third of a cup of oil or some butter and about a cup of liquid, you mix a few minutes and then it goes in a 350 degree F oven for 25-30 minutes, roughly, and I havent made a cake mix since I was a kid. I cook by the seat of my pants mostly, so when banana said "can you make romeritos" I instinctually said "no problem, what is it?" Then I said, "dont tell me, just tell me how to spell 'romeritos' and I will find out"....This is what I did:



Acquired and cleaned some cactus paddles (nopales) and I have a needle stuck in my thumb to prove it.



I toasted some dried shrimp, then pulverized them to dust in the processor.



The dried shrimp powder was mixed in some beaten egg whites.



I couldnt find romeritos, which is a vegetable that is similar to spinach in texture but not in flavor, so I substituted spinach and I boiled potatoes. The spinach was blanched the nopales were cubed and boiled.




The 'tortas de camaron' were fried up.



Usually this is put in a casserole dish and layered alternately with mole and the veggies and the tortas until the dish is full. I thought it would be nicer as indivdual servings.



So I made individual servings, over and over again, a torta, a slice of potato, a little spinach, some nopales and a drizzle of mole, then repeat.



They made me like mole, [ (mole -a) Long sounding a] I usually dont like mole.



They went fast! Go here if you want to see where the gigot du goat came from, warning - it is graphic.

11 comments:

The Blonde Duck said...

Cactus paddles? Holy crap!

MommaMonkey said...

I'm one of those that reads and follows the cake mix directions to a tee. Although, I do know how to shampoo and condition without reading the directions. ;)

I wouldn't have a clue as to what to do with cactus paddles or dried shrimp...and if anyone told me they wanted romeritos, I would have told them to go to Amazon.com to order them. I am clueless.

I wish I had your guts in the kitchen. I think Martha messed with some of my kitchen/cooking/baking skills with her perfectionist-attitude. Damn woman. I knew I shouldn't have watched her many eons ago. She messed with the expectations....

Christo Gonzales said...

The Blonde Duck: yup...

raisin girl: you lost me at guts..no it was at 'one of those' no...wait..it was at 'clue'....I knew it....

buffalodick said...

My God, that's a lot of work! Looked fantastic, though!

Anette said...

I have a big cactus... never thouht I could eat it though.. On the other hand, it grows a new paddle every third year, so I don't think I would have the heart to eat it like that.
But I would love to come over and have a bite of that! It looks delicious!

Angel said...

I guess I am just an old fuddy duddy....this doesn't appeal to me at all.

Do you still like me? ;)

Christo Gonzales said...

buff: labor of love...it looked more complicated than it was

anette: these cactus grow wild all over the southwest and mexico...like weeds.

beth: you better just log off now before the salmon croquettes, and salmon fritters, and salmon tamales...you are not a fuddy duddy just a dud!...how do you do it?

Chef E said...

You have out done yourself my man...I love cactus, and felt its sting...but still not sold on mole...I had it many times and not sold...

Just telling it like it is said...

OMGOSH whislt driving to utah I saw a sign at a gas station..I know right the gas station that said 27.00 a dosen of tamales..What? that can't be right
yours beautiful

tavolini said...

Wow--very unique, looks delicious! You never cease to amaze us :)

Tanya Kristine said...

i'd marry someone if they cooked me that for dinner. and i ain't looking at the pix.

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