En La Cocina con Doña Rina

That's "In the Kitchen with Miss Rina" for all of you English speakers out there. This week we're remembering all of the mouth watering recipes Grandma Rina cooked for us while she was here this year. Beginning Monday, there will be a new one each day this week so check back for some delicious Honduran cooking.

Turkey Taquitos

Our turkey leftovers are now gone and I'm left with a watering mouth for these delicious turkey taquitos that we made. I look forward to these every year almost as much as I look forward to the whole traditional Thanksgiving meal.

So, if you still have some turkey leftover, I highly recommend giving this a try or keeping this recipe in your Thanksgiving idea list for next year.

Here's what you do:

1. Shred or slice leftover turkey into small pieces.
2. Heat corn tortillas in the microwave in a plastic bag for approximately one minute. (I like to sprinkle a bit of water in so they are nice and moist and don't fall apart.) You will know they are ready when you can roll them and they don't break.
3. Place turkey on one side of a tortilla on a plate. Roll it up and place a toothpick in the middle to keep it rolled together.

4. Heat a pan of oil to medium heat.
5. Place taquitos in oil and fry until golden brown and crisp on both sides.


6. Finely shred green-leaf lettuce.
7. Top taquitos with a bed of lettuce and my favorite spicy tomato-avocado salsa and a generous sprinkly of "queso seco" - basically a mexican dry cheese - I use "queso cotijo" from my local grocer. Any Parmesan-type cheese will work.

Now, try not to eat the whole plate. And refrain from cooking an entire other turkey just to make taquitos. These things aren't light on the calories. :)

[Cheap] Korean Beef from Lizzy Writes

I look at a lot of recipes online, but there are few that I actually try. In my busy life, time is of the essence. When I happened upon this one over at Lizzy Writes, it seemed simple and that it had some great flavors that my family would like. So I eventually made it and I LOVED IT! The meat has a great flavor and spice to it and the green onion is the perfect texture crunch. I love crunchy anything in my dishes.

Here is the recipe:

1 pound lean ground beef
1/4 - 1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
1/2 - 1 teaspoon crushed red peppers (to desired spiciness)
salt and pepper
1 bunch green onions, diced

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and brown hamburger with garlic in the sesame oil. Drain most of the fat and add brown sugar, soy sauce, ginger, salt and pepper and red peppers. Simmer for a few minutes to blend the flavors. Serve over steamed rice and top with green onions.

Liz added some tips that I thought were great. She mentioned that peeling and slicing the ginger root into 1/4 inch slices and freezing it was a great way to keep fresh ginger on hand since it goes bad so easily. That had always been my problem. I would buy a bit and use a few shavings for a dish and end up tossing the rest because it would go bad. Ever since I read her tip, I've had fresh ginger on hand every time I need it and it's much easier to grate when it's frozen.

Thanks, Liz, for the recipe and letting me share it here too.

Next time I make it, I'm going to try the flank steak she mentioned . . . I think Armando will LOVE it with steak.

Creamy Coconut Lemongrass Tilapia

One of the things that I love about visiting Honduras is the variety of foods and flavors. One day after running errands with Armando, we came home to the most delicious meal I ate while I was there. My sister-in-law, Ana had made her own concoction of Coconut Lemongrass Tilapia. Lemongrass was the new flavor I fell in love with while we were there. I couldn't get enough of the tea or this delicious dish Ana made. I had to have the recipe. As soon as we got back, I began the hunt for lemongrass and luckily found a grocer nearby that sells 4-5 little stems for a pretty penny (not like the bundle of huge grass stems you can get for pennies at the market down there . . . ) [sigh].

This is actually a quite simple and delicious recipe. I like it because it is quick, yet still has a flare of uniqueness that's not just your everyday dinner flavor . . . at least not at our house. ;)

Like any Latin-American "recipe" I get from our family or friends, there aren't exact measurements, but this is what I did:

Rinse 6-8 tilapia filets and let dry. Sprinkle with salt. Set aside.

Saute in coconut oil (or oil of your preference):
1/4 onion (diced)
2-3 garlic cloves

until onions are translucent and garlic starts to brown.

Add tilapia filets and cook until golden brown on one side. Turn the filets to cook on the other side. When they are just about cooked, add a can (15 oz) of coconut milk. Add 2-3 stems of lemongrass (I folded mine in half so that the stem broke and the aroma/juices would flavor the dish quicker). Bring just to a boil over med-high heat.

Serve over a bed of warm rice with a green salad or steamed vegetables.

Parsley Lemonade / Fresco de Perejil

When I lived in Paraguay in a little tiny pueblo called Capitán Miranda, there was a dear woman who invited us to lunch weekly. Lunch was simple and often included this refreshing drink made of parsley. It may sound a little crazy, but since I walked everywhere I went and it was quite warm there, this drink was something I looked forward to every time I was able to drink it. It must have been awfully hot last week cause when I saw a bunch of parsley in my refrigerator I immediately thought of the drink and my taste buds started working. So, this is what I did:

1. Wash and blend 1 bunch of parsley in a blender full of cold water.
2. Strain parsley mixture, letting the parsley water drip into a large pitcher and removing any larger bits of parsley.
3. Add sugar to desired sweetness and blend again to get it mixed up well. Or, you can make a syrup by boiling 1 part water and 1 part sugar and adding to the parsley juice. But, as I mentioned before, I'm too lazy for that.
4. Add the juice of 1/2 lemon if desired*

I was actually experimenting with the lemon in this one - I had only ever had just the parsley and actually prefer just the parsley. I felt like the lemon was a little too much on the "refreshing" side since parsley is such a strong "refresher."

Watermelon Lemonade

Prepare Fresca de Sandia as mentioned in the previous recipe and add fresh squeezed lemon to taste. If you're entertaining, it's fun to garnish with a slice of lemon and a wedge of watermelon. If not, you probably won't have enough time to garnish before you chug this down and make another glass.

Fresca de Sandia / Watermelon Juice

Depending on where you're from, this summery delight could be called Agua de Sandia, Fresca de Sandia, Jugo de Sandia. And in the end, it's all the same . . . delicious, refreshing, summer in a cup. I love summer's fruits that fill our pitchers with delicious, fresh "frescas" on a regular basis. My favorite is probably watermelon because I can make the most with it.


Slice Watermelon in half. Place the open side down (flat) and slice in half again. Now slice that half in half so you have a fourth. I like to slice that in half again and then cut the watermelon right along the curved line of seeds so that I can easily remove them. Place the large chunks of watermelon in the blender. Blend with sugar and water to taste.

1/2 Watermelon
Sugar to taste
Water

Most official recipes I've read online direct you to make a "syrup" out of the sugar and water because sugar granules don't dissolve well in cold water. In all my time amongst Latin-Americans (where this drink is like OJ on their breakfast table) I have never seen them do this. And quite frankly, I'm lazy.

Another tip I have learned from my in-laws is that they go to the market and buy all their fruit once a week. So, when they don't get around to eating it right away, they slice it up and freeze it to make "frescas" later. Sometimes they even slice it and freeze it right away if they know they will be making the fruit into juice. I'm following suit and right now I have strawberries, mangoes, pineapple, watermelon, and cucumber in my freezer just waiting to be turned into some delicious juice concoctions. More on that to come.