Well, today is the 6th, but yesterday we celebrated Mexican heritage the best way we know how - with margaritas and fajitas! And chips, salsa, and guacamole, too. Here are some of the recipes we used:

 

Flour tortillas

• 3 cups unbleached flour
  2 tsp. baking powder
  1 tsp. salt
  4-6 tbsp vegetable shortening or lard, For a lower fat version use 4 Tbsp lowfat margarine
  ~1.25 cups warm water

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl, then cut in the shortening/lard/margarine (I used a combination of half lard, half shortening). Next add the warm water a little at a time until your dough is soft but not sticky.
Knead the dough for a few minutes, then form 12 small dough balls and let them rest for at least 10 minutes.
Heat a cast iron pan (I used our griddle) over medium high heat - you'll want it evenly hot before you cook the tortillas. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin (a pelote would be more authentic), adding flour when needed to keep it from sticking, and lifting and flipping every so often. Roll them out to very thin - that's the best way I can describe this - then lay them, one at a time, on the hot griddle, waiting only seconds before flipping, and again before removing. They are ready when flecks of brown begin to appear on the tops of bubbles. Wrap in a towel to keep warm and moist and serve warm. Reheat in oven if necessary. Yum!

 

To make tortilla chips I made a second batch of tortillas, then cut them into wedges and lay them out on a cookie sheet, sprinkled with salt and cumin, then baked at 350 for about 5 minutes per side (total 10 minutes per batch). Yum again!

 

 

Guacamole in our house is merely mashed avocados mixed with a dash of garlic, a pinch of salt, and the juice of about half a lime.

 

Grilled Chicken Fajitas

• 1.5 lbs. chicken breasts, rinsed and trimmed of fat
  3 Limes - juiced
  2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
  1 tbsp. vinegar (white wine or apple cider)
  2 tbsp. olive oil
  1 tsp. oregano
  1/2 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper
  1/2 tsp. salt

Combine lime juice, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, oil, oregano, pepper and salt in a glass bowl. Add chicken and marinate, covered, for 2 hours, turning twice.
Remove from marinade and grill over hot coals, 4 inches from the heat for about 12-15 minutes, turning once and basting with marinade until chicken is cooked through. Do not over cook.
Remove chicken to a cutting board and allow to stand for ~5 minutes before slicing into strips.

In our house we top fajita with guacamole, sour cream, tomatoes, fresh cilantro and/or salsa, and a mixture of cheeses. Yum yum yum!

 

And last, but very definitely not least, Traditional Margaritas!

• 3 tbsp. tequila
• 1 1/2 tbsp. triple sec
• 1 1/2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
• dash of sugar
• Ice, lime wedge, and salt

This is pretty straight forward, but here are some tips:  to more efficiently extract juice from a lime, heat it for about 10 seconds in the microwave before cutting and squeezing.  To dissolve the sugar add it to the lime juice while it is still a tad warm - if it isn't a tad warm and the sugar won't dissolve, microwave it for a few second then stir.  Use a lime wedge to moisten the edge of the glass then tip it upside down in a plate of Kosher salt to coat the rim.  Coat the rim before filling the glass, of course - if you've mixed up those two steps you've probably had too many already!

Nothing says fall like raking leaves on a crisp, cool day before warming up with a hot mug of mulled apple cider.  Sometimes, if I'm being lazy, I'll just pop a mug of cider in the microwave, but for Calvin's introduction to this tasty fall treat I made almost the real thing this morning.  To make the real thing, of course, rum would be required, as would a pot, a ladle, the stove, and time.  Since there's never enough time and I didn't want to wash the pot and ladle, I used a short cut.

Fill a large mug with cold cider and add 1 cinnamon stick.  In a clean tea bag mix 1t nutmeg, 3-4 cloves, 1t orange zest, and 1 cardamom pod - crushed (optional).  Close tea bag and add to mug.  Microwave to desired temperature, remove spices, and enjoy!