Horchata!

I need to get back into making things at home.

I miss it.  The summer is crazy, the beginning of the school year is insane, and now it is October, when I have 359589294 things to do because I love this month so much - not to mention that the end of the month means Halloween, plus the Day of the Dead for my Spanish classes and Spanish Club.

Madness.

BUT, I couldn't help having the do-it-yourself itch when I came across a recipe for horchata on NBCLatino.com that Flaming Tortillas had retweeted.  Flaming Tortillas has brought to my attention some fabulous recipes in the past, including the Ropa Vieja that I made last year, as well as many others that I just haven't gotten around to trying yet. 

I'm getting there.  I promise.

The thing about the recipe from NBCLatino.com, though, was that it was for "Drunken Horchata".  Yeah, I don't write about that stuff, but the recipe for "Traditional Horchata" was down toward the bottom of the page, and it sounded simple enough.

Horchata!

I made the starter the night before - not too hard at all, just a little measuring:

Horchata Starter

 The next morning, I blended the starter in the blender, strained it into a pitcher, then added water and sweetened condensed milk until perfect:

Finished Product

TA-DA!  Horchata!  Not at all difficult, and just about as good (but not the same) as what I get at Smoke BBQ Taqueria on a regular basis (unless I can't resist the agua fresca of the day!).

Horchata at Smoke BBQ Taqueria

For the original recipe, click here (I do NOT condone making the drunken version, kids!  However, I must give credit where credit is due.)



Traditional Horchata

Starter:

1 cup long-grain rice
2 cups water
1 cinnamon stick
2 tablespoons vanilla*

To Finish:

Water (I used 6 cups)
Sweetened condensed milk (I used 6 tablespoons) or sugar


Instructions:
Add the rice to a bowl.  Combine water and vanilla, the cover the rice with the liquid.  Add the cinnamon stick, and let soak overnight.

The next day, blend the starter in the blender until it reaches a milk-like consistency (it won't take long).    Strain the contents into a pitcher, then add water and sweetened condensed milk or sugar to taste.  Stir well, then chill in the refrigerator at least 1 hour.  Stir again before serving, and top with cinnamon or cinnamon sugar, depending on your preference.

*I used Pampered Chef Double-Strength Bourbon Vanilla - it is THE best vanilla in the WORLD!  It makes everything taste so much better.  However, since it is double-strength, you will only need to use 1 tablespoon in this recipe.  If you do not know anyone who sells Pampered Chef products, you can order some here.

…My Strip District Visit, 10/15/11 Parte Tres: Ropa Vieja

I can cook – from a recipe.

Contrary to popular belief, I don’t go out to eat every day – in fact, I try NOT to go out and eat more than once a week because of my diet.  Lately, though, that hasn’t been so easy, but I figure it’s ok since the weather is turning colder, and I probably won’t get out as much soon.

I’ve been trying to add to my recipe collection, since I cook a lot more in the winter months (being stuck inside in the cold, snowy, icy Pittsburgh climate causes me to be bored – when I’m bored, I cook).  Twitter has definitely been super helpful in helping me to find recipes to try, and some of them have been too irresistible for me to wait until winter to test out for myself.

One of my favorite followees has been Flaming Tortillas (@ftortillas) and their collection of Latin American recipes.  Every time they tweet a recipe, I look at it and think, “I could totally make that,” and one caught my eye immediately.

Ropa vieja.

I know how much you love to run to your Spanish-English dictionaries to help with translation (no facetious tone at ALL there), so I will just tell you that “ropa vieja” translates literally to mean, “old clothes”.

Ew.

It’s not called “old clothes” because it TASTES like old clothes – I mean, no matter how hungry I may be, I will NOT eat anything that I have ever worn as clothing (sorry, Lady Gaga – no meat dress for me).  When this recipe is made correctly, the shredded flank steak in a flavorful, tomato-based sauce resembles old clothes or rags.

The best part?  I could make it in the crockpot.  I heart my crockpot.

I made sure to write down the ingredients that I needed on my shopping list for the Strip District, knowing that the prices there tend to be much better than those at my local supermarket (*cough* Giant Eagle).  I intended on getting my veggies from Stan’s Market, and my meat from Wholey’s – and it worked out.

The recipe can be found here:

http://www.flamingtortillas.com/recipes/meats_misc/ropa_vieja

I’ll let the pictures tell the buying and cooking story…see below the pictures for the tasting results:

Lots of spices in this recipe.  I only had to buy lemon pepper from Penzey's in the Strip District - I had everything else, except for coriander, so I used Pampered Chef Southwest Seasoning instead (probably not the best substitute, but the recipe didn't call for much, anyway).  Crushed tomatoes and tomato paste make for the red, tomato-y sauce.

1.97 lbs. of flank steak @$7.99/lb. at Wholey's

White onion and serrano pepper from Stan's Market; Worcestershire sauce from my fridge.

Orange peppers from Giant Eagle & roasted hatch chilis from Reyna's (my uncle told me he had plenty of green peppers, but I didn't want to bother him when I wanted to make this recipe - so I substituted)

Pre-cooked ropa vieja in the crockpot

About halfway done and making my house smell A-MAZ-ING!

8 hours later.  Done.  Looking like "old clothes".  Smelling like a cocina latina.

Makes a good taco filling (although I would strain off some of the sauce - very drippy if you don't!), especially on corn tortillas from Reyna Foods.

It.  Was.  Delicious. 

My house smelled like ropa vieja all night and into the next morning – no complaints.  The taste was spicy, but not overly spicy.  I was concerned about the amount of spices that were in this recipe, but everything worked together nicely to make a flavorful, but not overpowering sauce.

Authentic.  Easy.  Me gusta.

Flaming Tortillas

Website: http://www.flamingtortillas.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Flaming-Tortillas/170204376367118

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/FTortillas

Wholey’s

1711 Penn Ave.

Pittsburgh, PA 15222

Website: http://www.wholey.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wholeysfish

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/wholeys

Stan’s Market

1811 Penn Ave.

Pittsburgh, PA 15222

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stans-Market/247614901924765

The Strip District Website: http://www.neighborsinthestrip.com/

Neighbors in the Strip on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=699253613466&id=47505581&ref=notif&notif_t=feed_comment_reply#!/StripDistrict

Strip District Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/StripDistrict