THE OT (Magdalena Oldtimers' Reunion) )DIET

If it's tasty and full of fat and carbs food that you want, you'll be able to get your fill this weekend at the Magdalena Oldtimers' Reunion at the Village Rodeo Grounds. Vendors were setting up Thursday evening in preparation for the event this weekend.
I'll probably manage to take a pass on the funnel cakes, but this is one of my twice a year treats of Navajo fry bread with mutton and green chile. Indian Village will have a dozen or more food stands for you to choose from.
Check out www.mountainmailnews.com/ for full details on the weekend's activities.
You can always go back to your healthy diet come Monday.

MEXICAN SHRIMP COCKTAIL-- Summer Supper #2

Coctel de Camaron is a Mexican creation that we enjoyed at roadside stands throughout Mexico.  From place to place along the Pacific Coast this "cocktail" was more of an entree than the appetizer we find on many NOB menus.

Should have photographed the dish last evening, but  I was more interested in  eating.

INGREDIENTS

(to serve 2)

•    18   Shrimp, shelled and steamed 
•    16 oz seasoned tomato juice.. V-8 will do 
•    1 diced avocado
•    1/2 diced cucumber
•    1 small onion - diced
•    2 stalks celery - diced
•    4 tablespoons chopped cilantro
•    Lime quarters
•    Salt and pepper to taste
•    Hot sauce to taste

Combine all, but the last three ingredients that may be added at table to individual taste, and place in refrigerator to chill for an hour or so. If you don't have time, you can serve in small bowls placed in larger cracked ice filled bowls.

It is a delicious and refreshing Summer Supper #2 served with crackers or a baguette.

SUMMER SUPPER # 1

Carol prepared a delightful and cool supper for a warm summer evening. Pictured at left: sesame crackers, wild caught canned Alaska Salmon*, a cold cucumber soup, and a plate of fresh and crisp vegetables (tomato, green onions, celery, yellow pepper, lime to squeeze on the salmon and avocado, carrot sticks, and the avocado).

Carol knew she wanted to make a cold cucumber soup and searched and searched for one to suit her. Many she found had ingredients like "a can of cream of celery soup," or wanted a can of chicken broth or some other ingredient that failed to entice.
She came upon a recipe for a cold cucumber soup that used yogurt. Not having any on hand, she substituted buttermilk and came up with a wonderfully tangy chilled soup.

COLD CUCUMBER-BUTTERMILK SOUP

• 2 Cucumbers (about a pound) peeled, seeded, and diced
• 1/2 Teaspoon salt
• 2 Finely minced cloves of garlic
• 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (optional)
• 1 Tablespoon fresh dill or a teaspoon of dry dill weed
• 4 Cups of buttermilk
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 Tablespoon finely chopped mint (we didn't have any on hand but did add a little chopped fresh basil

1. Place diced cukes in a colander,  sprinkle with salt and toss to coat. Let stand for about 30 minutes and then drain off the water
2. Combine the cucumbers, buttermilk, garlic, oil, dill and buttermilk
3. Chill for an hour. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary. Add the mint if it's handy. If it is too thick toit you, dilute with ice cold water and serve

Carol served the soup in a medium sized bowls placed in cracked ice filled larger soup bowls (as pictured).

A simple, tasty, and satisfying supper enjoyed in our enclosed patio.

* We avoid farmed fish whenever we can. Having lived in Downeast Coastal Maine when the farmed Atlantic Salmon industry started and watching how they go about feeding, medicating, and caring for penned salmon, we believe it to be a seriously inferior product compared with wild caught fish.

Welcome to Magdalena's Foodies

This blog is published independent of the Magdalena Mouths and is not in any way sponsored by or endorsed by that group.


This is a brand new blog about our mutual passion for all things that have to do with food. We went live on June 11, 2011. Here is  a bit about why we decided to start this blog.

A few of us who live in our tiny mountain village in the high desert of New Mexico, have started getting together (calling ourselves the Magdalena Mouths0 once a month at Danielle's Bear Mountain Coffee Shop and Gallery located at the west end of Magdalena. We have a food gab fest and pot-luck each 2nd Wednesday of the month at 6:30PM. Our last one was Italian themed, and the next (7/13/11) will feature Asian dishes. No dues or fees and no by-laws or fancy agendas. Just come as you are to the informal monthly get-togethers and bring a dish to share.

One of our reasons for coming together is to talk about ways that we can support and promote local businesses that are about food - our grocery store (Trail's End Market), restaurants (Magdalena Cafe, Golden Spur Grill, a Bear Mountain Coffee House, and others that we expect will soon be added), our growers of food stuffs (like Green Girl a new greenhouse growing organic greens and other veggies, the several home gardeners who market their produce through a seasonal Farmers Market) and the promotion of, and support of, more and varied sources of foods in our Village.

Magdalena's Foodies hopes to provide a forum for the sharing of ideas about the "how-to" of food preparation, wholesome home bread baking, and whatever else you choose to share about, like cheese making, home brews and wines, canning and preserving and whatever else you care about and are willing to share with others. All are invited to post here, not just those of us who live here.

This is certainly a work in progress, and we encourage your criticism and ideas about how to make it a better blog and one you will use as a frequent resource for your kitchen.

We'll start off with a few posts about some of our recipes and menu ideas, and invite you to share anything at all that you are interested in about food and its accompaniments.

Whole Grain Baguettes

This recipe sounds a bit complicated, but once you've done it a couple of time, it a snap to do and a joy to serve, This version uses mostly ground whole grains and just a small % of white flour.

The dietary and flavor benefits of using whole grains will be covered in future posts. Suffice it to say here that the whole grains have the benefits of all unprocessed food. This can be of great importance to those have diabetes or have been diagnosed as pre-diabetic.

Ingredients: (makes 4 11 ounce (approx) baguettes)

2 Packages active dry yeast (5 teaspoons)
3 Cups water total (1/2 cup is used for proofing the yeast, and the remaining 2-1/2 cups is used later)
6 Cups of ground whole grains (Typically we might use 2 cups ground wheat berries, 2 cups ground rye berries, 1 cup of ground barley, and 1 cup of steel cut oats.)

1 Cup of unbleached bread or all purpose flour.
A generous pinch of powdered vitamin C (see note in directions below)
3-1/2 Teaspoons salt (we use unrefined sea salt... you may use less salt if you wish, but do NOT omit because it will alter the dough chemistry and produce an unsatisfactory result)

Directions:

Stir the yeast into 1/2 cup of warm (100 degree) water. Set aside until foamy. Then stir in the vitamin C (Note- a crushed Vitamin C tablet will do and if you don't have any just omit)

It is vital that the rest of the water, 2-1/2 cups) be at the correct temperature for this method. Let the tap run until the water is cold to the touch and run the 2-1/2 cups into a measuring pitcher. Add 3 ice cubes and wait until the temperature is down to about 60 degrees.

To mix with a dough hook mixer (like a Kitchen Aid) follow these directions. If you do not have a stand mixer, we suggest you check out the mixing and kneading directions on www.easybreadbaking.com
Pour 6 cups of the flour into the mixing bowl. Add the bubbly yeast mixture along with about 1-1/2 cups of the cooled water. Mix on slowest speed for 3 mins. Increase the speed to medium and run for another 5 minutes. When the dough rises on the dough hook just push it down and continue. At the end of 5 minutes add the salt and the remaining 1 cup of flour and continue for another 2 minutes. (It is sometimes necessary to add additional flour to get a good elastic dough consistency. If you think that is necessary, it is OK to use more of the white flour.

Allow the dough to rise in a large bowl for about an hour, more or less depending on room temperature. Cover with damp cloth or disposable shower cap and allow to rise to double in volume. This usually takes about one hour depending on room temperature.
Turn the dough out on a floured board or counter and form into a ball and divide roughly into four pieces. Then work each of these pieces into a 14-18 inch roll and place in an oiled (cooking spray works well) baguette pans. (If you don't have pans, you may simply place them on an oiled baking sheet. The shape won't be entirely baguette like, nut you will have a good crispy loaf.) Cut the top of the loaves with a serrated knife, either with several diagonal slits or one slit down the length. Cover with a damp cloth (you do not want to use terry cloth. a linen or cotton towel is best) and let rise until about double in size.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees and spritz 3 or 4 times with water from a spray bottle. Place in oven and bake for 20-30 minutes. (20 minutes will suffice at sea level and you will probably want the full 30 minutes in mountainous area like ours in Magdalena.  If you are putting the pans on 2 separate oven racks, it is a very good idea to switch them at about the mid point in baking so that loves will be more uniformly baked.
Remove the bread from the oven and test by thumping on the bottom of the loaf. If there is a hollow sound, your bread is finished... if not, return to oven for a few minutes and thump again.

After cooling on a wire rack, the bread is ready to slice and enjoy. If you wish, you may store these baguettes in the freezer for as long as a few months. Then remove and thaw before placing in a hot oven for about 5 minutes to crisp the crust.

Sound like to much trouble? Try it a couple of times and you'll probably agree that it is worth the extra effort and time.

French Baguettes (go great with Italian food, too)

This recipe sounds a bit complicated, but once you've done it a couple of time, it a snap to do and a joy to serve, This version uses ONLY unbleached white bread flour.  There is another recipe post that is a  version using about 75-% whole grains and, we'll be posting about the dietary and taste advantages of getting into whole grains baking.


(This recipe was revised on 6/14/2011 based on testing results)


Ingredients: (makes 4 11 ounce (approx) baguettes)

2 Packages active dry yeast (5 teaspoons)
3 Cups water total (1/2 cup is used for proofing the yeast, and the remaining 2-1/2 cups is used later)
7 Cups bread flour (you can substitute all purpose flour and get a good result)
A generous pinch of powdered vitamin C (see note in directions below)
3-1/2 Teaspoons salt (we use unrefined sea salt... you may use less salt if you wish, but do NOT omit because it will alter the dough chemistry and produce an unsatisfactory result)

Directions:

Stir the yeast into 1/2 cup of warm (100 degree) water. Set aside until foamy. Then stir in the vitamin C (Note- a crushed Vitamin C tablet will do and if you don't have any just omit)

It is vital that the rest of the water, 2-1/2 cups) be at the correct temperature for this method. Let the tap run until the water is cold to the touch and run the 2-1/2 cups into a measuring pitcher. Add 3 ice cubes and wait until the temperature is down to about 60 degrees.
To mix with a dough hook mixer (like a Kitchen Aid) follow these directions. If you do not have a stand mixer, we suggest you check out the mixing and kneading directions on www.easybreadbaking.com
Pour 6-1/2 cups of the flour into the mixing bowl. Add the bubbly yeast mixture along with about 1-1/2 cups of the cooled water. Mix on slowest speed for 3 mins. Increase the speed to medium and run for another 5 minutes. When the dough rises on the dough hook just push it down and continue. At the end of 5 minutes add the salt and the remaining 1/2 cup of flour and continue for another 2 minutes. (It is sometimes necessary to add additional flour to get a good elastic dough consistency.
Allow the dough to rise in a mixing bowl for about an hour. More or less depending on room temperature. Cover with damp cloth or disposable shower cap and allow to rise to double in volume. This usually takes about one hour depending on room temperature.
Turn the dough out on a floured board or counter and form into a ball and divide roughly into four pieces. Then work each of these pieces into a 14-18 inch roll and place in an oiled baguette pans. (If you don't have pans, you may simply place them on an oiled baking sheet. The shape won't be entirely baguette like, nut you will have a good crispy loaf.) Cut the top of the loaves with a serrated knife, either with several diagonal slits or one slit down the length. Cover with a damp cloth (you do not want to use terry cloth. a linen or cotton towel is best) and let rise until about double in size.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees and spritz 3 or 4 times with water from a spray bottle. Place in oven and bake for 20-30 minutes. (20 minutes will suffice at sea level and you will probably want the full 30 minutes in mountainous area like ours in Magdalena.  If you are putting the pans on 2 separate oven racks, it is a very good idea to switch them at about the mid point in baking so that loves will be more uniformly baked.
Remove the bread from the oven and test by thumping on the bottom of the loaf. If there is a hollow sound, your bread is finished... if not, return to oven for a few minutes and thump again.

After cooling on a wire rack, the bread is ready to slice and enjoy. If you wish, you may store these baguettes in the freezer for as long as a few months. Then remove and thaw before placing in a hot oven for about 5 minutes to crisp the crust.

Sound like to much trouble? Try it a couple of times and you'll probably agree that it is worth the extra effort and time.

Elegant Tomato Spaghetti Sauce (with "secret ingredient")

This is an extremely simple every day sort of tomato based spaghetti sauce. In violation of the true Italian Chef's claim that the best sauces must be simmered for hours, we can cook this one in about 15 minutes and love it. Authentic Italian? Probably not. Delicious? Definitely!

Ingredients: (to serve 4)

2 Finely minced cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon (or more) dried basil
1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup olive oil
1 14-15 ounce can of tomato sauce
1 14-15 ounce can of diced tomatoes
Ordinary sugar to taste (the "secret ingredient")
1 Pound spaghetti cooked al dente

Directions

In a medium sized sauce pan, add the oil and heat. Add the garlic, basil, onions and red pepper flakes and saute for about 3 mins. Add the canned tomatoes and tomato sauce and bring to simmering and cook for 10 mins. Now, it is time to taste and add sugar to taste (you have added enough sugar when the bitter or acid taste of tomato has mellowed).

Serve over cooked spaghetti and with a salad and a crusty baguette.