A Cold Day In Ol' Mexico (Pork Chili meat, winter salsa)

With this cold weather hitting the East Coast hard, we need to think of the kind of food that will warm the soul and warm the family that is out doing the difficult work that needs doing.   I hate it that it is still dark out when the dog wakes you up, expecting you to get outta bed and take him for a walk.  Rufus will not sleep in, although he does spend most of the day crashed out on the couch, the floor, the bed…

Breakfast recently has been a simple dish of yogurt and some walnuts or dried fruit.  The fruit comes from the bins at Giant.  Cheap and since they do such a big business, the stuff is always fresh.  I tend not to buy foods stored in the bottom row, since I once saw a little kid sample a mango slice and put it back after a bite, apparently not liking the flavor.  Even the best children are pretty gross most of the time, ours included.

Lunch has been leftovers.  I’ll make “clean out the fridge” pasta or soup made with chicken stock and leftover bits of vegetables, potatoes, ends of ham or chicken, maybe some noodles, all thickened up with the ends of bread going stale.  The noodles are easy.  I’ll just sauté some stuff in olive oil that’s hanging around, some bacon, shrimp, onions, zucchini, garlic, for example, then mix in whatever pasta didn’t get eaten last night.  Grate some good cheese over top.  This is actually a pretty popular dish at our house and probably why I never bother to cook less than the full box of noodles.  If it doesn’t get eaten that night, by noon the next day it’ll be gone.        

Evenings are less hectic now that the kids have all graduated high school and we don’t have to play taxi for football, soccer and all sorts of music lessons.  We tend to take our time and decompress around the stove, catching up on each other’s day and getting ready for the evening round of church meetings, clubs, a night of jazz or a movie.  I don’t want to sound like we lead a whirlwind life.  Just as often the night is spent vegging out on the couch watching the Walking Dead.  So, for a casual night, after a busy day, you might want to go for something tasty, but easy to prepare.

I am so happy that there are numerous Mexican groceries in our area.  It is easy to bang out a dinner of beans and rice with tacos and salsa if you can run into a place that stocks authentic Mexican foods.  Skip the El Paso brand stuff you see in the mega markets.  Go to a place like Alexa’s Mexican Market in Lansdale, right near the train station, or El Changarro in Norristown.  Both places have owners who are eager to help you get what you need to make an interesting meal.  Today, I’m presenting a recipe for crock pot chili pork and a red salsa that you can make in winter when the only tomatoes available come in cans.  You’ll be able to prepare both of these ahead of time.  The pork is prefect for tacos or rolling up with beans and cheese in burritos.  The salsa is good in the fridge for a couple of days, although it never lasts at our place and is great with eggs and a bit of the pork in breakfast tacos.

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Chili Pork

3# pork shoulder, a butt roast is best

1 cup onions, diced

3 dried guajillo chilies, seeded and chopped (or ancho, New Mexico, pasilla)

3 tbs. chili powder

1 tbs, cumin powder

4 cloves of garlic

2 bay leaves

salt and black pepper

Turn your crock pot on high.  Chop the meat into 1 inch chunks.  

Put the onions, garlic and bay leaf in the bottom of the crock pot.   

Add the chilies.

Layer the meat on top of the aromatics. 

Season with chili powder, cumin powder, salt and black pepper.  Do not add water.  The pork will be too soupy for tacos and burritos.

Cover the crock pot and allow it to cook on high for about 2 hours, until the meat begins to break down and grease begins to rise to the top.  Resist the urge to stir the pork.  Reduce the heat to low and allow it to cook for at least 3 more hours.

At the end of 5 hours total cooking time, skim the fat that has risen to the top.  Hardcore folks would save the fat to fry up eggs in the next day and while that would taste damn fine, and while I am a thrifty cook, my yoga teacher would freak if she heard of such behavior.  Better to just throw it out.

Break up the pork with a spoon or potato masher.  Keep hot until you are ready to serve it in tacos, with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, radishes and salsa or rolled up in a bean burrito with cheese.

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Winter Salsa

1 28 oz. can of petite diced tomatoes

½ cup white or red onions, diced

½ cup scallions, sliced

½ cup green pepper, diced

½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped

2 tbs. canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce

2 tbs. red wine vinegar

3 tbs. olive oil

salt and pepper, to your taste

Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl.  Remove 1/3 of the salsa.  Puree it finely to thicken the sauce.  Return it to the mixing bowl.  Refrigerate it for at least an hour before serving.