It's been over a week since I've posted an entry on Flour Arrangements. The reason for my absence? I'm 17.5 days away from moving to Boston, so I'm pretty busy getting ready for the big move (packing, fixing/selling our car, cleaning, giving stuff away, etc.)! Of course, I'm still eating sweets and baking them up on my free time (like an 'Empty the Pantry' Pie that I baked earlier in the week! I'll post the recipe in a few days :), but I decided to dedicate yesterday to making something savory.
I love enchiladas, I especially love enchiladas verdes. The sourness of green tomatillos mixed with the deep flavor of chilies and aromatic spices makes my mouth water. Until yesterday, I never actually tried making the green enchilada sauce from scratch...but I'd been wanting to. So Friday night, I 'studied' a few recipes and noticed that they all called for tomatillos but different chilies. Some of them used anaheim, others used poblano, and still others used serranos. Since poblanos are mild, I decided to go with those (I'm a wimp and can't take the heat); I didn't even add a jalapeno to the mix, that's how mild I made the sauce. I was very happy with the results, but I do think I'm going to add at least one jalapeno next time -- just to give it a little kick. After all, this is Mexican food!
Since I was feeling pretty confident after making the sauce, I thought I should try making flour tortillas again. (I tried last year and they came out like chips, except far less tasty.) I used a recipe that had great reviews, but I accidentally added baking soda instead of baking powder, so the tortillas tasted like baking soda (gross!). I threw that batch out and decided to experiment with batch #2. I didn't like the fact that the first recipe called for shortening, and I usually purchase whole wheat tortillas made with canola oil, so I replaced the shortening with butter and canola oil. The taste was right on, but the texture was off -- the tortillas were crumbly and not flexible at all, there was no way I was going to be able to stuff then roll them into enchiladas...so I tried AGAIN. I added a little more butter to batch #3 (like 3 tbsp) and used whole wheat flour; I also added baking powder, an ingredient the first recipe called for. The results? Nasty tasting wannabe tortillas that tasted like baking powder. (I don't know if it's just me, but I can taste the baking powder/soda in baked goods sometimes, is that weird or what?) It wasn't even that much, 1 tsp in fact! After the third tortilla failure, I felt really bad for wasting all that flour, so I decided to take a break and try again some other time.
I've come to the realization that my tortillas come out crappy because I, seriously, do not have the touch. I've made tortillas with my grandmother before, when she put the tortilla dough together, and, still, not one came out right. She would use that same dough to make her great-tasting, perfectly round tortillas, though! I don't get it...I can make pastries, but not tortillas, at least not yet. I will try again! One day, I will make an edible tortilla -- I am determined!
Check out the evolution of my many tortilla failures below (whole wheat ones not pictured, you can only fit so many mistakes into one photo :D!). Come back in a couple of days to check out my pantry pie! Maybe in a few weeks I'll actually have a successful tortilla recipe posted :).
P.S. Check out the July Cupcake Hero Challenge! I can't wait to post the recipe for this month's theme :)...look out for it!
20 comments:
At least you gave tortilla making a try! I've never tried making them before. It's interesting to see the evolution... :)
I love salsa verde so I bet your enchiladas were delicious.
Good luck with your move to Boston! Let us know how everything goes.
don't give up on your tortilla-making! looks to me like you're making good progress, and if you've got some of this stellar sauce on hand to go with them, why the heck not keep churning out more? :)
Kudos to you for trying and not giving up. You'll get it right. Some things just take time. I look forward to reading about your next try!
I'm quite impressed with your tortilla adventures. You have much more dedication that me!
The enchiladas look delicious anyways. I'd be eating those instead of packing. Hope your move goes well!
I'm sorry you had tortilla issues. The enchiladas look great though! I love Mexican food!
Good luck with your move to Boston!
My hubby and I just moved this weekend. 3 years ago we moved to Cali and here is my advice to you.
Moving advice:
Before the movers take your stuff away, pack a kit with an air matress, blankets and pillows, toiletries, several days of clothes, a pot, and a pan. You never know if the movers will arrive on time. My husband and I slept on the floor of our rental for 4 days waiting for the movers to come. BOTH our air matresses were on the moving truck. Awesome.
Best of luck to you! Hurry back though to the blog world. I will miss your posts. :)
I loooove mexican food! Your tortillas look awesome!
I love that picture of your collection of tortillas :) I have a recipe somewhere too, that I've been meaning to try.
Can't wait to hear about that pantry pie!
I love green enchilada sauce as well. And, I've never thought to make it before!
And, more importantly, good luck with the move. Moving is probably one of the most stressful undertakings (exciting though!).
Yum...(check my blog out. I think you will be happy you did...)
I came from the comment you left on my blog and I must say your blog is SO cute! Love, love, love the recipes you have in here. Your tortillas look great! Keep it up! :D
I've missed your posts! Glad to see you came back with a bang-those enchildas look dee-lish. Hang in there with the move. It's such a drag to box it all up, but exciting things are waiting for you!
I love Mexican food..better you than me at the tortilla efforts!
Oh I am totally with you on the slippers in the hotel! I have them sitting outside the shower..so I dont even step on the bathroom floor! GROSS!
Those look delicious! Don't give up on making tortillas. I've tried before, with corn tortillas. SO hard. My mother in law can make them like nobody's business. Me? No. hehe.
The enchiladas look wonderful! Good luck with your move. I'm so glad mine is over. I've nearly finished painting the walls, then I can finally unpack the last boxes!
Sophie, determination is such useful quality! And it seems like you are making good progress :) I'm sure your next batch will be perfect. And the sauce looks great already.
This is my kind of meal! Good luck with the move!
It might sound gross, but honestly? The trick with tortillas is to use lard. I have a great recipe that uses just flour, salt, lard, and water, and they always turn out delicious.
Your blog is awesome! So glad I found it. And good luck with your move to Boston. I would definitely be interested in starting up a foodie group, or at least meeting up to share recipes.
I haven't tried green enchiladas yet, but I did make enchiladas Suizas and the fam scraped the pan clean with their forks.
I love green enchiladas too, but what I really want to make is catfish enchiladas! Seems the salsa verde would compliment it better than a red sauce. But I haven't actually Googled any recipes yet.
Had it? Liked it?
I loved the recipe and I hope your move to Boston goes smoothly. I have lived 30 miles west of the city for the last 3 years. It is good that you know how to make excellent Mexican food. Good Mexican is difficult to find here. At least it has been for us.
Your tortillas look marvelous. My very favorite dish is enchiladas verdes.
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