I got a little ambitious for my all local meal this week. Frank had to go down to the Boston burbs for work, and I found a Mexican grocery by googling around, and he stopped to pick me up some masa harina. I bought a simple tortilla press, and decided that I could make my own corn tortillas. It’s sort of horrifying to consider what preservatives must go into the ones I’d been buying. They last forever! So, these are okay. Not great, and nothing like the ones I grew up with in El Paso. I’ve got some experimenting to do.
To fill the enchiladas, I used some long green chilis that I’d picked up from the Stonewall Farm farmstand last week, and that I needed to use up, as well as a package of mushrooms from Wichland Woods that they were carrying as well. We’ve been looking for chanterelles in our woods, but haven’t seen any yet, but it’s great to know someone in the area has them already. Authentic enchiladas don’t have mushrooms in them, of course, but I’ve been putting them in mine ever since I started craving them after my weight loss surgery eight years ago, and I think the flavors work really well together. I left out onions so as not to overpower the chanterelle flavor.
For cheese, I made two different Mexican cheeses with my raw milk stash (again from Stonewall Farm) this week. Once again, I made Queso Blanco, just because it is so easy and I’m using it a lot as a way to get dairy servings into Frank. (5 a day is hard!) I also made Queso Fresco, which is a really simple shredding and melting cheese, and it came out quite tasty.
We often ate cheese enchiladas for dinner on Friday when I was growing up. But I have to say, this sure doesn’t feel like a sacrifice! It was a lot of work, though. I wish I could source these products locally instead of having to make them, but it is making me consider some of these cheeses as products. I’m supposed to be experimenting, to find out what cheese I want to make, and these are definitely on the list.
[Documented for One Local Summer.]