Family friendly food - Mexican

On Christmas Eve last year, amidst the wrapping, cooking, carols and cocktails, I received a phone call from a radio big-wig.  He asked me whether I ever did ‘private chef’ work.  Unfortunately, the entrepreneur in me trampled over my commonsense and I said yes.

He wanted to give his wife a chef for two months; he figured the biggest gift he could give her was some time back in her life. They had two kids and her personal time had shrunk considerably. I thought it was sweet. I should have asked a few more questions as to why her personal time had shrunk and by how much, because that is exactly what happened to my personal time for the next two months!

The brief: only organic food, no red meat, no animal fats, no salt or sugar. Try and work in as many vegetables (‘under cover’) and nothing for the kids could be ‘crunchy’ as her four-year-old son had ‘texture issues’. For two months, I produced the most stunning array of expensive, organic mush.

I learnt more about cooking in that time than ever before. We all talk about what comes out of the mouths of babes, I became obsessed with what went into the mouths of babes. I went to bed early so that I could be first at the local fresh food market, I couldn’t meet friends down at my favourite cafe because I was making stocks and soups. There is still a carrot coloured stain in my convertible...

I became obsessed with these children’s appetites. My pride was wounded every time they refused to eat something.  Eventually, I narrowed the menu down to a few fun things for everyone. The biggest success, by far, was a Mexican menu. I started the meat and onions off in one large frying pan then, when it was browned, I divided it into two pots and seasoned one for the kids, another for the adults.

Whilst the two cauldrons of chili bubbled away, I got the kids to help me; I had a slab of polenta, some pizza dough and some scone dough. I bought some cactus and dinosaur cookie cutters and we made cut-outs, sprinkled them with a little cheese and baked them. Then we made a guacamole, divided it into 2 bowls and added some chopped jalapeno peppers to the ‘adult’ bowl.

Once the chili was ready, I ran the kids’ chili through the food processor to hide the grated carrots, zucchini and diced mushrooms that I’d snuck in there. I also added a can of pureed beans for a little extra protein and fibre.  The kids were so excited about their ‘polentasaurus’ dippers that they couldn’t wait to eat. The leftovers went nicely with a simple cheese quesadilla the next night.

I think this chili saved my sanity. I must have made it once a week until my two months were up. In the meantime, I grew quite partial to the cactus cobbler...I kept the cookie cutter!

Chili Con Kitchen Sink

This makes one big pot of chili, or two medium pots - the point being that there will be plenty for everyone any and every night of the week!

Mix it up; add more or less spice, other veggies, different meat. Chili is one of those fingerprint recipes...no two are alike! This is the recipe for my spice mix, you can make your own or buy a ready-made chili seasoning at the supermarket, just look at the ingredients for salt and M.S.G.

1 kg lean minced beef / pork / chicken (any combination)
2 cans of kidney, pinto or black beans (drained and rinsed)
2 onions, peeled and diced
12 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
2 red capsicums, diced
2 large cans of tomatoes (793g each)
1 large pack liquid beef stock
1 can beer
2 cups diced mushrooms
2 tblspns tomato paste

Spice mix

1 tspn salt
2 tspns cumin
1 tspn cinnamon
pinch cardamom
3 tspns cayenne
1 tbsp sweet paprika
1 tspn cocoa powder
1 tspn ground coriander
1 tspn fresh ground pepper

Optional Extras

2 carrots, grated or diced
2-3 zucchini, grated or diced
extra can of beans, pureed

• Heat about 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan. Add the onions and garlic and fry for a couple of minutes. Add the meat and cook until browned. Drain off excess fat.
• Separate into two medium saucepans. Put 1-2 teaspoons of spice mix into one pot (the kids’ pot), add the rest of the spices into the other (the adults’ pot).
• Heat the spices a little then add the beer to the ‘adults’ pot and let it boil away a little.
• Add 1 can of tomatoes and 1 can of beans to each pot.
• Divide the mushrooms, capsicums, tomato paste and any other vegetables between each pot. Reduce the heat and allow to simmer until the sauce has reduced by at least half and the consistency is rich and dense.
• Taste for seasoning - you can add salt, a little sugar and, certainly, more cayenne or fresh chili.
• Traditional garnishes include (low fat) sour cream, grated sharp cheese, diced jalapenos (leave the seeds in for the heat lovers) and chopped fresh coriander.

Sometimes I serve the chili with cornmeal cactus scones. Pop the chili into the oven with some grated cheese on top whilst the scones bake, then put the hot scones on top of the chili and serve ‘cobbler style’.

Cornmeal Cactus Scones

2 1/2 cups SR Flour
1 cup cornmeal
1 tblspn baking powder
1/2 tspn salt
1 tblpsn sugar
250g butter
1 cup buttermilk (or 2/3 cup milk, 1/3 cup sour cream)
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
2 eggs

• Sift the flour, salt, corn meal, baking powder and sugar, rub in the butter until mix resembles sand.
• Add milk, eggs and grated cheese.
• Mix to a dough and roll onto a floured board. If the mix is too wet, pat it with a little more flour.
• Press it out by hand to a 2cm thickness and use a cactus shaped cookie cutter to make the scones.
• Bake in a preheated oven (220°C) for about 20 minutes.
• Top with extra grated cheese, or work a little cayenne pepper into half the mix if you want some extra cheesy and spicy scones.
• Serve hot with the chili.

Quesadillas

For each one, take two flour tortillas (available in supermarkets).
1/2 cup grated cheese. Try all cheddar, or a mix of cheddar and feta (which is close to the Mexican cheese ‘cotija’), and anything else you like; a grilled, chopped chicken breast, some mushrooms, sautéed green capsicums (this is why quesadillas are great for leftovers).

• Put a little oil in a large frying pan (around the same size as the tortilla), heat the pan and then place the tortilla in it.
• Sprinkle the cheese and any other fillings over half of the tortilla. Use a spatula to flip the other half of the tortilla over the cheese covered side...like an unsealed calzone. This will give you a semi-circle, melted cheese quesadilla. It takes as much time to make as it takes to melt the cheese.
• Slice the quesadilla into 3-4 slices. These can be served with a bowl of chili, or with tomato soup or topped with guacamole and sour cream and salsa.

Guacamole

3 perfectly ripe avocados
juice 1-2 limes
4 spring onions, sliced finely, both white and green parts
2 ripe tomatoes, seeded and chopped
salt, pepper
1 crushed clove garlic
a good fistful of chopped coriander
cayenne pepper, chili powder or sliced jalapeno peppers (to taste)

Think of guacamole as a fingerprint recipe, also. No two taste the same so this recipe is a starting point. Some people like more chili or garlic, some hate the tomatoes and coriander. The undisputed starting point is the ripeness of the avocadoes. Add everything else slowly and taste as you go.  You’ll find your own balance!

About Mannix and the love bite.com

Forget the risk of the waiter that wants to be your new best friend, the phone call from the baby sitter, and the idiot at the next table sharing his mobile conversation with the entire room, not to mention the extension on the mortgage required to pay for the meal.

Imagine how much more comfortable you would feel if you knew that you’d get:

• the best table in the house
• the kindest lighting
• a sexy soundtrack
• an abundance of cheeky little taste sensations
• the kids offloaded at grandma’s for the night!

Rediscover why you liked each other before parenting ruined your short term memory, and have a date in the comfort and privacy of your own home.

Let thelovebite help you with:

• a menu with recipes (even a shopping list!)
• all the advice that you need to create the ambience
• a playlist that you can purchase and download straight into iTunes.

Log onto Thelovebite for delicious and easy recipes for all occasions.

This article was first published in Australian Family Magazine, November 2006.