Recipe for Arroz con Leche

Arroz con leche (rice pudding) is one of the most popular desserts served in Mexico. It is also one of Mike's favorite things. We've probably eaten kilos of it if you think about how long we've been here...hmm...interesting thought.

I'm listing the current recipe I use for arroz con leche. It is a combination of a recipe I got from my friend Rosy and a recipe in one of my Mexican cookbooks. Like so many dishes here, it uses just a few ingredients, and is so easy to whip up.

Ingredients
1/2 cup rice
1 liter of whole milk (or 1 quart)
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 cup sugar
pinch of salt

Preparation
Place two cups of water in a medium-sized pot. Bring to a boil; then add the rice and a small pinch of salt. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until the water is absorbed.

Meanwhile, pour the milk into a large pot. Add the cinnamon stick and sugar. Bring to a boil. Add the rice and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Then turn off the heat and let it sit on the stove for 30 to 40 minutes, or until rice reaches desired consistency. Remove the cinnamon stick. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Notes
- we like this best served cold, so after making it I let it cool in the fridge for a couple of hours. I also add a touch of ground cinnamon when serving it.

- You can vary this recipe by adding raisins, more or less sugar, more or less cinnamon, etc.

Here's one of my in-house taste testers sampling the arroz con leche I made this week -


Taking a bite...

The two-year-old approves it...

Stay tuned for next week's recipe. Until then, you can find more recipes here.

The Circus in Mexico

If you ever see a tiger in the parking lot of Wal-Mart, it can only mean one thing: the circus has come to town!

In Mexico, circuses advertise by driving part of their show around town. I once saw an elephant on the flat bed of a truck. As it passed a park, it reached up and munched on the leaves from the overhanging tree branches.

We went to the circus here last night, and the girls just loved it. Here are a few pictures from the event.

Look girls, the circus is in town...



Waiting for the action to begin...



And when it does, wow...


Great fun...

Recipe for Tinga de Pollo

Welcome to the third installment of my recipes series (previous recipes here). This week I made tinga de pollo, a traditional dish here in Mexico.

I got the recipe as I do many things - I just kind of happened upon it. A couple of years ago, Tere, a member of one of our churches, brought it to a potluck. Mike just loved it. I mentioned this to Tere, and she said, "Oh it's so easy you could make it."

I was a bit skeptical, but as it turns out, it is really easy! It uses only four ingredients. Here's how I make it, followed by some thoughts on mealtime at the Hartman house.

Ingredients
1 kilo of chicken pieces (or about 2 pounds worth of chicken - I usually use chicken breasts with the bone still in them)

1 small onion

4 tomatoes

1 chipotle pepper


How to Make
1. Boil the chicken in a large pot of water for 30 to 40 minutes or until done. Let cool. Then remove the chicken from the bone and shred it into small pieces.

2. Slice the onion into long, thin strips, like so:


3. Fry the onion and chicken together in a frying pan over medium heat for three to four minutes. (You can add some oil for this part. I usually just use PAM).

4. Chop the tomatoes into large chunks and place them in a blender. Add the chipotle; then blend until smooth.

5. Add the tomato/chipotle sauce to the chicken and onion. Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes. Add more water if needed.


6. Serve with tortillas or tostadas.


7. If you have small children, give them tortillas to munch on while you make dinner :)


Quick notes
- Like most of my recipes, this one can be varied according to taste. You can make it spicier (or less spicy) by adjusting the amount of chipotle added.

- This can also be made with pork or beef instead of chicken.

- I sometimes serve the tinga over beans and rice.

That's all for this week. Have a great weekend and check back next week for some more Mexican food and fun!

Convention Highlights

Last Thursday thru Sunday the church's annual convention took place. The church body in Mexico, known as the IELC (Iglesia Evangelica Luterana Confesional), is a sister synod to WELS. This year's convention was held in Mexico City. Pastors and delegates from all over Mexico traveled there to participate in the worship services, meetings, and fellowship opportunities.

Mike came home with lots of good news from the convention. He saw many signs that the IELC is growing as a church body. It is taking on more financial responsibilities, a strong sign of maturity.

The IELC also grew in terms of the number of congregations that make it up. On Friday, two congregations located in Sonora, Mexico, joined the IELC. The IELC responded by calling two men to serve as pastors there starting in January 2010. In all, five calls were issued during the convention.

For us, it is a time to give thanks to God. He has guided the church in Mexico in the past, and he will lead it through the coming years. Here are a few more pictures from the convention:

Pastor Carlos Cajas leads the opening service...


Music time...

President Jesus Vega (right) welcomes the two Sonora congregations into the IELC...

One of the littlest attendees...

Recipe for Guacamole

Welcome to the second recipe in my eight-part series on Mexican cooking. (See the first installment here). This week we're talking about guacamole.

The key to a good guacamole lies in the produce. This begins with the avocados. When avocados are ripe, they give a little when you push on them. If they are rock hard, they need more time to ripen. And if they are mushy, they are past their prime.

If you have avocados that you want to ripen quickly, you can put them in a brown paper bag with an apple and they will ripen faster (or do what our vicar did and put them in a paper bag with a smashed apple. They'll be ready in no time!)

To make guacamole, I follow a recipe given to me by friends here a few years ago. It uses the following ingredients:

- 4 avocados
- 2 tomatoes
- 1 jalapeño pepper
- one quarter of a small onion
- salt to taste


Start by slicing the avocados in half the long way, cutting around the pit, like this:


Then dig out the avocado with a spoon, removing it from the skin. Place it in a bowl. Repeat this for the other three avocados. Using a fork, mash them up in the bowl. With perfectly ripe avocados, this will be easy. Their texture will resemble mashed potatoes:


Next, finely chop the tomatoes, removing the seeds as you do so. Chop the onion. Add the two ingredients to the mashed avocado mixture.

For the jalapeño, you can greatly reduce its heat by removing the seeds. To do so, slice the pepper in half. Cut out the veins and dig out the seeds. Chop up the remaining pepper and add it to the mixture, like so:


Stir everything together and add salt to taste. Pull out the tortilla chips and you're ready for a fun Mexican snack!


A couple of notes:
- to make the best guacamole, you'll need a taste tester. In our house, that's Mike. When I have the dip made, I call him in and he takes a bite. He either gives it the ok, or asks for more of something (salt, tomato, etc). Since the size of the veggies can vary greatly, and individual tastes differ, you may find you like a variation of this recipe better. I use this recipe as a base and then change it up, according to Mike's preferences.

- guacamole can turn brown fast, especially in warm weather. It's best to make it up right before serving time. To make it last longer, you can sprinkle a little lime juice on top of the dish. You can also save the avocado pits and put them right in with the guacamole, as they'll help keep the mixture green longer.

Visiting Churches

The first weekend in July Mike traveled to the city of Guadalupe, a suburb of Monterrey. It is about five hours by bus from Torreon. He went there to visit with Pastor Eduardo Vazquez, who oversees the congregation, and to see the members.

Traveling to the different congregations in Mexico (see their locations on this map) is an important aspect of Mike's job. As field coordinator, he serves as a counselor to the various Mexican pastors. He helps the IELC, which is WELS' sister synod in Mexico, to grow and mature.

Pictured above is the building where the congregation in Guadalupe worships. It is a mission congregation right now, with plans to continue growing in the coming years. Here's a short video of the members saying hi and wishing you God's blessings.

Recipe for Chipotle Chicken

Chipotles actually start out as jalapeños. Farmers grow fields of jalapeños (yum!), and when the peppers turn green, they pick most of them and send them to the market. They leave some on the vine, however, to continue ripening.

At the end of the season, the jalapeños turn deep red and dry out. The farmers pick them and then smoke them. The end result is a flavorful scarlet pepper with a new name: chipotle.

We can find chipotles here in the canned food section. I'm guessing that in the U.S. you'll see them with other canned foods or in a Mexican food section, though I don't know for sure because I don't live there!

This recipe comes from the cookbook "La Cocina Mexicana" (The Mexican Kitchen). I've had it for a few years and the following is one of our favorite recipes from it.

So without further ado, here's the recipe for Chipotle Chicken:

Ingredients
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 small onion
1 garlic clove
dash of salt

1 tablespoon butter
1/2 tablespoon flour

1 cup plain yoghurt
1 chipotle pepper
1 chicken bullion cube


How to make
Fill a pot with one quart of water. Add the chicken breasts, onion, garlic and salt to the pot. Bring to a boil and cook for 30-40 minutes or until chicken is done. Remove chicken.

In a medium-sized frying pan, melt the butter. Add the chicken to it and fry on both sides until each side is slightly browned. Remove the chicken. Add the flour and cook for just a minute (you may need to add a little more butter during this part. I usually use a mixture of butter and PAM).

Meanwhile, place the yoghurt, chipotle and chicken cube in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour the mixture into the frying pan. Bring to a boil. Add the chicken breasts. Heat through and serve.

A few notes:

- I always serve this over cooked white rice. You can also serve it alone or with tortillas.

- I add more chipotles to this dish. If you want it hotter, try adding one chipotle at a time until you are satisfied with the taste.

- I know of some who substitue cream or sour cream instead of yoghurt and prefer it that way. Yoghurt in Mexico tastes different than the yoghurt in the United States (in my humble opinion) so if you are making this dish north of the border, you may want to try a few variations to make it to your liking. And if you're in Mexico, my favorite yoghurt for this is LALA natural light.

***

Next week I'll be talking about guacamole and sharing the recipe I learned from a friend here. Whenever I make it, I get asked for the recipe (except for the one time I made it too strong and everyone was in coughing fits because of the sharp jalapeños. Oops!). Anyway, stay tuned.

WELS Kingdom Workers in Torreon

Last week Kerry Pamperin, our former WELS Kingdom Worker, headed home. She had served in Torreon for a year teaching English. This fall she will head back to Martin Luther College (MLC). She'll spend the next year and a half there, finishing up her studies to become a teacher.

Kerry was replaced by two volunteers: Derek Bartelt (left) and Andrew Gerlach. These men are also from MLC. They're both studying to be pastors, and are currently taking a year off of school in order to help out with outreach efforts in Torreon. They'll be teaching English classes during their time here.

Many thanks (muchas gracias!) to Kerry for her dedicated service here, and we wish God's blessings on our new volunteers, Derek and Andrew.

Learn more about our English program here.

Three Signs We've been in Mexico for Awhile

A long, long time ago (as in before I came to Mexico) I was a perfectionist. And jumpy about critters.

Well, we all change. Mexico has been a good antidote for my perfectionism. Here are a few signs that I've been here for almost a decade:

1. I threw a load of whites into the washing machine yesterday. As I was pulling the clothes out of the basket and putting them in the machine, I noticed an ant crawling on a shirt. Then I pulled out a sock and there were about a dozen critters on it. I peeked closer into the basket and found the clothes were swarming with ants.

I didn't scream, or even call for Mike. I simply turned the water temperature on the machine to hot, threw those clothes in quickly, and added a little fabuloso (all-purpose cleaner - we use it on our floors and such) for good measure. The clothes came out great.

2. A few months ago, Mike and I climbed into bed. I remembered my book was downstairs, so off I went to get it. I flicked on the living room light and watched a three-inch cockroach scurry through the room, then stop, dazed by the light.

I considered my options, and decided I was tired. I waited until the yucky thing had gone under a couch, made a mental note to think about this more in the morning, got my book, and headed to bed. It was a good book.

3. The tail light on our van fell off - oh, let's just say long ago enough that I can't really remember the day or month. Mike fixed it with duct tape. A couple of months ago, we drove the van into the United States. To get ready for the trip, Mike decided to make the van look nicer. He replaced the silver duct tape with clear, plastic tape. I now consider it to be not only fixed, but also classy.

p.s. Next week I'm starting a series on Mexican recipes. Yeah! Check out the couple I have already posted if you want a preview. I'm going to kickstart the series with Chipotle Chicken, one of our long-time favorite dishes that I make.