Interesting. I will try this. Tomatillo sauce always tastes too bland to me, but DH makes enchiladas with it. Your green tomato sauce may be just the ticket.

Thank you, ci_lantro for an excellent post .. I learn many things from your post: we get lots of green tomatoes that I throw away late fall. Didn't know that cloves and nutmeg are yummy in bean dish. My new recipe review is making less-sweet granola. I once threw the entire box of Cascadian Farm granola ... sickening sweet.

I made 2 batches of granola, burnt both batches.. Any recipe that calls for oven more than 250 is WAY TOO HOT. Finally I found the right recipe that called for 250 oven... I modified it, by turning the heat down to 200 after 15 minutes, much better ... less burnt oatmeal and flax meal. Here's the recipe:

Best granola: Oven at 250. Mix in a large bowl •5 cups old fashioned rolled oats •1/2 cup whole wheat flour •1/2 cup wheat germ •1/2 cup ground flax seed •1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes •1.5- 2 cups sliced almonds, sunflower seeds and sesame seeds (I use walnut instead of sesame seeds). In a sauce pan, melt •2 T vanilla •1 cup honey •1/2 cup coconut oil •1/4 cup maple syrup.

Mix with dry ingredients. Line cookie sheets with wax paper, spread thinly. Bake 15 min, take out to mix. Reduce oven to 200 bake for 30 min, mix after 15 minutes to prevent burning. Need to mix every 15 minutes, otherwise honey got burnt & stuck on tray. Once cooled, mix in dry cranberries last, to keep the berries moist. I eat my granola mixed in with Cheerios & soy milk.

This post was edited by Strawberryhill on Mon, Jan 27, 14 at 11:28

I'll continue the Mexican food theme with braised pork tacos I recently made courtesy of Rachel Ray. I made it last week and Chris and I really enjoyed them. I am not usually a huge fan of her 30 minute meals but I searched for braised pork tacos and the recipe sounded good with 5 star reviews. Plus it's not a 30 minute meal. I prepared exactly as directed my only critique is I would have liked a little more heat but I like my food spicy and that can easily be fixed. Oh and I used green jalapenos instead of red chilies because that's what the grocery store had available. Maybe that was my heat problem. I was thinking of not making the pickled onions but I was very happy I did. They really balanced the flavor of the tacos and were super simple to make.

INGREDIENTS

1 (4 to 5 pound) boneless pork shoulder
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 onions, cut into wedges, root end attached
4 large cloves garlic, crushed
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped oregano leaves, half a palmful
2 red chiles, thinly sliced
4 bay leaves
1 (12-ounce) bottle Mexican beer
2 cups chicken stock
4 oranges, juiced about 2 cups
1 chipotle pepper, seeded and finely chopped, plus 1 tablespoon of adobo sauce
2 limes, juiced

1 1/2 cups white wine vinegar or white balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
2 small red onions, thinly sliced
1 cup drained sliced store-bought pickled jalapenos or banana pepper rings
1/4 head red cabbage, shredded
1 cup crumbled queso fresco or 2 cups shredded Monterey jack
16 corn or flour tortillas, charred over open flame and kept warm in tortilla warmer or towel

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Season the pork generously with salt and pepper, to taste, and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Pat the pork dry with a paper towel. Heat a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over high heat with 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, 2 turns of the pan. Put the pork in the pot and evenly brown the meat all over, it will take about 10 to 12 minutes; remove the pork to a plate and reserve.

Turn heat down to medium-high, and add the extra-virgin olive oil to the pot, a couple of turns of the pan. Add the onions and garlic, salt and pepper, to taste, the oregano, 1 sliced chili pepper and 2 bay leaves and cook for 7 to 8 minutes. Deglaze the pot with the beer, scraping up the bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. Stir in the chicken stock and orange juice. Add the reserved pork back to the pot (the liquid should come about 2/3 the way up the meat) and bring to a simmer. Cover and put the pork in the oven, turning the meat halfway through cooking, until the meat is very tender, about 2 1/2-3 hours. Remove the pork from the pot, to a cutting board and tent with foil to keep warm. When cool enough to handle, pull the meat apart with 2 forks.

Simmer the braising liquid over medium heat until reduced by half. Add the chipotle and adobo sauce and the lime juice. Add about 2/3 of the shredded meat and stir. Cool the remaining shredded pork and chill for another use.

While the pork is cooking, prepare the pickled red onions: in a small saucepot, bring the white wine vinegar, sugar, teaspoon of salt, remaining chili pepper and bay leaves to a simmer over low heat. Put the sliced red onions in a small sealable container. Carefully pour the hot liquid over the onions, cover and give it a shake. You may need to lift the lid to release some of the pressure. Every now and then, give it a good shake. Refrigerate to cool.

To serve, put the chipotle pulled pork on a platter and garnish with pickled onions and pickled jalapeno slices. Serve with shredded cabbage, crumbled cheese and tortillas for wrapping.

My new recipe so far this month was an oat/flax/whole wheat recipe that I used to make hamburger buns. It came courtesy of King Arthur Flour and although I was somewhat taken aback with the 1/2 cup of flaxmeal, the buns were very good and substantial enough to hold a piece of grassfed beef with all the toppings. Definitely a keeper recipe for me:

Wheat-Oat-Flax Buns
These buns are a perfect whole-grain alternative to the squishy white rolls usually offered at cookouts. Looking to increase your fiber and vitamin intake in a tasty way? This recipe's for you.

2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick oats)
1 cup King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 cup whole flax meal
2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup canola oil or melted butter
1 large egg yolk, white reserved for topping
3 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup orange juice*
3/4 to 7/8 cup lukewarm water**
*Orange juice won't add its own flavor to the rolls, but will mellow any potential bitterness in the whole wheat.
**Use the greater amount of liquid in winter or in drier climates; the lesser amount in summer, or in a humid environment.
Topping
1 large egg white, reserved from dough, whisked with 2 tablespoons cold water
rolled oats and/or flax seeds, for topping

1) Combine all of the ingredients, and mix until cohesive. Cover the bowl, and let the dough rest for 20 minutes, to give the whole grains a chance to absorb some of the liquid. Then knead ��" by hand, stand mixer, or bread machine ��" to make a smooth, soft, elastic dough.

2) Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, or in an 8-cup measure (so you can track its progress as it rises), and let it rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until it's risen noticeably. It won't necessarily double in bulk.

3) Gently deflate the dough, and divide it into 12 pieces (about 70g each). Shape each piece into a round ball; use your fingers to pull and flatten each ball into a circle about 3" across.

4) Place the buns on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, cover, and let rise for about 90 minutes, until noticeably puffy. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.

5. Brush the buns with the egg white/water mixture. Sprinkle with oats and/or flax seeds.
6. Bake the buns for 21 to 25 minutes, until they're golden brown. Remove them from the oven, and transfer them to a rack to cool.
7. Wrap completely cooled buns airtight, and store at room temperature for several days; freeze for longer storage.

Yield: 12 buns.

Of course, I did make a few changes. (grin) I didn't have rolled oats so I used some multi grain cereal from Quaker. I was using frozen eggs from last year's egg surplus, so I measured out 1/4 cup thawed beaten egg and just dumped it in instead of only the yolk. I put everything in the bread machine on the "dough" cycle and just let it go, then shaped the buns, brushed the tops with milk, sprinkled with more cereal and baked them. I was happy with them and so was Elery. There are only two left as they are very good toasted and used as a breakfast sandwich.

And yes, they were pretty much all the same size, but my camera angle looks like I did a horrid job of portioning out dough, LOL.

Annie