Guatemala (N. America) 11 December 2022

Guatemala is located in the continent of North America. It has Mexico to the north, Honduras to the east, El Salvador to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the south and Mexico to the west and northwest.

The capital is Guatemala City.

The official language is Spanish.

The climate is diverse because of the many elevations. In the middle section are near-desert conditions, but overall, the climate throughout is dry, and has severe tropical storms in September and October.

The staple foods are corn, beans, rice, pork, chicken, cheese, tortillas, soups, chili peppers, avocado, chips and so may more delicious flavors (https://www.tripsavvy.com/traditional-guatemalan-food-and-drink-1490561#:~:text=Corn%2C%20beans%2C%20rice%2C%20pork,most%20popular%20dishes%20among%20locals.).

https://www.britannica.com/place/Guatemala

GUATEMALAN TOSTADAS (https://growingupbilingual.com/traditional-guatemalan-tostadas-recipe/):

Refried Beans:

– 2 lbs. of black beans

– 2 onions

– 1 TBSP of Adobo seasoning

– salt to taste

– vegetable oil

1. In a medium saucepan, boil the beans with enough water to cover the completely.
2. Add one onion cut in half the adobo, and salt to taste.
3. Simmer on low heat for about 2 hours, moving them regularly and adding water when it starts to consume.
4. Once the beans are soft, put them in the blender with the onion. Blend in batches until you have pureed all of the beans.
5. Heat the oil in a saucepan. Finely mince the other onion and add it to the oil. Let it fry until golden. Don’t let it burn or turn black.
6. Add the beans and stir them constantly until they reach the desired consistency. The beans should dry up into a thick paste. Cover and set aside.

Once I added a little more corn starch, the refried beans turned out fantastic!!

Recado (Red Sauce):  

– 6 tomatoes

– 1 small onion

– 1 garlic clove

– 1 sweet pepper

– 1 TBSP of Adobo seasoning

– 1 TBSP vegetable oil

– Salt to taste

1. Boil the tomatoes, onion, garlic, and sweet pepper in 3 cups of water.
2. After they are cooked, remove the pan from the fire and let it cool.
3. In a blender or food processor, blend all ingredients into a sauce and put them through a sieve.
4. In a large pan, heat the vegetable oil, add the sauce, the adobo, and salt to taste, and bring it to a boil stirring it until it thickens,
5. Take the sauce out of the pan and put it in a bowl. Cover and set aside.

This recado sauce has such great flavor!!!

Guacamole:  

– 3-5 hass avocados

– ½ onion, finely diced

– 2 limes

– 1 tsp oregano

– salt and pepper to taste

1. Place the pulp of the avocado in a bowl and mash it with a fork until it becomes puree.
2. Add the onion, lime juice, and oregano.
3. Then season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and set aside.

Assemble the tostadas:

1. If you are going with store-bought tostadas, skip step 2.
2. Fry the tortillas in vegetable oil until crispy.
3. Transfer the tostadas to a paper-covered plate and let them dry off.

I ate them one by one, and also all together like a taco. Either way they tasted great!!!

Homemade Corn Tortillas: (https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/homemade-corn-tortillas/print-recipe/72274/):  

– 2 C masa harina

– 1-1/2 to 2 C hot water

– 1 tsp fine sea salt

1. In a large mixing bowl, briefly whisk together masa harina and salt. Gradually add 1-1/2 cups hot water and stir the mixture with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula until an evenly mixed dough begins to form.
2. Use your hands to knead the dough for 2 to 3 minutes in the mixing bowl until it is smooth and forms a cohesive ball. The dough’s texture should feel springy and firm, similar to Play-Doh. If the dough feels too wet and it sticking to your hands, add a few extra tablespoons of flour. If it feels too dry and crackly, add in an extra tablespoon or two of hot water.
3. Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel (or paper towel) and let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
4. Use a spoon or a medium ice cream scoop to portion the dough into a 2-tbalespoon ball (30-40 grams, or about the size of a golf ball), then use your hands to roll the ball until it is nice and round.
5. Place the dough ball between two pieces of plastic in a tortilla press. (I use a ziplock bag). Then gently press the dough ball until it forms a 4- to 5-inch tortilla.
6. Heat a non-stick skillet or comal over medium-high heat.  Once the pan is nice and hot, gently peel the tortilla away from the plastic wrap and lay the tortilla flat in the skillet.  Cook the tortilla for about 40-60 seconds per side, flipping it once speckled brown spots begin to appear on the bottom of the tortilla.  The tortillas will likely bubble up while cooking, especially on the second side, which is a good sign!  Once it is cooked, transfer the tortilla to a tortilla warmer or a bowl wrapped in a clean kitchen towel, so that the tortillas do not dry out.
7. I recommend keeping the cycle going by cooking one tortilla while pressing the next dough ball at the same time.  If you notice that the skillet begins to seem too hot, just turn down the heat a bit.
8. The tortillas will continue to soften a bit more as they sit in a stack in your tortilla warmer (or wrapped in a towel). I recommend using the tortillas at the bottom of the stack first — they will be the softest.  Serve however you would like and enjoy!

First time making tortillas. They tasted great!!

CORN ON THE COB:

Love corn on the cob!!

HOMEMADE AUTHENTIC MEXICAN BUÑUELOS (Sweet Fritters) (https://muybuenocookbook.com/bunuelos-mexican-fritters/):  

            – 3 C all-purpose flour

            – 1 tsp baking powder

            – 1 tsp salt

            – 1 tsp ground cinnamon

            – ¾ C milk

            – ¼ C butter

            – 1 tsp vanilla

            – 2 beaten eggs

            – Canola or vegetable oi for frying

Sugar coating:

            – 1 C sugar

            – 1 tsp ground cinnamon

1. In a mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
2. In a saucepan heat milk, butter, and vanilla and bring to a boil. Set aside to cool.
3. In a separate bowl, mix the eggs then add the beaten eggs to the room temperature milk mixture and whisk quickly.
4. Add the liquid mixture to dry ingredients and mix well.
5. Knead dough on lightly floured surface 2 to 3 minutes until smooth,
6. After you knead the dough, divide into 20 dough balls. With a rolling pin, toll out thin tortillas.
7. Lay out all the thin tortilla flats on a tablecloth and let them dry. Turn them over once to ensure drying on both sides. This helps remove most of the moisture before frying.
8. Heat one inch of oil in a skillet wide enough for the tortillas to fry flat.
9. Deep-fry tortillas until golden brown, turning once.
10. Remove from pan; stand vertically in a bowl-lined with paper towels and drain excess oil.

While warm, sprinkle fried tortillas on both sides with sugar-cinnamon mixture.

Here is how my Banuelos turned out. Very tasty!!