2022, Food, Uncategorized

Something New!

36 Comments

Well, we learned something new this weekend. Husband and I are pretty facile navigating our way around Tex-Mex and Mexican cooking, but we ran into a spice mixture we had never heard of-Sazon. It is a combination of Achiote (ground annatto), ground cumin, ground coriander, garlic powder, oregano, and salt. We made a Dominican red bean recipe in the Instapot that called for it, and, what a surprise, there it was in Cashwise grocery store! Unfortunately, the main ingredient in the Goya version was MSG, so we decided to make it at home. I wasn’t disappointed, as I don’t like the Goya company’s politics. I also don’t like MSG.

Who else but us would have a jar of sorely neglected annatto seeds in their cupboard? They ground up well, and we made our own Sazon seasoning, and the beans were delightful. Further research indicates it is a staple in Puerto Rican and Cuban cooking.

What new things have you learned lately? What Tex-Mex or Hispanic recipes are your favorites? How do politics influence your purchases?

36 thoughts on “Something New!”

  1. Not really new but last night while watching a History Channel Abraham Lincoln documentary was reminded that Lincoln’s stepmother was an excellent woman and very influential toward the man he became.
    I’ll go out of my way to use the products or services Trumpists are boycotting. However, I do have to limit the M&Ms. Too many empty carb calories.

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  2. When I cook Tex-Mex inspired dishes, none of them are so rigid or specific that I need to seek out specialty spices other than those I already have. Isn’t annatto mainly for color anyway?

    My attempt to learn something new this weekend was largely unsuccessful. I am drawn to books about book hunting and book selling and have a shelf full of them and this weekend I read or reread three of them.
    One, a charming little book titled Sunwise Turn, by Madge Jenison, tells about a bookstore founded by a couple of women in New York around the time of WWI. In explaining how they came to name the store Sunwise Turn, Jenison mentioned that Sir James Frazer had devoted one of the books of The Golden Bough to the sunwise turn, which basically is a convention of making a clockwise circle in imitation of the motion of the sun as a ritual to assure good fortune. I got out my copy of Golden Bough to see what I could learn but unfortunately my copy, which is an edited single volume taken from the twelve volumes of the original, didn’t include sunwise turn in the selected material.

    Here’s a summary of Sunwise Turn:

    Sunwise Turn: A Human Comedy of Bookselling, by Madge Jenison

    I don’t know what the Trumpites are boycotting but personally I would never patronize Hobby Lobby or Chick Fil-A.

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  3. I proudly burned my “my pillow“ a few years ago. We have never been to Chick-fil-A either.
    Several years ago Kelly inherited some stocks and as we learned about that we asked about socially responsible investing. It is a thing, and there’s a few out there, but they don’t perform as well as things that are less responsible.

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    1. Good for you. The My Pillow guy lives out in the Western Suburbs, and I have heard rumors about him feeling harassed by his neighbors who opposed his politics and his personal behavior. His bank recently closed his accounts and gave him 3 months to find a new bank. He has been singing the blues about being “picked on.”

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      1. I’ve always liked Dean Martin. What a crooner!
        It took me a while to find a new pillow and I settled on one of those Purple Pillows. Dense and heavy, but I like it a lot.

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  4. Rise and Shine Baboons,

    ON Friday we visited the Musical Instrument Museum in N. Phoenix, touring the special exhibit about legendary instruments. I learned a lot about the history of the flute and that some vertical flutes, especially the Japanese flutes, are not built like a recorder with a mouthpiece. Rather the player blows across the top like we do with pop bottles. Next we toured the Latin American exhibit, as well as the Oceana Exhibit, where I watched a video of people, standing waist deep in water, drumming on the water and creating amazing sounds given the water and their hands were all that comprised the “drum”. That museum demonstrates that anything at all can become a musical instrument. It is a favorite place here.

    Re: MSG, that wily flavor enhancer. I am really allergic to MSG because it is derived from yeast to which I am also allergic. I get hives if I ingest it. MSG is disguised on food labels as “natural flavoring,” “organic flavor,” “yeast flavoring,” etc. Many people are trying not to use MSG because of similar issues, but the food manufacturing industry tries to slip it in the food to enhance flavor as a salt replacement. Be wary of this.

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    2. I have been to the MIM twice…..couldn’t see everything in one visit. My friend and I only got halfway around the world the first time. It is a fabulous museum!

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      1. It is terrific. We have now seen all the exhibits, but they rotate the collections and always have new exhibits. We did n to get to go there the last 2 years because of you know what, It was so nice to e ack.

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  5. I make Joanne’s Chilaquillas recipe, and a Tamale Pie that has a cornbread topping, and of course my version of Chili Con Carne. I’ve just found a little Mexican grocery here that says they have home-made tacos, but I wish I could find a good source for homemade tamales.

    Seems like there has been a lot of new learning lately, but do you think I can come up with it now?

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  6. OT – Saw this announcement of FB last night, and I’m wondering if the “amazing Robin Nelson” mentioned as one of the callers is the wife of our very own “amazing Bill”?

    Here’s the announcement:
    “Tomorrow night! A President’s Day Square Dance at the Eagles club to get your happiness flowing.
    Bring a mask and a vax card and $10, and be ready for a good time. 7:30-10:30pm
    There’s a killer band lined up: Smack Young Walser, Julie Young, Eric Mohring, Bob Walser, and Addie Rosenwinkel.
    Callers are the amazing Robin Nelson and Laura Idle!”

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  8. I like Penzey’s because of their liberal world views. I also reluctantly admit I like Hobby Lobby in spite of their conservative world views. Although I’ve shopped both, I don’t think either organization has made a ton of money from me. because I always have the really good coupon deals (for Penzey’s) and the way-marked-down clearance stuff and coupon specials at Hobby Lobby.

    I was resistant to Hobby Lobby for a long time, but there are no other stores in my area that sell the same sort of products – sewing notions, quilt batting, that sort of thing – except for Walmart, and they’re not really better. So I would have to drive to the suburbs for an alternative.

    Hobby Lobby is a strange shopping experience – you’re picking out your zippers and buttons as the Muzak plays “How Great Thou Art” in the background.

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  9. I have some investments in socially responsible and green mutual funds. They have done quite well for me over the long haul. But not during the administration that departed the scene last year.

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  10. I have learned a ton of new things over the past 10 days from watching film documentaries of the Frozen River Film Festival – online version. An example: I just watched Passage to Sweden, about the many ways a neutral Sweden was able to take in Jewish refugees and escapees from Norway, Budapest, Denmark, et al. during World War Two.

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