The quest for the special quesadilla

Growing up in the Imperial Valley, the Mexican food is the best you can find. And if you have ever visited, then you would know the locals' favorite called Special Quesadillas .

This deep fried flour tortilla filled with Queso or white cheese cooked until puffy and golden brown is the best thing you have ever had, not low calorie or fat free, but an ooey gooey deliciousness you will never forget.
Having lived here through my teen years this was and still is, something everyone from El Centro talks about craves and remembers well.
I have never seen a Special Quesadillas anywhere else, but the Imperial Valley.
From what I found this was invented by Maria Olazabal, the lady bullfighter who operated the Mt. Signal Cafe located at the intersection of SR98 and Brockman Road (currently closed).

I found a site stating there are at least six restaurants in Imperial Valley that still serve them:
Camacho's, Celia's, La Hacienda in El Centro, La Hacienda and El Zarape in Imperial, and Nana Dora's in Brawley .

So if you ever get the chance to stop in Imperial Valley I highly recomend you try a Special Quesadillas.
Even though I still miss the originals, for now I was totally satisfied with the ones I made at home-  So give it a try.

Ingredients


• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoons baking powder

• 2 tablespoons lard

• ¾-1 cups water

Filling:
3-4 cups of grated cheese

Directions

1. Whisk the flour, salt, and baking powder together in a mixing bowl. Mix in the lard with your fingers until the flour resembles cornmeal. Add the water and mix until the dough comes together; place on a lightly floured surface and knead a few minutes until smooth and elastic. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Use a well-floured rolling pin to roll the dough balls into thin, round tortillas.

2. Fill with your choice of cheese I used a jack and cheddar mix

3. Fold over and seal the edges well

4. Preheat a large pot or deep fryer with lard or oil over medium-high heat. Place quesadillas one at a time into the hot oil, and cook until bubbly, puffy and golden; flip and continue cooking until golden on the other side. Drain on a paper towel Continue cooking the remaining quesadillas.

5. Serve warm with salsa, sour cream and avocado.

Halloween and candy corn

I always look forward to Halloween, the costumes, the parties and yes the trick or treating.




In my family we have a tradition that was started when we moved here to wine country back in 1998. We start out at my best friends house passing out candy to all the little ones, we love to see all the fun costumes, then we all head out, down the street with flashlights in hand to see all the great decorated houses.



Here in our town the particular street she lives on has many old Victorians, and almost all the houses decorate, some go way out, like projectors showing scary old movies, lawns decked out with tomb stones, lights, smoke and any scary theme you can image.

At one of our favorite houses they even pass out a cup of chili to eat while you get to check out their great decorations on the lawn. How great is that?



The funniest thing my husband and I noticed when we started this tradition whiles trick or treating with our kid’s back then is, many adults walk around with their glass of wine; yes we live in wine country, but please while trick or treating?



Anyway I hope you all enjoy your Halloween, drop me a comment on how you spend your night with the ghouls and goblins.



I have included a great recipe for another Halloween favorite of mine Candy Corn well actually I love the Indian corn yummy! But whatever you like, enjoy….also check out this great article on Candy corn I found on TLC cooking
 http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/candy-corn.htm

Homemade Candy Corn Recipe from http://www.homemade-dessert-recipes.com/candy-corn-recipe.html


This Halloween treat recipe is adapted from a recipe that's been based on the original and has been widely published.

1 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup corn syrup

1/3 cup (2-1/2 oz) butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2-1/2 cups powdered icing sugar

1/3 cup powdered milk

1/4 teaspoon salt

Red and yellow food coloring



In a large saucepan combine granulated sugar, corn syrup, and butter. Bring to a boil over high heat while stirring constantly, then reduce heat to medium and continue boiling for 5 minutes while stirring occasionally. Remove mixture from heat and add vanilla extract.



Combine the icing sugar, powdered milk, and salt in a separate bowl and add to the mixture in the saucepan, mixing thoroughly. Allow the dough mixture to sit until it's cool enough to handle.



Divide the dough into 3 equal parts and place each part in a small mixing bowl. Add orange food coloring to one part (a combination of yellow and red) and yellow food coloring to another part, leaving the remaining part uncolored or white.



Knead the dough in each bowl until smooth and stiff enough to hold its shape, and the colors are even. Wearing plastic gloves can help prevent your hands from being stained by the food coloring.



Still using your hands, roll each part into a long, thin rope, making each rope of equal length. You may need to use a long countertop or tabletop covered with a strip of waxed paper for this. You'll also need to be careful when rolling as the ropes can easily break if you form them too thin.



When you're done, lay the three ropes of dough along side each other with the orange dough in the middle and carefully press them together to make a long, narrow rectangle. A gentle, light rolling with a rolling pin along the length of the rectangle helps to press the rope edges together, but be careful not to flatten the dough so the rectangle stays as narrow as possible, plus you'll also want the kernels plump looking and not flat.



Finally, cut the dough into triangles or "kernels" using a sharp knife and gently shape the kernels with your fingers, if needed. Allow the kernels to sit for a while and become firm.



You'll end up with over a pound of homemade candy corn, some with yellow tips and some with the traditional white tips. There's no getting around it, kneading the dough and forming the ropes IS time-consuming, hard work, but the results are worth it.

My Husbands first attempt at canning

My husband John started growing banana peppers this summer so last weekend he decided to try canning them with some other veggies.

After a trip to the market to purchase a few more veggies to add to this canning experience, I decided to take some photos. This is what I captured.

Neither one of us have ever tried to can anything so hopefully this will taste as good as it looks

I have added a link to the canning site we used to get some great info......

www.homecanning.com/

Welcome to my world

I love food and photography and if you are checking out my blog hopefully you do too.
I will start off with one of my favorite fall desserts


Strawberry bread pudding topped with vanilla ice cream

 Strawberry Bread pudding recipe

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups sugar * see notes
5 large eggs beaten
1 cup milk
1 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 cups cubed French bread (allow to stale overnight in bowl)
1 cup light brown sugar
¼ cup (1/2 stick) butter softened
3 cups of strawberries cut up * see notes


Directions


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 13 by 9 by 2-inch pan.


Mix together 2 cups granulated sugar, eggs, milk and cream in a bowl; add vanilla and 2 cups of the strawberries. Pour over cubed bread and let sit for 10 minutes.
Take left over strawberries and place in another bowl with ½ cup sugar let macerate until ready to serve.
In another bowl, mix and crumble together brown sugar, butter.
Pour bread mixture into prepared pan. Sprinkle brown sugar mixture over the top and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until set. Remove from oven.
Top each slice with macerated strawberries and syrup.
I also like to let some good vanilla ice cream (like Byers) set out until melted and use this as a cream anglaise.
Enjoy !