Kid tested. 'Groove approved.

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I've mentioned before that Mexican food in Britain is crap. And mostly that's ok, because we've learned to make most things from scratch. (The Critter has been able to work the tortilla press since she turned 3).

One of the things I got turned on to during a pack trip in Colorado was breakfast of chorizo and eggs. You can find chorizo over here, but it's Spanish chorizo, and not Mexican style. Which is similar in the same way that Oscar Meyer resembles kielbasa. It's clearly in the same family, but it's not going to cut it with my eggs. Spanish chorizo is firmer, with less spices, and it just leave you frustrated rather than satisfied when you've really got the craving.

So I figured I'd try and make proper chorizo as well. God bless the internet - I was able to find a few different types (evey Mexican tia has her own special recipe) and settled on one that I had the ingredients stashed away for. It took a good couple of hours worth of effort (and I didn't bother casing it, as I break it apart to cook for breakfast or in burritos anyway, but the results were fantastic! Just be careful on the spices... it turned out a bit hotter than expected. I've made large batches of this a couple of times now and adjusted the recipe as necessary to taste

Chorizos toluquenos del 'Groove
- 1 kg pork (diced, not minced gives you a better consistency)
- 400g lard
(note: you can use any combination of Mexican chiles you like here, adjust according to taste)
- 100g ancho chiles
- 30g pasilla chiles
- 2g arbol chiles
- 6g smoked paprika (definitely include this one - it's a key to the traditional flavor)
- 2g Mexican cinnamon
- 1/2g cloves
- 2g cilantro seeds
- 2g Mexican oregano
- 0.5g cumin
- 3-4 cloves garlic (go on... use 4)
- 1 small onion
- 1/2 cup vinegar
- 3 tsp salt

Before starting, make sure the lard and pork are very cold.

Prepare the chiles: remove seeds and stems and toast on a griddle or cast iron pan until they're dry and brittle but not burnt. If using dried chiles (I did) the weights will vary (generally be less) from the recipe and you'll need to adjust. But be careful, you can easily make the results too spicy for human consumption if you're not careful. Set aside to cool.

Once chiles are cooled, put them in a blender with remaining ingredients (except pork and lard) and grind to a lumpy paste.

Dice the pork into cubes (around .5 - .75") Toss with spice mixture. Add lard and grind or mince with food processor. You can ground it as finely as you like - it's going to end up looking like dog food, but smelling delicious. I like mine only coursely ground, but thoroughly mixed.

It's best if you keep them in the fridge for a day before cooking to give the mix time to thoroughly absorb the flavors. Cook with eggs, serve with tortillas. However you like your chorizo. You can portion out the mix and freeze for several months and still enjoy.

This is the stuff that makes mouths happy. And think of how freaking impressed your friends will be when you tell them you made it from scratch!

Homeless

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As of last Friday, 9 February, we are officially without property. We had listed our California house on the market on the 2nd of January, and despite the many warnings from friends and family that the housing market was rapidly approaching the chill of Goodwife Nurse's mammary glands, we had multiple offers by the 14th. A little bit of paperwork later, and we've now closed the deal on the sale of our house in California with remarkably little fuss or bother on our part, especially considering we managed all of this from about 5,000 miles away. I must say that this is due in very large part to the fact that our dear friend and godmother to the Critter acted with our power of attourney to sign documents which couldn't wait for faxing, and to the fact that we had the World's Best Real Estate Agent. Seriously. She should wear a cape. And carry a golden lariat. And fight Nazis. Considering some of the stuff we had to deal with, she made the whole process relatively painless, moving parts, paperwork and people into place where needed to ensure that there were no surprises and a minimum of money (well, relatively speaking) that had to be invested in preparation for sale. Someone asked me if it felt different to no longer own the Bay Area home that we had put so much effort into over the past years. It was the first house we bought, and the home that we brought our first child back to from the hospital. And the answer is, yes, it feels different. It feels freaking great! Like a 54 year-old, two-story rock has been lifted from my back. Yeah, we put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into that house. But that was because it had sharp pointy bits that made me cry, and were hellaciously difficult to remove. And now that we're home-free (ha!), what are we going to do? Well, we're going to enjoy England for a while longer, and then we'll see. I can't exactly tell at this point what will happen. We've decided on very few requirements at this point: a) we'd prefer to move someplace besides California. b) although not a requirement, I'd really like to have my TiVo back. Hmm. Maybe we need to come up with some other requirements.
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Introducing Squirmy

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Please say 'hello' to the newest of the Grady clan. It was a wriggly little sneaker, and the scan-lady had to practically pin my Bride to the table wth the sonogram wand to get a decent picture. Just after she snapped this picture, Squirmy gave the scan-lady a rude gesture and swam behind the ham sandwich my Bride had eaten for lunch. That's my little post-zygotic bun-in-the-oven alright.
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