Mexilicious

So, Brandon is surprisingly diverse ethnically. The Maple Leaf meat plant (epidemic free for over a year now!), brings people in from all over the world to work here, and many of them come from Latin America. There are two Mexican grocery stores in town, which means I'm up to my elbows in tortilla flour now!

My mom and Blair came to visit over the weekend, and we did up the Mexican food. We made homemade salsa, got some maseca and did up the tortillas, and made black beans hearkening back to our Guatemala days. We also got a bag of dried chipotles, and I made up chipotle chicken. I've never bought dried chipotles before, and here's what I learned about them:
1) They smell amazing.
2) They're freakin' hot.

And I mean hot. Burn your nosehairs off hot. I made up a sauce by pureeing a whole chipotle (possibly overkill), with 3 cloves of garlic and a can of crushed tomatoes. Did I mention it was hot? So I strained it out, discarded seeds and peel bits, added another can of tomatoes, and mixed it with shredded chicken. After it was watered down a bit it was actually pretty good. The table was beautiful - I can't believe I forgot to take pictures.

I also did up the Arroz con Leche that my friend Nelly taught me years ago. Nelly is a fantastic cook, and her Arroz con Leche (rice pudding) is legendary. The secret is the lime zest, which adds fantastic flavour and a bit of colour. I don't think she'd mind if I shared this one with you:

1 cup rice, soaked overnight (you don't have to soak it but it comes out better if you do)
1 litre milk
1 can evaporated milk
1 can condensed milk
1 stick cinnamon
1 lime, zested
1 dash vanilla (optional)
1 handful raisins (optional but encouraged)
powdered cinnamon for topping

Mix the milks, rice, cinnamon stick, lime zest, and vanilla in a pot and boil over a low head, stirring very frequently. Boil until the mixture becomes very thick and the rice is soft to the taste. Stir in raisins. Pour into a cake pan or serving dish, and sprinkle with cinnamon. Allow to set for about 30 min. Buen Provecho!