store bought no more

as i delve more and more into my adventures in the kitchen, there is a growing list of thing i no longer have the desire to purchase commercially. this all started with bread. as ray and i started to explore the small towns around here and get more into the locally grown scene, fresh baked bread became this first really coveted item. first there was the wildflower bakery in saluda, nc (but the bakery/cafe closed and now are only selling bread through stores - which here are these tiny sliced loafs of bread and not the big yummy artisan loafs), and then we found annie's bread at earthfare. oh the buttermilk currant loaf was so wonderful. but then earthfare stopped caring the bread due to some sort of profit margin issue and my delicious loafs were gone. we even made the 2 hours drive to sylva, nc one weekend to stock up on the bread, but you can't keep that up for very long. it was while we were eating the last of the annie's bread that ray said. "hey, i bet you could totally make this." and that folks is when it all started. i bet i could make a loaf of bread, i bet i could grow veggies in the yard, i bet i could make this, i bet i could make that! so homemade bread became a weekly adventure and staple. then came the homemade granola, yogurt, and pasta. and now my friends, as of last night we can add one more item to that list.... the tortilla!! as i have been trying to come up with tasty variations for the ass load of deer meat in the freezer, the idea of having quesadillas would not leave my thoughts. then there was the debate of store bought vs. homemade. i couldn't decided.... that was until i came across THIS. all the other recipes i found called for shortening or margarine or lard. i don't have any of these at the house. my fats run the olive oil and butter route. but this recipe called for vegetable oil. well i still didn't have that, but what about olive oil instead. let's face it, as much as i love love love my food, i am not the most exquisite of foodies. this palate grew up on mac-n-cheese not pasta baked in a lovely cheese bechamel sauce with fresh cracker pepper. i don't know all the different cheeses, wine confuses me, and the correct use of cooking vocabulary will never be my strong point. so would i ever be able to distinguish the difference between a tortilla made with vegetable oil v.s olive oil? nope! so let's go for it. let me tell you, the tortilla were not the most attractive, and they were a little thick (not the recipe's fault, but my own) so making an actual quesadilla didn't really work, but boy were they yummy. and easy.

ssshhh! the little dough balls are resting.

rolling out the tortilla. i used 1/2 white flour and 1/2 whole wheat flour.

look...puffy and oh so soft and chewy.

getting my supplies ready for the final product. shredded raw milk mild cheddar cheese, homemade salsa (which ray really really liked), ground deer meat, and sour cream (i wish i had happy cow sour cream, but this organic stuff will have to do).

so like i said, the actual quesadilla part didn't really work out. i pretty much just cut up the tortillas and threw the rest on top. but it was good, really good.

in an attempt to include more recipes on this here blog, the following is an off the top of my head recipe for my salsa. this is not, by any means, a standard recipe i use every time i make salsa. quite honestly, i have only made salsa twice, and i usually just go with what i have on hand, but here goes nothing. let's call it ray likes the salsa salsa.

ray likes the salsa salsa

1 big yellow local heirloom tomato
1/4 onion
1/2 pepper
bit of garlic
cilantro
zest of one small orange and 1/2 the juice of said orange
salt
mini miracles vidalia onion hot sauce
apple cider vinegar

chop up tomato and put in a bowl, juice and all. saute the onion, garlic and pepper. throw that in the bowl. chop up a bit of cilantro and add that, as well as, the salt to taste and orange zest and juice (i would have used a lemon if i had one but i didn't, i had an orange and went with it). i hit this creation with a nice bit of the hot sauce and a splash of the vinegar. (like with he orange, i would have use some white wine vinegar, but didn't have any. i ain't scared!) stir it all up and place in frig. i like my salsa best after it has sat in the frig for a day or two so all the ingredients can get to know one another and become friends.

so there you have it. if you make it and don't like it, it's probably your fault and not mine. (hehehe)