Monday, January 21, 2013

The quest for cumin recipes . . .

Please tell me I am not the only one with files like this, overstuffed like a deep dish pie with recipes to try someday.

Most of these recipes I acquired pre-Internet days, back when cookbooks were king and magazine recipes were at least crown prince.  My files are passe now, I realize, as anyone with a mouse can ask the Great Wizard of Google to find recipes for, let's say, chicken livers plus mango salsa plus fresh lime juice.

But with a simple web search one would miss the thrill of the hunt.  The tactile pawing through of a ragtag collection of multi-sized scraps of paper, torn or carefully cut, some in neat rectangular shapes and others splotched together with scotch tape and folded, wonton-like, to fit into the bulging file folder -- that's the spirit in which I want to decide what to make for dinner.
It suits my librarian-like tendencies to spend an evening flipping through a file in my vast collection, looking for, this time, recipes containing cumin, a nice bag or two of which I acquired last summer while we were in Morocco for a friend's wedding.
(Yes, the careful reader may note those instructions are in French, and I'm pretty sure there's something there about aiding the stomach with diarrhea.  Moving on.)

This is the recipe I chose to make, Picadillo Tortillas, recipe pre-splattered (somehow) to save me the trouble.  From an old issue of Cooking Light magazine -- so old it's not on the Cooking Light archived recipes page -- it turns out this was a grand choice.  It used just 1/4 t. of cumin (unfortunately), but with a delicious hint of cinnamon, and the surprise of diced apple and raisins, it's a keeper.  Serves four (in our house, two), 232 calories each (in our house, 464).  I think I may multiply this by a gazillion and make it for the next big family reunion.

PICADILLO TORTILLAS
1/2 lb. ground round
1 c. peeled, finely chopped Rome apple
2 T. raisins
1 T. minced jalapeno pepper (I omitted)
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. ground cumin
1/8 t. ground cinnamon
dash of ground coriander
8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
4 8-inch flour tortillas

Crumble beef in microwave-safe 1-quart casserole dish.  Cook for 1 1/2 minutes on high; stir; cook for 1 1/2 more minutes on high; stir again.  If meat is still pink, cook for another minute or 2 until it's done.   Drain off fat to discard.  Add all the rest of the ingredients to the meat, except tortillas, then nuke on high for 3 minutes; stir; cook 3 more minutes; stir.  If it's still kind of soupy, cook for another minute or two until it's a little thicker.  Spread 1/2 c. of the meat mixture on a tortilla.  Can fold over, burrito-style, cover with paper towel, and heat just another 15-20 seconds or so to warm it up.  Then you get to eat it.

So tell me:  Do you have a pile of recipes somewhere that you're waiting to try?

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12 Comments:

Blogger ~~louise~~ said...

Oh Lynn, you silly girl. There is no way in this wide world that I would give up one scrap of my
"passe" recipes. There's something about holding them in my hand or flipping through a scrapbook filled with magazine recipes and the like from times ago.

Sometimes I have the sudden urge to just scan them and upload them "as is" for all the world to see. You don't always get the historic evidence of a recipe , because as we both know, very few are actually new, when you google. You usually get a primped up version sometimes lacking historic flavor:)

Thank you so much for sharing your hunt with us Lynn. The Picadillo Tortillas sound just perfect!

January 21, 2013 at 1:27 PM  
Blogger ~~louise~~ said...

P.S. If my mind serves me correctly, you "met" T.W. from Culinary Types. Just a heads up, today (21st) is his birthday!!!

P.S. Happy National New England Chowder Day!

January 21, 2013 at 1:31 PM  
Blogger Farm Girl said...

I just had to laugh, I thought today, I need to go through all of these Taste of Home magazines and the thousands of cookbooks I have and just get rid of some. I have recipes stuffed in cookbooks and as I was going through them I found my old and I mean old La Leche League cookbook. I marked the page so I can make sourdough starter. So I know I need to get rid of them I just don't know. I still love cookbooks.
Thank you Lynn for your kind comments. I am in the same place. A house to clean. I did get the chicken pen clean. Sorry about the Cumin. I just use it 1/4 teaspoon at a time too.
I hope you have a nice week.

January 21, 2013 at 1:50 PM  
Blogger Lynn said...

Happy New England Chowder Day to you, too, Louise!

January 21, 2013 at 2:29 PM  
Anonymous Barbara H. said...

Yes, I do have such a pile! I'm glad I am not the only one! I even stopped getting a couple of recipe magazines until I can work through some of what I have.

January 21, 2013 at 2:43 PM  
Blogger Julia said...

Hi Lynn, you are not alone with this folly. I have a plastic bag full of recipes from magazine, newspaper and clippings and all kind of assorted sizes of papers with some recipes that I want to make some day and over a hundred cookbooks and I also go online in search of recipes, lol...

What I've started to do about a month ago is to tape some of those recipes that I make and like, in a note book in categories and so far it's working but I have a long way to go. It's getting easier to find my recipes when I want them as I'm always in a rush.

I keep my note book on a shelf in the kitchen and a roll of clear tape.
This note book has perforated pages that can be pulled off and put in a ring binder later in clear plastic sleeves.

Nice meeting you Lynn.

January 21, 2013 at 3:28 PM  
Blogger Julia said...

I forgot to mention that I use cumin in hummus and I always put a lot more than they ask for. I love cumin.

JB

January 21, 2013 at 3:38 PM  
Blogger teresa said...

yes, i have binders! i can't give them up either, too many good ones to try. of course, let's not forget the millions of things i've saved on pinterest either. haha!

January 22, 2013 at 8:29 AM  
Blogger Lynn said...

Aaaah, Teresa, Pinterest!! I think I can't even allow myself to go there. Too dangerous. :)

January 22, 2013 at 10:58 AM  
Blogger Elena said...

Yes, I do! I have a plastic file folder on top of my fridge that I have recipes filed in. Your Picadillo Tortillas look so good!

January 22, 2013 at 7:12 PM  
Blogger Blond Duck said...

I love picodillo tacos! They're huge here!

January 22, 2013 at 7:14 PM  
Blogger Valerie@chateaualamode.typepad.com said...

Yes, I do have a huge file box of recipes just like you. Some of them are from special people in my life. Some of the people have passed on so I won't be giving them up. Something so special about real recipes from the past that mean so much.

January 22, 2013 at 8:56 PM  

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