Tonight, G and I made chicken fajitas. I don't think I've had fajitas in over three years. I usually can't eat them in restaurants because they serve flour (read: gluten) tortillas with them. I'd never cared enough to make fajitas at home with store-bought corn tortillas, which are usually gluten-free, back when we were still in the States but a few of days ago, I saw a crockpot fajitas recipe on the Internet and it sparked in me a real craving for them. I waited until a Sunday afternoon when we're not in the usual afternoon/evening crunch with language sessions and A because I knew the preparation would take some time.
I didn't use the crockpot recipe that I mentioned above - instead, I just made it all on the stove. There were four things we've had to make from scratch for the meal, though: restaurant-style salsa, gluten-free corn tortillas, fajita seasoning, and sour cream, none of which is available here except for salsa. The salsa was a breeze to make with fresh ingredients in the food processor and since fresh cilantro isn't available here, we made do with dried cilantro from the States. The fajita seasoning was simple and I already had all the spices in my pantry. The sour cream was plain low-fat yogurt strained of whey over a few hours and with lemon juice added. It didn't taste exactly like sour cream but once it was put in the food, we couldn't tell the difference. This method of making sour cream seems to do in a pinch and we're definitely not picky
The gluten-free corn tortillas, though, cost me time in scouring the Internet for a recipe. Most recipes (gluten-free or not) call for masa harina, which I seriously doubt can be found in this country. It is traditional corn flour used in Mexico and is made of dried maize that is treated in a solution of lime and water (also known as "slaked lime" or calcium hydroxide), and then dried again and ground into flour. I searched and searched for a recipe that didn't use masa harina and finally stumbled on a recipe that uses plain cornmeal and flour. I had to adapt the recipe to make it gluten-free. Corn tortillas are very simple and easy to make. You can also cut up the tortillas into triangles, fry them, and there you have it...tortilla chips! I plan to do that tomorrow night because we have plenty of salsa left over. Chips and salsa is my favorite snack. Tortilla chips can be found here (sometimes) but they cost a pretty penny for such a small amount. It costs me just pennies to make the tortillas. I think I win.
You may think we're crazy for going to all that trouble but it took no time at all to cook from scratch. It's better than just going without and we can enjoy delicious meals this way. When there is a will, there is a way.
I was thinking earlier tonight at how much more I cook from scratch now, mainly because of my celiac disease and more so now because of living overseas. I was the "cook and bake from the box" kind of girl and went the pre-packaged route all the way. I remember the first time we made BBQ sauce from scratch. I was utterly surprised because it never occurred to me that stuff in bottles and boxes at the store could be made yourself at home! Just the other night, I made pesto from scratch. When it comes to Italian dishes, I prefer pesto with pasta than tomato sauce. Pesto takes less than 2 minutes to make and infinitely cheaper than store-bought. I make ranch dressing from scratch, too. I've had to make my own evaporated milk a few times. There is a number of things I've made from scratch that I would not have done in the States.
On another note, we bought a bread machine from a fellow celiac who was moving back to the States. It's nice to eat bread again and we're still testing different bread recipes. Friends who came to visit a month ago brought their flour mill that they no longer needed and plus bags of different grains (teff, sorghum, millet, flaxseed, etc) and beans (fava beans, etc) to grind into flour. They are living in an area which, from their description, I called "celiac heaven" because almost all the different flours a celiac would use can be found there. With the grinder, I will also be able to grind brown rice and chickpeas which are in plenty here.
Grinding my own flour is definitely going the "make from scratch" route. Cooking's not my favorite and if I wasn't a celiac and living overseas, you bet your bottom dollar I'd never make anything from scratch. It's amazing how life can dramatically change your choices and the way you live.
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