graciela's Profile

Happy to read this after I overcooked and ruined 2 lbs of salmon. I've been going through a cooking rough patch as well and it makes me want to just eat out, which I can't afford in either cash or calories. So, I truck on and hope my cooking mojo comes back some day. For now, I'm eating my blah food.

Bean and cheese is always my go to combo for pupusas. My grandma has a strict no mozzarella policy so we always use monterey jack.

I also never thought of using apple cider vinegar for the curtido. My grandma taught me to make it with white vinegar. But I'd like to try this recipe too.

Sorry, I can't help with this recipe but 103 years old? That is wonderful. I'm glad your grandma had such a rich and full life and that your family chose to celebrate it. She sounded like an amazing cook and person!

My grandma's Salvadoran tamales are the best! She was making them vegan before I ever heard of the word.

Fage is definitely the best tasting Greek yogurt for me. Tried yoplait, dannon, and the store brand's versions and they taste awful. They're not even as thick.

Plus, when I was into body building and looking for every gram of protein, I noticed that Fage and Chobani had higher amounts of protein vs the imitators.

I've made mozzarella before and here are my tips;

1. Use the plain ol' store brand whole milk if you can't get milk directly from a cow. The cheap stuff in a jug is pasteurized and homogenized, but not ultra pasteurized. It's what I always use to make mozzarella and I haven't had any issues with it. Would love to use organic milk but it's all ultra pasteurized at my grocery store. The homogenization doesn't seem to cause any issues with making mozzarella.

2. I use liquid vegetable rennet and you can easily buy this from amazon or some other online retailer. Rennet is not something I usually see at the grocery store so order online if you must. You can also use 1 whole rennet tablet for 1 gallon of milk.

3. For the citric acid, you can use 2 TBs fresh lemon juice per 1 tsp of citric acid. Again, I haven't had problems using this conversion.

I'd also recommend those interested in making mozzarella to check out the Instructables recipe since it has tons of pictures, comments, info, and it's never failed me.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Great-Mozzarella-Cheese/

I also keep a "food diary". It makes cooking and buying groceries a whole lot easier.

I'm Salvadoran and we always put hard boiled eggs in guacamole. Not what my Mexican bf would consider guac but that's what I grew up doing.

I have to disagree with freezing tofu. I've done it, and I find the texture to be too spongy after it thaws. It's expected from the freezing of water in and then thawing, leaving behind air pockets. Not my favorite texture.

As for quality of tofu, I've turned to just making my own. The Kitchn had a great feature on a book called Asian Tofu, and that's what I use to make silken, firm, and pudding tofu. It doesn't take that long. I usually make a couple of blocks over a weekend. Eating tofu you made the same day, or even a few days ago, is awesome.

I love this look! It's modern but inviting. I'd love to cook in that kitchen.