Saying Goodbye to the Southwest

In two weeks I'm moving from Arizona to Taipei, Taiwan.  I've left the southwest for short spurts before and I've always missed the culture (especially the food!) tremendously.  This time is going to be no different.  It's hard to imagine being able to find proper green chili and chipotles in Asia.  So I'm making as much of it as I can before the move.  Maybe it'll get me through the 8 months we're there.

Chicken Tostada with Avocado Cream and Sour Onions

I'm pretty new to making my own tortillas.  I'd been waiting to buy a tortilla press.  I guess it's just going to have to wait until next year.  It's easy even without the press though.  I just mixed 1/2 cup masa with 1/3 cup water and a little salt, rolled it out into balls and smashed it between the cutting board and the bottom of a pan.  A little thick and uneven but at least I got to eat fresh tortillas!

The rest was easy too - diced chicken, sauteed red onion and jalapeno with a little vinegar and cumin, showered it all with some cotija cheese and mache lettuce.  What more could a girl ask for?

Avocado Cream

8 oz sour cream

1 avocado

1/2 Tbsp Montreal seasoning (or mixture of salt, pepper, fennel, onion flake, garlic flake)

Smash the avocado up the way you would to make guacamole.  Add to the sour cream and mix together with the seasoning.  Great on almost everything!