This year's non-traditional Thanksgiving was back to Mexican, because there's no American like Mesoamerican. Last time (2010) was based on Roberto Santabanez's Truly Mexican; this time, we made a menu of the recipes of Pati Jinich. I now have three of Jinich's cookbooks, and we've been watching our way through her PBS series (we're on Season 8: Sinaloa), and between those it was easy to put together a full menu for our small family gathering. Still just the few of us thanks to The Plague.

We always do no-turkey Thanksgiving meals, since none of us like it. Well, not really no-turkey; turkeys were present, it's just that they were eating instead of being eaten.

Since enchiladas were on the menu, and there's a nice little market where I can buy fresh masa, I decided to make my own tortillas. It's not particularly hard, or even time-consuming if you have the right equipment: a tortilla press and a large griddle or comal. I think it took me around 70 minutes to make 3 dozen tortillas. I made some mini-tortillas for making mini-tostadas later.

By coincidence, all three savory dishes featured corn in some form. Well, that's Mexican food for you. It's also coincidentally gluten-free.

Our first course was Jinich's Avocado/Panela Salad. I made some small changes to it, though: I fried the panela cheese, which I strongly recommend for this; and because some people in my family are capsicum wimps, I replaced the pickled jalapeños with pickled banana peppers. These changes worked and the salad was still delicious.

I fried up those mini-tortillas so I could make the mini-tostadas (tostaditas?), putting a spoonful of avocado salad on top. These were big winners.

In keeping with the theme, instead of wine we drank 54'40" Brewing's 1862, a tasty, light Mexican-style lager.

Half the main course was a Thanksgiving standard, green beans. Only these were the Green Beans with Corn Sauce and Pepitas from Treasures of the Mexican Table. This was a surprisingly complicated recipe for a vegetable side dish, requiring a pan, pot, and a blender, but it was completely worth it. These were absolutely delicious and could have easily been a vegan centerpiece on their own.

The other main dish was far from vegan: Crab and Pea Enchiladas in Sour Cream Sauce, this time from Mexican Today. This was another success, rich, decadent and delicious, despite actually being faster to make than the green beans (if you don't make your own tortillas, that is). These are very rich; you really won't need more than two per person. Def a holiday dish. Like the other dishes, I toned down the heat by swapping in milder peppers.

This may look like a light meal but we were stuffed by the time we finished the main course. So we took a two-hour break before re-convening for dessert, prepared by my sweetie. This was hot chocolate and a cajeta custard, this time a Jinich online recipe. Sublime but light and small, which we appreciated at that point in the evening. Tip, though: use a torch to caramelize the sugar for the custards just before service.

So, that's our no-turkey Thanksgiving for 2022. What was yours?

(No recipe in this article; you can find two of the Jinich recipes in the links)

This stupidly easy, yet tasty, soup is based on a recipe by Pati Jinich, who has become my new queen of Mexican cooking and should probably be yours as well. Her recipes are, in general, simple and easy yet delicious, and she teaches you Mexican home cooking that's not about tacos and fajitas.

This soup is basically an adobo sauce, into which you mix pureed beans and broth, showing the simple versitality of Mexican cooking as well as their dedication to sauces. I tinkered with the recipe slightly to use mostly canned ingredients. Accompany this with some quesadillas or cornbread and you have a terrific weeknight meal that can be on the table in 40 minutes. And, for quarantine-time, this recipe serves two (double it for a larger family).

If you don't have Mexican crema around, you can substitute regular sour cream or even heavy cream. For a vegan version, swap in coconut cream or vegan sour cream.

Pinto Bean Soup

1 dried ancho chile
1 14oz can diced or whole tomatoes
1 14oz can pinto beans
2 tbs vegetable oil
1 cup water
2 to 2 1/2 cups veggie or chicken stock
Salt
1/2 cup Mexican crema (or substitute)
1/2 avocado
A few fried tortilla strips (optional)

Remove the stem from the dried ancho, split it in half, and remove the seeds. Tear it into a few pieces and set in a small heatproof bowl. Boil 1 cup of water and pour it over the chile, making sure it is completely covered. Let sit for 10 minutes to rehydrate.

Put the chile pieces (reserving their soaking liquid) and the canned tomatoes and their juice into a blender or food processor. Puree.

Heat the oil in a medium soup pot. Pour the tomato/chile mixture into the pot and cook over medium heat, stirring regularly. In 5-6 minutes the mixture should darken somewhat.

While the pot is cooking, drain the beans. Puree them together with 1/4 cup chile soaking liquid and 1/2 cup stock.

Once the tomato/chile sauce is done, pour the bean puree into it. Add 1 1/2 cups stock, and bring to a bare simmer. Turn the heat down to low and simmer for 15 minutes; the soup should thicken slightly.

Taste the soup and see if you need to add salt. Also check the texture; if it's too thick, add the remaining 1/2 cup stock.

Dice the avocado half. Serve the soup in wide bowls, and add a swirl of crema or cream to each. Top with the diced avocado, and the tortilla strips (if using). Serve, with rolls or quesadillas on the side.

Serves two. Can be easily scaled up.

In the before-times, I had the pleasure of making Christmas Eve dinner both for someone who can't eat fish and for a celiac sufferer. I say pleasure because I actually enjoy these kinds of cooking challenges; it's more fun than just following a recipe. But if you don't enjoy them, then here's my recipe for you to follow.

Carbonnade Flamande is probably the ultimate beef stew. Arguably Flanders' national dish, it's a slow-cooked pot of large beef cubes simmered in Belgian beer and spices. Which you might think would make it out of the question for anyone on a gluten-free diet. But, you've reckoned without the creativity of the modern craft beer movement:

This is what you're going to have to locate first: gluten-free Belgian-style beer. I highly recommend this one from Bierly, if you can get it; not only did it work a treat in this dish, but it was just good beer period. In a blind tasting, I'd have identified it as a dubbel, but not even known that it was gluten-free. If you're in Europe, there's Green's.

Then, equipped with a recipe from the delightful cookbook Everybody Eats Well In Belgium plus 4lbs of large pieces of stew beef, I was ready to proceed.

Normally carbonnade flamande starts by coating the beef in flour before frying it in butter until the outside is browned. For this version, I used 1/3 cup mixture of 50% rice flour with 50% tapioca starch. This worked great.

The rest of the recipe was more-or-less as written, so I'll give you the full instructions:

carbonnade flamande sans gluten

4lbs stew beef (like chuck) cut into 2-inch cubes
salt & pepper
1/3 cup 50/50 mix of rice and tapioca flour
6-7 Tbs butter
2-3 large onions, sliced, about 4 cups
2x19oz bottles of gluten-free Belgian-style beer
2 tsp dried thyme
2 bay leaves
2 Tbs tart jelly, ideally redcurrant
1 Tbs grainy or dijon mustard (GF)
equipment: cutting board & large knife, large bowl, stock pot or dutch oven, 6-10qt

Cube the beef. Lightly season it with salt and pepper. Toss it in a bowl with the flour, until all of the pieces are lightly coated.

Heat 4 Tbs of the butter in the pot until foamy. Drop in the beef. Fry it, letting it sit for 30-40 seconds in each spot to brown, then stirring it, until most pieces are browned on at least 3 sides. Put the beef back in the bowl.

Add the additional 2 Tbs of butter and put the onions in the pot. Turn it down to medium, and cook the onions, stirring once a minute or so, until they are completely soft and brown, 10-14 minutes.

Deglaze the pot with the beer. Add the beef back in, and the thyme and bay leaf, along with around 1 tsp of salt. Bring to a bare simmer, then cover and turn down to low. Simmer for 2 hours, until the beef is very tender.

Uncover, and add the jelly and mustard, and stir in. Simmer for another 5 minutes. Check to see if it needs more salt (likely), and if so add it.

Serve, together with frites and more gluten-free beer. Serves 6 to 8 people.

Notes: If you're not on a GF diet, then the ideal beer to use is a Flemish Red or Sour ale. It's also customary to finish the stew with pieces of bread coated in jam or mustard that dissolve into it, but that seemed risky with GF bread. For the jelly, I used a fairly tart plum jelly; anything with a very acidic fruit will do.

There is a brief window in the middle of the summer, when the snap peas are producing their last pods before they dry up, and the early tomatoes and corn start to come in. It's during that week or two that you must -- simply must -- make this salad. Here in Portland, that window is now, so don't wait on it.

The salad is a variation on a caprese salad that was the single good recipe we got out of a vegetarian magazine subscription a relative gifted us. While most of the other recipes were brown-things-for-health, this one was delightful and we've been making it every summer since.

I mean what I said about only doing this during the right couple of weeks in summer; the salad will not work with winter tomatoes, starchy corn, or frozen snap peas. Ideally, make it out of your own garden.

snap pea, tomato, and corn salad

• two ears sweet corn
• 1 lbs ripe cherry tomatoes, or small salad tomatoes
• 1/2 lbs snap peas (around 1 1/2 cups)
• 8-12 basil leaves
• 6 oz fresh, water-packed mozzarella, such as bocconcini
• 2-3 tsp high-quality, "fruity" olive oil
• 1 to 1.5 tsp balsamic vinegar
• fresh ground pepper
• a few pinches of salt

Strip and blanch the corn, either by steaming or in the microwave. When it cools, cut the kernels off the cob and break them up in a medium salad bowl.

If using cherry tomatoes, cut them in half. If using salad tomatoes, dice them into large (1/2") dice. Remove stems and strings (if any) from the snap peas, and cut them in half. Mince or chiffonade the basil. Cut the mozarrella into 1/2" or smaller pieces.

Toss all this together with the corn in the bowl. Drizzle the olive oil and balsamic over the top, add several grinds of pepper and a few pinches of salt, and toss again, gently. Let sit for 15 minutes, then serve.

Serves 4 as a appetizer, and 2 as a main course (with bread). Leftovers will be OK in the fridge for a couple of days, but let them warm to room temperature before eating.

Notes: because it uses such small quantities, this salad is a good place to use fine, expensive oil and vinegar. Ideally, use real balsamic, the kind that comes in tiny costly bottles. It's also a good target for any fancy sea salt you have around. Do not use "paste" tomatoes such as Romas, because you need the acidity from sharper tomatoes. Vegan Adaptation: substitute diced avocado for the mozzarella.

To steam corn in the microwave, strip the ears and them wrap them in plastic wrap. Microwave in bursts of 30-40 seconds until they get really really hot; usually 2-3 bursts does it. Cut off the plastic and let them cool.

What if I told you I was going to share a recipe that was delicious and great-looking, healthful, vegetarian, gluten-free, and very low salt, and can be made year-round as either a main dish or side dish?

"What's the catch?" you'd ask.

The catch is one ingredient you need that isn't easily available to everyone: za'atar spice mix. And not just za'atar, but good za'atar, and lots of it ... 1/3 of a cup, or more. Yes, really, but it's what makes this recipe work. I'll have some advice on buying or even making a good za'atar below.

The recipe is from Persiana by Sabrina Ghayour, an Iranian cookbook I borrowed from the library just before shutdown, so I have it until the libraries reopen. I would strongly recommend this cookbook for anyone who likes Middle Eastern food; as you're about to find out the flavors are very bold and the book is full of inventive food, including vegetarian dishes.

Now, as usual, I've taken some liberties with the recipe, including increasing the amount of za'atar and swapping the hot peppers for sweet peppers, but it all works. In the notes, I'll also explain the other changes you could make to the recipe depending on what ingredients you have around.

Now, about the za'atar: you'll want a "Jordanian" or "Palenstinian" style za'atar, which you can pick out because they are very green in color, not the muddy brown of a za'atar mix that has as much sumac as za'atar herb. Unfortunately, the "zaatar" sold by Western brands is generally terrible, including that sold by Penzey's. You need an actual imported brand, such as Mid East Jordanian Zaatar, Sadaf Green Zaatar, or Canaan Za'atar. If you can find a real middle eastern market, you'll find that the spice there costs a fraction of what it sells for in upscale supermarkets.

Alternately, you can make your own "fake za'atar" that will still work; look for the recipe at the bottom of my potato cake recipe

za'atar squash

• 1 large butternut squash, 2-3lbs
• 3 tbs to 1/4 cup olive oil (good Greek or Arabic oil)
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup za'atar
• 1 cup Greek-style yogurt
• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup minced fresh mint, or 2 Tbs dried mint
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 2 tsp ground sumac
• zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup finely diced bell pepper (about 1/2 pepper) (but also see below)
• 2-3 Tbs minced parsley (optional)
• 1 Tbs nigella seed (optional)
• Equipment: large rimmed baking sheet (half sheet pan), foil or parchment, large bowl, large flat spatula, platter for serving

Peel the squash, quarter it lengthwise, seed it, then slice it into pieces that are around 3/8" thick (1cm). Put the pieces in a large bowl, then toss them with the olive oil until completely coated. Follow that with the za'atar, tossing until the squash is all coated and the za'atar is saturated with oil and sticking to the squash. If the za'atar is too dry, add a little oil, and if the squash isn't coated, add a little more za'atar.

Heat the oven to 450F. Line the rimmed baking sheet with parchment or foil. Carefully spread the squash across it, so as much squash as possible is in a single layer, or at least not overlapping very much. If there's zaatar-oil mix on the bottom of the bowl, drizzle this onto the squash. Put the baking sheet in the oven and bake for around 40 minutes, until many peices of the squash are brown on the edges. If you have an electric oven, switch to convection for the last 15 minutes of cooking.

While the squash is cooking, create the yogurt mixture. Mix the mint, salt, 2 Tbs olive oil, the sumac, the lemon zest and lemon juice, and the ground coriander into the yogurt until homogenized. If the yogurt is still very clumpy, add a little more oil and/or a little water.

Take the squash out of the oven. With a large, flat spatula, carefully lift the squash and arrange it in a single to double layer on the platter. Dot the squash with large spoonfulls of the yogurt mix, then sprinkle the diced pepper, parsley, and/or nigella seeds over the top.

Serves 2-3 as a main dish, and up to 6 as a side dish.

Notes:

In my version, I substituted diced bell pepper for the sliced hot red pickled peppers that Ghayour calls for. You could do those, or jarred roasted bell pepper, or even pomegranate seeds. Anything red and brightly acidic should work.

You could also make this with other winter squashes, as long as they are not stringy or too wet, such as delecata squash or sugar pumpkin. It would be interesting to try it with sweet potatoes.

Having finished the appetizers and salad course we moved on to our main course. Now, the super-traditional Christmas eve dinner for Cuban-Americans is Lechon Asado (roast pork shoudler), with rice and black beans, and I had to have all of those things, and you'll see them in a minute.

What you're seeing above, though, is the fish dish, because I may cook pork, but I haven't started eating it, so I wanted some fish for me at least. Now, the recipe I had was for baked grouper with peppers, green onions and cilantro, but grouper isn't a fish you can get on the West Coast so I used sole instead.

Now, I did say beans and rice, didn't I? Yes I did. And in my opinion, there is no better way to eat black beans and rice than to combine them in the form of moros y christianos where the rice and beans are cooked together. Yes, this dish does have the rather insensitive name of "Moors and Christians". It's traditional, deal with it. It's also tasty, and almost a meal in itself.

However, there's still the pork. The pork I spent two and a half days making. You ready?

Now, as you know I don't exactly cook a lot of pork. Heck, I don't cook any, since I don't eat it. So I turned to my Cuban friend Alina for advice, and she helped me out with a recipe for Lechon Asado, the traditional Cuban pork roast.

Alina's recipe lays out for you how to make proper Lechon Asado, so I'm just going to give you my tips and modifications.

First, I only used 5lbs of pork, because that's still a ton of pork and it was more than too much for 8 people. Second, I used a lot more garlic, like two whole heads, so that I could poke 30-40 half-cloves deep into the meat. I had two thoughts here; one was that, well, I like garlic, and the other was that more holes in the pork would help the marinade reach more of the meat.

Now, the traditional marinade that Alina gives you is made from sour orange juice (naranja agria), and while folks offer various substitutes for this, you really don't want to swap it out. Order it online if you don't have a good Latin market in your area. Since the Badia sour orange is a bottled product, it lacked acidity so I added a bit of lemon juice to it. I also used the sour orange juice in the mojo de ajo sauce I made to go with some of the other dishes.

Next, I marinated the pork in a giant plastic bag, which was much easier than trying to fit a roasting pan into the already crowded-fridge, and made it easy to flip the meat over for even marination. Since this was a smaller pork roast, I "only" marinated it for a day and a half. You really need at least a day for this recipe to work, and up to three days is better.

Then roast for 4 hours, let rest, slice, and broil. The guests told me it was fantastic; I had to take their word for it.

Dessert, of course, was proper flan. Because what else would you make with a Cuban meal? We did have a bit of a start because the caramel in the bottom of the flan cups crystallized, but that actually turned out not to matter at all. It re-caramelized in the oven.

So that was last year's Cuban Christmas eve. Hopefully it inspired you to try something a bit more adventurous for your own holiday meals.

As for this year ... I'm doing Belgian food. Watch this feed for that!

In the last few years, it's become my responsibility to feed family and Southern Oregon friends Christmas Eve dinner, and then we go to a friend's house for Christmas day.

Yes, Christmas. My sweetie's family isn't Jewish, and I'm fine cooking for the holiday because, after all, my real religion is Feastitarianism*. There's also gonna be pork in this blog post, so be prepared.

Anyway, we have a couple special diets in the group, including one person who is allergic to fish and another one who has celiac. This has meant being fairly creative, especially since I still prefer doing ethnically themed meals. So last year, I chose Cuban food, and I'm posting this before Christmas in case you want a Cuban Christmas too. And you should! It's so colorful, and so tasty!

First course was appetizers, and if it's Cuban or Puerto Rican food you know we're going to have tostones. These are a delicious fritter made with green plantains, bought when they're hard and starchy and you have to peel them with a knife.

tostones

• 2-4 green plantains
• 2 cups peanut oil
• salt

Peel the plantains, then cut them into 2-3" chunks (for large tostones) or 1-2" pieces (for small ones). Heat half the peanut oil in a large, deep pan to low frying heat (300-325F) and shallow-fry them, turning them with tongs, until the chunks are brown on all sides. This will take around 10-12 minutes per batch; cook multiple batches rather than crowding them.

Drain the fried plantain and let it cool to room temperature. Then mash them flat, thin as you can make them (I use a tortilla press). Turn up the heat on the oil (350-380F) and fry them in batches until crisp drain them, blot dry, and salt them while they're still hot.

Of course, with the tostones I had to serve some sauces: mojo de ajo sauce and banana ketchup.

Now, I mentioned the gluten-free nature of the dinner, which led to some experiments -- such as these cheese empanadas, made with cassava flour dough. These are technically Dominican cuisine rather than Cuban, but they were perfect for the meal.

I experimented both with frozen cassava pulp, and with flour, and found the flour much easier to work with, so that's what I recommend. They fried up beautifully, and the cassava dough was light and airy, almost like some kind of puff instead of dough. I'd make these again even if I wasn't serving a gluten-free meal.

Now, on to the salad course:

Every year my dad, who lives in South Texas, sends me a box of the amazing ruby-red grapefruit they grow there for Hanukkah. So of course I needed to make a grapefruit salad! This one has butter lettuce, sweet onions, and cucumbers.

Now, as far as my sweetie is concerned one of the main reasons to eat Cuban is to have an avocado salad. This is a classic one, with sliced avocados, hothouse tomatoes, and a garlic, olive oil, and fresh oregano dressing.

That's enough for today. Tommorrow we'll get into the main course, and The Pork That Cooked For Two Days.

(* Feastitarianism: you belong to whatever religion is currently having a feast day, today)