Empanadas recipe

It's time to catch up on what's been happening.
1. After the first hiccup, Gwen is running smoothly. There are no more detectable problems with the clutch.

2. Even though I heard it second hand, Mama's lung cancer has stopped growing since radiation treatment. The doctors are waiting for a month to see if she has stabilized. She still isn't talking to me.

3. The school district is working on LAST YEAR'S substitute teacher applications. It will be several weeks before they even begin to work through this year's applicants. I am not allowed to have my fingerprints taken until they've evaluated my application. Leilehua HS wants/needs substitute teachers NOW but can't get any more until the district goes through the applications and then schedules fingerprints. I'm stymied.

4. I've been working with my clinical hypnosis partner on resolving a multitude of issues for me and for him. I think the issue that's been the most helpful lately has been working on our Inner Child. Allowing our Inner Child to heal and become healthy, loved, innocent, and trusting has made me feel calmer and a little more patient. I'm not sure I'll ever become a truly patient person, but at least now I'm a little more so. I'm also not as outwardly panicky about finances (though goodness knows I should be!)

5. A friend has sent box after box of glorious books that I've been losing myself in. Butterfly has been engrossed in her share of books, too. I feel so pampered!

So now it's time to get back to this blog.

This evening I made empanadas. There are a riot of flavors in these hand pies. You get savory, salty, and sweet in each bite. Yes, they're fried. I like to think that an occasional fried food is not going to harm us. They say 'moderation in all things', right?

Oh, the recipe calls for lard. It was readily available in all grocery stores in Tucson, but dang if I can find it here in Hawaii. So I used shortening instead. The flavor and texture are different but it's not earth-shattering. The crust isn't as flaky but the shortening worked just fine.

Empanadas

Dough
3 cups flour
1/3 cup melted lard
1 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon salt

1. Measure the flour into a large bowl and add the melted lard, the boiling water, and the salt. Use a large fork to mix together into a mass.
2. Remove to a well floured board and knead for 1 minute or so to form a ball. Cover and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes. Do not refrigerate; the dough is easier to roll out while still warm.
3. Cut the dough in half. Cover one half while you roll out the other half. Roll out the dough to the thickness of a quarter (it should not be too thin) and use a 2-pound coffee can to cut out circles. Stack the circles on a plate, one on top of the other.(They won't stick to each other.) Proceed to roll and cut out the rest of the dough, gathering up the scraps and rolling them out again. When all the circles have been cut out, refrigerate them until you are ready to use them.

Frying the meat and veggies

Filling
4 Tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
½ pound ground beef
1 sweet red pepper, seeded and chopped
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
Several grindings black pepper
good pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
1/3 cup green olives, chopped
4 Tablespoons raisins

Assembling the empanada

2 Tablespoons pine nuts
3 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
3-4 cups vegetable oil for deep-frying

1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet, add the onion and garlic and cook over medium heat until just soft Add the beef and chopped pepper and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon to break up the meat, until the beef has lost all red color. Stir in the cumin, paprika, salt, black pepper, and cayenne.
2. Remove from heat and add the olives, raisins, and pine nuts along with the eggs. Stir well and taste for seasoning. Let cool before using.
3. Have a small bowl of water at hand while you fill and seal the empanadas. Place 2 to 3 Tablespoons of filling in the center of each circle. Dip a finger in water and moisten all the edges of the circle. Bring edges together to form a half moon, and seal by pressing down on the edges with the tines of a fork.
4. Heat oil to 360° and fry the empanadas 5 or 6 at a time for about 8 minutes or until golden brown. Remove and drain on absorbent paper. By the time all the empanadas are fried, the first ones will have cooled off just enough to eat. Yield: About 16 to 18 empanadas.