Mexican ? Again? I think???

A few entries ago, I gave my recipe for green sauce and enchiladas. I think that, next to tomato sauce (or gravy, or whatever you might call it), this green sauce may be my favorite sauce of all. Would that there were room in the freezer, I would have GALLONS of it. But, ya see, the freezer is a danger zone, and hence, the inspiration for this recipe.

Some people have freezers where, if you look far enough back, there's a little guy in a parka, fishing through a hole in the ice. Others have freezers where there's a bottle of vodka, perhaps some recretational drugs (shocking, right?), and a tray of ice cubes.

Our freezer is a danger zone. It really is. There is SO much stuff in there, that I have developed the habit of immediately pulling back my feet when I open the freezer door, because something IS going to fall out. Most times, I'm quick enough, but there are times when I will walk around cursing DAMN THAT LAMB CHOP or something else that is totally incomprehensible to most humans.

So it was with this situation in hand that I tried to address the freezer situation last weekend. Note that I said "tried." My methodology was very simple: if there were so much frost on the package that I couldn't see what it was, I threw it out. If I didn't know what it was, I threw it out. If I had one of those "what in the name of GOD was I thinking when I bought this?" moments, I threw it out.

It felt good. Then I tried to get things back in the freezer. Then, Ididn't feel so good. Now, there's a basic law of physics being violated along here somewhere: if you can get "x" into a space "y," and then you reduce "x" to .9x, you should be able to get .9x into space y, with less trouble than before, right?

Uh, no. At least that's what the empirical evidence says. So, t here was a need to start using some of the stuff in the freezer, especially since there is stuff that is going in - SOON. We then go to Annalena's methodology for using stuff in the freezer: do I remember when I put it here? If the answer is no, it gets used first.

There was a package of boneless pork, about a pound and a half. Not a tenderloin mind you, but probably something out of the loin anyway. We hadn't eaten pork at home since the pocket gay Matt came over and we made pork chops together, so it was time to maybe make something. And then there was that green sauce. Hmmmmm.

My mind went back to the days when I learned how to make Mexican mole'. Any of you out there want a challenge? Want to spend a few, in fact, MORE than a few, hours in the kitchen? Well, mole' is for you. There are seven of them, and no, I don't know them all off the top of my head. One of them is "mole' verde," which is, DUH, "green mole'. Traditionally, unlike the other moles, this one is made completely of fresh ingredients, and does not keep well. Also, it's almost served with pork, and only pork.

Now, I was NOT about to start making a mole'. No, no no. Once every three years or so, I make gallons of mole negro (it takes about four hours of non stop work), and that is the extent of my mole' making these days. But the green sauce was there, in a container, beginning to ferment (because there was no room in the freezer). Well, let's give it a try.

And it worked. Here's how it goes.

Get a pound and a half of boneless pork. I would recommend a more tender cut, because you're not going to stew this long. Cut the pork into cubes, and then salt and pepper it. Get a few tablespoons of olive oil hot, in a pan, and then toss in the cubes. This is a recipe where you do not need to let the pork sit. You can move it around. You want a little bit of sear, but not a tremendous amount.

When the pork has gone to a point where it's white on the outside, add two cups of green sauce. Now, for those of you who forgot how to make it, thanks to the joys of cutting and pasting:

You need a pound of tomatillos, a half pound of green peppers, a handful of hot peppers , and a bunch of cilantro, plus an onion, and a few cloves of garlic. How hot the pepers are is up to you, as is whether or not you remove the veins and seeds. Chop up the peppers, the hot peppers, the onion and the garlic. Put the cilantro to the side. Peel the tomatillos. Put everything in a big pot, with about a third of a cup of water. Turn on the heat to medium . When the water comes to a boil, lower the heat, cover the pot, and go read a book or something for ten or fifteen minutes, until everything is really soft. When it cools down, puree it in a food processor, and then correct the seasonings by adding salt and whatever you like. Also, while you're pureeing it, put the cilantro in, if you like it. You don't have to.


Ok, so you've got your sauce and you poured it over the pork. Lower the heat, cover the pan, and let it cook for ten-fifteen minutes, until the pork is done and tender.

I served this over fresh corn kernels because, yet again, it was a question of "use em or lose em." I REALLY wanted to try it on posole, and I will - SOON. But if you are not a corn lover, use rice. Or, perhaps you can just make some messy tortillas with it. I bet it would be good. Or just put it in a bowl, if you are not a carb eater, and pig out.

I surely did.