Hey, everyone. Welcome back to my kitchen where everything is scratch made and home preserved
I'm Jenny and today we're actually in my dining room. Um I just wanted to come on and answer some of your questions
I get a ton of questions about things that I'm using for Mexican cooking in particular
So the first thing I want to clear up is oregano, Mexican
oregano, Greek, oregano or as most people like to call it Italian oregano
but it's, it's Greek, it comes, it rains from Greece and it is actually part of the mint family
I had to write notes here. Um So it is kind of more of a minty
Um licorice, black licorice kind of flavor. Let's see
Sorry, I'm trying to read my handwriting. You can turn and you can put if you
use infuse oregano into some oil, some good oil, some non fractionated coconut oil
perhaps you can treat acne with it. Um Any open sores, it's a great anti-inflammatory and
antibacterial. This is closely related to mam which
oddly enough taste more closely taste more like Mexican oregano than that
Oregano. I don't know why they're called the same thing. I really don't. I wish they would have named Mexican Oregano
Something else. Mexican oregano is part of the Vienna family. And when these grow
they have little yellow flowers. Um It, it
only grows in the southwest. So some of you say you have a hard time finding it
Now, I did have somebody leave me a message and she said you're, you're a Mexican
You say your Mexican oregano is different from the other oregano. OK. It's not my Mexican oregano
I didn't invent it. I wish I could take credit. I love this stuff so much
I go through pounds of it. Now, I can buy this stuff in huge bags at my store
This is only two ounces. I normally buy them in pound bags and this other just comes from my regular market
So if you can't find it, you can find it on Amazon and I do have it in my Amazon link for kitchen pantry
Um It is in there. You can find it. Oh, I can't stop smelling that
That is one of my favorite smells. Um What else can I tell you about it
These, when it's dry it, you can even see it through here
But it um it definitely looks different than, than regular oregano. You can tend to see more buds
little flower buds. OK? Greek oregano doesn't have that. Greek
oregano is just kind of can see the difference here. It's just kind of
this is the Mexican oregano. And this is the Greek oregano. Just kind of flat
totally different kind of herb. Ok
So those, those are two different plants. They don't even come from the same plant and they grow in two separate places as well
So Mexican oregano grows here. You can grow it. Texas, New Mexico
Southern California, uh in Mexico. But it doesn't really, it has to
it needs warm to grow a warm climate. I do not know where you can get seeds
You'd have to really google it online. I hear seeds are hard to find. Um
you know what? Maybe I'll try to grow some in my garden this year just to see if I can
But leads me to my next question that I get all the time are peppers
I'm still getting, still getting. How do I make my sauces more mild
Ok. All peppers are labeled, ok, mild. And just because I've made something with peppers does not mean that it's spicy hot
I was reading comments. I'm still answering comments from a month ago from um
January and tons of comments about. Oh, that's too spicy for me. Oh
that's spicy. Hot. Your taco sauce. No, it isn't. I use mild peppers and I use only a couple of chili di A so if
you're gonna make something hot, chili ar and hot peppers, that is how you make it hot
Otherwise you use mild. Don't use the chili durable if you don't like heat chili durable are tiny
But let me tell you if you have three of them in a huge pot
It packs a punch. Um, guajillo peppers are the main peppers I use
they look like this. They're very red. Well, heels are very red
Here is an ancho chili. It has a bigger stem. It's a little bit more leathery
This has a really smoky flavor and it is not hot. It just adds a really good flavor and these in particular smell
so good when they're toasting. Yes, you toast these in the pan before you use them to give them better flavor and no
you don't toast until they're black. You just simply toast them until they start turning a golden color and you pull them off as soon
as you can smell the toasting, they're pretty much done. Flip them or take them off
You definitely don't want to burn them. Always remove your seeds. Seeds are bitter
They're no good. You can't save them, replant them. You can't ground them into a nice powder
It won't work that way. It's just gonna be bit bit sorry. It's just gonna be bitter and not good for anything and I'm not
editing this. So you're gonna get all the, I'm doing this on my phone
Um So you're gonna get all the weird around in the um um um Usually I cut that out in the videos
So ancho these taste so good. I always will mix a few in with guajillo
which is mainly what I use. But all the new Mexico chili peppers are labeled and
if you're ever worried about it, then throw in some red bell pepper or green bell pepper or something like that
Uh, next thing I showed how to make homemade taco sauce. I canned this
You know how many people said what is taco sauce? We don't use taco sauce
People didn't know what taco sauce was. Taco sauce is a condiment
Ok. We still refer to it as kind of a salsa. But um
it's really, it's smooth and it's a sauce. Ketchup is a condiment
So is taco sauce? You put it on top of your finished taco, your taco salad
your finished product. It's a condiment. Ok? I had people write in and say
oh, I usually use taco seasoning. Well, you're still gonna use your taco seasoning in your meat because this is a condiment
Sure, you could throw that in there as well if you wanted, but it's so good
Why waste it that way? I just want to use it as a topping because I wanna taste it. So it is a nice condiment
That's what taco sauce is. Again, if you don't like heat, use mild peppers
get peppers labeled mild. There isn't, I mean, if you're looking for specific peppers an is mild but they're super
smoky and they're really dark. So if you're gonna use guajillo peppers
only your sauce is gonna come out a beautiful bright red. You throw in a
you're gonna get the dark brick red because Antos will be darker but angels are mild
Um They're not real hot either. Um You can get just the new Mexico dried chili pods labeled mild
Basically that's how you make a mild sauce, mild peppers. You want it hot
get hot peppers. Actually this new Mexico chili brand you can even get medium
Um So there's that. But yeah, tons of questions. How do I make it less heat
And just because you're using a pepper does not mean that you're getting heat from it. Not all peppers have heat
bell peppers are sweet. They have no heat. These, they don't have any heat just flavor
Uh What else? I think that's the majority of the questions that I get
Are they Mexican oregano? And no people did not seem to know what taco sauce was
Hot sauce. I did. Can that as well? Hot sauce also is a condiment
It's something you put on top of a finished product and your hot sauce can vary in heat as well
Now we like a little bit of a kick but we don't want to burn your face off hot
We won't, neither one of us will eat it that way. Um And let me tell you something here in Phoenix
most of our food is what is called Sonoran Mexican food. You know
Texas has tex-mex style New Mexico has a New Mexican style that they eat
They are three different styles of food. Um Southern California is more like our Sonoran food
same thing, but New Mexican Mexican food is spicy hot here. Um
Let me tell you, it is predominantly Hispanic and most of the Hispanics I know do not like super hot food
So you go to restaurants here, you're not most of the time it is not gonna be super hot
It's just not the case. I know people associate Mexican food with being spicy hot
That is not, that is not true. That is not how it is. Especially here in Arizona
our Sonoran style food is a lot of flavor but minimum heat unless you want heat
you can always add it in, you can always have them add in extra peppers or things like that if that's what you want
But most of the time you don't get that, that burn your face off heat
Um Jalapenos, jalapenos can have some heat. Yes, but they're not super hot and they really
really depend. Sometimes you get a crop that's just super delicious and not too spicy
And then sometimes you get a crop that is so spicy. I can't eat it
Same with hatch chilies from New Mexico. Now I make hatch sauce every year and a couple of years back
even the mild hatch peppers were so hot. I couldn't even eat them
So um that's crazy hot and just really depends. So
if you don't like heat, get peppers labeled mild, especially the dried ones
the dried ones are pretty right on. I have not got, gotten a bag of mild peppers and then realized it was too hot
Never. That's never happened with the dried peppers with a fresh chili
Yes, that has happened to me. Um, with the hatch peppers actually
So that being said, just pick up mild peppers and they are labeled if you're looking for peppers that aren't hot
that are fresh Pablo or are a good bet. Those are not hot
Um Let's see what uh and like I said, some jalapenos, some batches aren't some are
you just gotta have to test them out. Um Serranos can be hot
I don't find them way too hot but they can, they can carry some heat, they can pack some heat
So if you're looking to add a little heat but not a ton, those are a good bet
Ok. I think that is it. I should have written a list of peppers for you but you
you know, I'm not Google, you can google them uh heat level for peppers
It'll show you a good picture of the pepper and then the heat on it. So that is another good way for you to find
the peppers that will fit for you for your household if you don't like heat and just because you don't like hot doesn't mean you
can't make taco sauce it can, this is, this isn't real hot
This is more of a mild version of taco sauce, but it packs a ton of flavor
In fact, you can tell I've already used this. This is one I just opened and I've almost used it all
I wanna eat it on everything. It's that good. The hot sauces too actually
But it packs a ton of flavor. So it's an excellent accompaniment to anything
Um, with in it. Like for us, I like just a little kick
So it mine will have a little kick because I'll use like three ancho or three chili dab in it in that chili
Darbo is what gives it the heat. So you don't like heat, stay away from chili Darbo and then use mild peppers so
you can make this stuff without having it. Burn your face off hot. And like I said
I don't, we don't eat anything in this house that's burned your face off hot because we don't like things that hot
But I still nonetheless get comments about how spicy our food is that I'm making
I am not believe me. I cannot handle that much heat. Sometimes if we go to a s for enchiladas
their enchilada sauce can sometimes be super spicy hot and I can't handle the hot on it
So um yeah, I don't do hot. I do flavor with a kick in all my sauces because
I absolutely love the pepper flavors, dried peppers. OK. I showed you how to make hot sauce with them
I showed you how to make enchilada sauce with them. I showed you how to make taco sauce with them
but you can also do a couple of peppers in the same way
Like you, like, I started with my enchilada sauce or my hot sauce or my taco sauce and pour that into your chicken broth for
your chicken soup. That is so good. We do that a lot
Actually. Uh, for chicken soup, you can put it into the, your
um, if you like your vegetable soup, it's perfect to go into broth
I absolutely love it. Sometimes I just do that with my enchilada sauce. Anyway, if you're gonna make zole
your broth starts out like that as well. Um, but I just wanted you to know that you could do the same thing with chicken
soup. You could do it with potato soup. You can do with vegetable soup. It's so good and it really adds a lot to your
broth. Um, you can also make the consulate to dip your tacos in
especially, especially if you're doing like the beer tacos, which is the way you cook the meat
So, like be there is, it's like a slow cook process. Anyway
those tacos are the best dipped into the so good, so dried peppers have a ton of uses
They are so good when you open them up, make sure you take a cloth that you just get damp and you wipe them down
because they'd have dust on them. They will have sand on them
They're dirty, they're not clean. So whip them down before you toast them
You can pull the seeds out, you can wipe them down, let them sit there and dry on your counter
Pull off the stem and seeds and then toast them and then put them into your boiling water
You can do that as well. I tend to just wipe them down
let them sit there. Then I toast them really quick. Then I let them cool down and dump out the seeds
But you definitely don't want the seeds. They are just so bitter and good for nothing
Also, the pulp after you scrape it out, that pulp is bitter and good for nothing
I have had people say, why don't you dry it out and turn it into a powder. That would be the most bitter god awful
powder you've ever had in your mouth. You might as well chew up an aspirin and think it's delicious
Yeah, it's just, it's that better. It's yucky. I do not know anybody who likes that pulp
I realized nobody. You know, you don't like to throw things away and you want to find a use for it that there just is
no use for it. It's good for your compost. That's about it. Um I feel the same way about tomato skins
after I pull those out. People like to powder those. I think they don't have good flavor at all
I think it tastes like dust. So that is another thing I will not use
that goes right into compost. Not everything has a, use an edible use
Anyway, I should say. Anyway, folks that is the information I have to give you about the peppers and the Mexican
oregano and the taco sauce. Um taco sauce. Also you can use in dips
I have a, I'll try to find it. I'll try to find it and link it in there
It is a dip with like sour cream and cream cheese and taco sauce
It's so good, but it's a midwestern style dip. Not really. They call it
like taco dip. But no, no, it's, it's a midwestern dip. Learned it in Michigan when I was a teen
but it's still delicious nonetheless. And it takes taco sauce in it
So I use this for that as well. It's another thing I went to Michigan
Um a couple of weeks ago, I was there for a week twice. I was with people who got nachos on the nachos was chopped
up green pepper. I was shocked, really shocked. Uh my mom got nachos and she
they had green peppers on hers and we just looked at each other and I looked at her and I said, is that green pepper
And she takes a bite and she said, yes, this is green pepper and I said
holy moly. Who puts green pepper on nachos? I have never seen that before
Never, never, never, never, never, never, never. Green bell pepper on nachos
Then she proceeded to have heartburn the entire night because raw green peppers upset her stomach
So that was crazy. But yeah, twice. I saw chopped green pepper on nachos
That is so weird. I just can't even fathom. We don't, we don't do that here
We might put some jalapeno on there, but usually it's pickled and we call them nacho jalapenos
They're pickled and you can get mild ones and they are so good
The pickled mild jalapenos. I love them on everything. So I put them on my nachos
I put them on sandwiches, burgers. You name it. It's on there. So good
OK, Mexican oregano, Mexican oregano, Lia. And, and I'm not gonna
pronounce it right. It's Lippa gravely Graves Graves plant. That's what the plant name is
I know I'm not pronouncing it. Correct. So, completely separate plant than the
Greek oregano. And no, you can't. So you can't substitute regular Greek oregano for Mexican oregano
You're gonna give your food a completely different flavor. A Mexican oregano has a specific flavor and if you open up a package of taco
seasoning and you use that, you are going to, it has that taco flavor because of the Mexican oregano
It, it, that gives it the specific Mexican flavor actually. So order it off Amazon if you don't have it
but it's something that if you like to make Mexican food, you really need it
So I will give you that tip. It will take your cooking to the next level and make it better
I like to try to be as authentic as I can with recipes
So a majority of what I make for Mexican food is Sonoran style from here
The Arizona Desert. Um, this is how we make these things here
I get a lot of recipes from restaurants which by the way we went to today
I got some hot sauce from downtown. It's so good. But when I made my hot sauce in my head
I'm trying to fashion my hot sauce after that one that is hot sauce
I could eat out of a bowl with a spoon. I am telling you it's that good. It's from um
so it is the best hot sauce there is. And then Robert says
come on, it's OK, but it's not that good. And I go, are you serious? Then he takes a bite of it and he's like
sits there for a minute and he goes OK. Maybe you're right. Maybe it is. Yeah
Hot sauce flavors. I'm picky about it, but that one has a lot of Mexican oregano in it
And I think that's why I like it so much. It's that flavor OK
That was babble babble talk. If you guys have any more questions about food questions in general not
don't give me comments like I don't like spice. I don't like heat
Ok. Spice and heat aren't for everybody. But please don't be a negative nancy and just comment that there's a lot of things I don't
like but I don't just spew it out to everybody. What I don't like, you know, or if they've made something that I don't like
I don't say, oh, I don't like that. That would be mean. That's not a very nice thing
So if you don't like heat, that's OK. It isn't for everybody. I do understand that
I do realize that but you can make it your own by making it mild, mild peppers
OK? And it beats store bought as well because store bought can be
you know, hot, too hot, not hot enough, whatever. However you can make it however you like
It is my point. But questions if you have questions, let me know I can do another
question answering video for you about Sonoran food in general. If that's
if that's what your question is. Um tacos flavors, how things are made
that kind of thing. Um What else? I
think New Mexico, Mexican food is really spicy hot. Um We have one restaurant here that's like a new Mexican restaurant and their food
everything you get is spicy hot. Um tex-mex, tex-mex can have a lot of spice too but it's
that's more American style Mexican food there. So, and then here in Sonora
the Sonoran desert. Sonoran Mexican food. It's more, you know, enchiladas, um
tacos burritos. We have a lot of heavy sauces. Everything's cheesy. Um
yeah, we have the, the heavy cheesy saucy Mexican food here. But
oh, my gosh. What's not to love about it? I love it. Enchiladas are like one of my favorite dishes
And what else? Oh, if you make like ranchero sauce, the fresh
um, tomato sauce. That too. I love that. I have a video on making that as well
I believe. Mhm. I'm trying to think of anything else. I've gotten asked now
I gotta think of everything. I gotta link in here for you guys. I'll try to find the ranchero sauce and then I will link
the hot sauces and enchilada sauces that I made in case you haven't seen those videos yet
But there are a lot of uses for dried chilies. And somebody asked me in a comment
Do I ever use fresh chilies? Sure, when, when needed. But for enchilada sauce
hot sauce, taco sauce soups, I use dried. If I was gonna make a fresh sauce
I would use a fresh pepper like a fresh jalapeno. Um, but
or like PICO de gallo, which is not my favorite, by the way, that is something I don't hardly ever eat
If I go somewhere and they throw it over top of something. I scrape it off
I don't like it because I don't like peels on my tomatoes. Once they get on hot food
then the peel starts to separate and then if I eat it then the peel gets stuck in the roof of my mouth and I'll
panic. You know, that's a whole hard deal for me. Um, plus some jalapenos are hotter than others
So, I have gotten PICO de gallo that they have chunked things huge in a huge jalapeno piece that's fresh
that's so hot. Yeah, I don't like that either. So I'm super picky about it
So if I do eat PICO, I prefer to make it myself. I chop everything really fine and I peel my tomatoes
I do not like the tomato peels. It sounds weird. I know. But also um I can't eat a bunch of fresh things
fresh vegetables. I actually have to have everything cooked and I can't eat peels
So I peel everything and take seeds out seeds and peels are something I can't
my body does not tolerate if you have the same condition. You know what I'm talking about
Um So nothing fresh for me. If I eat a cucumber, I'm out for the next two weeks
I will be sick, sick, sick anyway. Um, not something I normally talk about on this
on my channel. So that being said, give me your questions. What do you got
I'll do another, maybe I'll do a live, maybe we'll do a live for um questions another time
Let's do one next week. What's today? Monday? Maybe next week, Tuesday
So the last Tuesday of March, let's do a live, ask me your questions
I'll answer them then and I will keep a list. So if you have Mexican food questions or ingredient questions
go ahead and leave them in the comments. All right guys. Thank you so much for hanging out with me
Sorry, this video is so long and drug out. I'm not editing it. It's on my phone
So I'm just gonna put it up as, as and hope my and um
and around doesn't bother you. That's what happens when I don't have a camera with a memory card
I'm then using my old camera. I did get a new camera actually, a week ago I canned all week
I have a bunch of jars full of food sitting here. I filmed two videos for you canning videos with new recipes
They didn't, they did not film. Now, I looked at the camera when I hit the record button
it said record. So I saw it was recording, it was on but nothing recorded
It didn't record on the um S D card and it didn't record into the camera
So I have no idea what happened. I guess. I don't know how to use that camera yet
I don't know. But because of that, I'm using my phone. So I know I recorded and that
really sucks. So, um, next week I will show you what I can open them up
Talk about them and then I will give you the recipe as well
I'll give you the recipe link so that if you're interested, you can, can it all right friends
Thank you so much for hanging out with me today. I will see you in the next video