Scrambled Eggs & Smoked Salmon Wrap

There are various ways to scramble eggs; so, use your own method. Some people add water, some add milk, some add cream, and some see the addition of any of these liquids as heresy. Then, some people draw in the edges of the cooking eggs, some start in the middle and move them outward, some just start stirring. None of this will end civilization, unless we choose to make it the next silly thing we say we will fight to the death over. Four ounces of cream cheese is simply half of a typical "block" package of cream cheese. In the U.S., smoked salmon is more typically sold in flat small packages with one or more thin slices of smoked salmon per package, but you may also find it in pieces that you can slice yourself. I added the optional red chilies for chili pepper lovers, but if you love the taste of smoked salmon, you should probably leave the chilies out of the recipe, as they will likely overwhelm the other flavors. Finally, if you haven't worked with avocados, once you cut them open and remove the seed, you can the scoop out the flesh in one piece, with a large spoon, and then slice it, but you must squeeze some lemon juice over the avocado, or it will begin to darken.

Ingredients (4 wraps)

1/4 pound smoked salmon, cut or torn into bite size pieces

2 tablespoons butter (more if needed)

4 eggs

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt 

(Optional) 2 to 3 small red chilies, chopped

4 tablespoons evaporated (canned) milk

4 ounces cream cheese, cubed

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 avocado, sliced with some lemon juice squeezed over it

4 slices tomato, chopped (remove the seeds, if you'd like)

hot sauce to taste

4 flour tortillas (8 inch diameter size)

Crack the eggs into a bowl, add the evaporated milk, ground black pepper and salt; then, whisk the egg mixture well, until there is a little foaminess in the eggs, set aside briefly. You can heat the tortillas in the oven, but I run some water onto a paper towel, wring it out, then cover a tortilla with the paper towel on a microwave safe dish, then zap it for about 20 seconds; repeat individually for whatever number of tortillas you are using. In a large nonstick skillet, melt the butter over low heat. Whip the eggs again briefly, and the add the eggs to the skillet and, if using chilies, quickly scatter the chopped chilies around to prevent them from piling up in one or two locations, and creating a flamethrower for the person getting them (of course, if you or others love the heat, pile them on). Then spread around the salmon pieces and cream cheese cubes. While this has only been a few seconds, the eggs will be motoring right along; so, scramble the eggs by your own method, but I begin to draw the edges of the eggs in toward the middle, then keep moving them around (swirling motion, I guess is best to describe it). You can lift the skillet off of the heat while you're moving around the eggs, but if there isn't much "liquidy" egg to be seen, turn off the heat. Remember, the residual heat of the skillet will help cook any remnant of uncooked egg. When finished, divide the cooked eggs and place a portion that runs through the middle of each tortilla. Top the eggs with a little raw onion, a couple of slices of avocado and some chopped tomato. Sprinkle on a few drops of hot sauce (or more than a few, for those who like some sizzle). Fold the tortilla around the filling and you're ready to eat.

 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Fawn (Fetus)-"Fawn" is the noun for a baby deer (the verb, often used with 'over,' in 'to fawn over,' is a different and unrelated word). "Fawn" is related to "female" and to "feminine," Latin-derived words borrowed by English from Latin-based French. "Fawn" goes back to Indo European "dhe(i)," which meant "to suck, to suckle." This gave Old Italic "fetos" (the Indo European form rendered as "f" in Italic), which gave Latin "fetus," meaning "an offspring, the production or fruit of a plant" (fruit in the general sense, not the specific classification). This gave Latin the noun "fetonem," with the meaning "young animal." This passed into Old French as "feon," meaning "a young animal," with more of a tendency to usage for "a young deer," and also with the spelling "faon." English borrowed the word in the mid 1300s, with the spellings "foun," "fowne," "fawne," before the modern form, and by which time the usage for deer type animals had become pretty much the exclusive meaning.

Honduran Tortillas: Las Baleadas Hondureñas

Honduras is a country in Central America. It has a population of more than 9 million, with Spanish as its official language, and it was conquered by Spain in the 1500s, but gained independence from Spain in 1821, and Honduras became a truly separate country in the 1830s. The nation's capital is Tegucigalpa (pretty much pronounced like, "tay-goose-see-galpa").  

There is the basic baleadas, "baleadas sencillas" (simple baleadas), but then Hondurans often add other toppings, one of the most common of which is scrambled eggs, but perhaps also avocado and fried or grilled meat. I looked at 20 to 25 recipes and all were very similar in the basic ingredients, but some made the tortillas very thin, while others made them much thicker (see photos, below). This recipe is so you can make your own fresh flour tortillas, but you can certainly just buy some flour tortillas, heat them, and then fill them. Shhh .... I didn't tell you that! Perhaps you could double the tortillas when assembling the finished product to make the thicker type?  

Ingredients:

3 cups flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup olive oil
1 cup warm water
refried beans*
crema or sour cream **
crumbled queso fresco (cotija cheese is good for this)
avocado

Mix together the flour, the salt and the baking powder; then, mix the oil into the dry ingredients. Add the warm water and mix until a dough forms. Knead the dough until it is smooth. Divide the dough and roll the pieces into golf ball size rounds. Coat the rounds very lightly with some oil, cover them and let them sit for about a half hour. Heat a griddle or skillet (a cast iron skillet is good for this) on medium heat. Form the rounds into flattened circular shapes and place on the griddle or into the skillet. Cook for "about" 45 seconds per side. Some brown spots may develop on the tortillas, and that's okay. Spread a layer of refried beans on each tortilla, then add some crema or sour cream and crumbled queso fresco, and other toppings, if you so desire.

* For my article on "refried beans," this is the link: http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2018/11/refried-beans-frijoles-refritos.html 

** I have not had Honduran sour cream, "mantequilla (blanco)," but just reading about it, I noticed some Hondurans who have moved to the United States say they buy sour cream, add varying amounts of heavy cream and a little salt, and they have "Honduran mantequilla." It is also my understanding that "mantequilla" generally means "butter" in Spanish, but in Honduras (perhaps elsewhere too???), it means butter, but also their style of sour cream. Mexican "crema" is available in many supermarkets in the U.S., but from what I understand, the Mexican variety is not quite like the Honduran. 

The thicker baleadas, left unfolded to show the topping

The thin, folded baleada

WORD HISTORY:
Grill-This word, coming in both noun and verb forms, is related to "griddle," a Latin-derived word borrowed by English. "Grill" "seems" to have originated from Indo European "kert," which meant, "to turn," which gave the idea of "braiding, twisting, weaving, entwining." This gave its Latin offspring the noun "cratis," meaning, "wickerwork;" that is, "products made by weaving twigs or small branches together." This then produced "craticula," meaning, "grill, grating, gridiron." This passed into Latin-based Old French as "graille," meaning, "grill, gridiron, fence railings." This then became "greil," then "gril." It was borrowed by English in the mid 1600s, by which time its main meaning was "gridiron, metal grid for cooking over a fire." The verb developed from the noun immediately thereafter. Old French "gril" later developed an alternative spelling of "grille," which meant, "grid, grating," which seemingly was used more in reference to "gates, fencing." This too was borrowed into English in the mid 1600s, with the distinction, but over time that distinction has become murky, as some restaurants use the spelling "grille" in their names; at least, in the U.S.