Little Jumping Bean

A Mexican jumping bean is an occurrence native to Mexico, where it is known as Frijoles saltarines. They are a seed pod through which the larva of a small moth has chewed. The bean "jumps" because when it gets in a hot place the larva snaps its body hoping to roll to a cooler place.

Don't worry, there are no jumping beans in this fajita recipe. Although that could be pretty exciting in a hot pan! However, I discovered while cooking this meal, that I have a lot in common with a jumping bean. I think it has something to do with control. When a jumping bean gets in a hot place, it has to jump and move to a cooler place. It's trying to control its temperature.

Hand me a tennis racket and tennis ball, and I'll run you around the court. I have control over a tennis ball. Hand me a chunk of boneless pork and stick me in a kitchen, and any sort of control I thought I had, goes right out the window. I get very jumpy (hence the bean reference) and tend to flail my arms around in frustration when I think I will ruin a meal. Especially after I spent money on a big chunk of pork. A chunk of pork that I have no idea how to cut or cook. Now, if you read the ingredients in this recipe, you'll see that it calls for some hot sauce, vinegar, 1/8" strips of pork....among other things. I mention these three, because they are the ones that stressed me out the most. Let's replay what happened as I read the instructions....


Add a dash of hot pepper sauce

Shoot! That could mean so many things to so many people. I texted Heather pronto!

Me: "How much is a dash of hot sauce!?"
Heather: "Just sprinkle some in. You can do it!"

After the encouragement, I got over that one hurdle. Now onto the next.

2 Tablespoons Vinegar

I walk to the refrigerator and discover..."Hmm, I only have apple cider vinegar. What the heck is the difference? I'll call Greg."

Ring Ring Ring....

Mandi: "Hi Greg, it's Mandi. I have a random question for you. I'm cooking a new meal and I only have apple cider vinegar and the recipe calls for regular vinegar. Can I use the apple cider vinegar?"
Greg: "Is it for a marinade?"
Me: "Yes, for pork."
Greg: "Yeah, you'll be ok using that."

Phew! Now, onto the meat.

Cut the pork in 1/8" strips across the grain

There sits the pork. There I stand, staring at it. And off my thoughts went...

"Oh great, where's the grain? This knife is awful. It barely cuts the meat! And what should the strips look like anyways? I need visuals. Why didn't this recipe come with pictures? Should it be taking me an hour to cut strips of pork? I need a better knife."

Needless to say, it did take me quite a while to make this meal, and yes, I was a bit flustered and bouncing around like a mexican jumping bean at times, but all for a very tasty end result! My pork strips were a tad on the tough side, but the yummy flavor helped overcome that. Thanks to Greg, the apple cider vinegar did just fine. And, I realized my "dash" of hot sauce could have been more like a dollop. I don't mind a little spice! My dad gave this meal a much higher rating than the pizza muffins a few posts back. He gave it a 4 out of 5, only because the pork was slightly tough. I can definitely fix that for next time!


So, back to my jumping bean analogy. I discovered that if beans are shaken too hard, they will sometimes stop moving for a short amount of time as a defense mechanism. Interesting! Now I realize why I've avoided the kitchen for so long. I've been shaken up by so many kitchen fiascos, that I just gave up. The kitchen has become to me what a hot place is to a jumping bean! Well, not anymore! I'll take on that chunk of pork again. Just let me at it!! Oh, but with a much sharper knife.

A Quest for Fantastic

Growing up, I always dreaded pork roast dinners. To me, there was nothing exciting or enticing or interesting about a pork roast. While my sister happily gobbled up her helping of pork (eaten in true Mandi-style with a side of applesauce), I was left wishing that it were taco night or chicken stir-fry night or even meatloaf night. Anything but pork.

Maybe I should have guessed that if pork were combined with something more exotic that I would feel a little differently about "the other white meat." Well, if this revelation hadn't come to me before last night, it sure did sink in after cooking up a double-batch of Fantastic Pork Fajitas. Really. That was the name of the recipe. I mean, how can you go wrong with a recipe that has such unabashed confidence in itself? Its self-assurance alone is enough to convince you that the recipe is bound to succeed. And succeed it did.

After several weeks of "duds," I was ready for something that left me with both a full tummy and a feeling of accomplishment. The Fantastic Pork Fajitas delivered on their promise! The peppers smelled and tasted fabulous. The pork remained pretty tender in spite of my fear that I was over-cooking it. The pure idea of fajitas was fun enough to give dinner a light-hearted feel. And, the flavor was exotic enough to make even pork exciting.

I do have to admit that I took the liberty of making a couple of minor changes. I fried up the peppers in their own pan, mostly because we doubled the recipe and none of my pans would hold that much pork plus two chopped-up peppers. This worked to our advantage, however, because the peppers got nice and browned...which might not have happened if they had been cooked along with the pork (which produced a lot of liquid in the cooking process). Also, I substituted red peppers for the green peppers, simply because I think that they are a highly superior pepper. Green peppers annoy my taste buds. Oh, and I left out the onions, partly because I didn't want an onion-scented apartment for the rest of the night, partly because onions are not my most favorite food, but mostly because I was hungry and tired of chopping. The fajitas may have been even more fantastic with the addition of onions, but we were satisfied without them. We had plenty of fantastic to make us more than content. Of course, after the White Bean Dip and Chicken Jerk debacles of the past few weeks, this may not have been too hard to achieve.

The Recipe: Fantastic Pork Fajitas

from "Family & Company" (Junior League of Binghamton, Inc. cookbook)

1 lb. lean, boneless pork
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
2 tablespoons orange juice
2 tablespoons vinegar
dash of bottled hot pepper sauce
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion
1 green pepper, sliced
4 flour tortillas
scallion tops, sliced
shredded lettuce
bottled salsa

Slice pork across the grain into 1/8-inch strips. Marinade prok strips in garlic, oregano, cumin, salt, orange juice, vinegar, and hot pepper sauce for 10 minutes.

Heat a heavy skillet or griddle until hot (if using electric skillet, set at 400 degrees). Add oil, onion, green pepper, and pork strips. Stir fry until pork is no longer pink, about 3 to 5 minutes.

Serve pork with flour tortillas and accompany with sliced scallions, shredded lettuce, and salsa.