Loaded Nachos/ Tortillas

[Urbane Guerrilla]

No, she seems to have corn chips clearly in mind -- curious maize crisps from the Americas.

I'd say both the refried beans and a layer of the turkey chili atop the bean layer. Or somewhere in the middle anyway to moisten quite a few of the chips' parts that are towards the center of the dish.

Refrieds are absurdly simple, and while usually done with pinto beans, they could readily enough be done with any bean other than kidney. I think kidney beans refried would come off rather too strong, too -- not-refrieds. First, simmer beans until they are very tender and the bean water has gotten pretty full of bean carbohydrates and is thickening. Add 1-2 TBSP (30-60ml) of bacon dripping or lard, either works fine. It's done when the fat is melted and stirred in. Remove from heat and mash by hand or puree in blender. To prepare for eating, reheat gently. If you prefer, the fat may be added in the reheating. It's ready when the fat is melted, and you stir this in as above.

Guacamole from scratch is no harder and you don't have to light a burner. All you really need to ensure is that your avocados are the black, lumpy-skinned Haas variety, for this kind mushes up best into green avocado goop, and that they be ripe -- giving somewhat under your finger when pressed. If they're very soft, they're going overripe and make ugly looking guac. Some like to use either one of the bright green variety of avocado or a somewhat less ripe Haas for a bit of chunky texture mixed in with everything else. Your other ingredients are, and as fresh as you can get 'em: 1-2 large cloves of garlic for every two avocados, half a large shallot, one largeish jalapeno pepper, 1-2 limes, and one Roma tomato per batch of guac. Salt to taste. Guac can be fooled with quite a lot as far as quantities go; to make a batch bigger, just add more avocados and adjust your lime and salt. The lime juice keeps the guacamole from browning in the air.

If you need to ripen your avocados, stow them in a paper bag as you would ripen any other fruit, check daily for that somewhat yielding texture. You'll need a mixing bowl, a chefs' knife, a potato masher, a tablespoon, and a fork.

Halve your avocados with the chefs' knife, cutting all around the pit and periphery and unscrewing the two halves of each fruit. To remove the slippery hard smooth pit, thunk your knife edge into the pit and unscrew it out of the avocado half. Holding the knife's edge away from you over your kitchen wastebasket, put your hand on the blade's back and use thumb and forefinger to pinch the pit off the knife edge and into the wastebasket. Works a treat, and quite safe! With your avocados halved and pitted, use the spoon to scoop the green and yellow flesh out of the skin and into the mixing bowl.

Cut the limes into quarters suitable for squeezing. Peel and mince the garlic and the shallot, and mince the jalapeno, all very fine. Chop the tomato fairly fine. The garlic, shallot, jalapeno and tomato can all go in together, but first we mush up the avocados with the potato masher, which will likely reduce the avocados to a chunky paste. Now complete the job by mushing the avocados even smoother with the fork against the walls of the bowl. Add garlic, shallot, jalapeno and tomato, and mix in with the fork. Squeeze at least four of the quarters of lime into the mixture and stir in. Be prepared to use six quarters of lime or even more if it's a large batch, but taste test after four to see if it's citrusy enough. Sprinkle in a small palmful of salt, to taste. Your salting can vary quite a bit.

You can optionally garnish with chopped fresh cilantro, or stir some into the batch if everybody likes cilantro.

If you're in a hurry, you can substitute salsa cruda, which is minced-everything-but-the-avocados above, lime juice being optional but tasty. Bottled cooked salsa maybe not so great -- guacamole seems at its best with its ingredients all raw.

Once you've made your own guacamole, "guacamole dipping sauce" simply tastes feeble and vitiated. They keep cutting the stuff with mayonnaise or something... moderate feh!

When you've made guacamole from scratch thrice, you shall be the acknowledged master of guacamole for blocks around!