Cooking for Justice Labor Leader Maria Elena Durazo’s Tostadas
This is the first in a series of recipes from L.A.’s movers and shakers. Tostada maker and LAANE
Board Chair Maria Elena Durazo is Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor and a long-time leader in the fight for a more equitable Los Angeles.
Tostada’s a la Durazo —Family Recipe as seen in the documentary The New Los Angeles
2 cups of filling, such as chicken or veggies
12 corn tortillas
12 corn tortillas
1/2 cup corn canola oil or olive oil
1 1/2 cups frijoles, either refried or boiled
2 tomatoes, diced
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1/2 head lettuce, shredded very thin
2 cups guacamole
2 cups Chihuahua or Jack cheese, grated, or Queso Fresco (which is more crumbly)
1 cup salsa fresca and/or salsa verde
1 cup of sour cream
2 Corona beers (not for the recipe, but to enjoy with a friend while you cook!)
In small frying pan, heat oil until a drop of water sizzles immediately when added to it.
Fry tortilla lightly on one side.
Turn and fry lightly on the other side.
Remove from oil and drain on paper towel. Repeat with all 12 tortillas.
Heat filling with your favorite spices and frijoles until steaming.
Place one to two tablespoons of frijoles on top of fried tortilla and spread.
Top with another two tablespoons of filling. Spread your favorite salsa.
Add shredded lettuce, onions, tomatoes and guacamole. Top with cheese and sour cream.
Repeat for all tostadas. Serve immediately. And enjoy.
Recommended Reading A selection of books on the labor and environmental movements, democracy, and the economy.
Labor and the Environmental Movement: The Quest for Common Ground By Brian K. Obach
Once characterized as "Teamsters and Turtles," labor and environmentalists have worked together on workplace health and safety, environmental restoration and globalization. Obach examines why, when and how labor unions and environmental organizations either cooperate or clash. (MIT Press)
Reinventing Los Angeles: Nature and Community in the Global City By Robert Gottlieb
Gottlieb examines how the powerful forces of immigration and economic globalization intersect with the politics of water, transportation and land use, and illustrates each of these core concerns with an account of grassroots responses, from reclaiming the concrete-lined, fenced-off Los Angeles River as a natural resource to "Arroyofest," the closing of the Pasadena Freeway for a Sunday of walking and bike riding.
(MIT Press)
The Missing Class: Portraits of the Near Poor in America By Katherine Newman &
Victor Tan Chen
A historical novel about the massacre of 18 men, women, and children of coal mining families at a mine owned by the Rockefellers in Colorado in 1914. The book is written in free verse, adding a poetic quality to
the prose.
The Conscience of a Liberal By Paul Krugman
Krugman’s most important message is that, after years of Republican ascendancy accompanied by rapidly growing economic inequality in the United States, the point at which the pendulum finally starts swinging in the other direction has arrived. Krugman insists that the political tide is turning, and that liberals must take advantage of it. (W.W. Norton)
This is the first in a series of recipes from L.A.’s movers and shakers. Tostada maker and LAANE
Board Chair Maria Elena Durazo is Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor and a long-time leader in the fight for a more equitable Los Angeles.
Once characterized as "Teamsters and Turtles," labor and environmentalists have worked together on workplace health and safety, environmental restoration and globalization. Obach examines why, when and how labor unions and environmental organizations either cooperate or clash. (MIT Press)
Gottlieb examines how the powerful forces of immigration and economic globalization intersect with the politics of water, transportation and land use, and illustrates each of these core concerns with an account of grassroots responses, from reclaiming the concrete-lined, fenced-off Los Angeles River as a natural resource to "Arroyofest," the closing of the Pasadena Freeway for a Sunday of walking and bike riding. 
A historical novel about the massacre of 18 men, women, and children of coal mining families at a mine owned by the Rockefellers in Colorado in 1914. The book is written in free verse, adding a poetic quality to 
Krugman’s most important message is that, after years of Republican ascendancy accompanied by rapidly growing economic inequality in the United States, the point at which the pendulum finally starts swinging in the other direction has arrived. Krugman insists that the political tide is turning, and that liberals must take advantage of it. (W.W. Norton)
