Author: typepadtowordpress

El Gozo de Un Manjar de Dios :: Chocolate :: Savoring the Ambrosia of the Gods

The tiny storefront with the hand-lettered sign reading Joaquinita Chocolate Supremo is at Calle Enseñanza #38 in Pátzcuaro, Michoacán.

In Pátzcuaro, the tradition of chocolate de metate (stone-ground chocolate) is still alive, personified by Sra. María Guadalupe García López. Doña Lupe, as she is called by everyone who knows her, continues the work started in Pátzcuaro in 1898. The family recipe for chocolate de metate was left to her as a legacy by her mother-in-law. Rightly proud of her hand-ground chocolate, Doña Lupe said, "I'm convinced that by now, just about everyone in the whole world knows about chocolate de metate, and everyone who tastes it falls in love with it."

Costales (huge burlap bags) of raw cocoa beans from the state of Tabasco. Doña Lupe stores the costales in a cool spot in her sótano (basement).

In Pátzcuaro, there are several home-based businesses which make chocolate that claims to be made on the metate, but its preparation and commercialization are not authentic. Doña Lupe says that Joaquinita Chocolate has no locations other than her home. "Some of the chocolate makers here in town claim to be my children or my grandchildren, but they're not. They're not part of Joaquinita Chocolate." Joaquinita Chocolate is not only the best known, but is also completely traditional in its preparation.

From the sidewalk, the house is unprepossessing. It looks like most houses in the central part of Pátzcuaro: painted white, with a deep, ochre-red base. But come closer, step up to the door: you'll be stopped in your tracks by the rich fragrance of home-made chocolate. Breathe. Walk in. You'll never learn the jealously guarded secret of Doña Lupe's recipe, but you'll taste one of the legendary treats of Mexico's past and present.

Lovely Doña Lupe is ready to drop a tablet of her chocolate semiamargo (semisweet) into a pitcher of near-boiling water, just as in the novel and film "Like Water for Chocolate". The molinillo (hand-carved wooden chocolate beater) whips the melted chocolate into a thick froth and it's ready to serve.

Chocolate was unknown to Spain and to the rest of Europe in 1519, when Cortés arrived on the shores of the New World. Moctezuma and the highly-placed leaders in his court knew its subtleties; Cortés was soon initiated into its delights. Mixed with vanilla and other spices including chile, xocolatl (shoh-coh-LAH-tl) needed to be mixed with water and beaten to a heavy froth before being consumed unsweetened. Europeans quickly discovered that a bit of sugar took away the bitterness and enhanced the flavors of the new drink. Before long, chocolate was the rage of Europe as well as a near-addiction for Europeans in the New World.

The process of making chocolate estilo Doña Lupe (Doña Lupe-style chocolate) starts with the finest beans from the state of Tabasco, in southern Mexico. Doña Lupe says that the seed (what we usually call the cocoa bean) has to be the best, or else the chocolate loses its texture and its flavor. She won't use a lesser bean.

Toasting cocoa beans over a wood fire requires constant stirring. The fogón is shaped like a horseshoe to accommodate the cazuela.

While the carbón (natural wood charcoal) heated on the fogón (raised fire ring), Doña Lupe talked about making chocolate de metate. "First we take as many beans from the costal (large bag) as we need for the day. Normally, I make 20 to 30 kilos of chocolate tablets every day.

"Next I clean the beans, taking out any small stones, any leaves–anything that would adulterate the chocolate" Doña Lupe dipped into the huge bag of cocoa beans and put them by handfuls into an harnero (strainer), sifting through them as she poured them through her fingers, shaking the strainer to get rid of any tiny impurities. She put the cleaned cocoa beans into a cazuela de barro (deep clay cooking vessel).

The large aluminum pot in the foreground holds ground cocoa beans that shortly will become a smooth, rich masa de cacao (sweetened chocolate for tablets).

Doña Lupe's chocolate kitchen, in the lower level of her home, is furnished with traditional petate (woven reed) mats for warmth, while the room where the costales of cacao beans are stored is kept cool to preserve the beans.

Doña Lupe grinds cocoa beans the old-fashioned way, using a metate and metapil, also known as a mano. A small fire (under the metate) keeps the metate and the cocoa beans hot during the grinding process.

The chocolate, ground smooth, rests in a wooden batea (shallow oval bowl).

Doña Lupe uses a metal mold to form the sweetened soft chocolate into individual tablets. The top of the tablet of sweetened soft chocolate is scored into four quarters with the metal round to the left in the photograph.

The tablets air-dry in the warmth of the chocolate kitchen. The tablets that are scored in half are chocolate amargo: unsweetened chocolate. Both chocolate semiamargo (semisweet chocolate for making hot chocolate)) and chocolate amargo sell well.

When the chocolate is completely dry, Doña Lupe packages it in pink paper. A packet of sweet chocolate contains nine tablets. A packet of chocolate amargo contains seven.

She glues the label to the package and the chocolate is ready to sell.

This hand-embroidered tablecloth in Doña Lupe's dining room depicts cups and pots of hot chocolate, as well as the saying, "Chocolate Joaquinita, Industria Casera Desde 1898" (Cottage Industry since 1898).

Mexico Cooks! would love to know the proportions of chocolate, sugar, and cinnamon that Doña Lupe uses to make her chocolate tablets, but then she wouldn't have a secret recipe. We contented ourselves with buying a package of chocolate amargo (for baking) and a package of sweetened chocolate (for preparing hot chocolate). When you're in Pátzcuaro, be sure to stop in at Joaquinita Chocolate Supremo for your own supply of traditional chocolate.

Looking for a tailored-to-your-interests specialized tour in Mexico? Click here: Tours.

23 de May de 2015
Restaurante Merotoro, Baja California’s West Coast Cuisine in Mexico City

Restaurante Merotoro, Av. Amsterdam 204, Col. Hipódromo Condesa, Mexico City. Photo courtesy El Modo.

Sometimes we human beings wander far from home, looking for what we later discover to have been just around the corner all the time. In our case, we found superb food and generous, attentive service in an attractive room at Restaurante Merotoro, open since 2010 and literally just around the corner from the place we've called home since 2011. Sometimes it seems that Mexico Cooks! is the last to really *get* a completely open secret. It's only taken us these four years to stroll up the street and plunk ourselves down at a Merotoro table.

Chef Jaír Téllez, above, partnered with Gabriela Cámara and her team (of Contramar fame) to bring Merotoro to Mexico City. The restaurant's name refers to mero (the fish known in English as grouper) and, of course, toro–bull. Together the words make a sort of surf 'n' turf, although the only beef dishes on the menu on the day we learned to love Merotoro were oxtail and beef tongue. Photo courtesy Flickr.

The restaurant's charming surf 'n' turf logo.

The menu at Merotoro changes daily. It's divided into four courses, appetizers through desserts, with numerous choices in each. We were five at table, and we five proceeded to order several dishes from each of the first, third, and fourth courses–often one per person and an extra–and we managed to devour every bit without a single regret. Now that I think of it, perhaps we did have one regret: we did not order from the second course choices.

First came the salads:

Ceviche de pez sierra (swordfish) with avocado, chile poblano, and caramelized onions. One of our group ordered this to overlap as both a salad and a main course.

Ensalada de betabel con hinojo, nueces, y vinagreta de uva pasa (beet salad with dill, nuts, and a raisin vinaigrette.

Ensalada tibia de pulpo a la parrilla con salicornia y morcilla hecha en casa (warm grilled octopus salad with salicornia (a succulent also known as grasswort) and house-made blood sausage). Two of us ordered this salad.

Tostadas de callo y pulpo con vinagreta de pata de res (scallop and octopus tostadas with cow's foot vinaigrette).

Ensalada de naranja sanguínea, colinabo, y aceituna negra (salad of blood oranges, turnip, and black olives). This salad, made with an unusual mix of flavors, was placed in the center of our table to share. It was my favorite.

The light, bright, unpretentious offerings at Merotoro are simple, but with a depth of complex flavors that make you sit up straighter at table, make your palate crave another taste (and then another). If it weren't for your upbringing, you'd almost want to lick the juices from your dish, just before a waiter asks if he can take it away.

The main courses followed:

Lengua de res en su jugo con frijoles, aguacate tatemado, y salsa martajada (beef tongue in its own juices with beans, grilled avocado, and coarsely chopped salsa).

Dorado a la parilla con puré de chícharo y condimento de aceituna negra (grilled dorado with puréed peas and a black olive condiment). Two of us also ordered this main course.

My good friend John Sconzo, serious food lover, writer, and photographer, first ate at Merotoro in 2012 and had this to say about it:

"The culinary ideals of Merotoro reflect chef Jaír Téllez’s own varied background. He grew up on the border and spent much time living and cooking in the United States. The cuisine that he applies to Merotoro is one that, like Contramar, relies extensively on good product, served to highlight the attributes of that product. While his dishes were well designed, original and structured, they showed strong influences from Mexican tradition, from the Mediterranean, from California and even from Japan."

Huachinango rostizado con puré de colinabo, nabos, y acelgas (roasted red snapper with a purée of two kinds of turnips and Swiss chard). Although I tasted just a bite of each of the main courses, this is the one I ordered and this is the one I liked best. The crisp, crystal-crunchy skin of the fish was the perfect complement to its extraordinarily flavorful, sweet flesh.

We finished with desserts, of which there were five choices. We ordered one of each item on the sweets menu, asked for five spoons, and lined the desserts up down the center of the table to share. We did, we truly did, and we ate every morsel.

Brownie de chocolate de la Casa Tropical, crema de almendra y helado de hoja santa (Casa Tropical chocolate brownie, almond cream, and hoja santa ice cream).

Plato de queso artesanal mexicano, compotas, y pan de nuez (plate of Mexican artisan-made cheeses, compotes, and nut bread).

Pastelito de almendra con tapioca, helado, y dulce de plátano (a little almond cake with tapioca, ice cream, and candied banana).

Pannacotta de coco y litchi con granizado de Campari y tomate de árbol (coconut and litchi pannacotta with Campari ice and tree tomato, also known as tamarillo). The flavor combination was superb: creamy, tropical sweetness combined with that knife-edge of bitter Campari to make all of our taste buds sit up and take notice.

Granizado de jamaica con sorbete de naranja, mezcal, y sal de gusano (jamaica crushed ice with orange sherbet, mezcal, and maguey worm salt). Let me just say: I coulda had two. Usually I prefer chocolate or creamy desserts, but this glass of sweet, tart, salty, and spicy crushed ice won my prize for best in show.

Word to the wise: make reservations. Merotoro's staff went overboard to accommodate our group even without a reservation, but we certainly should have called ahead. Would I go back? I would–in fact, I already have a reservation!

Merotoro
Amsterdam 204
Between Iztaccíhautl and Chilpancingo
Colonia Condesa
Mexico City
Tel: 5564-7799

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16 de May de 2015
Santuario de Jesús el Nazareno (Sanctuary of Jesus the Nazarene), Atotonilco, Guanajuato

The facade of the mid-18th Century Jesuit church in Atotonilco is simple. The interior of the church is astonishing. Built between 1740 and 1776, the Santuario is still visited and revered by religious pilgrims.

Several weeks ago, while Mexico Cooks! visited San Miguel de Allende, we took advantage of some free time to go to Atotonilco to visit the Santuario de Jesús el Nazareno (Sanctuary of Jesus the Nazarene), one of the best-kept secrets of central Mexico. In 1996, the church was added to the World Monuments Fund, and in July of 2008, UNESCO named the Santuario to its list of World Heritage sites.

The main altar in the Calvary Chapel, the largest in the church. Sculptural figures important to Christ's Passion give visual impact to the meditations of the faithful. A relicuary rests on the red cloth.

The Santuario is a mixture of European Baroque and New World Mexican decoration. It consists of a large church, and several smaller chapels, all decorated with oil paintings by Rodríguez Juárez and mural paintings by Miguel Antonio Martínez de Pocasangre. Inspired by the doctrine of St. Ignacio de Loyola, the founder of the Companía de Jesús (the Company of Jesus, otherwise known as the Jesuits), the glowing paintings and murals in the church served in the evangelization of Nueva España, where the indigenous spoke their own languages but could neither read nor write, and where the Spanish conquistadores knew little if any of the languages they heard in the new land.

St. John the Baptist pours baptismal waters over Jesus as a dove, symbol of the Holy Spirt, hovers above them. In the 18th Century, the Santuario also served as a retreat house for the Jesuits. Pilgrims still make week-long retreats at this church, praying in a chapel reserved just for their needs.

Judas Iscariot betrays Jesus with a kiss. Note the demon monkey on Judas's back. Every inch of the Santuario walls is covered with paintings of the many details, Biblical and apocryphal, of Jesus's life. Nearly all (or perhaps all–stories vary) of the murals were painted by Miguel Antonio Martínez de Pocasangre, a native of the area. He worked for thirty years painting the murals.

St. Cristopher carries the infant Jesus on his shoulder. Captain Ignacio Allende, for whom San Miguel de Allende is named, married María de la Luz Agustina y Fuentes in this church. It was here, on September 16, 1810, that Miguel Hidalgo took up the standard of Our Lady of Guadalupe and bore it into battle at the beginning of the Mexican Revolution.

This side chapel, one of several at Atotonilco, is dedicated to Nuestra Señora del Rosario (Our Lady of the Rosary). The mirrors that surround the figure of Our Lady are painted with oils, probably by Rodríguez Juárez.

Detail of the chapel window.

Detail of the Marian litany in the Lady Chapel.

The Santuario has been in the process of restoration since 1997. Scaffolding still fills the church but detracts very little from the amazing paintings.

Off the beaten tourist track, the Santuario de Jesús el Nazareno will fill your eyes and heart with wonder. Let's plan a visit to see it together.

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9 de May de 2015
Violin Shop Querétaro: Laudero (Luthier) Alejandro Díaz Martínez

Irene Adriana Carrasco (Judy's former cello teacher, foreground) and Judy, rehearsing in our Morelia garden, just before the guests arrived for Judy's mini-recital in April 2009. It was a delightful evening spent among friends.

Living with a cello is lovely when its deep-voiced, sweet music pours out of the rehearsal room. Occasionally the tone is so beautiful that tears spring to my eyes. Living with a cello is not so lovely when the cello suddenly changes its tune, as Judy's did about six months ago. After a number of attempts to give the instrument a quick fix, she decided it needed more radical treatment. Her then-cello teacher, Irene Adriana Carrasco, recommended Maestro Alejandro Díaz Martínez of Violin Shop Querétaro, in the state of Querétaro, and offered to take Judy's cello to him for a consultation. A few days later, rather than send the cello with Irene, Judy and I visited Maestro Alejandro in his taller (workshop).

Maestro Alejandro Díaz with Judy's cello. Maestro Alejandro is a Morelia native with deep family roots in the city.

With a twinkle in his eye, Maestro Alejandro recounted a bit of his history. "I liked the idea of studying architecture, of designing a building and watching it come to life. But I also liked studying music, especially the violin. When I was almost finished with my architectural studies, after three years at the Universidad de Michoacán de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, I had to switch. Some people thought I was crazy to quit my architectural studies when I was so close to finishing my degree, but it was something inside me that I could no longer deny: I had to study violin. It was a passion.

Clamps and other tools of the luthier's trade hang at the ready.

"I dropped my architectural courses and went to study violin at the Conservatorio de México in Mexico City. Fortunately my parents, the rest of my family, and my friends supported my idea. Four years of hard work were all worthwhile. I was honored to study with Arón Bitrán, one of the founders of the Cuarteto Latinoamericano. My grades were good and I loved to play, but something new was happening to me. I discovered another path, that of the laudero (luthier): building and repairing stringed instruments. It was risky to take yet another direction, but it was so fascinating! And in some ways, laudería combined my love of architecture with my love of music. It made sense to me, and once again, with the help of some friends, I made a new decision.

One of Maestro Alejandro's several work benches. It may look disorganized, but he knows exactly where to find what he needs.

"In 1985, I was studying violin for six hours a day, then studying for six hours a day at the taller de laudero (luthier's workshop) with Maestro Luthfi Becker, who specializes in baroque instruments. I built my first violin during that same year, and I graduated in 1987 with six others, the first generación de lauderos (luthiers' graduating class) in Mexico City.

A violin in process of repair.

"In 1992, I came to Querétaro, where the Instituto de Bellas Artes in Mexico City founded the Escuela de Laudería in the mid-1950s. In 1993, I started teaching at the school, and I've been giving classes here for 16 years. I have nine students right now. They're studying the full course that leads to licenciatura (similar to a bachelor's degree) in laudería.

Various tools for cutting, piercing, and sanding new parts for stringed instruments.

Maestro Alejandro removed the top of the cello, made and replaced the bass bar, and re-glued the top. He kept the top clamped until the glue was thoroughly dry. Photo courtesy Alejandro Díaz.

"Learning laudería requires tremendous discipline. It's not just about patching up an instrument that needs repair, using any wood you happen to have on hand. The course consists of ten semesters and includes studies in everything from the biology of wood to the history of instrument building. For example, when I looked inside Judy's cello, I could tell the age of the trees used in its construction–by the rings of the wood. I could see the type tree the wood came from, and I can tell you exactly where those trees grow. I could also approximate the age of the wood itself, when it was used to build the cello.

Erick Iván Díaz Garcia polishes Judy's cello. Erick has studied with Maestro Alejandro for two years. The long program of studies for luthiers at the Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro is unique in Mexico.

"One of the joys of laudería is receiving an instrument, whether an ancient violin or a late-20th Century cello like Judy's, and bringing it to its fullest expression of tone, resonance, and beauty. The instrument that still gives me chills when I think of its restoration is an 18th Century violin that came to me in dire condition. The 'stomach' of the violin was sunken, the bridge feet were dug into the top of the violin. Little by little I used my skills–traditonal skills as well as inventions that I thought up to overcome the obstacles of the violin's condition–and slowly brought the instrument back to life. The violin's owner, Cathy Meng Robinson of the Miami String Quartet, insists that the quality of the instrument since I repaired it is better than a Stradivarius violin that she owns.

Maestro Alejandro explains a fine point of cello repair.

"Lauderos in other parts of the world–in the United States, for example–would like me to go work in their talleres, even take ownership of their workshops. But how could I? Here in Mexico, there are so few of us, maybe 100 fully trained lauderos. I have the responsibility and the joy to teach the lauderos of the future, and to rescue the instruments of the past. Here in Mexico, I have such a full life: my family, my work, my students. Compared to the fullness of my life right now, what could more money, the money people in other countries promise me for my work, give me? My son is 15; he studies violin and will soon study with me to follow in my footsteps. My daughter is only nine; her future is yet to be told. Laudería gives me the chance to know the world, from the United States to Canada to Cremona. And look–I've just begun, and already happiness fills my life."

Contact
Alejandro Díaz Martínez
Violin Shop Querétaro
Calle Ángela Peralta#19
Centro Histórico
Santiago de Querétaro, Guanajuato
Tel. 01.442.243.1488
Cel. 044.442.136.9128

Looking for a tailored-to-your-interests specialized tour in Mexico? Click here: Tours.

2 de May de 2015
Restaurante Pujol, Mexico City: Enrique Olvera, Re-thinking Mexican Food

Entrance, Restaurante Pujol, Mexico City.

Enrique Olvera, the founding thinker and chef/owner at Mexico City's Restaurante Pujol, graduated in 1999 from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. Pujol opened 16 years ago, and its name has become a household word among followers of Mexican cuisine and its trends. Pujol, in case anyone here has been snoozing under a rock, is presently considered to be the best restaurant in Mexico and the 20th best restaurant in the world, according to San Pellegrino's 2014 "50 Best Restaurants" list.

Chef Enrique Olvera. Photo courtesy Suena México.

Several weeks ago, invited by a lovely friend, Mexico Cooks! made a reservation for three at this temple of gastronomy. Several recent reviews of Pujol's dishes and service have reflected a shadow of decline; chef Enrique has naturally devoted tremendous time and attention of late to the December 2014 opening of Cosme, his New York City restaurant.

I felt excited, on guard, and a touch nervous about dining at Pujol; I deeply wanted it to be fabulous and, in the name of pure contrariness, I deeply wanted to turn up my nose. You're absolutely right: ambivalence was my middle name.

Pujol's menu for our comida (main meal of the day) on March 8, 2015. The extensive tasting menu changes daily; no other menu is offered. Click on any photo for a larger view.

In order of appearance:

Elotitos con mayonesa de hormiga chicatana, café, y chile costeño (tiny ears of corn roasted with ground ants, coffee, and coast-style chile), served still steaming in a bule (a kind of dried gourd).

Bocol huasteco, con relleno de queso y pico de gallo. A tiny infladita (puffed-up tortilla) filled with cheese, topped with a salsa of minced raw tomato, chile, onion, and cilantro.

Crudo: mejillón salvaje con pepino y cilantro (wild mussel with cucumber and cilantro).

Tempura de huauzontle con consomé de cebolla quemada (huauzontle tempura with burned onion consommé).

Each of the entradas (appetizers) was a revelation of flavor. As I study these photographs, my mind's palate is reminded of the "OH!" that inadvertently accompanied the first taste of each dish. That 'oh' was a composite of surprise, recognition, and sheer joy at chef Enrique's inventiveness.

Mole verde (green mole).

Huitlacoche, higado, mollejas (corn smut, liver, and gizzards).

Pesca del día, plátano macho, salsa verde, curry blanco, aceite de cilantro (fish of the day with plantain, green sauce, white curry, and cilantro oil).

Pulpo, tostada de tinta, mayonesa de habanero y orégano (octopus, octopus ink tostada, habanero mayonnaise, and oregano).

Taco de barbacoa, adobo de chile guajillo, hoja de aguacate, puré de aguacate (pit-cooked lamb flavored with chile guajillo, anise-y avocado leaf, and puréed avocado).

Huevo escondido (hidden egg). Photo courtesy Pamela Gordon.

Is this Mexican food? I think the offerings are nothing that a standard-issue Mexican home cook would recognize. On the other hand, she would definitely recognize the components of these dishes, if not their specific uses in the Pujol lexicon.

Tamal de papa, hoja santa, y frijol criollo (potato, hoja santa, and native bean tamal).

Polomo, kumquat y vegetales fermentados (tender and juicy roast pork, served with fermented vegetables).

Among his numerous special gifts, you can expect that Enrique Olvera will be full of culinary surprises. He is an outside-the-box thinker in the kitchen, an innovator par excellence and much imitated. In the photo two paragraphs below, you see his personal take on mole, that icon of central Mexican cuisine. Chef Enrique describes in his own words the dish that he calls mole madre:

"Our mole changes on its own, unpredictably. Some days it’s tired, other days it’s lively and bright. We never treat it the same way. The only thing we know is that the seasons and the mole’s attitude on the day in question are going to determine the preparation. Sometimes we add macadamias, sometimes almonds. Once, because we thought the mole was starting to get bored and needed a little kick in its ass, we threw in a dash of tamarind. Last summer, we incorporated purple bananas for a few days, and one time, we mixed in some great panochera apples. Of course, a traditional mole recipe will call for local and seasonal ingredients, but because people don’t tend to add new mole to their old mole, I guess there isn’t one like ours out there.

"This mole is an example of what most of us strive for: creating something that is personal, but not necessarily new. At the risk of sounding ridiculous, our ability to consciously build upon the knowledge of our ancestors is what gives us an advantage over a lot of the other animals on the planet. It’s part of our nature as humans — and as cooks. This, for me, is what makes progressive cooking so important. Younger cooks will end up being better than we are now, just as we’re better than those that came before us. Well, some of them."
–Enrique Olvera

Mole madre ('mother' mole), 604 days old the afternoon that we were there, with a central disc of 'new' mole. Served without protein, with fresh-from-the-comal (griddle) tortillas.

Five desserts, listed on the menu as simply "Final feliz"–happy ending.

Manzana verde con mezcal (green apple with mezcal), a salty, savory, palate-cleansing dessert with a surprise: sal de gusano (worm salt) sprinkled atop the apple slice.

Crujiente de manzana con crema de canela (crisp apple slices with cinnamon cream). The apple slices look like banana chips–but instead, they are finely cut and perfectly delicious apple crisps.

Helado de lichi con sopa de coco, con un toque de gengibre (litchi ice cream with a coconut 'soup'–heightened by a touch of ginger). The form of both the plate and its contents were a visual echo of the huevo escondido, and yet each was totally different from the other.

Did we love what we ate? We did, we definitely did. Would I go back again? Yes, probably, for the most special of special occasions. At this particular meal, the three of us very carefully chose from the long menu of tasting portions, choosing specifically so that we could each try everything.

And the shadow of decline that I mentioned as I began writing? It was nowhere in evidence. The room, the service, and the food were all top-notch. If I were to grade our experience, I'd give it a '10'–Mexico's highest grade.

My opinion? There's no other restaurant in Mexico City that compares with Pujol.

Pastelito de chocolate negro y plátano (a tiny dark chocolate cake with banana filling).

Churros y chocolate, estilo Pujol (churros and hot chocolate, Pujol style).

After our meal, the waiter did a great job taking la foto de recuerdo (our picture as a memento of the occasion). Left to right, Pamela Gordon, Judith McKnight, and Cristina Potters.

Restaurante Pujol
Calle Francisco Petrarca #254
Miguel Hidalgo, Polanco
Mexico City, Mexico
Telephone: 5545 3507

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25 de April de 2015
Mercado de San Juan, Mexico City: Purveyor to the City’s Gourmets

The definitive book about Mexico City's marvelous Mercado de San Juan, available in Spanish at the market. Mexico Cooks! has never seen it for sale anywhere else. It was published in mid-2010.

Everybody in Mexico City who loves to eat, including Mexico Cooks!, loves the small but mighty Mercado de San Juan. Both wholesaler to restaurants and tourist attraction, this market offers its public almost anything you can think of to eat. Food that is available almost nowhere else in Mexico is available at this unassuming venue: bitter melon sits cheek by jowl with wild boar, deep green baby zucchini the size of golf scoring pencils rub shoulders with living escargots, fresh-killed deer hangs silent next to a row of ready-to-cook osso bucco. Want a quarter kilo of beautiful jamón serrano or a handful of chile serrano? Both are yours, just step up to the counter at their respective stalls.

Unusual stall-mates: a goat head, skinned but complete with long luxurious eyelashes, and live red maguey worms.

A huge bouquet of gorgeous baby artichokes, leaves tightly closed and tinged with purple. Each of these was smaller than a baseball, unlike the usual giant-size variety I've seen for sale elsewhere.

Imported cheeses and imported dried sausages. Buy an entire length or just a few slices of salami, buy a wheel or 100 grams of cheese–you may never see any of these at any other market.

Real honest-to-god crunchy-on-the-outside, densely-chewy-on-the-inside baguette to accompany your sausage and cheese! The Travel and Leisure magazine displayed on the lower shelf features the Mercado de San Juan among the 40 travel memories mentioned on the cover.

Among other items (including yet another shopping bag to cart home all our purchases), Mexico Cooks! bought ten lovely baby bok choy, a quarter kilo (half pound) of large, crisp snow peas, and a big hunk of fresh ginger for 33 pesos (about $2.50 USD).

Lechón (suckling pig), ready to roast.

Tiny zucchini, each approximately 3" long, and wee yellow squash, each about 2" in diameter. These miniature vegetables are among the few that come pre-wrapped.

Bottles and jars of Asian spices, sauces, and other condiments, including sesame oil, coconut cream, oyster sauce, snow mushrooms, hoisin sauce, and more. The only thing I didn't see that I sometimes need is thick soy–not black soy, but thick soy, like slightly salty molasses.

Fresh and glorious osso bucco, lined up for your viewing and purchasing pleasure.

Back to front: fresh oysters, big brown clams, and small white clams.

Lovely shiny purple Asian eggplants, beautiful ginger root, and assorted greens.

Detail of fresh octopus. Click to enlarge any photo for a closer look.

Rabbit is extremely popular–and generally quite delicious–as served in Mexico. These, fresh-killed, include the heads. Many are sold with the furry feet still attached. A butcher told me, "Some people think we sell cat meat. The heads or feet are left on to prove that the animals are rabbits."

Savoy cabbage and a variety of lettuces.

Preparing machitos for sale. The lacy membrane spread out on the butcher block is caul fat. The butcher is wrapping the fat around a small bundle of tripas (intestines). The packets are steamed, then browned and served in tacos with a spicy red salsa.

The wild mushrooms at the Mercado San Juan during and just after central Mexico's summer rainy season are simply glorious. These giant morels–most are as long as my outstretched hand–are beyond beautiful.

Your landmark. The Mercado de San Juan is just west of the Teléfonos de México (Telmex) central offices and tall tower of antennas.

Truly, there isn't another market in all of Mexico that is as beloved by chefs, gourmets, and gastronomes as the Mercado de San Juan. If you fall into any of those categories, let Mexico Cooks! know and I will happily tour you through the market stalls.

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18 de April de 2015
Thirteenth Encuentro de Cocineras Tradicionales de Michoacán: Festival of Michoacán’s Traditional Cooks

The latest chapter of the Encuentro de Cocineras Tradicionales de Michoacán took place in Morelia, Michoacán during the weekend of February 27, 28, and March 1, 2015. It was this unique festival's thirteenth much-awaited edition. Attendance for the three-day weekend topped 30,000 people, who arrived from all over the world. More than 50 traditional Michoacán home cooks prepared their best dishes for competition and for sale to the public.

Traditional Michoacán cuisine is always the star of the event. This spicy and deeply flavored bowl of caldo de chile relleno (broth with a stuffed chile) was Mexico Cooks!' breakfast on Saturday morning. When I asked the cocinero for salsa to add to the soup, he pointed to my bowl. "See that yellow thing? That's a chile güero I cooked in the broth, you won't need more salsa! It's really spicy." You can see the chile güero floating in the bowl, at the bottom edge of the photo. And yes, it was just spicy enough.

Some of Michoacán's finest professional chefs have worked tirelessly for the benefit of not only the Encuentro, but also for the good of Michoacán's culinary traditions. Here, chef Lucero Soto Arriaga of Morelia's Restaurante LU receives recognition from Michoacán Governor Salvador Jara Guerrero, his wife Catherine Ettinger, and Lic. Carlos Joaquín, Subsecretario de SECTUR Federal.

Cynthia Martínez Becerril, the magnificently creative force in charge of Morelia's lovely Restaurante San Miguelito, receives well-deserved recognition for her twenty years of work in support of Michoacán's traditional cuisine. To her left in the photo are Roberto Monroy (Secretary of Tourism, State of Michoacán) and Sr. Ruiz.

Chef Joaquín Bonilla Calderón (second from right), of the renowned Colegio Culinario de Morelia, also received recognition for his untiring work training prospective chefs from the ground up, beginning with the basic tenets of Mexican cuisine in general and Michoacán cuisine in particular.

The theme of this Encuentro was El Ciclo de la Milpa (The Cycle of the Milpa). Ingredients from the milpa, such as corn, squash, beans, and chile, were featured in many of the dishes entered in February's competitions. These three tamales de la milpa, prepared by maestra cocinera Rosalba Morales Bartolo, were fresh and delicious. The tamal on the right, wrapped and steamed in red corn husks, also contains hueva de pescado (fish eggs).

At every edition of the Encuentro, the Colegio Culinario de Morelia offers cooking classes to the youngsters who attend. These delightful young chefs were hand-preparing fresh cheese!

Early Saturday morning at the Encuentro, before the crowds arrived. An hour later, every table was filled!

The Encuentro wouldn't be the Encuentro without the cocineras' wood-fired stoves, clay comales (griddles), and hand-patted fresh, hot corn tortillas. The evocative fragrances of woodsmoke and toasting tortillas waft into every corner of the event.

Mexico Cooks! has participated in the Encuentro over the course of many years. It is a source of great pride and honor to be closely associated with this unique and magnificent event. I've taken part in many ways; this February, I was asked to give an hour-long conference about the milpa as the ages-old bastion of sustainable agriculture in Mexico. Photo courtesy Rancho Gordo New World Specialty Food.

The cocineras tradicionales compete in several categories at each Encuentro. This February one of the categories was for atoles–the thick, nourishing, sweet or savory hot drink that is traditional in Mexico. The sweet atole in the photo is made with Michoacan's zarzamoras (blackberries), water, sugar, and is thickened with corn masa (dough).

Capirotada, a traditional Lenten dish made with stale bolillo (crusty, dense white bread), jarabe de piloncillo (raw sugar syrup), raisins, cheese, and peanuts, is even more delicious when accompanied by atole. This beautiful capirotada was better than any I had eaten in prior years.

Benedicta Alejo Vargas won first prize in the category Best Salsas. Along with the governor and his wife, the director of DIF Michoacán, Sra. Mariana Sosa Olmeda, joins Sra. Alejo on the stage.

Sra. Paula Pascuala Campoverde de Anguiano of San Juan Nuevo Parangarícutiro receives recognition from the governor and his wife.

Toqueras con minguiche, a traditional dish prepared with a new twist, won first prize for Nidia Yunuén Velázquez from Apatzingán, in the category Best Dish of the New Generation. Cheese and cream–along with strips of roast chile poblano–bathe an unfilled corn tamal toasted on the comal. The flavors of the dish complemented each other to perfection–simply out of this world!

The Fourteenth Encuentro de Cocineras Tradicionales de Michoacán is scheduled for early October 2015. If you'd like to join me there, we'll know the exact dates very soon–and we'd love to have you with us!

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11 de April de 2015
Viernes Santo Procesión del Silencio :: Good Friday Procession of Silence, Morelia

Hooded drummers marked the beat of Morelia's penitential Procesión del Silencio: Good Friday's silent procession commemorating both the crucifixion of Christ and his Mother's grief. Only the drumbeat broke the silence along the route.

Nuestra Señora de Dolores (Our Lady of Sorrows). Hooded members of various Catholic confraternities (religious organizations founded in Europe in the 15th Century) carry these life-size statues on their wooden platforms approximately three kilometers through Morelia's Centro Histórico.

Jesus during la Oración en el Huerto (praying in the Garden of Gethsemane), just prior to his arrest on Holy Thursday night. Boy Scouts (the young man in red at the right of the photo) hold the protective rope all along the route of the procession.

El Señor del Pilar (the Lord of the Column) depicts Jesus, bound to a column, and whipped by Roman soldiers after his conviction.

Roman soldiers.

The majority of Morelia's Procesión del Silencio takes place after dark, by candlelight.

The Legion of Christ carry their banner and their lamps. The Procesión del Silencio lasts about four hours. During that time, all of Morelia's Centro Histórico is closed to vehicular traffic.

Jesus carries the cross a cuestas (on his back) to Calvary. More than 50,000 spectators stood along the entire route of Morelia's Procesión del Silencio.

Penitents from one of Morelia's confraternities carry their crosses the length of the procession. Many march barefoot through the city streets. The procession celebrated its thirty-fourth anniversary this year.

Robed and hooded members of another Catholic confraternity carry a small image of the crucified Christ. Hoods cover the faces of those who march as a sign of penitence.

Clothed in gold and black, these marching penitents carry huge metal torches.

Six men of all ages carry Cristo Muerto (the dead Christ), while six others follow as relief when the burden of the image, the platform, the lights, and the flowers becomes too heavy. The man at the far right of the photo carries one of two saw horses used to support the platform during occasional pauses in the procession.

At the end of the Procesión del Silencio, la Virgen de la Soledad (Our Lady of Solitude) follows the body of her crucified Son. The platform bearing her image holds burning candles, a purple and gold velvet canopy, and banks of fresh flowers.

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4 de April de 2015
Zirita Culinary Experiences: Morelia Cooking School with Heart
Many people–Mexico Cooks! included–are convinced that maestra Benedicta Alejo Várgas is the finest traditional cook in the state of Michoacán. Here, maestra Benedicta explains some of the finer points of Morelia's Mercado San Juan to a Zirita taller (workshop) group cooking class. For Zirita workshops, maestra Benedicta wears typical Purépecha dress: elegant knife-pleated skirt, hand-embroidered lace apron, and a beautiful lacy blouse. She has her rebozo (long rectangular shawl) folded on her head to keep her hands free and as protection from the sun.

A few colorful, traditional pots and ingredients in Taller Zirita's outdoor kitchen. The ingredients include (from left) round, juicy Mexican limones (Key limes), dark green chiles serranos, bright red jitomates (Roma tomatoes), and just-picked green-and-gold flor de calabaza (squash blossoms).

In mid-2012, Mexico Cooks! was honored to be part of the opening at Taller Zirita, Cynthia Martínez's incredibly beautiful cooking school in Morelia, Michoacán. At that time, we were pleased to show you photos of the exquisite environment of a Zirita cooking class. I'm excited to report that I have now been part of several Zirita culinary workshops, both offered with maestra Benedicta at the helm.

Printed recipes given to each workshop attendee; you can see the pages tucked into the bowls of ingredients for a few of the dishes that are part of the day's workshop.

Our list of recipes for each of the days I participated at Zirita included this menu:
- chiles rellenos de uchepos (Poblano chiles stuffed with sweet corn tamales)
- corundas (traditional dried corn tamales with swiss chard and carrots)
- chorizo de Huetamo con salsa de mango (Huetamo-style spicy sausage with mango sauce)
- col de árbol dos maneras (wild cabbage prepared two ways)
- mole de queso de Benedicta (Benedicta's cheese mole)
- paquesos (sweets for dessert made of ground wheat and piloncillo [Mexican brown sugar cones])
Our workshop group, divided in two parts, prepared all of these traditional Michoacán delicacies and then enjoyed platefuls of everything we had prepared as our marvelous comida (main meal of the day).

Maestra Benedicta showed our group how to knead the masa (corn dough) we used to prepare corundas. The masa is kneaded with grated, aged Cotija cheese, salt, shredded fresh acelgas (Swiss chard), and finely diced fresh carrots. She said, "Watch and listen. The masa will speak to you when it's ready to use." She was right: when she had kneaded the masa enough, it began to squeak as it pulled away from the bottom of the batea (wooden bowl). We carefully cleaned both sides of long corn leaves (right side of photo), used to wrap the corundas.  Maestra Benedicta told us that there were two different sides to a corn plant's leaf: one side is smooth, the other is fuzzy. The balls of masa that are transformed by steam into corundas are placed on the smooth side.

Maestra Benedicta wraps a ball of masa into the corn leaf. Each corunda can have three, five, or seven picos (points) which are formed by the way the corn leaf is wrapped. It's rare to see a corunda with seven picos, but maestra Benedicta has the necessary wrapping skill.

The corundas are stacked in their clay pot to steam. The lid will be a clay bowl that fits snugly into the pot opening.  Maestra Benedicta does not use a vaporera (steamer pot). Instead, she places a bundle of very small pine branches at the bottom of this clay pot, then a cushioning layer of the leftover ribs ripped lengthwise from the center of each of the corn leaves, then the water for steaming, then the corundas. Nothing goes to waste in her kitchen: everything has a use.

Fluffy, hot-out-of-the-pot and freshly unwrapped corundas con acelgas y zanahorias, served with a molcajete-made sauce. The molcajete is a three-legged volcanic stone mortar which is used with its own volcanic stone tejolote (pestle).

While the corundas steamed in their clay pot, we learned to make chorizo de Huetamo con salsa de mango. We ate this dish spooned onto crisp corn tostadas for a simple, spicy, and delicious appetizer.

One group of students prepared col de árbol two different ways, cooked in water with tomatoes and chiles (in this photo the potful has just been put on the fire) and as a raw salad with vinegar and crumbled cheese. Both preparations were magnificent.

Elvira, one of maestra Benedicta's daughters, minds the cooking fire; her own daughter Imelda is at her side. Many traditional Purépecha cooks continue to cook outdoors over a fragrant wood fire. Special long stones form the parangua (sacred cooking area); smaller stones form the fogón (support for the pot).

A Purépecha girl is never too young to learn ancient techniques: maestra Benedicta's two-year-old granddaughter Imelda has her own miniature metate y mano (grinding stone and rolling pin made of volcanic rock) and is learning to grind corn for masa by watching and imitating her grandmother and her mother.  Maestra Benedicta learned these same techniques from her grandmother. The Purépecha kitchen has always been taught by oral tradition, recipes and techniques passing from grandmother to daughters and from a mother to her own daughters.

Our class was made up of 17 professional journalists from all over the world. They were visiting Morelia for the Feria Internacional de Turismo Cultural.

Professor Masaya Arakawa was visiting from Takarazuka City, Hyogo, Japan, to learn more about Michoacán cuisine.

A chile relleno con uchepo–a roasted and peeled chile poblano, stuffed with diced leftover and toasted uchepos (sweet corn tamales) mixed with toasted almonds, raisins, and crema de mesa (Mexican table cream). To drink?  Mezcal, artisan-made in Michoacán!

Maestra Benedicta's award-winning mole de queso, ready to serve. This mole is made with Cotija cheese and has a sharp, pleasant taste.

Paquesos for dessert: marble-size balls made of ground toasted wheat berries, piloncillo (Mexican brown sugar cones), canela (Mexican cinnamon), and a little water. We made the balls and then rolled them in a little reserved ground wheat.

Maestra Benedicta toasts chile negro on the comal (in this case, a large clay griddle).

Saveur Magazine's Issue 149 is devoted entirely to Mexico's enormous array of food and drink. On page 80 of that issue, the editors write about Zirita Culinary Experiences: "Restaurateur Cynthia Martínez has created a shrine to the cuisine of small-town Michoacán. In outdoor kitchens over woodburning stoves, visitors learn to grind corn on a metate, press tortillas, and cook them on a comal, guided by practiced home cooks."  One of a mere handful of Saveur-recommended cooking schools in Mexico, Zirita will give you a taste of everything you love about Mexico's cooking: its heart, its soul, and its deep, ancient flavors. Reserve your spot now for an upcoming class. There's nothing remotely like it anywhere else!

Read more about Zirita on TripAdvisor. And for information about scheduling an English-language class at Zirita Culinary Experiences, contact Mexico Cooks! (patalarga@gmail.com). We'll make sure the details are sent to you.

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28 de March de 2015
Food Wanderings in Mexico: Memories of 2014

In January 2014, Mexico Cooks! spent week in Oaxaca. One afternoon, three of us wolfed down a kilo of carne asada (grilled thinly sliced beef) plus various side dishes in the devilishly wonderful Pasillo de Humo inside Mercado 20 de Noviembre in the state capital.

In Zaachila, Oaxaca, we visited an outdoor market. These jitomates riñon (kidney shaped tomatoes) are all but unknown outside the state. Nonetheless, this tomato is identical in all but size to the coeurs-de-boeuf tomato in France. Exported from Mexico to France in the 1840s, the jitomate riñon has evolved into an icon in that faraway country.

France's coeurs-de-boeuf tomatoes have evolved to a fruit much larger than its Mexican ancestor. These French tomatoes were at the Marché d'Aligre in Paris, 2012.

Invited to attend Mesamérica's third annual big-deal festival of gastronomy–held just around the corner from our home in Mexico City–we spent time backstage interviewing illustrious chefs and eating as many gringas (flour tortillas, lightly toasted and piled with melting cheese, carne de cerdo al pastor [marinated pork meat roasted to order on a vertical spit], pineapple, cilantro, and guacamole) as we could.

Just in case you've never seen the trompo (rotating meat-filled vertical spit) for tacos al pastor and gringas, here's one we saw in Mexico City's Centro Histórico. As customers order, the pastorero (cook) turns the spit so that the meat roasts. See the gas fire behind the meat? As the outer edges of the pork sizzle and crisp, the pastorero flicks small slices of the meat into a lightly grilled corn tortilla. Then he uses a long knife to flip a slice of roasted pineapple into your taco. Trust me, you haven't lived till you've eaten tacos al pastor on one of Mexico City's nearly 1800 streets.

Early in 2014, we were invited to have cena (late supper) with the owners of Mexico City's Restaurant Palominos, which specializes in Sonoran beef, some of the finest in the world. Our friend Ricardo is gnawing the bone of an enormous Sonoran beef cut called "tomahawk". Eight of us ate until we could literally not eat another bite–be sure to take a look at the restaurant website to see the menu. We ate at least one of everything!

We admit that we had not eaten Spanish chiles padrón until 2014, and we further admit that now we are addicted to them. Quickly fry a dozen or so of these very mildly spicy, sweet and tender small chiles until the skin blisters a bit. I use a heavy skillet and two tablespoons of olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt. Then pop a chile in your mouth, pulling off the stem between your teeth and discarding it. I bet you can't eat just one!

2014 was otherwise known as "The Year of Jing Teng". Mexico Cooks! has taken countless groups for guided tours of this restaurant's menu, where we eat Hong Kong style dim sum (Chinese dumplings) and other delicious items. The dish in the photograph is Jing Teng-style Singapore noodles with chicken, shrimp, and roast pork.

Mercado Roma, an upscale market with enormous appeal to twenty-something hipsters and foodies with plenty of pocket money, opened its doors in trendy Colonia Roma Sur in 2014.

As in every year since we moved to Mexico City, I spent a lot of time in the state of Michoacán. Here's a fish dish bobbing with chiles manzano, cooking over a wood fire at the 12th Encuentro de Cocineras Tradicionales de Michoacán (Festival of Michoacán's Traditional Cooks), October 2014.

Michoacán's corundas (pyramid-shaped tamales steamed in corn leaves) as served at a press conference for an event in Mexico City.

We were back in Oaxaca in September 2014, where we loved this wheelbarrow filled with mamey, sweet and tropical. The mamey, sold all over Mexico, is about 6" to 7" long and 3" across the midpoint. It's brown and slightly fuzzy on the outside; the soft, ripe flesh is the brilliant red-orange color in the photo. Eat it with a spoon or out of hand, or blend it into your morning licuado (smoothy); the flavor is a little like a baked sweet potato.

Thanksgiving turkey, delivered by bicycle! This fresh-never-frozen bird weighed in at about 22 pounds and the deliveryman said he had five just like it in the red basket. This particular turkey was destined for our neighbor's oven; the one he delivered to us weighed a bit more than 13 kilos. That's 28.5 pounds, for the metrically challenged.

Imelda in a pensive mood. Purépecha child, 2014.

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21 de March de 2015