Author: typepadtowordpress

Images of Women in Mexico

A late-19th Century image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Queen of Mexico and Empress of the Americas.

Collage by Rodolfo Morales, 20th Century Oaxacan artist.

Tortillando y comadreando (making tortillas and gossiping), Morelia, December 2007.

Sayaca (transvestite clown), Carnaval, Jalisco 2004.

Native dance costume, Chiapas 2003.

Berta Alicia Alejo, Michoacán 2007.

Lila Downs, Mexican-American singer, Guadalajara, November 2005.

Mexico Cooks! is on vacation. Coming soon: our adventures in Chiapas.

2 de February de 2008
FIESTAS! FIESTAS! FIESTAS!

Fiestas! A Mexican town goes all-out for its fiestas. Every barrio (neighborhood) celebrates its special saint. Any specialty item produced in a town gets at least a couple of days’ party: the paleta in Tocumbo, a cheese in Cotija, maque (laquerware) in Uruapan. El Día de los Muertos (the Day of the Dead), Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe (Our Lady of Guadalupe), Candelaria (Candlemas)–each merits a party. But the biggest, most whoop-de-do wonderful fiesta time of the
year comes to one small town near Guadalajara at the end of November. Starting on the evening of November 22
and culminating on the night of November 30, the town celebrates the
fiestas of its patron saint, San Andrés (St. Andrew).

Dare we go up on the ferris wheel? It’s called rueda de la fortuna (wheel of fortune) at the fiestas in this town.

Each day of the fiesta is sponsored by a different worker’s group, or gremio. For example, there are gremios for the masons, gardeners and domestic workers, plumbers and electricians. One day of the yearly fiestas patronales is sponsored by a large local hotel, and another is sponsored by los hijos ausentes,
(the absent children), those who were born and raised in the town but who
now live in the United States or other parts of Mexico.

In the pre-dawn hours of every morning, the angels are awakened (so goes a local saying) by hundreds of booming cohetes
(skyrockets) set off in the church atrium. Soon after, pealing
church bells call the faithful to 6:00 AM Mass, along with oom-pah bands
of musicians processing through the cobbled streets leading the
procession to the church of San Andrés. Thousands more skyrockets
thunder to the heavens throughout the day and night, every day and night.

Cohetes courtesy of a terrific photographer, Flickr user joven_60. Thanks, David, you captured everything but the booms!

The faint of heart leave town for the duration, dogs bark,
cats hide, but the tiniest babies yawn and cuddle closer to their
mothers as they sleep undisturbed through all of the racket. Last year,
on the day that was sponsored by the gremio de los albañiles (construction workers), 7,000 thundering skyrockets were set off in one 24-hour period. You read that right, seven thousand. Nearly 300 an hour for 24 hours!

Pozole (a pork, corn, and chile stew) and atole (a hot drink, in this case made of corn) warm you inside and out during the fiestas in Mexico’s chilly winter.

Each gremio sponsors a second procession and
celebration of Mass at 7:00 PM every evening and then the fun begins. The
fiestas are part religious observance, part circus sideshow, part food
festival, part carnival, part dance party, part courtship, and part
competition. You’ll find every sort of food being served on the plaza.
There are in-season guasanas (fresh green garbanzo beans, steamed in the pod on a brazier), tacos of every description including carne asada (marinated beef), beef tongue, and tacos al pastor (pork, marinated, roasted on a spit, and chipped off to order, sizzling hot).

Hungry celebrators of any age can choose from tamales, pozole, atole,
pizza baked in a portable oven, hot dogs, hot cakes, hot corn on the
cob, hot fresh-made potato chips, hot breads and hot drinks. Hot
cinnamon tea is a specialty of the fiestas, served sweetened and, more
often than not, with a piquete (a stiff shot of tequila, rum or rompope (eggnog liquor).

The fiestas bring great friends together for great fun.

There are games of chance galore: typical ring toss games (encircle the
prize and you win it), canaries that tell your fortune, shooting
gallery games (watch out for the little stuffed monkey. Someone hits it
and it pees in an astonishingly long trajectory).

Stop at Bebidas Paraíso for a drink. Tequila, rum, brandy, whiskey–these temporary bars, set up just for the fiestas, are called terrazas.

There’s a long street of tchotchke booths, selling everything from plastic
kitchen wares to CDs to clothes to toys (Christmas is just around the
corner) to souvenirs of the fiestas. It’s easy to get lost in the vast numbers of tiny trinkets in each booth.

There are specialty crafts booths selling fantastic embroidery, wood
carvings, pottery, and regional candy specialties. Want to ride a big
white goat with a saddle? Hop on!

Everything is made luminous by the chilly, starry skies. The
warmth of twinkling colored lights, the sounds, the smells and the
excitement of young and old alike is palpable in the chilly night air.
The band revs up around 8:00 PM and plays con gusto till the last possible moment, frequently until two, three or four in the morning.

Coheteros (fireworks makers) spend part of each fiesta daytime setting up the evening’s castillo.

And overshadowing all of these goings-ons is the grand finale of each evening, the castillo (castle). A set-piece fireworks display made of thin strips of bamboo, wires, strings, black powder and fuses, the castillo
is mounted on a 20-foot-high 6-inch thick pole in the middle of one of
the narrowest streets in town. The miracle of engineering and
architecture has its moments of glory around 11:00 each evening. The coheteros,
the men who build these fireworks marvels, mill around their creation
all evening, having a few beers while they baby sit the ‘castle’.

At about 10:30, murmurs start running through the crowded plaza: "A qué horas se quema?" (What time will it be burned?) Suddenly, the castillo jiggles-the long fuses are loosened and shaken. It’s time! The coheteros
grin and suck their cigarettes as the music crescendos. All eyes are
fixed on the bamboo center of attention. And, whoosh, the first
long fuse is lit with the hot end of a cigarette, the sparks climb
higher, and BANG! The first wheel of the display catches fire with a
whistle, a whir, and a buzz.

Brilliantly colored flames shoot out in the form of—wait! What is that? It’s an elephant—no, wait, it’s a bull!
For mere moments the bull whirls in space, isolated in the darkness and
shooting sparks into the crowd. And then whoosh another fuse, and this
time it’s a champagne glass that bursts into the night, and then a
flower, and then spinning discs of neon green flame, and then fountains
of what look like diamonds fall into the night, showering over the
crowd.

Six little boys run merrily under the exploding castillo, protected by cardboard cartons held over their heads. Oh the risk! Oh the joy! And BANG, the castillo
erupts again, now at the higher levels—this time a guitar, and an apple
and a poinsettia flame out into the night. And at the highest level,
what’s this? A folded fan falls open, shooting flames of purple, pink,
blue, and green–no! There’s a head. It’s a peacock, twirling and
shooting fantastic cascades of sparks from the feathers of its tail.

And then the coup de grace—at the very top, a ring of brilliant fuchsia fire spins faster, faster, faster, until the corona
(crown) loosens its moorings from the structure and flies higher and
higher into the starry sky, trailing glittering sparks until finally it
burns out with a hiss that is echoed by the sigh of the crowd. The castillo is finished for tonight, the smell of smoke and gunpowder lingering in the air.

The band music takes up the slack. Families with little ones and the
old folks head home as soon as the last spark dies. The teens and the
young men and women begin their sloe-eyed walk around the plaza. In the
sidewalk cantinas, members of the sponsoring gremio
order another tequila, in food stands couples eat another taco, and then
it’s home to bed to dream of what’s been tonight and what tomorrow
might bring.

A globo (balloon) vendor plies the fiesta crowd.

And all the while they dream, the band plays, the stars
shine and the coheteros smile and tip yet another beer to toast their evening’s work.













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26 de January de 2008
Xilonen: Guadalajara School of Traditional Mexican Cooking

A couple of months ago I received a desperate email. Friends who are owners of a Guadalajara B&B were frantically looking for a Mexican cooking school for clients who would arrive within the week. The answer was a no-brainer: Xilonen, the Guadalajara school of Mexican culinary traditions run by Chef Rose Marie Plaschinski, would fill the bill perfectly. My friends breathed a sigh of relief, their guests were ecstatic with their cooking adventure, and I made big points. The situation was win-win all the way around.

Culinary tourism is a hot item these days. Whether you’re a recreational cook-tourist looking for a visceral way to understand a new culture, a home cook looking for a new twist on dinner, or a professional cook looking for ways to update a restaurant menu, the road to a man’s (or woman’s) heart is still definitely through the stomach.

Founder and owner of Xilonen, Chef Rose Marie Plaschinski.

Rose Marie Plaschinski is not your ordinary cooking school owner. A Guadalajara
native, she knew from an early age that the kitchen was
her passion. In high school, she often baked and sold cookies as a way
to make extra money and she still dearly loves dessert preparation.

After studying at three of the most famous cooking schools in
the world—the Cordon Bleu in Paris, the Culinary Institute of America
in Hyde Park, New York, and at the University of Mexico’s
Cultura Culinaria—she returned to Guadalajara to open her own cooking school, Cordón Rose.

We met recently to talk about her culinary life. Rose Marie chatted with me about her career and her decision to open Cordón Rose, and now Xilonen.

"All of my career, people have told me that I am a pioneer,"
Rose Marie began. "My original cooking school was the first to open in
Guadalajara. Cordón Rose concentrated on the classic styles of cooking,
and there are still no other schools in Guadalajara that prepare a professional chef
in that way. Now there are many schools, more than twenty. But to find
one of the high category of Cordón Rose?" Rose Marie lifted an eyebrow
in doubt.

"When my children were a bit younger, I wanted them to live away from the hustle-bustle of Guadalajara. I thought they needed a slower life, closer to nature and closer to me. My work kept me away from them and I was afraid they would only know me as "that lady", not as their mother. I initially opened Xilonen in the country, about an hour and a half from Guadalajara. My children and I loved living there, but it was almost impossible for them to have a high-quality education in the nearest town. We decided to come back to the city for the sake of their school preparation. I moved the whole Xilonen operation back to Guadalajara."

"Xilonen is the Nahuatl name of the young goddess of corn. Corn is the
mother of the cuisines of Mexico; corn has fed us for centuries and
Xilonen the goddess is our nourishing mother. In gratitude to our
mother, I call this new incarnation of my cooking school by her name.

Rose Marie commented, "You know, Xilonen isn’t just about exquisite
food. I’ve been involved in the Slow Food International movement for
several years, and the movement’s philosophy is part of Xilonen. You know that part of the Slow Food philosophy is a firm defense of quiet material pleasure, opposing the universal folly of Fast Life.

"My clients are mature people, people who understand that the beauty of
our natural surroundings combines with the gentleness of the indoor
atmosphere, which combines with the delightful surprises coming from
the kitchen. The entire ambience creates a whole aura of relaxation and
slowing down. Pleasures in the city, in the house, in the kitchen and at table are primary to a marvelous culinary vacation.

Glorieta Chapalita, the hub of Xilonen’s neighborhood, hosts an art show every Sunday.

"Even though we’re in the midst of Guadalajara, a city of more than 6,000,000, Xilonen’s neighborhood is an island of peace. The streets are tree-lined, the pace is slow, and yet we’re just minutes from Guadalajara’s Centro Histórico (historic downtown area). Along with several plans tailored to our clients’ cooking school requirements, Xilonen also offers sightseeing and tourism options.

Rose Marie will explain everything you’ll see in the food stalls at Guadalajara’s famous Mercado Libertad.

A one-day Xilonen class features a trip to a typical market plus preparation of a dish or a meal. Set up for an individual or a couple, the class offers an intimate introduction to regional Mexican cooking, an opportunity to spend time honing your already well-used kitchen skills, and the close personal attention of Chef Rose Marie.

The one-week series of classes is much more detailed and features authentic regional recipes. Rose Marie herself guides students through preparing several full meals: drinks, appetizers, soups, main courses, and desserts. You’ll learn the proper preparation of a margarita, an exciting guacamole made from perfectly ripe avocados, the preparation of authentic arroz a la mexicana (Mexican red rice), a salsa or two to add a touch of picante, and delicious desserts made from local ingredients. Of course the proof of the pudding is in the eating! Naturally you’ll enjoy the fruits of your labor at Chef Rose Marie’s elegant and very Mexican table.

Professional food and design consultation for chefs and restaurants is another of Chef Rose Marie Plaschinski’s specialties.

For the culinary professional, Chef Rose Marie offers courses to update qualifications, ability to assess needs,
product development, plan restaurant menus, and more. The professional can come to Mexico or
invite Chef Rose Marie Plaschinski for a personal visit to your
workplace. She has recently completed extensive consultation with the planners and owners of a new Mexican restaurant in Maryland. Her work there included numerous field visits to the United States.

All of you aficionados of Mexico’s cuisines know that there are any number of cooking schools in the República which offer classes in the country’s more esoteric foods: 37-ingredient moles which take days to prepare, guisdados made of mushrooms found in one corner of one Mexican state, et cetera. Chef Rose Marie can offer you classes in all of the esoterica, but if you want to cook what Mexico really eats, every day, Xilonen is the place to study. Rose Marie’s prices compare very favorably with those of other Mexican cooking schools, she offers full accommodations for your stay in Guadalajara, and you’ll be thrilled with her as well as with what you learn during your time at Xilonen.

Contact Xilonen here:   Be sure to tell Chef Rose Marie hello from us at Mexico Cooks!



19 de January de 2008
Alicia Gironella and Giorgio de’Angeli, Extraordinary Ambassadors of Mexico’s Cuisines

At the December 2007 Expo de Gastronomía in Morelia, Michoacán, Alicia
Gironella de'Angeli comments on the importance of keeping a family
cookbook.

Mention Mexico's cuisines (both ancient and modern) and within moments you'll hear the names Alicia Gironella and Giorgio d'Angeli. The spouses have worked together for more than 30 years to promote, preserve, and protect Mexico's pre-conquest and mestizo kitchen traditions. It's been my honor to have known the two of them for several years.

In the culinary world of Mexico, Alicia
Gironella De'Angeli is ever-present, even when she is not in the room.
A recognized authority on the cuisines of Mexico she is also a
committed Slow Food officer and was part of the initiative that
prepared and presented the proposal "People of Corn — Mexico's
Ancestral Cuisine" to UNESCO. She has devoted herself to research,
investigation and rescue of the vast and complex cuisines of Mexico and
with her husband Giorgio De'Angeli they have traveled the world, taught, and
written on the complex nature and multiplicity of ingredients found
only here.

At the recent Muestra de Gastronomía in Morelia, Giorgio de'Angeli gobbled some slow food: tacos de borrego a la penca.

Giorgio de'Angeli is a tireless laborer in the interest of Slow Food, the international movement founded in Italy in 1989 as a non-profit, eco-gastronomic member-supported organization to counteract fast food and fast life, the disappearance of local food traditions and people’s dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from, how it tastes and how our food choices affect the rest of the world. In the defense of Slow Food, Sr. de'Angeli says, "No vertical food, please, and no fusion cuisine. Fusion cuisine ends up being CON-fusion. The Slow Food movement is about preserving and teaching real cooking, sustainable agriculture, eco-gastronomia, and tradition." Click here to learn more about Slow Food International.

SLOW, the magazine of the Slow Food movement, is published four times a year in six languages.

Over the last nearly 20 years, Alicia Gironella and Giorgio de'Angeli have written a number of books.

El Gran Libro de la Cocina Mexicana was published by Larousse in 1990. The five-volume set, in Spanish, includes volumes called La Cocina de la Imaginación, La Cocina de la Sencillez, La Cocina de las Sorpresas, La Cocina de las Especias y los Aromas, and La Cocina Barroca. The set is out of print. A volume or the entire set is occasionally available at specialty used and rare bookstores.

Epazote y Molcajete arrived in 1993.

Everest Publishing offered Cocina Mexicana para el Mundo: Saberes y Sabores in 2003.

Larousse published this edition of the Larousse de la Cocina Mexicana in 2006, with a second edition in 2007.

In this second
edition of the Larousse, aesthetics and modernity share the pages with
the indigenous and traditional, providing a concise guide for the
professional and the novice alike. Alicia explains the work as "not a
coffee table book" but as a text to be used in the kitchen, though the
photographs by Federico Gil are breathtakingly beautiful. The book
serves as a compendium of recipes with step by step instructions,
techniques and methods, and a full descriptive of utensils commonly
used in the Mexican kitchen. One of the sections deals with the
importance of flowers as food and the preparation of this "gift of
nature" transformed into a delicious meal. Moles as well are given an
in depth view by region, method of preparation and according to place
names.

The de'Angelis masterwork is as easily used by the home cook as by the professional. Neither bogged down in historical detail nor lengthy socio-geographical analysis, the authors cut to the chase and give us what is arguably the most complete reference and recipe book on Mexican cooking. Larousse de la Cocina Mexicana is not only an homage to one of the richest world gastronomies, it is also a compendium of variety, tradition, and flavor. Its pages contain more than 500 recipes for main dishes, drinks, and salsas, from the simplest to the most elaborate and from the traditional to today's kitchen. The book has more than 800 photographs, step-by-step explanations of preparations, and numerous technical illustrations. Among the most useful and interesting details are comparative tables of moles, tamales, and salsas. The tables allow the cook to understand the similarities and differences among the various preparations.

As Sra. Gironella commented "We have created this book to demonstrate the richness of a cuisine that is vast, creative and colorful. We tasted every recipe so there would be no doubt about its ingredients and preparation. If it weren't for the kitchen brigade at El Tajín (her restaurant close to Coyoacán in Mexico City), the book would not be what it is. I'm so grateful for their dedication and skill."

A classical Mexican kitchen, circa 1920-30.

In addition to their multiple tasks as restaurant owners, writers and teachers, the de'Angelis are also part of the enormous effort with UNESCO to declare Mexico's corn-based kitchen a patrimony of humanity. Along with Gloria López Morales and several well-known Mexican chefs, the de'Angelis presented the cuisines of Mexico at UNESCO's Paris headquarters in 2006. Although the initial request for patrimony of humanity status was denied, the chefs agree that with or without UNESCO, Mexico's corn-based cuisines are a cultural and culinary heritage that must be preserved.

Mexico has extraordinary regional cuisines, one for nearly every state, and the base of all these cuisines is three plants: corn, bean, and chile. The roots of Mexico's cuisines go back thousands of years, to an age and past comparable with other great civilizations.

The de'Angelis and the rest of the chefs agree that there should be another presentation to UNESCO to plead the cause for patrimony of humanity status. Giorgio de'Angeli says that a great campaign is needed to make everyone conscious of Mexico's marvelous traditional cuisines. "Largely unknown internationally, indigenous cuisines are also little recognized here in the cities of Mexico. In both Mexico City and Guadalajara, there are more restaurants featuring foreign cuisines than those which feature traditional Mexican cooking. In my mind, that's clear evidence that certain sectors of society underestimate or know little about the greatness of Mexico's culinary culture." De'Angeli goes on to say that this expression of Mexico's national culture requires better definition of ingredients, utensils, and food preparation. Mexico's cuisines are as extensive as China's, as delicious as the cuisines of France, but they lack definition. Because Mexico's cuisines are so diverse, there is no single recipe, for example, for mole, for tamales, for enchiladas.

Alicia Gironella de'Angeli graciously shared a simple traditional recipe with Mexico Cooks!

Pipián Prieto
(Dark Pipián)

Utensils
Blender
Cazuela (shallow clay pot)
Wooden spoon

Ingredients
100 grams hulled green pumpkin seeds, toasted
50 grams dried black corn, toasted
2 whole chiles anchos
1 cup chicken or beef broth
2 Tbsp lard
1 teaspoon salt

Procedure
1. Grind the pumpkin seeds, corn, and chiles with a little of the broth. Strain and fry in the lard. Season with salt to taste.
2. Finish cooking the above paste with the rest of the broth. If you like, you can add potatoes, nopales, or cooked, sliced turnips. The pipián should be thick.
3. Serve in the shallow dish as a salsa for shrimp and potatoes.

In 1993, Sra. De'Angeli opened a stunning new restaurant, El Tajín,
on the outskirts of Mexico City. Some of the highlights on the menu
are: fish steamed in a banana leaf with mushrooms and nopales (cactus paddles), various kinds of ceviche arranged like flower petals,
seductive bisque-like soups and tantalizing fruit desserts, including
one made of the sour cactus fruit xoconoxtle.

"This is the
same food we serve at home," Mrs. De'Angeli said. "It is one of two
tendencies in Mexican cooking. The other is popular Mexican food,
the kind with the grease and the cheese and everything fried. It is the
traditional food that we are reinterpreting."

Basically, she
said, she is changing the presentation. Take the way she makes
tortillas at El Tajín: the warm, flat corn cakes come with leaves of the
fragrant Mexican herb epazote embedded in them, which gives them a stylish look.

If you plan to be in Mexico City, make reservations and give yourself the extraordinary pleasure of dining in the traditional style. If you're very lucky indeed, you'll have an opportunity to meet both the de'Angelis. Be prepared to be ecstatic.

El Tajin restaurant:
Telephones: (52-55) 5659 -5759 / 5659 – 4447
Address: Miguel Ángel de Quevedo Num. 687
Colonia: Cuadrante de San Francisco (just south of Coyoacán) Part of the Centro Cultural Veracruzano
Hours: Monday thru Sunday from 1 to 6 PM.






12 de January de 2008
Indigenous Michoacán Cuisine Exposition in Morelia: Molcajete and Metate, Churipo and Charanda

This drawing from the Florentine Codex, a 12-volume compendium of indigenous Aztec (Mexica) customs written by Bernadino de Sahagún between 1540 and 1585, shows a woman grinding corn with a metate and metapil.

For four days in early December, 2007, the city of Morelia focused its attention on the cuisine of its largest indigenous people, the Purhépecha. Government officials and people important in the world of Mexican food arrived from points east and west. They heard seminars, book presentations, and studious commentary about the origins of mestizo cooking in Michoacán. Speakers emphasized the importance of keeping the strong cultural traditions of the Michoacán kitchen, the grand patrimony of family cookbooks, and the need to study and record the heritage of the various culinary regions of the state.

More than 460 years after Sahagún wrote the Codex, this Purhépecha woman grinds masa on the lawn at the Muestra de Gastronomía, still using a metate (the sloping three-legged grinding stone)and metapil, which resembles a rolling pin.

We looked wise and nodded sagely as we heard scholarly talks. We of the press photographed all the bigwigs, who smiled politely and acquiesced. In truth, the press, the bigwigs, and Morelia's hungry citizens were waiting for only one thing: the Saturday opening of the Muestra de Gastronomía, the two-day food tasting that would give all of us an opportunity to sample the exquisite regional cuisines we'd been theorizing about for the first two days of this annual event.

After all, food is what this annual event celebrates. Food is what fuels us, what feeds our bodies and our passions. Food kindles both our present day and our nostalgic past, and this encuentro (encounter) of tradition with today can bring together the best of both times. In the hands of las mayoras (the Purhépecha home cooks, elderly women all) and the young alta cocina (haute cuisine) chefs of Michoacán, we literally become one another's companions*: we break bread together and unite our hearts at table.

*companion: From the Latin "Companionem," which was, "one with whom you would eat bread" — "Con" (with) and "Pan" (bread) — presumably, your "companion" was someone with whom you would "break bread."

Gloria López Morales of Mexico City, formerly a long-term UNESCO and Conaculta official who continues to be a driving force in the conservation of Mexican gastronomy, comments about the importance of Mexico's cuisine as a cultural patrimony.

To start our Saturday eating foray, we tried delicious tacos de borrego a la penca (lamb wrapped in agave leaves and pit-roasted), as prepared by Sr. Eduardo Garibay of Santa Clara del Cobre.

Doña Paula Alfaro Aguilar (right) operates her eponymous restaurant, Doña Paulita, in Nuevo San Juan Parangaricutiro. She brought her special preparation of churipo to the Muestra de Gastronomía. Churipo, native to Michoacán, is a soup made of beef, cabbage, onion, chile, and xoconostle, a sour tuna (fruit of the nopal cactus), among other ingredients.

Michoacán pozole is made of pork (starting with the head and feet), nixtamal-ized corn, chiles guajillo and other spices, all simmered for hours over a wood fire.

This woman stirs atole (a thick, usually sweetened corn drink), prepared in an olla de barro (clay pot) over a wood fire.

The next generation: Guadalupe Cielo Talavera Andrade of Tzurumútaro makes masa using a metate. A large percentage of the young people from Michoacán's Purhépecha villages has gone to work in the United States, leaving traditions behind and the future of the old ways in doubt.

Tamales de zarzamora (blackberry tamales).

Tamales de Zarzamora
1/2 kilo prepared masa
1/2 to 1 kilo fresh blackberries
350 grams sugar
1 liter water

In a large copper pot, bring the water to a boil. Add the 1/2 kilo prepared masa and simmer, stirring constantly, until the masa is dissolved and the liquid is thick.

Grind 1/2 to 1 kilo fresh blackberries. Strain through a fine strainer to remove seeds. Simmer for 20 minutes in just a little water.

Add the sugar to the strained blackberries and bring that mixture to a boil with the masa mixture. Cool slightly.

Soak dried corn husks in warm water to soften. Using one or two husks per tamal, spread two or three tablespoonsful of the blackberry/masa mixture over the husks. Fold as for an ordinary tamal. Place the tamales in overlapping layers in a tamalera (tamal steamer) and steam for 30-45 minutes. Test for doneness.

Charanda is typically Michoacán. A product of Uruapan and its surrounding area, charanda is distilled from sugar cane and yeast. Clear charanda is approximately the same proof as tequila or rum. We used charanda as the piquete in our ponche navideño (Christmas punch).

María Luísa R. de Obregón is the director of the bookstore "El Rincón de María Luísa, Donde las Letras Se Cocinan". Among many other volumes, she displayed these two books. One is about the traditional cocina charra (cowboy kitchen) and the other gives information about the techniques and flavors of sushi. Their juxtaposition is proof positive that in Mexico, the times are definitely changing.

Cocadas (coconut candy) from Dulces Don Nacho of Uruapan.

Regional sweets, including candied limones stuffed with sweetened coconut, rectangular bars of jamoncillo, balls of chile flavored sweetened tamarind paste, a whole candied squash (just left of lower center) and guava leather rolls stuffed with cajeta.

Mayra Coffigny de Cárdenas, director of the state social service agency Desarrollo Integral de la Familia (DIF, Whole Family Development) and the wife of Michoacán's governor Lázaro Cárdenas Batel, enjoys a tamal stuffed with picadillo, a mixture of meat, fruits and/or vegetables, and spices.

Doña Basilia Amezcua of Tarecuato prepared the prize-winning atole. Unlike most atoles, hers is a savory atole de habas (fava beans) seasoned with just a little chile jalapeño and hoja de aguacate (ground avocado leaves). The atole was so delicious that it won the prize for the second year in a row. I thought it was marvelous, so good that I purchased a liter to bring home.

Benedita Vargas Alejo (right) and her assitant use a clay comal (griddle) to make blue corn tortillas, gorditas, and quesadillas.

We see the Michoacán kitchen, with all its traditions and innovations, as an evolving work that needs to stick very close to its origins while it understands that transformation due to changing times–not simply current changes, but changes that have evolved across the centuries–are both valid and important. An event such as the Exposition and Muestra de Gastronomía acts as a guide for those who want to recognize the different origins of indigenous dishes and those that are of recent creation.

Come to visit us in Michoacán!

Few aspects of culture define a people more than its gastronomy. The four Encuentros sobre la Cocina Tradicional de Michoacán permit us to realize that eating isn't only a biological necessity but the enjoyment of good taste, social life, religious rituals, and the entire heritage of the indigenous Purhépecha in Michoacán.

We hope that Mexico Cooks! will meet you at the next Encuentro de Gastronomía or similar event. If you'd be interested in a taste of Michoacán, please contact us and we'll plan a trip for your pleasure.

All photos and written material are property of Mexico Cooks! and may not be reproduced without prior permission.

5 de January de 2008
Pastorela in Cuitzeo: Not Your Father’s Bathrobe
A Seattle Christmas pageant, circa 1953. Thanks, Sandy in Seattle!

My school put on a Christmas pageant when I was in the third grade, back in the days before generic holiday greetings. Remember how Joey and Jimmy, Ralph and Bobby, were the shepherds in their father's striped terrycloth bathrobes, the sashes tied three or four times around their waists? Chuck got to be Joseph and that prissy little Amy got to dress in blue and white as the Virgin Mary when everybody KNEW it should have been you up there nuzzling the Baby Jesus. Here's a sweet little reminder: www.youtube.com/watch?v=clSUr9fLapY

A 19th Century pastorela photograph showing Bartolo, the indolent shepherd who overslept and missed his chance to go to Bethlehem to see the Niño Dios.

In Mexico, a Christmas pageant, like almost everything, is different from Christmas plays North of the Border. Called a pastorela, the Mexican Christmas play is part very naughty topical comedy, part traditional drama, part Sunday school lesson, and 100% morality play. Pastorela means pastoral, or a play that takes place in the countryside, and concerns the activities of pastores, or shepherds. First introduced in Mexico by Franciscan missionaries in the 1500's, the pastorelas continued to grow in favor here. Today the plays are one of the most popular Christmastime entertainments. The theme portrays the eternal conflict between good and evil. The plot revolves around the pilgrimage of the shepherds to Bethlehem to see the newborn Niño Dios (Christ Child).

The devil is not ordinarily associated with Christmas. In Mexico, however, Satanás plays a very solid role in the holiday festivities. He is actually the star! Lucifer works all his worst wiles to detour the shepherds away from their destination. Costumed as various alluring personages, Satan and his associate devils do their best to trick the shepherds into abandoning their journey to redemption. At the end, Satan is trumped, good triumphs, the shepherds meet the Holy Family, and all is well.

My partner and I recently spent a week or so looking for a pastorela to be presented at a time we could attend. Last week, Judy noticed an article in the newspaper about a pastorela that was being offered that very night in Cuitzeo, a small town about an hour north of Morelia. The title of the play (El Ermitaño.com: The Hermit.com) was intriguing, the photo of the performers in costume looked exciting, and the timing was right. We called our friend Bunny, who jumped at the chance to accompany us to the evening performance, and we were off to Cuitzeo.

Cuitzeo reached the status of Mexican Pueblo Mágico, the third in Michoacán, in 2006. The requirements for the Pueblo Mágico designation are:
- a town or city rich in tradition
- located in an area of high interest to tourists
- that it have a strong history
- that it have ready access from major highways
You'll see in this video that Cuitzeo easily meets the Pueblo Mágico criteria.

Our pastorela took place outside, on the grounds of the Ex-Convento de Santa María Magdalena, a 16th Century Augustinian convent. Judy, Bunny, and I stopped first in the church to see the Christmas decorations.

Cuitzeo's 17th Century Virgin Mary wears a charming straw sombrero and rides a donkey as she and Joseph travel to Bethlehem.

The presentation of El Ermitaño.com was sponsored by Adopt a Work of Art, the Michoacán Secretary of Tourism, the Cuitzeo city government, the National Institute of Anthropology and History, and the newspaper La Voz de Michoacán. We discovered that this pastorela was not a simple country town's Christmas caprice. It is a sophisticated, professional play of great good humor.

According to Miguel Sabido, the creator of El Hermitaño.com, "The culture which distinguishes Mexico is both vast and rich, but it's composed of more than our country's admirable buildings. Mexico has its greatest patrimony in its popular rituals, and its recipes like the pinole cookies that are only made here in this region, and the pastorelas. These are Mexico's legacies and we must make a commitment to spread her traditions."

The pastorela characters mounted the stage dancing, singing, and rejoicing.

Adam and Eve were the first to take the devil's bait: Adam bit the apple and all hell broke loose.

Still singing, the shepherds, in typical indigenous Purhépecha dress, started their trip to Bethlehem.

El ermitaño (the hermit), portrayed as a post-elderly (think 200 years old) fellow, leads the shepherds (in this case, indigenous Purépecha from Michoacán) on the long trip to Bethlehem. The Archangel Michael warns them that they'll see the devil in the disguise of famous and fascinating people. When Satan begins to tempt the simple shepherds, they easily fall into his traps.

El ermitaño (the hermit) co-starred with Satan.

Famously rival Mexican soccer teams, a drunken debauch complete with Caribbean dancers in flounced skirts and turbans, and an angelic choir are all devils in disguise. In every encounter, Archangel Michael has to intervene to prod the shepherds on their way. Topical jokes ran wild, references to the famous and the infamous flew, and we loved it all.

Finally, Bethlehem! The Virgin Mary holds the Niño Dios as St. Joseph and the shepherds look on.

The pastorela story was typically good conquers evil, but what a production! Acted, danced, and sung by professionals, the morality play kept the crowd (packed into bleachers on two sides of the open stage) laughing, clapping, booing and hissing, and singing along with Mexico's treasured and iconic villancicos (Christmas carols). Listen to this lovely version of Los Peces en el Río. Can you hear the lyric 'la Virgen lava pañales'? It means 'the Virgin washes diapers'!

Mexico Cooks! wishes everyone a very joyous New Year, filled with good health, great happiness, and many delights. Próspero Año Nuevo!
29 de December de 2007
May Your Days Be Merry and Bright…

Chepo celebrates Christmas.

Mexico Cooks! wishes all of you a very merry Christmas and the happiest New Year.

Les deseo una navidad super-feliz con todo lo mejor para el Año Nuevo.

Enjoy!

25 de December de 2007
Christmas in Mexico: Tamales, Tamales, and MORE Tamales

Sweet tamales de zarzamora (blackberry tamales) are a specialty of the Meseta Purhépecha, Michoacán.

When I was a child, my mother would sometimes buy a glass jar (I have conveniently forgotten the brand name) packed with what we called "hot tamales". Wrapped individually in parchment paper, covered in a thin, brackish, tomato-y fluid, these slippery travesties were all I knew of tamales until I moved to Mexico.

The first Christmas season I that I lived South of the Border, my neighbor came to my door to deliver a dozen of her finest home made tamales, fresh from the tamalera (tamales steamer). I knew enough of Mexican culture to understand that to refuse them would be an irreparable insult, but I also was guilty of what I now know as contempt prior to investigation. I did not want tamales. The memory of those childhood tamales was disgusting. I smiled and thanked her as graciously as I could.

A three-compartment tamalera: bottom left, Oaxaca-style tamales wrapped in banana leaves. Right, central Mexico-style tamales, wrapped in corn husks.

"Pruébalos ya!" she prodded. "Taste them now!" With some hesitation I reached for a plate from the shelf, a fork from the drawer (delay, delay) and unwrapped the steaming corn husk wrapper from a plump tamal she said was filled with pork meat and red chile. One bite and I was an instant convert. My grin told her everything she wanted to know. She went home satisfied, wiping her hands on her apron. I downed two more tamales as soon as she was out of sight. More than 25 years later, I haven't stopped loving them.

Christmas in Mexico is a time for special festive foods. More tamales than any other food come from the Christmas kitchen. Tamales of pork, beef or chicken with spicy red chile, tamales of rajas con queso (strips of roasted poblano chiles with cheese), and sweet pineapple ones, each with a single raisin pressed into the masa (dough), pour in a steady, steaming mountain from kitchen after kitchen.

I asked my next door neighbor what she's making for Christmas Eve dinner. "Pues, tamales,que más," she answered. "Well, tamales, what else!"

I asked the woman who grooms my dog. "Pues, tamales, que más!"

I asked the woman who cuts my hair. "Pues, tamales, que más!"

And my gardener. "What's your Mom making to eat for Christmas Eve, Jorge?"

I bet by now you know what he replied. "Pues,tamales, que más?"

Obviously there are other things eaten on Christmas Eve in Mexico. Some folks feast on bacalao a la vizcaína (dried salt codfish stewed with tomatoes, capers, olives, and potatoes). Some women proudly carry huge clay cazuelas (rustic casserole dishes) of guajolote con mole poblano (turkey in a complex, rich sauce of chiles, toasted spices, and chocolate, thickened with ground tortillas) to their festive table. Some brew enormous ollas (pots) of menudo (tripe and cow's foot soup) or pozole (a hearty soup of prepared corn, chiles, pork meat, and condiments) for their special Christmas Eve meal, traditionally served late on Nochebuena (Christmas Eve), after the Misa de Gallo (Midnight Mass).

Doña Martha Prepares Tamales for Christmas

As an exceptional treat, we're sharing part of a photo essay by my good friend Rolly Brook. It's all about tamales, their ingredients and preparation. Rolly's friend Doña Martha cooks a whole pig head for her tamales; many cooks prefer to use maciza—the solid meat from the leg. Either way, the end result is a marvelous Christmas treat.

Doña Martha begins to take the meat off the cooked pig head.

Doña Martha mixes the shredded meat from the pig head into the pot of chile colorado (red chile that she prepared earlier in the day).

Doña Martha needs a strong arm to beat lard into the prepared corn for the masa.

Doña Martha's daughter spreads masa (corn dough) on the prepared hojas de maíz (corn husks).

Corn husks with masa, ready for filling.

Doña Martha fills each masa-spread corn husk with meat and chile colorado.

Folding the hojas de maíz is an assembly-line process involving the whole family.

Tamales in the tamalera, ready to be steamed. Steaming takes an hour or so.

The photos only show part of the process of making tamales. You can access Rolly's entire photo essay on his website. Rolly graciously allowed Mexico Cooks! the use of his wonderful pictures.

Can we finish all these tamales at one sitting? My friends and neighbors prepare them with leftovers in mind. Here's how to reheat tamales so they're even better than when they first came out of the steamer.

Recalentados (Reheated Tamales)

Over a medium flame, pre-heat an ungreased comal (griddle) or heavy skillet. Put the tamales to reheat in a single layer, still in their corn husk wrappers. Let them toast, turning them over and over until the corn husks are dark golden brown, nearly black. Just when you think they're going to burn, take them off the heat and peel the husks away. The tamales will be slightly golden, a little crunchy on the edges, and absolutely out of this world delicious.

Provecho y Feliz Navidad!Looking for a tailored-to-your-interests specialized tour in Mexico? Click here: Tours

22 de December de 2007
UPDATE: Big Business, Sweet and Icy: Los Paleteros de Tocumbo

NEWS! BIG NEWS from Tocumbo, Michoacán!

Author Martín González de la Vara signs a copy of La Michoacana, Una Historia de los Paleteros de Tocumbo.

To initiate the IV Encuentro de Cocina Tradicional Michoacana (the fourth annual Exposition of the Traditional Cooking of Michoacán, held in Morelia from December 6 through December 9, 2007), Martín González de la Vara introduced La Michoacana, Una Historia de los Paleteros de Tocumbo,
his glorious and important new book. Its 236 pages are chock-a-block
with the regional, culinary, and cultural history of the región paletero, the area around Tocumbo. The photos of paleteros (ice cream makers) and paleterías
(ice cream shops) from a bygone age are marvelous. González weaves a
magnificent story, the much-amplified version of what's written here on
Mexico Cooks!

And poses with a copy of the book while leaning on an old-fashioned paleta cart! After the book presentation, there were paletas for everyone.

The recently-published book has already won an important prize,
awarded by INAH (the National Institute of Anthropology and History)
here in Mexico.

To read the June 2007 Mexico Cooks! article about the paleteros of Tocumbo, click here.

19 de December de 2007
Tianguis Navideño–the Christmas Market–in Mexico

La Sagrada Familia (Joseph, Mary, and the baby Jesus, the Holy Family) forms the portion of the nacimiento (manger scene) known in Mexico as el misterio (the mystery).

Christmas is nearly upon us and it's time for the tianguis navideños, the annual month-long outdoor Christmas markets. These markets sell every kind of Christmas decoration, the sacred and the profane. A couple of weeks ago, I visited the Christmas market in Guadalajara. Last Sunday, I spent a few hours in its counterpart in Morelia. There are tianguis navideños in every Mexican town of any size, and if the town where you are doesn't have one, just peek into the doorway of any papelería (paper goods store). You're sure to see a big assortment of Christmas decoration.

The markets are open just in time for you to fill all of your holiday decorating and shopping needs. The truth is that visiting one of these eye-popping markets will undoubtedly create new needs that you never thought you had, for Christmas items that you never knew existed.

Aldo Gómez Martínez prints your calendars and Christmas cards while you shop for decorations. He's at the tianguis navideño twelve hours a day.

What's your pleasure? Pocket-size plastic calendars printed while-you-wait with holiday wishes and your name? A new stable for your manger scene? One new miniature light bulb, installed in last year's string of 100 that just won't light? Tree ornaments (from the simplest sphere to the most elaborate electronically-operated, musically revolving new bobble), tinsel, gift wrap, ribbons—you name it and it's available. That list of items is just the beginning: wait till you see Christmas decor, Guadalajara style.

My partner Judy and I decided to make a tour of a very popular Guadalajara Christmas market—my particular favorite—just so that I could give you the lowdown on what's out there for you this year. This tianguis will make your head spin with the variety it offers.

The downtown Guadalajara market, located in the tiny San José plaza on Avenida Alcalde just a few blocks north of the Cathedral, is packed with nearly 100 Christmas-décor-only vendors. The amount of available merchandise is a little overwhelming, but the market is compact and easy to navigate. It's open from early November until Christmas, from 9 AM until 9 PM seven days a week.

When we arrived, Judy reminded me, "We need papel roca, those big, water-colored sheets of paper to crumple and form into the shape of stones for the backdrop of the nacimiento, and we need both kinds of moss—heno (Spanish moss) and musgo (sheets of flat green moss)." I nodded eagerly, thinking that shopping in this Christmas market has about as much to do with need as shopping in your favorite candy store. We quickly found a booth with hand-painted papel roca and purchased several sheets.

We also found another paper for a nativity scene's background. It was painted deep blue and decorated with a silver-glittered Star of Bethlehem, a silhouette of palm trees and the Three Wise Men (Los Reyes Magos), so we bought that as well. Fortunately there is only so much of this wonderful paper that one can use—the temptation to keep buying more of it is great. At the bottom of the photo, you can also see heno (on the left) and musgo (on the right), ready to purchase and take home.

As we were buying a kilo of heno, I showed Judy the small bags of colored aserrín (sawdust)—blue, green, dark brown and natural—heaped up on one side of the booth. "That sawdust is for making the desert floor, rivers and lakes, mountains, and all the other natural geography of the nacimiento," I said, selecting several bags for this year's display.

Next we stopped at a stall selling only little wooden lean-tos ranging in size from shoebox to doghouse. "What in the world are these for?" Judy asked me. I smiled. "These chozitas (little huts) are the shelters for Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus. They're meant to house the main focus of a nacimiento. That particular section of the nacimiento is called el misterio (the mystery)." We both admired the cunning wooden structures, many with thatched or mossy roofs, fenced corrals, and other homey rustic touches.

Click on each of the pictures to enlarge them so that you can enjoy all the details. They're no more than four inches tall and are made of clay, then hand painted. Look at the ladies on the left side of this picture: each one is wearing tiny glasses made of metal wire!

In the booth next to the casitas we found doll-size striped fabric tents. "And these little tents? What are these for?" Judy asked me. I held one, striped in blue and white, to admire it. "These are some of my very favorite things at the market. They're tents, just what you thought, and they're meant to be in the nacimiento as shelter for the people who live in the desert, the nomads. Lots of times in a nacimiento you'll see small figures of people as they go about their daily life placed in or around these tents. You know, the manger scene as it's built in Mexico shows much, much more than just the Holy Family. It incorporates all of life and its history, traditions and myths. Every important Biblical scene from the Garden of Eden to the Resurrection is included as well."

Here's a flock of three-inch high shepherds (handmade of clay), ready for placement in your nacimiento.

A booth filled with silk flowers, baskets, and ribbons diverted our attention from our quest for adornos navideños (Christmas decorations). The hundreds of hanging bolts of multicolored ribbons make the stands look like madcap Maypoles. Flowers are sold by the stem; baskets are sold individually; ribbons (plain or with flexible wired edges) are sold by the meter. Buy as much or as little as you want. Almost anyone can work artistic wonders with these gorgeous supplies, a pair of scissors, and a glue gun.

These baby chicks (handmade of clay) are no more than half an inch high. Compare them with the size of the Niño Dios (Baby Jesus) just to their right. Scale of sizes isn't particularly important in a nacimiento.

Again, our attention was drawn away by booth after booth filled with hundreds of sets of Christmas lights. We found everything from simple strands of tiny clear lights to lights in the shape of stars, flowers, and cartoon characters. Some of the light sets have tinkling electronic music built in; others (more to my liking) keep quiet. In the corners of many of the light filled booths, we found young people repairing (imagine that!) older strings of lights. Replacement bulbs (all sizes from the tiniest right on up to the largest) are available, and if replacing a bulb doesn't fix your string of lights, hand it over to the young man or woman and in a few minutes your problem will be solved.

Some of Judy's favorite booths were the ones specializing in farolitos, the traditional folded paper light covers made especially for the Christmas season. Japanese paper lanterns with a Mexican twist, these look fantastic strung across a patio, festooning the front of a house, or hung individually in the garden. For mere centavos you can create a beautiful and traditional effect for your home.

Our arms were tiring as we carried our numerous purchases, but we had yet to look at nacimiento figures. Fortunately the car was parked just around the corner in a public parking lot, so we took a few minutes to stow our bags and have a quick soft drink in the ice cream shop just across Alcalde from the market. And then-onward and upward, we were back to the stalls!

Typically Mexican: clay nacimiento figures of women making masa and tortillas.

Naturally, part of every Mexican Christmas market is devoted to the sales of figures for the nacimiento. Many families add to their collections of nacimiento figures year after year and generation after generation. Shopping for new figures can also be part of a family's traditions. Judy and I exclaimed over hundreds of wee people and animals, but my special favorites are the tiny representations of daily life in Mexico that mingle with the figures from Biblical times. A campesino with his burro, a woman in typical indigenous clothing cooking tortillas on a comal, an entire meat market complete with pig's head, sausages, and other meats hung on a wire above the counter, and row upon row of other hand-painted figures depict familiar activities.

The devil is always present in a Mexican manger scene. These devils carry bags of filthy lucre and bottles of tequila.

It's possible to find figures in sizes ranging from 1/2" tall to nearly life size. Biblical figures are an important part of the nacimiento. We found figures representing not only Mary, Joseph, and the Baby Jesus but also tiny kings, shepherds, animals, and entire hosts of angels. Old Testament figures (Adam and Eve and the serpent, Abraham and Isaac), New Testament figures (the woman at the well, the Crucifixion), and figures of pure legend (the hermit in the desert, a devil at the cave) all have their part in the Christmas story. In Mexico, the devil always appears prominently in a nacimiento as a reminder that even though Jesus came into the world, Satan still lurks close at hand. We bought a few figures, sighed longingly over many, and decided that we would just have to make the supreme sacrifice and plan to come back next year.

El Niño Dios comes in every size and is always the most important figure in a nacimiento. These range from about six inches to about the size of a two-year-old child. Beginning in early December, figures are placed in a family's nacimiento, but the baby Jesus is never laid in the manger until late on Christmas Eve.

As we meandered toward the street Judy kept stopping and touching and exclaiming over items we'd bypassed earlier. Although most Christmas decorations other than the nacimiento are relatively new to the Mexican experience, even Santa Claus and Rudolph are beginning to appear in the markets. Shooting stars made of cardboard and silver glitter, golden bells, box after box of Christmas tree ornaments, artificial Christmas trees in every size and artificial evergreen garlands called out to us as we walked. Six-inch-high palm trees for the desert! A camel as big as a dog! A snow globe that plays Ave Maria! Tiny clay Africans complete with loincloths, masks and spears! Shepherds! Shepherds! Shepherds! So much to see, so much to want, so much to buy!

Finally I said to Judy, "Repeat after me: There's always next year. There's always next year.

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

15 de December de 2007