Category: Food and Drink

Adobo de Cerdo Huasteco, from Verde Blanco y Rojo by Ricardo Muñoz Zurita

Originally published in October 2011, this illustrated recipe for Adobo de Cerdo Huasteco is a perfect meal for February's cold weather. Mexico Cooks! celebrates its seventh anniversary of publishing with this delicious meal to warm body and soul. Enjoy!

Roasting roma tomatoes and onion quarters on a comal (in this case, a cast iron griddle). That little tomato on the right looks downright happy to be toasting.

Several months ago, Mexico Cooks! was thrilled to receive a copy of Chef Ricardo Muñoz Zurita's newest recetario (cookbook), titled Verde, Blanco, y Rojo en la Cocina Mexicana. Due to the pressures of moving and settling into a new and somewhat more frenetic life in Mexico City, the very attractive book sat patiently in the kitchen bookshelf with its 150 or so brother and sister cookbooks, waiting to be chosen. 'Choose me, choose me!' it whispered each time I passed by the shelf. And finally I listened.

Serving-size pieces of maciza de cerdo (lean, fresh pork leg) simmering with onion and garlic.

My wife and I are very fond of traditional Mexican cuisine. Like most people, we have our favorite dishes. And like most people, I have a hard time breaking habits and wading into a new cookbook: it means learning a new format, a new organization of ingredients, and a new dish that I had never prepared.

The first task was reading the recipe all the way through to the end to make sure that I had all of the ingredients and utensils on hand prior to starting to cook and that I understood the order of cooking. It's really no fun at all to start the preparations and discover at the time of need that oops, there is no garlic and ouch, that one bowl I really wanted to use is full of last night's stew. You'll want to organize yourself and prepare your mise en place well before you turn on the stove.

Differentiating between dried chiles ancho and chiles mulato can be confusing. If you open a chile ancho and hold it up to the light, it looks from the inside like red stained glass. The mulato, on the other hand, looks brown when held to the light. It's immediately apparent which this is.

Ingredients
2 kg (approximately 4.5 pounds) lean pork meat, cut into serving-size pieces
1 white onion, cut into quarters
1 head of garlic, split in half
4 liters water
6 tsp salt
8 chiles guajillo
5 large chiles ancho
3 large tomatos, roasted
1/2 white onion, quartered and roasted
5 garlic cloves
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dry Mexican oregano, crumbled
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
4 cloves
3 Tbsp pork lard (you can substitute oil if you can't get real rendered lard)
1/2 cup white vinegar


Toasting the chiles ancho on the comal.

Utensils
Comal or griddle
Mesh strainer
Several small or medium-size mixing bowls
Mixing spoons
Heavy-bottom pot with lid
Blender

Toasting the chiles guajillo on the comal.

Procedure
Put the pork, onion, and head of garlic in a large pot. Cover with water, add 4 tsp salt and bring to a boil. Lower the heat until the water is simmering and cook until the pork is tender, about an hour. Remove the pork from the water, drain the liquid into a bowl, and reserve both the meat and the cooking liquid for later use.

Remove the stems, seeds, and veins from all of the chiles and discard them. Lightly toast the chiles on the comal, being careful not to burn them. If they turn black, they will be bitter. Soak the toasted chiles in four cups of the reserved cooking liquid from the pork.

Blend the soaked chiles with enough of the cooking liquid to make a smooth, somewhat liquid paste.

Roast the tomatoes, onions, and garlic on the comal, then blend them until they make a very smooth sauce. If necessary for blending, add just a little of the reserved meat cooking liquid. Using the wire mesh strainer, strain and reserve.

Grind the cumin, the oregano, the pepper, and the cloves together until they are powdered. Set aside for later use.

Over a high flame, heat the lard or oil in a heavy-bottomed pot until it smokes slightly. Add the ground chiles (splatter alert!) and fry for about 15 minutes or until the mixture is reduced by about one-fourth. Add the blended tomato mixture, the spices, and two tablespoons of salt. When the mixture comes to a boil, lower the fire and allow to simmer until the sauce has reduced a little.

Add the meat, the vinegar, and three cups of the reserved meat cooking liquid. Correct the seasonings and cook with the lid ajar over low heat (or bake covered in a 350° oven) for about an hour. The finished sauce should be thick enough to cover the meat without sliding off the pieces.

Serves 12.

The finished recipe also freezes very well.  Mexico Cooks! served half the recipe as comida for six and froze the rest for a later meal.

Both types of toasted chiles then soaked for a few minutes in some of the freshly cooked hot pork broth.

The mix of various seasonings (foreground), the blended and strained chiles (left rear) and the blended tomato/onion/garlic mixture (right rear).

The pork now needs to simmer in the adobo for an hour or more, either in the oven or over a very low fire. The fragrance will drive you crazy, it is so tantalizing.  Mexico Cooks! prepared this recipe on top of the stove using the cast iron comal as a heat diffuser.

Adobo de cerdo huasteco, ready to eat! Serve the dish with steamed white rice and plenty of hot-off-the-comal corn tortillas.

The wonderful Spanish-language Verde, Blanco, Rojo en La Cocina Mexicana, by my friend Chef Ricardo Muñoz Zurita of Restaurante Azul/Condesa.

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

8 de March de 2014
Fiestas Patronales (Patron Saints’ Festivals): El Señor del Rescate in Tzintzuntzan, Michoacán

The entrance to the Templo de San Francisco (St. Francis Church), Tzintzuntzan, Michoacán, during the February 2009 fiestas patronales (patron saint's festivities) honoring El Señor del Rescate (the Lord of Rescue).

The indigenous community from four regions of Michoacán (the Zona Lacustre [Lake Pátzcuaro Zone], Cañada de los 11 Pueblos [the Ravine of the Eleven Towns], Ciénega de Zacapu [marshlands of Zacapu], and the Meseta Purhépecha [Purhépecha tablelands]) arrives each year during the week prior to Ash Wednesday to give homage to their patron, El Señor del Rescate (the Lord of Rescue). Not only do the Purhépecha gather from the four regions, people come from as far as Monterrey in Mexico's north to Oaxaca in Mexico's south. Cars and trucks with license plates from neighboring and distant Mexican states park side by side next to vehicles from Texas, California, Minnesota, Virginia, New York, and a dozen other states north of the USA border.

Bishop Vasco de Quiroga and other 16th Century Spaniards are credited with introducing limas to Mexico and Michoacán. The lima, in season at this time of the year, is used in Mexico for out-of-hand eating as well as for making agua fresca de lima (a fresh fruit drink). Notice the round shape of this sweet, mild citrus fruit and the nipple of skin at its blossom end. In other countries, the lima is known as the bergamot.

In the Atrio de los Olivos, crowds picnic, dance, and buy or sell artesanías (arts and crafts) and regional foods in the shade of ancient olive and cypress trees.

The Atrio de los Olivos (Atrium of the Olive Trees) of Tzintzuntzan's Templo de San Francisco, ordinarily a peaceful, meditative, park-like setting, fills with the biggest home-grown excitement of the year. Booths with traditional regional foods, particularly tamales de trigo (wheat and piloncillo [brown sugar] tamales, similar in taste and texture to bran muffins) and limas (a citrus fruit virtually unknown outside Latin America). Sweet, not sour; round, not oval, the lima can be eaten out of hand or squeezed to prepare agua fresca de lima.

El Señor del Rescate: Tzintzuntzan's venerated Lord of Rescue. The original 16th Century painting burned in a church fire in 1944. It's said that the paint colors of this painting, a copy, are taking on the deep burnished tones of the original painting.

From the 16th to the late 19th Century, St. Francis of Assisi (the patron of the Franciscan order) was celebrated as the patron saint of Tzintzuntzan. Late in the 1800's, the church sacristan found an old painting of Jesus hidden away in storage. The town was under siege by a measles epidemic, and the sacristan begged permission to make a vow: if prayers to this image of Jesus put a stop to the epidemic, the sacristan himself would throw a town party, a huge party, in gratitude for the granted favor. That party is today's Fiesta del Señor del Rescate, still going strong after more than 100 years.

The fiesta is what's known in liturgical terms as a 'movable feast'. It's celebrated during what is known in other towns across the world as Mardi Gras or Carnaval–the last blowout party before Ash Wednesday and the abstinence of Lent's forty days. Here in rural Tzintzuntzan, Michoacán, El Señor del Rescate takes precedence over Carnaval.

These traditional Tzintzuntzan clay pots, for sale at the fiesta, are for cooking beans. Look closely and you can see Mexico Cooks!' pink blouse reflected in the pots' high glaze.

This huge, thick cazuela de barro (clay cooking vessel) measures approximately 45 centimeters (18") across the top, plus the handles. The cazuela came home with us and is already on display in our kitchen.

Before we even entered the church atrium, we heard the joyous sounds of a band. The music, from classical to the most current Mexican pop favorites, plays nearly non-stop for three days or more. It's tempting to stop and listen before going to the church, but as we heard a woman say to her adolescent children, "Primero le echamos una visita y después venimos a escuchar la música!" ('First we pay him a visit [to El Señor del Rescate] and then we come listen to the music!')

All of the bands are paid by contributions from various members of community organizations, including two groups paid by the local government offices. Traditionally, about a month before the events, the parish priest names several couples as a commission to help oversee the fiesta; these couples must have been married for 25 years before the current year's fiesta. In addition, townspeople who live 'away'–usually in the United States–send dollars to offset the cost of other bands and general costs.

The fragrance of gorditas de nata (cream hotcakes, about 3" in diameter) baking on a comal (griddle) is all but irresistable. Delicious cream, sugar, and vanilla cakes, combined with the magic of a sun-dappled afternoon at a fiesta, always make Mexico Cooks! stop to get'em while they're hot.

These little girls had to be wheedled, but ultimately they let Mexico Cooks! take their picture. They're dressed for la Danza del Señor del Rescate, which represents the fight between good and evil. The dance features a number of characters: queens, angels, and demons. Traditionally, girls wear beige, yellow, or white dresses, a red cape (which represents the robe Christ wears in the painting), and a crown. The devils, of course, represent evil. The angels represent a barrier that the devils can't pass. During the dancing, the devils jump out at the crowds to make jokes and scare children.

All day, every day of the fiesta, bells ring in the church to keep evil forces away. Hundreds of devoted pilgrims–some creeping the length of the church's center aisle on their knees–enter the Templo de San Francisco to give thanks, to ask for a personal miracle, or to be blessed by a crown placed on their heads with a prayer. The crowns represent both the blessings of Christ who has rescued the faithful and a petition for redemption.

We'll surely go back next year to Tinztzuntzan's Fiestas del Señor del Rescate. Plan to join Mexico Cooks! in celebrating these enormously fun, beautiful, and ancient traditions.

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

22 de February de 2014
Mexico’s Home-Made Hash: Deliciously Spicy Picadillo for Your Winter Table

Originally published in June 2013, this recipe for really scrumptious picadillo (pee-cah-DEE-yoh) looks complicated but is really very simple. It makes enough for about six generous servings when paired with steamed white rice. It's a delicious addition to your winter recipe rotation.

Elisabeth Lambert Ortiz (1915-2003), a proper British woman married to Mexican diplomat César Ortiz Tinoco, learned Mexican cuisine in Mexico City, her husband's home town. She published her wonderful The Complete Book of Mexican Cooking in 1967, which introduced the English-speaking world to some of the regional cuisines of Mexico. I've cooked from this ever more raggedy, taped-together, yellowing, food-stained, still-magical paperback edition since the middle 1970s, starting years before I moved to Mexico. The first truly Mexican recipe I ever prepared was picadillo, from Elisabeth Lambert Ortiz's book. It's Mexico's traditional home-style hash.

The ingredients for picadillo are available in almost any supermarket. Starting with the bowl of ground beef and pork at lower left in the photograph and moving clockwise, you see the raw meat, Mexican cinnamon sticks, bright orange carrots all but hidden in the dish, chiles serrano, Roma tomatoes, white potatoes, a Red Delicious apple, raisins and dried cranberries, freshly dried hoja de laurel (bay leaves), a whole white onion, and, in the little dish in the right-center foreground, freshly dried Mexican oregano. I dried the bay leaves and the oregano myself, but you can make substitutions: use ground cinnamon rather than the cinnamon sticks, store-bought bay leaves, and the oregano you normally use instead of the Mexican type; the rest of the ingredients are commonplace.

Minced chile serrano and diced white onion.

Hash of all kinds is one of the most comfortable of comfort foods, and the hash called picadillo (the word means 'a little something chopped-up') is simply Mexico's slightly more rambunctious cousin. This picadillo recipe is always forgiving, always flexible. Prepare it with ground beef, ground pork, or a combination of the two meats. Use more potatoes, fewer carrots, an extra tomato (or two, if the ones you have are quite small). Don't care for olives? Leave them out. But by all means do try picadillo: it's a far cry from your mother's canned corned beef hash.

More ready-to-cook raw ingredients, left to right: diced tomatoes; peeled, diced apple; peeled, diced carrots. For size comparison's sake, the knife blade is 10.5" long.

Ingredients
1 kilo (2.2 lbs) ground pork, ground beef, or a combination of the two
3 large, ripe Roma tomatoes, diced
3 fresh chiles serrano, minced (Use less chile if your tolerance for picante (spiciness) is low.)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 medium-large white onion, peeled and diced
4 medium carrots, peeled and diced
1 or 2 large Red Delicious apples OR 1 or 2 large, ripe Bartlett pears OR one of each, peeled and diced
4 medium white potatoes, peeled and diced
1 cup large green olives, with or without pimento, sliced
3/4 cup raisins, a combination of yellow and dark
1 tsp dried oregano, Mexican if you have it
3 large bay leaves
2" piece of Mexican cinnamon stick OR big pinch of ground cinnamon
1 dried clove, pulverized
Freshly rendered pork lard OR vegetable oil, as needed
Sea salt to taste
Beef, chicken, or pork stock, or water, as needed

Sliced large green pimento-stuffed olives. Each of these olives measures a bit more than one inch long prior to slicing. Slice them in thirds or quarters.

Equipment
A large pot with a cover. I use a 4-quart enameled casserole.
Cutting board
Sharp knife
Large wooden spoon

Preparation
Heat 3 Tbsp lard or vegetable oil in your cooking pot until it shimmers. Add the onion and chile and sauté over medium fire until the onion is translucent. Add the ground meat and continue to sauté over medium fire until the meat is no longer pink. Break the meat into bite-size chunks as it sautés. Add the rest of the ingredients.

After sautéeing the onion, chile, and meat, add the rest of the solid ingredients to the pot and stir to incorporate them all. Then add stock or water; the liquid should come to about 1/3 of the way up from the bottom of the pot. Enlarge any photo for a bigger view; you'll be able to see that I used a combination of raisins and dried cranberries. I had about a quarter cup of dried cranberries on hand; a neighbor loaned me the raisins to make up the difference in measurement. The section at the bottom of the photo is blurred due to rising steam.

Cover the pot, leaving the cover just slightly ajar. Lower the heat to its lowest. Set your kitchen timer for 30 minutes and go do something else! When the timer rings, check the pot for liquid. If the picadillo has absorbed most of the original liquid, add the same amount again. With the cover ajar, continue to cook over a very low flame for another 30 minutes and correct for salt. Voilá! It's picadillo, ready to serve!

Picadillo, ready to serve after an hour's cooking. This amount of picadillo will serve 6 to 8 hungry people when served over steamed white rice or Mexican red rice. I like to prepare the picadillo recipe, serve it as our main meal, and save the rest to re-heat and serve the next day. If anything, it is even better after a night's rest–but then, aren't we all? After the second day, whatever picadillo is left freezes beautifully.

Delicious, spicy picadillo, served over rice. You and your family will love this traditional Mexican meal. By all means let me know how it goes over at your house. A huge thank you to Elisabeth Lambert Ortiz.

Provecho! (Good eating!)

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15 de February de 2014
Tamaliza (Tamales Feast) with Dear Friends on February 2: El Día de la Candelaria

Mexico Cooks!' dear friends Edmundo Escamilla Solís (L) and Yuri de Gortari Krauss. Between them, Yuri and Mundo know more about Mexico's history and its cuisines than most of the rest of our friends put together. I can't imagine that anyone would disagree. Photo courtesy wradio.com.mx. All photos by Mexico Cooks! unless otherwise noted.

Several years ago, mutual friends introduced Mexico Cooks! to Edmundo Escamilla and Yuri de Gortari. Within minutes, we realized that we were in the presence of two of Mexico's treasures. Far from being museum pieces or distant ruins, these men are a vibrant, living storehouse of this country's past and present. Today, my wife and I are honored to count Mundo and Yuri among our dearest friends. We don't see one another as often as any of us would like–they're busy, we're busy–but the moments we spend together are precious.

The double stairway into the Escuela de Gastronomía Mexicana (Esgamex, School of Mexican Gastronomy), Colonia Roma, Distrito Federal. Since 1990, Yuri and Mundo have dedicated themselves to an in-depth study of Mexico's gastronomy; after running a restaurant and catering company, they founded the school in 2007. Esgamex is unique among culinary schools in Mexico, teaching not only Mexico's regional and national cuisines, but also teaching Mexico's history, art, and culture. Although the school offers no program leading to a culinary degree, it continues to attract students who want to learn traditional recipes from the best teaching team in the city.

A few weeks ago, my wife and I received an invitation from Yuri and Mundo–please come share our tamaliza (tamales party) on the night of February 2, el Día de la Candelaria (Candlemas Day). An intimate circle of friends gathered in homage to a close friend of our hosts, who had passed away. In her honor, we ate tamales–and more tamales–five varieties in all.

First were tamales de cambray, from Chiapas. These corn masa (dough) tamales, wrapped in banana leaves and steamed, were savory and delicious.

Tamal de cambray unwrapped. Each tamal was small enough to leave us hungry for the ones that followed.

The tamal de cambray cut open to show its savory filling.

This rectangular, flat tamal de cazón is filled with flaked baby shark meat. It's a specialty of the state of Campeche.

A marvelously spicy salsa made with chile habanero accompanied the tamal de cazón.

The next three varieties of tamales looked almost identical to one another. Each was wrapped in corn husks and steamed–but despite appearances, each was very different from the other. The first variety was a tamal de pollo, frutas, y verduras (chicken, fruit, and vegetables) from the state of Sinaloa. The second was our first sweet tamal of the evening. A tamal from the state of Colima, its masa is prepared with mixed corn and rice flours as well as dried coconut. The sweet filling is a mix of various dried and crystallized chopped fruits.

The last (but definitely not the least!) tamal was a tamal de almendra (almond). The masa contains not only corn and rice flours and sugar, but also blanched, peeled, and finely ground almonds. The almonds both sweeten and give texture to the masa. And sweet surprise!, the tamal is filled with sweet crema pastelera (pastry cream). If we had had one inch of space in our stomachs, we each would definitely have eaten two of these!

[youtube=://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HonJ3sz8HOw&w=420&h=220]
Here's Yuri de Gortari, teaching the proper way to prepare tamales de almendra. Even if you don't understand all of the Spanish-language instructions, you'll be fascinated by his teaching manner as well as his techniques. And his lovely speaking voice is simply hypnotizing.

When our group finished eating, we stayed for hours in the sobremesa–the after-dinner conversation that is frequently as delicious and nourishing as the food itself. What better way to enjoy an evening than in the company of precious friends, sharing ideas, feelings, and loving laughter? Next year, have a tamaliza at your home on February 2, invite your friends, and deepen your love and appreciation for one another–and of course for the marvelous cuisines of Mexico.

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

8 de February de 2014
A Feast for February 2: Tamales, Tamales, and Tamales!

Tamales in the tamalera (the steamer) at Tamalería (tamales shop) Méndez, on the street at the corner of Av. Baja California and Av. Insurgentes, Colonia Condesa, Distrito Federal. You can see that the tamalera is divided into three sections. Each section can hold a different kind of tamal (that's the word for ONE of a group of tamales). In this case, the tamales at the bottom left of the photo are Oaxaqueños (Oaxaca-style). On the right of the divider are tamales rojos (with a red chile sauce) and tamales de mole (both with pork meat). The third section of the tamalera holds just-out-of-sight tamales verdes (with chicken, in green chile sauce) and tamales con rajas y queso (with cheese and strips of chile poblano).

Older than an Aztec pyramid and fresh as this morning’s breakfast, a pot of newly-steamed tamales whets Mexico City’s appetite like nothing else in town. Dating to pre-Hispanic times—most historians say tamales date to the time before the Christian era—the tamales of New Spain (now Mexico) were first documented in the Florentine Codex, a mid-16th century research project crafted by Spanish Franciscan monk Fray Bernadino Sahagún.

Traditionally, tamales are made by hand, not by machine. At first, they seem to be exhaustingly labor-intensive and difficult. Just as with most wonderful food, once you learn the techniques and tricks of making the various styles, they're not so hard to prepare–and they are so worth the time and effort! Here, Carmen Titita Ramírez Degollado, owner of Mexico City's Restaurante El Bajío, preparaes masa cocida (cooked corn dough) for her special tamales pulacles from Papantla, Veracruz.

The ancients of the New World believed that humankind was created from corn. Just as in pre-history, much of Mexico’s traditional and still current cuisine is based on corn, and corn-based recipes are still creating humankind. A daily ration of corn tortillas, tacos, and tamales keeps us going strong in the Distrito Federal, Mexico’s capital city of more than twenty million corn-craving stomachs.  Tamales are created from dried corn reconstituted with builder’s lime and water. The corn is then ground and beaten with lard or other fat into a thick, smooth masa (dough). Filled with sauce and a bit of meat or vegetable, most tamales are wrapped in dried corn husks or banana leaves and steamed, to fill Mexico City’s corn hunger and keep her hustling.

Tamal-to-be: cut the banana leaf to the size and shape of the tamal you're making, then lightly toast each leaf. On the banana leaf, place a layer of masa, a strip of hoja santa (acuyo) leaf, and a big spoonful or two of cooked, shredded chicken in a sauce of chile guajillo, onion, and garlic.

Every year on February 2, Mexico celebrates el Día de la Candelaria (Candlemas Day) with tamales on the table. Tradition dictates that if your Three Kings Day slice of the rosca de reyes contains the figure of the Niño Dios (Christ Child), you are in charge of throwing the tamales party on Candelaria. Late in January, there are festivals and fairs in Mexico devoted to the multiple kinds of regional tamales available all over the country. From southernmost Oaxaca with its flat tamales wrapped in hoja de plátano (banana leaves) to Sinaloa's tamales barbones stuffed with shrimp, Candelaria means tamales!

Mexico’s capital city makes it easy to buy tamales any time the craving hits you. Every day of the week, nearly five million riders pack the Metro (the city’s subway system) and are disgorged into approximately 200 Metro stations. At any given Metro stop, a passenger is likely to find a tamales vendor. Her huge stainless steel tamalera (tamales steamer) hisses heartily over a low flame until the tamales are sold out. Each steamer can hold as many as two hundred tamales, and the vendor may preside over two or three or more of these vats.

Titita folds the tamal so that the banana leaf completely wraps the masa and filling.

Hungry students on the way to and from classes, office workers with no time to eat breakfast at home, construction workers looking for a mid-morning pick-me-up: all line up at their favorite vendor’s spot on the sidewalk closest to a Metro exit. Near the vibrant Chilpancingo Metro station at the corner of Av. Insurgentes and Av. Baja California, Sra. María de los Ángeles Chávez Hernández sells tamales out of two huge pots. “Qué le doy?”  (‘What’ll you have?’) she raps out without ceremony to every hungry comer. The choices: rojo  (with pork and spicy red chile); verde (with chicken and even spicier green chile); rajas con queso (strips of chile poblano with melting white cheese); mole (a thick spicy sauce with a hint of chocolate); some Oaxaca-style tamales wrapped in banana leaves; and dulce (sweet, usually either pineapple or strawberry). The stand sells about 200 tamales a day. Sra. Chávez’s father, Ángel Méndez Rocha, has been selling tamales on this corner for more than 60 years. Even at age 80, he alternates weeks at the stand with his brother, selling tamales by the hundreds.

The masa and filling are centered in the banana leaf. Titita is simultaneously pressing the masa toward the middle of the leaf and folding each end of the banana leaf toward the middle.

The pair of tamales in the center of the photo are filled with chicken and chile guajillo sauce. The tamal closest to the bottom is made with black beans crushed with dried avocado leaves. Avocado leaves give a delicious anise flavor and fragrance to the beans. These tamales are ready to be steamed in the tamalera.

The tamal de chile guajillo, fresh out of the tamalera and unwrapped on my plate.

A specialty breakfast, unique to Mexico City, is the guajolota: a steaming hot tamal, divested of its corn husks and plopped into a split bolillo, a dense bread roll. Folks from outside Mexico City think this combo is crazy, but one of these hefty and delicious carbohydrate bombs will easily keep your stomach filled until mid-afternoon, when Mexico eats its main meal of the day. When I asked Sra. Chávez Hernández about the name of the sandwich, she laughed. “Nobody knows why this sandwich is called guajolota—the word means female turkey. But everybody wants one!”

If you'd rather take your tamales home to eat them, Sra. Chávez of Tamalería Méndez or her employee, Sra. Lucina Montel, will gladly wrap them in paper and send them along in a bag.

For steaming tamales, the bottom portion of a tamalera is filled with water. Add a coin to the water and put the tamales vertically into the steamer, atop the perforated base that rests just above the water. When the water boils, the coin will rattle. When the rattle slows or stops, add more water.

Tamales can be a massive guajolota to eat on the street or the most delicate, upscale meal in a restaurant. These, prepared by chef Gerardo Vázquez Lugo of Restaurante Nicos, are a degustación (tasting) at the Escuela de Oficios Gastronómicos operated by online magazine Culinaria Mexicana, where chef Vázquez recently offered a workshop teaching the history, ingredients, and preparation of tamales. From left to right, the four tamales are: carnitas de pato en salsa de cítricos y chile chipotle (shredded duck confit in a citrus and chile chipotle sauce), tamal de tzotolbichay (with the herb chaya), tamal de mole negro (black mole),and tamal de frijol (beans).

Chef Gerardo Vázquez Lugo of Mexico City's Restaurante Nicos.

In addition to being daily sustenance, tamales are a fiesta, a party. In Mexico City and every other part of Mexico, Christmas isn’t Christmas without tamales for the late-night family feasting on Christmas Eve. Gather the women of the family together, grab the neighbors, and the preparation of tamales becomes a party called a tamalada. Mexico City chef Margarita Carrillo tells us, “Mexican grandmothers from time immemorial say that the first ingredient for great tamales is a good sense of humor.  Tamales like it when you sing while you prepare them, they love to hear a little friendly gossip while you work, and if you make tamales in the good company of your family and friends, they’re sure to turn out just the way you want them: with fluffy, richly flavored corn dough on the outside and a delicious filling on the inside.”

A small and elegant tamal de chocolate for dessert, prepared by Restaurante Nicos for the tamales workshop.

Señora Elia Rodríguez Bravo, specialty cook at the original Restaurante El Bajío, strains masa cocida for tamales. She gently shook a wooden spoon at me as she proclaimed, “You can’t make tamales without putting your hands in the masa (corn dough). Your hand knows what it feels. Your hand will tell you when the masa is beaten smooth, when the tamales are well-formed in their leaves, and when they have steamed long enough to be ready to eat. Your hand knows!”

Señora María de los Ángeles Chávez Hernández (left) and her longtime employee Señora Lucina Montel (right) sell tamales at the street booth Tamalería Méndez seven days a week. They and Sra. Chávez's staff prepare hundreds of tamales every night, for sale the next day.

Let's go on a Mexico City tamales tour! Let Mexico Cooks! know when you're ready, and we'll be on our way.

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

25 de January de 2014
Espíritu de Michoacán en Ajijic: Festival de Pueblos Unidos (Festival of People United)

Ajijic, Jalisco is not your typical Mexican pueblito (small town). Although the town has existed for almost 500 years, early in the 20th century it began to be a destination for foreigners. Today, a good-size community of people from many places lives there. The majority are retired English-speakers from the USA and Canada, although some foreign residents come from as many as 60 different countries. Click on any photo to enlarge it for a better view. Photo courtesy Skyscrapercity.

Looking south on Calle Morelos in Ajijic. The arched ironwork sign reads Puerta del Lago, Corazón de Ajijic (Gateway to the Lake, Heart of Ajijic). Photo courtesy Panoramio.

Photographer Jesús Alejandre (and his friend el torito (the bull, danced by famed Michoacán mask maker Felipe Horta, right), with one of Jesús's large photos, on the town plaza in Ajijic, Jalisco. Photos by Mexico Cooks! unless otherwise noted.

In mid-2013, a group of Mexicans and foreigners devoted to Michoacán met in Morelia to create the Espíritu de Michoacán (Spirit of Michoacán) foundation. The mission of the foundation is the promotion and preservation of Michoacán's arts and artesanías (crafts). The impulse to form the foundation grew out of our deep concern over the lack of tourism–both national and international–in Michoacán, which has severely limited the sales of the state's fine artesanías. Because previously tourist-driven sales have fallen drastically during the last eight years, many artisans have been forced to cease or limit their production and have sought employment in other endeavors.

Floreros (vases) from Tzintzuntzan, Michoacán. The people of the state of Michoacán, especially those who live in the regions around Lake Pátzcuaro and the Meseta Purépecha, have been skilled artisans for hundreds of years. Current conditions in Michoacán have substantially reduced the ability of the artisan population to earn a living.

Shortly after the creation of the foundation, Mexico Cooks! contacted photographer Xill Fessenden of Ajijic, who organizes an annual festival of Michoacán artisans in her adopted town. These artisans journey to Ajijic for the exhibition and sale of their wares, and the Espíritu de Michoacán foundation wanted to be part of their celebration. Ten years ago, photographer Jesús Alejandre began his photo project, titled Espíritu de Michoacán, and hoped to take his large-format photo exhibition to Ajijic in conjunction with Ms Fessenden's 2013 festival.

The photographs are designed to be exhibited outside, as public art. At night, the photos' illumination makes the pictures glow as if they were lit from inside the scenes. Photo courtesy Espíritu de Michoacán.

The photographs have been exhibited in 20 cities and towns in the state of Michoacán. Just prior to the Ajijic exhibition, the city of Morelia invited photographer Alejandre to mount 22 of the enormous photographs in the Plaza de Armas (the principal plaza) in that city. The photos measure 2.5 meters by 2.10 meters and are designed to be exhibited in outdoor, public spaces. This photograph, taken in Pátzcuaro, Michoacán, in 2013, is the final photo in Jesus Alejandre's 10-year project. Photo courtesy Espíritu de Michoacán.

The excitement about this exhibit and sale was contagious. Mexico Cooks! snapped Marion de Koning, a visitor from San Diego, California, as she got close to el torito (the bull). Felipe Horta, mask maker from Tócuaro, carved and painted the mask he is wearing.

The torito spreads his cape before dancing. The typical Purépecha dance called El Torito (The Little Bull) is common throughout the Zona Lacustre (lake region) and the Meseta Purépecha (Purépecha tablelands).

Teofila Servín Barriga, an extraordinary Purépecha embroidery artist from Sanabria, Michoacán, dances El Torito for the opening ceremonies of the 2013 Festival de Pueblos Unidos in Ajijic.

Rose Calderone of La Casona Rosa, Morelia, founder and guiding light behind El Espíritu de Michoacán, narrates a video about the photographs and the mission of the foundation; the festival showed the video, created by Andrea Gudiño Sosa, on the Ajijic plaza during the festival's opening night celebrations.

The exhibition and sale in Ajijic was an enormous success for the artisans and for the Espíritu de Michoacán Foundation. This festival offered a platform for the photos to be shown for the first time outside Michoacán; the exhibit travels next to Guadalajara, Jalisco, followed by a showing in León and San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato and another in Mexico City. In the future, we hope to present Jesus Alejandre's paean to the artisans of Michoacán in various cities in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Photo courtesy Espíritu de Michoacán.

If you or someone you know would be interested in hosting this intensely beautiful photo exhibition, please contact Mexico Cooks! to begin making the arrangements. You are welcome to view more of the photographs at the website for Espíritu de Michoacan.

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18 de January de 2014
Qué Rico! Caldo de Pollo: Chicken Soup, Mexican Style

First published about four years ago, this is by far the most popular of Mexico Cooks!' nearly 400 archived articles. Caldo de pollo is especially popular during the winter months, but anytime is the right time for a steaming, delicious bowlful. There's just something wonderful about comfort food, no matter what culture prepares it.

Seasoning ingredients for preparing the caldo (broth) for Mexican caldo de pollo (chicken soup). Clockwise from top right in the photo: unpeeled carrots, white onions, chiles serranos, garlic, fresh bay leaves, cilantro, and thyme. I also added a big sprig of fresh hierbabuena (mint)and a small sprig of fresh epazote (wormweed). If you can't find fresh epazote, leave it out. The dried variety adds no flavor to any of your recipes.

There are few meals more undeniably Mexican than delicious, home-made caldo de pollo (Mexico's marvelous take on chicken soup with fresh vegetables). During the winter, when the temperature is chilly, what better to warm us from the inside out than Mexico's traditional, rich, delicious caldo de pollo (chicken soup)? You who live in even colder countries will love it as much as we do. Nothing could be simpler to prepare. The ingredients are easy to obtain, the broth all but cooks itself, and the final preparations are a snap.

This beautiful chicken weighed approximately 5.5 pounds before cooking.

Mexico's chickens are perfectly suited to caldo de pollo. Yellow skin and pink flesh create a fragrantly savory stock. If you've traveled to Mexico and visited our markets, you may have wondered why our recently sacrificed raw chickens look so…so chicken-y, so golden and inviting. They're fed ground marigold petals along with their feed! The bright golden color of the flowers is transmitted not only to their skin and flesh, but also to the yolks of their eggs, which sit up high and bright in your breakfast skillet. Several years ago, a shall-remain-nameless neighboring country to the north imported some of its frozen chicken to our supermarkets: gray, lifeless whole chickens and lumps of breast and leg meat lay in freezer compartments waiting to be purchased. Mexican housewives looked at these icy products and recoiled. Little of it sold and I currently notice that no imported frozen chicken is available either at my neighborhood tianguis or in the supermarkets I visit from time to time.

Mexico Cooks! prefers to remove as much fat as possible from the chicken before cooking, leaving only a little to give body and flavor to the broth. The skin stays on, both for color and flavor.

In the pot: the chicken back and legs, along with the seasoning ingredients and water, ready to cook.

Caldo de Pollo (Mexican Chicken Soup)

For the broth
1 whole chicken, approximately 5-6 pounds
1 1/2 white onions, peeled
2 large cloves garlic, peeled
2 large carrots, peeled and cut in half
2 chiles serranos, sliced from tip to stem end
2 bay leaves
6 stems cilantro
Large sprig fresh hierbabuena (mint)
Small sprig fresh epazote (wormweed), optional. If you can't get it fresh, leave it out.
Large pinch of thyme
Sea salt to taste
Water
Stock pot

Procedure
Remove as much fat as possible from the raw chicken. Remove the bag of menudencias (heart, gizzard, liver, etc). Mexico Cooks! prefers to separate the entire breast and wings from the back and legs, using the back and legs for preparing the broth and reserving the breast and wings for later use.

Put the skin-on chicken back and legs and all seasoning ingredients except the salt into the stock pot. Add approximately 12-14 cups cold water. Bring to a boil, lower to simmer. Skim the broth once. Simmer, partially covered, for approximately 1.5 hours. Cool slightly and add sea salt to taste. Remove all vegetables, herbs, and the chicken back and legs from the pot. Chill the broth overnight and peel off any congealed fat.

Because my wife and I prefer to eat breast meat, I often shred the cooked leg and back meat to be used in other recipes. However, when I made this batch of caldo de pollo, I took large chunks of the dark meat and added them to the broth.

Ingredients for the final preparation of the caldo de pollo, to cook in the broth just before serving. Clockwise from top right: calabacitas (tender zucchini, about 3" long), peeled carrots, chicken breast, fresh green beans. Potatoes, ready to be peeled, are in the foreground.

To finish the caldo de pollo:

Ingredients
1/2 pound fresh green beans, broken in thirds
4 carrots, peeled and cut into 2" lengths
4 to 6 calabacitas (tiny zucchini will do), cut into 2" lengths
2 or 3 large potatoes, cut in eighths
2 half chicken breasts, cut into three pieces each
2 chicken wings, pointed end sections removed

About an hour before mealtime, bring the broth to a simmer. Add all of the above ingredients to the broth. Simmer for half an hour, or until the chicken and vegetables are done.

During the half hour that the vegetables and chicken are cooking in the caldo de pollo, prepare a pot of traditional Mexican rice. In a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil, sauté the amount of rice you want (I usually use 1 or 2 cups of raw rice) until the rice is uniformly golden brown. Add 2 cups of tomato water for every cup of rice, bring to a boil, cover the pot and lower the heat to simmer until the rice is fluffy, about 20 minutes.

Tomato Water for Rice
3 raw Roma tomatoes
1/3 white onion, roughly chopped
1 small clove garlic, peeled
2 cups water
Salt to taste

Add all ingredients to your blender and whiz until smooth. Strain through a fine colander and use for cooking rice.

The finished product, steaming and delicious any time!

At meal time, have the following on the table: a large bunch of fresh cilantro in a glass of water; a plate of halved limones or limes, a dish of sea salt; and a cooked (not raw) or bottled table salsa of your choice. Plenty of hot-from-the-griddle corn tortillas round out your meal.

Mexico Cooks! favorite bottled salsa: Cosecha Purhépecha Salsa Casera de Chile Perón (Home-style sauce made of chile manzano, known as chile perón in Michoacán). It's made in Chilchota, Michoacán, and I keep a big stash of it in my Mexico City pantry.

To serve your caldo de pollo, add a large spoonful or two of steaming hot rice to each diner's bowl. Next, add chicken and a good amount of vegetables. Fill each bowl with hot, fragrant broth. Each person can then add a pinch of sea salt, some cilantro leaves, a squeeze or two of jugo de limón, and salsa to his or her own taste.

Makes four to six servings with a lot of rich broth left over for other uses. I strain the broth and then freeze it in gallon ziplock freezer bags.

Provecho!

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11 de January de 2014
2013 in Retrospect :: 2013, Una Mirada Hacia Atrás

In January, we took our shopping bags and some of you to the Mercado de Jamaica, one of Mexico Cooks! favorite Mexico City markets. Not only is the produce section of this wonderful market home to a huge variety of delightful signs (this one, referring to the price for tomate verde (tomatillos), means, "Lady, don't even talk about it!"), but the main part of the Mercado de Jamaica is the city's wholesale flower market. Seasonal changes in the flowers we see there include gorgeous nochebuenas (poinsettias) at Christmas, cempazúchitl (enormous marigolds) for Day of the Dead in November, and roses of every color all year long.

For the Día de La Candelaria (Candlemas Day) on February 2, the Mercado de la Merced offers a huge selection of Niños Dios (Holy Child) figures and the clothing to dress them. This particular outfit depicts El Santo Niño Doctor de los Enfermos (the Holy Child, Doctor to the Sick), with his stethoscope, his doctor's bag, and his white uniform. There are hundreds of other costumes for Him as well. Each year, February 2 marks the official ending of the Christmas season; the Baby Jesus, dressed in his new clothing, goes to church to be blessed. He is then either stored away until the following Christmas or he's placed on his own golden throne in a private home.

In March 2013, we prepared chilaquiles con huevo (chilaquiles with egg), a simple, home-style breakfast classic much eaten at Mexico Cooks!' house. Whether you want a filling breakfast or a simple comida (midday meal), these few ingredients make a tasty and popular combination.

Rajas de chile poblano con crema (strips of poblano chiles with cream) was our traditional dish for April. These large, beautiful chiles are generally not particularly spicy, but their flavor packs a terrific punch for a different kind of side dish for your table. If you haven't tried them yet, the recipe is simple and your family will love it.

May 2013 took you and Mexico Cooks! all over Mexico City. One of our favorite pastimes is giving Mexico Cooks! readers glimpses of daily life in this huge city and letting you see things that will broaden your vision of Mexico. This mariachi member is the vihuela (a stringed instrument) player along the canals of Xochimilco.

In June, dichos de la cocina (kitchen sayings) took center stage. Here in Mexico, there's a saying to fit any situation, and sayings from the kitchen are no exception. Each of them has at least two meanings, the literal and the not-so-literal. One of my favorites is Guajolote que se sale del corral, termina en mole. The turkey that gets out of the yard ends up in mole.

Ricardo Muñoz Zurita's restaurant Azul/Condesa called out to us in July–not to mention several other times during the course of 2013. This dish, buñuelos de pato rostizado con mole negro (small crunchy fried dough filled with roast duck and drizzled with black mole), is on the menu as a main course, but we often share it among three or four diners as an appetizer.

During three weeks in August, Mexico Cooks! focused on Oaxaca. These three articles were a down-memory-lane look at a wonderful trip dating to June 2011.

In September, we featured the ultimate taste of Mexican pork: these are tacos al pastor (marinated pork, grilled to order on the trompo (vertical spit). The meat is cut from the spit and knife-flicked into warm tortillas, along with a sliver of roast pineapple, for delicious tacos. This fellow, cooking on Calle Uruguay in Mexico City's Centro Histórico, loves what he does!

October found us in a most unusual place: an international dog show, right here in Mexico City. This little wire-hair terrier named Thor really captured my heart, and his picture gave everyone who saw it a big smile. Such a cheery guy!

Early November brings Noche de Muertos (Night of the Dead) to all of Mexico. This spiritual calling-home of those who have gone before is particularly lovely in the state of Michoacán. Mexico Cooks! was fortunate to be invited on a private tour of small cemeteries, accompanied by dear friends.

To close out the year, we re-visited Doña Lolita and learned a lot about the joy of making (and breaking!) piñatas. We loved visiting her and hearing her tell the traditions of her long life as a piñatera (piñata maker).

Mexico Cooks! will be on the go again in 2014. Of course YOU are always welcome to join us on a tour especially designed for your personal needs. Let us know what we can offer you!

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4 de January de 2014
Flaneur Part Four: Shopping, Cooking, Eating in Mexico City and Beyond

Calabaza de Castilla on display at the Mercado Medellín, Colonia Roma, Mexico City, October 2013. A winter squash (this particular example measured 16" or more in diameter), it has the hardest shell imaginable. I suspect that it had been cut in half using a band saw; no ordinary knife could have sliced through it so beautifully.

Ah, Michoacán, how I miss your flavors! This enormous taco de carnitas from Quiroga (with a slice of brilliant yellow pickled chile perón on the side) went a long way toward being just the 'fix' I needed in early November. True confession: I ate two of them. Michoacán's carnitas (huge hunks of pork, long-cooked in boiling lard) really can't be replicated at home. Although you might find some recipes on the Internet that will try to tell you how to make a small batch, you really need to come with me to Michoacán to eat the real thing.

From the sublimely traditional taco de carnitas to the equally sublime but completely modern star menu item at Hamburguesas Richard's in Morelia. Just looking at this photo makes my mouth water: Richard's prepares hamburgers just right: this one is a double, with two freshly made beef patties, a slice of melting yellow cheese, a slice of gooey white cheese, fresh chopped tomatoes, thinly sliced grilled onions, a touch of mustard, and condiments to add at table–including chiles toreados (chiles serrano, sautéed in oil along with finely sliced white onion until the chiles' skin blisters) and meant to be eaten on the side, bite by bite till smoke comes out your ears. Add to your hamburger: mayonnaise, crema de mesa (Mexican table cream), chile Valentina (Mexico's ubiquitous bottled red salsa), more mustard, or a shot of catsup, and WOW. A side of fries (ask for them bien doradas (crispy-fried) and eat them like I do: dipped in a squeeze of chile Valentina that you've mixed into mayonnaise.

Currently in season at Mexico City's Mercado San Juan: percebes (goose barnacle). These strangely beautiful crustaceans are hugely popular in Spain and Portugal, but this was the first I'd seen them in the market. Here's a recipe, if goose barnacles are available where you shop: percebes.

Bright red maguey cactus worms. These creatures, known here in Mexico as chinicuiles, are a pre-Hispanic delicacy that's still popular today. They are the inch-and-a-half-to-two-inch long larvae of a type of butterfly that lives in the leaves, heart, and roots of the maguey cactus; typically, the larvae are in season from May until the end of October–approximately the rainy season in central Mexico. More true confessions: although chef-friends have tried to convince me of the delicious flavor of these worms, I have never eaten one; it's impossible for me to get past the…well, enough said. I have never eaten one.

More from the Mercado San Juan! These are pichones (squabs), with part of their plumage intact. Pichón is the word used for young pigeons; it's also used in its diminutive (pichoncito) to refer to someone who is (or who wants to appear) still young. "Tengo 84 años ya." "Tú? No puede ser! Sigues de pichoncito!" 'I'm 84 years old.' 'You? That can't be! You're still just barely hatched!'

A beguiling trompe l'oeil bluebird, perched on a light switch at Rosetta, the popular and elegant northern Italian restaurant in Colonia Roma.

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23 de November de 2013
Noche de Muertos (Night of the Dead) in Michoacán, 2013

Mexico Cooks!' full body bone scan, 2009.

Remember me as you pass by,
As you are now, so once was I.
As I am now, so you will be,
Prepare for death and follow me.
…from a tombstone

What is death? We know its first symptoms: the heart stops pumping, breath and brain activity stop. We know death's look and feel: a still, cold body from which the spirit has fled. The orphan and widow know death's sorrow, the priest knows the liturgy of the departed and the prayers to assuage the pain of those left to mourn. But in most English-speaking countries, death and the living are not friends. We the living look away from our mortality, we talk of the terminally ill in terms of 'if anything happens', not 'when she dies'. We hang the crepe, we cover the mirrors, we say the beads, and some of us fling ourselves sobbing upon the carefully disguised casket as it is lowered into the Astroturf-lined grave.

Octavio Paz, Mexico City's Nobel Laureate poet and essayist who died in 1998, is famously quoted as saying, "In New York, Paris, and London, the word death is never mentioned, because it burns the lips."

Tzintzuntzan, Michoacán panteón (cemetery), Mexico Cooks! photo. These fellows sing to la Descarnada (the fleshless woman) on November 2, 2009.

In Mexico, on the contrary, every day is a dance with death. Death is a woman who has a numerous affectionate and humorous nicknames: la Huesuda (the bony woman), la Seria (the serious woman), la Novia Fiel (the faithful bride), la Igualadora (the equalizer), la Dientona (the toothy woman), la Pelona (the bald woman), la Patrona (the boss lady), and a hundred more. She's always here, just around the next corner or right over there, behind that pillar. She waits with patience, until later today or until twelve o'clock next Thursday, or sometime next year–but when it's time, she's right there to dance away with you at her side.

November 2013 altar to La Santa Muerte (Holy Death), Sta. Ana Chapirito (near Pátzcuaro), Michoacán. Devotees of this deathly apparition say that her cult has existed since before the Spanish arrived in Mexico.

In Mexico, death is also in the midst of life. We see our dead, alive as you and me, each November, when we wait at our cemeteries for those who have gone before to come home, if only for a night. That, in a nutshell, is Noche de Muertos: the Night of the Dead.

In the lower center portion of this photograph, you can see the Quiroga, Michoacán, panteón municipal (town cemetery). Late in the afternoon of November 1, 2013, most townspeople had not yet gone to the cemetery with candles and flowers for their loved ones' graves. Click on any photograph for a larger view.

Over the course of the last 30-plus years, Mexico Cooks! has been to countless Noche de Muertos events, but none as mystical, as spiritual, or as profoundly magical as in 2013. Invited to accompany a very small group on a private tour in Michoacán, I looked forward to spending three days enjoying the company of old and new friends. I did all that, plus I came away with an extraordinarily privileged view of life and death.

A magnificent Purépecha ofrenda (in this case, a home altar) in the village of Santa Fe de la Laguna, Michoacán. This detailed and lovely ofrenda was created to the memory of the family's maiden aunt, who died at 74. Because she had never married, even at her advanced age she was considered to be an angelito (little angel)–like an innocent child–and her spirit was called back home to the family on November 1, the day of the angelitos. Be sure to click on the photo to see the details of the altar. Fruits, breads, incense, salt, flowers, colors, and candles have particular symbolism and are necessary parts of the ofrenda.

Detail of the ofrenda casera (home altar) shown above. Several local people told Mexico Cooks! that the fruit piled on the altar tasted different from fruit from the same source that had not been used for the ofrenda. "Compramos por ejemplo plátanos y pusimos unos en el altar y otros en la cocina para comer. Ya para el día siguiente, los del altar pierden su sabor, no saben a nada," they said. 'We bought bananas, for example, and we put some on the altar and the rest in the kitchen to eat. The next day, the ones in the kitchen were fine, but the ones from the altar had no taste at all.'

Preparing a family member's ofrenda (altar) in the camposanto in the village of Arócutin, Michoacán. The camposanto–literally, holy ground–is a cemetery contained within the walls of a churchyard. The candles used in this area of Michoacán are hand made in Ihuatzio and Santa Fé de la Laguna.

Come with me along the unlit road that skirts the Lago de Pátzcuaro: Lake Pátzcuaro. It's chilly and the roadside weeds are damp with earlier rain, but for the moment the sky has cleared and filled with stars. Up the hill on the right and down the slope leading left toward the lake are tiny villages, dark but for the glow of tall candles lit one by one in the cemeteries. Tonight is November 1, the night silent souls wend their way home from Mictlán, the land beyond li
fe.

At the grave: candlelight to illuminate the soul's way, cempazúchitl (deeply orange marigolds) for their distinctive fragrance required to open the path back home, smoldering copal (frankincense) to cleanse the earth and air of any remnants of evil, covered baskets of the deceased's favorite foods. And a low painted chair, where the living can rest through the night.

Waiting through the night. This tumba (grave) refused to be photographed head-on. From an oblique angle, the tumba allowed its likeness to be made.

"Oh grave, where is thy victory? Oh death, where is thy sting?"

Noche de Muertos is not a costume party, although you may see it portrayed as such in the press. It is not a drunken brawl, although certain towns appear to welcome that sort of blast-of-banda-music reventón (big blow-out). It is not a tourist event, though strangers are certainly welcomed to these cemeteries. Noche de Muertos is a celebration of the spirit's life over the body's death, a festival of remembrance, a solemn passover. Years ago, in an interview published in the New York Times, Mexico Cooks! said, "Noche de Muertos is about mutual nostalgia. The living remember the dead, and the dead remember the taste of home."

One by one, grave by grave, golden cempazútchiles give shape to rock-bound tombs and long candles give light to what was a dark and lonely place, transforming the cemetery into a glowing garden. How could a soul resist this setting in its honor?

"Our hearts remember…" we promise the dead. Church bells toll slowly throughout the night, calling souls home with their distinctive clamor (death knell). Come…come home. Come…come home.

Watching. Prayers. No me olvido de ti, mi viejo amado. (I haven't forgotten you, my dear old man.)

Next year, come with me.

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16 de November de 2013