Category: Recipe

Mexican Independence Day: Chiles en Nogada (Poblano Chiles in Walnut Sauce), It’s What’s for Dinner
Chiles en nogada (stuffed chiles poblanos in walnut sauce), Pátzcuaro, Michoacán. Photo by Mexico Cooks!.

For the entire month of September, Mexico celebrates its independence with parades, parties, and traditional food and drink in restaurants and at home. One of the most festive recipes connected with Mexico's Independence Day holiday is for chiles en nogada, a magnificent tribute to the seasonal availability of granadas (pomegranates) and nuez de Castilla (freshly harvested walnuts). From mid-July until early October, fresh pomegranates and newly harvested walnuts make chiles en nogada possible. Spicy chiles poblano, stuffed with a fruity picadillo and topped with richly creamy walnut sauce and pomegranate seeds, flaunt the brilliant green, white and red of the Mexican flag.

This festive dish is traditionally served on September 15 or 16 in honor of Mexico's Independence Day, though it is popular anytime in the late summer and early fall. During August and September in the highlands of Mexico, particularly on the streets bordering open-air markets in Mexico City and Puebla, village women can be seen sitting on blankets painstakingly peeling off the brown skin from each individual walnut. It is important to use the freshest walnuts possible, as they produce such a creamy, rich sauce that it is worth the effort demanded to peel them. Yes, although the recipe is not difficult, it is definitely time-consuming…but you and your guests will jump up and shout "VIVA!" when you have licked the platters clean.

In Mexico, locally grown peaches, pomegranates, and walnuts are in season during the late summer and early fall.

Ingredients

For the Meat
- 2 pounds beef brisket or other stew meat or 1 pound beef and 1 pound pork butt
- 1 small white onion, quartered
- 2 large cloves garlic
- about 1 Tbsp sea salt
For the Picadillo
- 4 Tbsp safflower or canola oil
- 1/3 cup chopped white onion
- 3 large cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 3 heaping Tbsp raisins
- 1 or 2 chiles serrano, finely minced
- 2 Tbsp chopped walnuts or pecans
- 2 Tbsp chopped candied pineapple
- 1 fresh pear, peeled and chopped
- 1 apple, peeled and chopped
- 1 large potato, peeled and diced
- 3 large, ripe tomatoes, roasted, peeled and chopped
- sea salt to taste
For the Chiles
- 6 large, very fresh chiles poblanos , roasted, peeled, and seeded, leaving the stem intact
For the Nogada (Walnut Sauce)
- 1 cup fresh walnuts
- 6 ounces queso doble crema or cream cheese (not fat free) at room temperature
- 1-1/2 cups crema mexicana or 1-1/4 cups sour cream thinned with milk
- about 1/2 tsp sea salt or to taste
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup dry sherry (optional)
For the Garnish
- 1 Tbsp coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 1/2 cup fresh pomegranate seeds
Procedure

Cut the meat into large chunks, removing any excess fat. Place the meat into a large Dutch oven with the onion, garlic, and salt. Cover with cold water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Skim off any foam that collects on the surface. Lower the heat and allow the water to simmer about 45 minutes, until the meat is just tender. Take the pot off the stove and let the meat cool in the broth. Remove the pieces of meat and finely shred them.

Warm the oil in a large, heavy skillet and sauté the onion and garlic over medium heat until they turn a pale gold. Stir in the shredded meat and cook for five minutes. Add the cinnamon, pepper, and cloves, then, stir in the raisins, the two tablespoons of chopped walnuts. Add the chopped pear, apple, and potato, and mix well. Add the tomatoes and salt to taste, and continue cooking over medium-high heat until most of the moisture has evaporated. Stir often so that the mixture doesn't stick. Let cool, cover, and set aside. The picadillo may be made a day or two in advance.

At Mexico City's lovely Restaurante Azul/Histórico, the chiles en nogada are served with either sweet or savory walnut sauce or with both, one sauce at each end of the chile. The waitstaff brings a tray of un-sauced chiles to the table; each diner picks the chile he or she wants to eat. The sauces are ladled on from enormous bowls, the waitstaff sprinkles your chile with pomegranates and tops each one with a large sprig of flat-leaf parsley. Chiles en nogada are on the menu until the end of September.

Make a slit down the side of each chile, just long enough to remove the seeds and veins. Keep the stem end intact. Drain the chiles, cut side down, on paper towels until completely dry. Cover and set aside. The chiles may be prepared a day in advance.

At least three hours in advance, put the walnuts in a small pan of boiling water. Remove from the heat and let them sit for five minutes. Drain the nuts and, when cool, rub off as much of the dark skin as possible. Chop into small pieces. Place the nuts, cream cheese, crema, and salt in a blender and purée thoroughly. Stir in the optional sugar, cinnamon, and sherry until thoroughly combined. Chill for several hours.

Another beautifully presented, absolutely delicious, and very large serving of chile en nogada, this time at Fonda El Portalito in Colonia la Condesa, Mexico City. For a mere 90 pesos, your menú del día (complete meal of the day) includes a basket of fresh bread, two salsas, choice of two soups, either rice or spaghetti, the chile en nogada, all the agua fresca you want, and a little cup of gelatin dessert. At El Portalito, chiles en nogada are available throughout the month of September.

Preheat the oven to 250ºF. When ready to serve, reheat the meat filling and stuff the chiles until they are plump and just barely closed. Put the filled chiles, covered, to warm slightly in the oven. After they are warmed to room temperature, place the stuffed chiles (cut side down) on a serving platter or on individual plates, cover with the chilled walnut sauce, and sprinkle with the parsley leaves and the pomegranate seeds.

This dish may be served at room temperature, or it may be served chilled. It is rarely if ever served hot.

Photos 2, 3, and 4 courtesy of Jesús Guzmán Moya, M.D., of Puebla, Puebla, México. Enjoy more of Dr. Guzmán's lovely photos here. Gracias, amigo Chucho! And have a look here for more traditional Mexican recipes.

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15 de September de 2012
Mesamérica 2012: Mexican Gastronomic Summit (Cumbre Gastronómica de México 2012) DAY FOUR
Chef José Ramón Castillo, premier chocolate maker and proprietor of the extraordinary chocolate shop and restaurant QueBo! in Mexico City's Centro Histórico, opened the talks for Mesamérica Day Four with a demonstration that left the entire audience wishing for just one of his gorgeous bonbons.

Chef José Ramón prepared a dish of modernized and deconstructed tacos al pastor: roasted and fire-grilled pork perched on a tostada ring, a side of grilled pineapple, and the traditional accompaniments (chile serrano, radishes, cilantro, and onion). The meat is topped with a warmed white chocolate bonbon filled with the gelatinized juices of the roasted pork. The detailed preparation and presentation made everyone's mouth water as the fragrances of this spectacular dish wafted through the auditorium.

The much-anticipated talk and presentation by chef Rick Bayless was absolutely worth the wait. Since opening Frontera, his first Chicago restaurant, Chef Rick has refined both his culinary style and his understanding of authenticity. His delineation (in Spanish) of thoughtful and thought-provoking ideas kept the crowd's attention to the end.

He initially outlined four specific challenges to the home cook or restaurant chef who wants to prepare "authentic" Mexican food.
- Outside Mexico, Mexican food is commonly understood to be 'fast food'. Other than typical antojitos (little whims, generally corn masa based) Mexican food eaten in Mexico is very slow food.
- Many of Mexico's fundamental ingredients are not available worldwide, although some (such as tomate verde (tomatillos) and masa de maíz (prepared corn dough) are accessible in parts of the United States.
- It is necessary to achieve the flavors of Mexican dishes and then balance them.
- The old concept of authenticity includes: (1) ingredients imported from Mexico; (2) old traditional recipes; and (3) no interference by the cook–in other words, no 'tweaking' the original recipes.
Let's take a look at the example of transformation that Chef Rick prepared at Mesamérica.

A traditional tlayuda oaxaqueña has a very large toasted corn base, similar to a tostada. The base is topped with frijolitos negros refritos (refried black beans) and lots of quesillo (Oaxaca cheese). The toppings of the tlayuda pictured above also include chorizo (spicy pork sausage, fried), sliced avocado, and crumbled queso fresco (a white cheese). Photo courtesy Nileguide.

Chef Rick then outlined his new–or perhaps better said, current–concept of authenticity.
- the dish uses seasonal ingredients from the cook's surroundings
- it expresses a deep understanding of culture, environment, or craft. It focuses on the delicious and seduces the diner
- the best authentic food always seduces
Chef Rick Bayless's re-defined concept of Oaxaca's signature tlayuda. He calls this "Tlayuda con Cuchara" (tlayuda you eat with a spoon).

Chef Rick then proceeded to demonstrate his expression of the typical Oaxacan tlayuda. While it contains ingredients that are similar to those we think of as traditional, it is served in a bowl and eaten with a spoon. Frankly, folks, Mexico Cooks! is not convinced. The flavor combination and complexity may be similar, but if you've been to Oaxaca and what you crave is a tlayuda, this isn't it.

Rick Bayless gave a tremendous presentation that left me and the rest of the audience–about 2,000 people strong–both impressed with his thought processes and re-thinking what our own concepts are. In June 2012, the Mexican government honored him with the Order of the Aztec Eagle, the highest award that Mexico can give to a foreigner. The award was given "for his important work in the promotion and dissemination of cultural expressions of our country, internationally recognized, as is the national cuisine in general and Mexican cuisine in particular." Congratulations, and so well deserved!

Chef Alejandro Ruiz explains a fine point of dinner preparation at his restaurant Casa Oaxaca, in the city of Oaxaca, Mexico. It was a delight to see and hear Chef Alejandro working on the Mesamérica stage. His talk focussed on clay and corn.

The setup for his demonstration involved hauling a Oaxacan hornilla (cookstove) all the way from Oaxaca. The hornilla is similar to this fogón–along with its built-in clay comal (griddle)–used in Michoacán.

While an assistant worked on making tortillas, Chef Alejandro prepared this salsa molcajeteajada (literally, sauce made in a molcajete).

One of the dishes that Chef Alejandro Ruiz prepared during his demonstration: mero (grouper), brushed with a sauce, wrapped in hoja santa (a subtle anise-flavored fresh leaf), then wrapped again in banana leaf, and finally wrapped in a thick 'tortilla' of clay and baked in the embers of the hornilla. The fish is presented to the diner still in its clay wrap, along with a stone. At table, use the stone to break open the clay wrap and release the fragrance and flavors of the fish. Gorgeous!

John Sconzo is an anesthesiologist by profession and a photographer by avocation. Photo courtesy Peter Merelis.

After years of Internet friendship–we travel in similar online food circles–I was happy to meet John Sconzo, a long-time food aficionado. I asked what he thought about Mesamérica. He said, "I came to Mesamérica because I like cultures that are different from mine, from the food to the art to the whole environment. Here, I heard so much optimism, felt so much energy. The chefs are at once localists and globalists, and no one idea prevails, unless it is to preserve and support traditional cuisine. This has definitely not been one-sided; everything from traditional preparation to the most modern cuisine has been represented. I loved it."

There was more, much, much more–too much to report, to tell you the truth. Among the talks I didn't mention here: biologists Edelmira Linares and Robert Bye, designer Héctor Esrawe, Chef Ricardo Muñoz Zurita, and Chef Oswaldo Olivia, all from Mexico City, and Chef Rodolfo Guzmán of Chile, all of whom knocked my socks off. I've left out the final presentation, given by Albert Adrià (brother of that other Adrià), who will soon be opening a restaurant in Mexico City. Honestly, the three and a half day conference, with a new and fascinating speaker every 30 minutes, left me fascinated but exhausted.

Onward to 2013: a partial lineup of the chefs already committed to participate next May at Mesamérica. Meantime, congratulations on the first Mesamérica to Enrique Olvera and his entire team!

Looking for a tailored-to-your-interests specialized tour in Mexico? Click here: Tours.
25 de August de 2012
Mesamérica 2012: Mexican Gastronomic Summit (Cumbre Gastronómica de México 2012) DAY THREE

Mesamérica 2012 Day Three began with chef Paulina Abascal's sweet demonstration of completely edible dessert flower pots filled with organic pansies and mint leaves. Above, the simple and attractive finished product. Chef Paulina is a household name in Mexico, in large part due to her television appearances as a pastry chef. Her recipes are frequently designed for and easily prepared by the home cook.

In an interesting juxtaposition of Day Three speakers, the talk given by world-reknowned pastry chef Rosio Sanchez of Noma (Copenhagen, Denmark) directly followed that of Paulina Abascal. Chicago native Chef Rosio (that is how she spells her name) is only 28 years old, but she has already been part of the restaurant team at Chicago's Alinea and then served as sous-pastry chef at WD-50 in New York. She started as head pastry chef at Chef René Redzepi's stellar restaurant Noma in 2009.

A brief explanatory digression: the San Pellegrino "World's 50 Best Restaurants" competition has named Noma the number one restaurant in the world in 2010, 2011, and 2012. The annual award is a compilation of the opinions of more than 800 international restaurant industry experts. What constitutes "best" is left to the judgment of these trusted and well-travelled gourmets. Noma interior, photo courtesy Tomislav Medak.

Gammel Dansk dessert of cucumber, celery, Gammel Dansk liquor, and white chocolate. Gammel Dansk is a bitters liquor and was originally created to become a competitor on the Danish market to other bitters such as Underberg and Fernet Branca. It is aged with 29 types of herbs, spices and even flowers. The herbs and spices include angelica, star anise, nutmeg, anise, ginger, laurel, gentian, Seville orange and cinnamon, and several others. The complete recipe is kept secret.

Chef Rosio talked eloquently about dessert as a desire rather than a necessity. She spoke about sugar itself as a mental stimulant, a treatment for abstinence, and as a pleasure. She reminded us that we remember our childhood dessert favorites as almost inevitably cake or ice cream, but that often as adults we often prefer fruit. Her philosophy and talent shone through her presentation and captivated both the sensory and intellectual sides of the audience.

Chefs Mikel Alonso, Bruno Oteiza, and Gerard Bellver of Restaurante Biko in Mexico City. Biko opened its doors in 2008 and is included in the 2012 San Pellegrino "World's 50 Best Restaurants" list at number 38. The restaurant continues to carry on its traditions: the value of the original product, technique, and their characteristic identity.

It was a pleasure to watch the Biko chefs create this beautiful dish, purely Mexican in concept and purely Biko in execution.

SWALLOW Magazine's October issue will feature Mexico City. Mexico Cooks! got to leaf through the mock-up copy you see on the big Mesamérica screen. If you live where you can buy a copy, run-do-not- walk to your newsstand as soon as the magazine hits the shelves. It is creative, innovative, clever, imaginative–in one word, brilliant.

James Casey, the SWALLOW founder and editor, publishes two issues per year of the magazine. Casey, born and raised in Hong Kong, really gets it about culinary life in the Distrito Federal, Mexico's enormous capital city. His talk and video presentation created a high energy atmosphere at Mesamérica–think a joyously screaming, whistling, cheering crowd of more than 2,000. Everything he said touched a happy nerve in the audience. All the photos he projected were of bars, taco stands, and iconic culinary relics of Mexico City. I can hardly wait to see the magazine again!

It's really hard for me to write about Rancho Gordo without tremendous pride. I've known its founder, Steve Sando, since his New World Specialty Food company was just a glimmer in his eye. Hearing him tell the story of his heirloom bean business at Mesamérica left me with a tear in my own eye and the pleasure of watching his welcome as a valuable member of the Mexican food world. His partnership with Xoxoc, his fair trade practices, and his enormous appreciation for all things Mexico spoke to the Mesamérica audience of his high integrity and deep commitment to the ideals the audience believes in: support for the Mexican farm worker and the land and preservation of Mexico's milennia-old foods.

Rancho Gordo products labelled for sale in Mexico. And on the right, see the stack of three coladeras de barro (clay colanders) from Xoxoc? The smallest one now graces the Mexico Cooks! kitchen.

Chef Mónica Patiño, proprietor of Mexico City restaurants La Taberna del León, Naos, and Delirio. Chef Mónica spoke about culinary responsibility to use seasonal products and to maintain what is Mexican in Mexico. She urged the student chefs in the audience to be wary of being crushed by globalization. Photo courtesy El Universal.

If you review the three Mexico Cooks! articles about Mesamérica, it's easy to see that there is a thread–a bright golden thread–running through the speakers' topics: preserve the past, educate in the present, innovate for the future.

Next week: Day Four of Mesamérica, last but definitely not least in this August four-part series.

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

18 de August de 2012
Mesamérica 2012: Mexican Gastronomic Summit (Cumbre Gastronómica de México 2012) DAY TWO
Chef Daniel Ovadía and two of his assistants from Restaurante Paxia in Mexico City, on stage at Day Two of Mesamérica. Like many of the new crop of notable chefs, Chef Daniel offered thoughts about using traditional Mexican ingredients in new ways.

Chef Daniel Ovadía described one of his new creations as a "Mexican surf and turf". It consists of Mexican-raised trout cooked in a coating of tortilla ash and plated with radishes shredded in the form of anguillas (eels), fresh setas (mushrooms), crystallized grapefruit peel, and native cilantro. According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, 2012 may well be known as "the year of the ash". Other chefs at Mesamérica also featured ash-y dishes.

At the end of his presentation, Chef Daniel prepared this dish while a long poem was read. Titled "Todos Queremos un México Mejor" ('Everyone Wants a Better Mexico'), the work is a compilation of answers received from the Paxia staff when asked, "What do you want for Mexico's future?" Here are just a few lines:
- Quiero un MEXICO libre de pensamiento, libres para decidir y actuar, para decir, sin ofender ni afectar a terceros. (I want a MEXICO with freedom to think, where we are free to decide and act–that is to say, without offending or affecting others.)
- Es un trabajo de todos y no solo de gobierno, desafortunadamente el Mexicano es el que tiene
  que cambiar, el Mexicano es el que tiene que creer, que querer, no basta ni bastará jamás con
  solo pedirlo, soñarlo, imaginarlo o exigirlo a nuestros gobernantes, es una cuestión de credibilidad y lucha de todos, solo cambiando nuestra mentalidad a ser mejores Mexicanos
  y mejores seres humanos lograremos el cambio. (It's everyone's job, not just the government's, unfortunately we Mexicans are the ones who have to change, we Mexicans are the ones who have to believe, to want. It's not enough nor will it ever be enough simply to ask, to dream, to imagine, or to insist on things from our government. It's a question of credibility and it's everyone's battle, by only changing our mentality to be better Mexicans and better human beings will we be able to create the change.)
- Queremos un MÉXICO que tenga gente orgullosa de ser mexicana, no porque deba ser así, sino porque seamos realmente admirables. Que la gente de otros países se alegre porque llegamos
  los mexicanos, a visitar o a trabajar. (We want a MEXICO that has people who are proud of being Mexican–not because they should be, but because we are truly admirable. May people from other countries be overjoyed because we Mexicans are arriving on their shores, either to visit or to work.)
The dish that Chef Daniel prepared is symbolic of Mexico's current troubles (the red spilling down the edge of the plate). Each of the other ingredients is also symbolic of the hopes of those who shared their hopes for Mexico's future. The dish is bathed in the celebratory white mole that is usually served at fiestas.

Wild mushroom expert Connie Green from Napa, California went foraging for Mexican mushroom samples at Mexico City's Mercado San Juan, where seasonal wild mushrooms are always available. Central Mexico is currently in its rainy season; during this time of year, many wild mushrooms are plentiful. Ms. Green was thrilled with what she found here. She pointed out that there are over 3,400 Mexican names for varieties of wild mushrooms, and she was pleased to point out that the chanterelle mushrooms she found here are better than the variety available in Europe.

Among other mushroom varieties at Mercado San Juan, Ms. Green was impressed to find fresh morillas (morelles) from Michoacán. Ms. Green also mentioned that the amanita cesaria, one of the great mushrooms of the world, is common in Mexico but rare in Europe. She also said that the tricholoma matsutake, the second most valuable mushroom in the world, is grown in Oaxaca but exported to Japan, where it is prized for its for its distinct spicy-aromatic odor.

Chef Guillermo González Beristáin (Restaurante Pangea, Monterrey) gave a fascinating explanation of the long-ago origins of some common foods–goat, lamb, and wheat flour tortillas–in his city in far-northern Mexico. Early Jewish settlers brought these foods, common to their native lands, to Mexico with them. It was easy to understand the reason for goat and lamb, but wheat flour tortillas? Chef Guillermo said that this new-world bread was reminiscent of old-world pita. He also mentioned that in households with middle-Eastern origins, three trees are traditionally planted in the family garden: a fig tree (representing the family), a pomegranate tree (representing wisdom), and a lemon tree (representing resignation). He was obviously moved as he told the audience that he now has one of each tree in his own Monterrey garden.

Chef Guillermo also showed a video of himself and several companions truffle-hunting just outside Monterrey. Because the climate is similar to that of the south of France, five varieties of truffles grow there, in symbiosis with local oak trees. Only one variety is edible. He mentioned that the gentleman who told him about local Monterrey truffles had never seen or tasted a European truffle until Chef Guillermo brought him one from France.

Diana Kennedy greets Mark Miller shortly before her Mesamérica talk. Mrs. Kennedy, British author of nine important books recounting the history and preparation of traditional Mexican dishes, is one of the most knowledgeable food historians in Mexico.

Mrs. Kennedy, a well-recognized and important pillar in the world of Mexican food, spoke as she often does: frankly and directly to the point. Her point at Mesamérica was, as she said, to speak the uncomfortable truth. She said, "Mexican cuisine worries me, above all the ingredients that are being used. It's a great scandal that so-called Mexican products are being imported from other countries." She specifically mentioned chile guajillo and chile de árbol, both of which are being imported to Mexico from China, and flor de jamaica (hibiscus flowers, commonly used for agua fresca and other applications), which are being imported from the Sudan. Mrs. Kennedy is outraged that buying foreign products undercuts the livelihood of Mexican producers and particularly the campesinos (field workers). She ardently urged that foreign chiles and jamaica be boycotted in favor of their Mexican-grown counterparts. Although she smiled as she shook her fist, it is obvious that Mrs. Kennedy is both passionate and angry–and rightly so–about any foreign takeovers of Mexico's ingredients.

Mark Miller, Diana Kennedy, Steve Sando, and Mexico Cooks! at Mesamérica. Photo courtesy John Sconzo, LLC.

Next week: Day Three of Mesamérica. Be there or be square–all your favorite chefs give it their all.

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11 de August de 2012
Mesamérica 2012: Mexican Gastronomic Summit (Cumbre Gastronómica de México 2012) DAY ONE

Chef Enrique Olvera of highly acclaimed Restaurante Pujol in Mexico City is the founder and guiding light of Mesamérica. Photo courtesy Adam Goldberg.

Mesamérica, highly touted as the Mexican culinary event of the year, opened on July 24 with a gala inaugural dinner at Mexico City's St. Regis Hotel. Forty or so rock-star chefs and other luminaries of the international gastronomic world converged on the city for five days of teaching conferences,food, drink, celebration, and general merry-making.

Chef Ricardo Muñoz Zurita of restaurants Azul/Condesa and Azul/Histórico gave a few opening remarks on July 25.

Chef Alicia Gironella d'Angeli, who together with her husband Giorgio d'Angeli founded Restaurante El Tajín in Mexico City as well as the Slow Food movement in Mexico, spoke from her long perspective as grande dame of Mexico's culinary world during Mesamérica's inauguration. In her talk, she quipped that she was speaking from her juventud acumulada–her accumulated youth.

The Mesamérica 2012 program included chefs from countries as diverse as England, Denmark, Chile, Mexico, and the United States. Names as well-known in Mexico as Diana Kennedy, Javier Plascencia, Mikel Alonso, and Mónica Patiño were among those who gave talks to the huge crowds–as many as 2,000 in attendance for each of two daily sessions. The names of James Casey (editor of SWALLOW magazine), Lars Williams (Nordic Food Labs, Copenhagen), and The Young Turks (Great Britain), which would previously have elicited a "Who?" from me and most of the attending throngs were common currency by the end of the conference.

Chef Javier Plascencia of Restaurante Misión 19, Baja California, along with (below)

Chef Jair Téllez from Restaurante Laja of Baja California and Restaurante MeroToro of Mexico City shared the podium on opening day and together spoke eloquently about the need to invent tradition in Baja California. Chef Javier said, "I am very much inspired by street food, and Tijuana has become a culinary destination. We are living our dream."

ProEpta Mexican baking and tableware shared commercial space with several other culinary arts businesses.

Lars Williams, of Copenhagen's Nordic Food Lab, asked conference assistants to pass around pinches and liquid samples of flavors concocted of insect parts and essences. During his talk, he said that the basic tenet of the Food Lab is–and I quote–"Trying to get gringos to eat bugs". The tiny vial in the photo contains a liquid made from fermented grasshoppers. It smelled and tasted like soy sauce.

Next week, Mexico Cooks! will highlight chefs and other culinary professionals from Mesamérica Day Two. Stay tuned!

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4 de August de 2012
Delicias de Noche en Pátzcuaro: Enchiladas Placeras (Night Pleasures in Pátzcuaro: Plaza-Style Enchiladas)
Over the course of nearly 30 years, Mexico Cooks! has visited Pátzcuaro, Michoacán, one of the most beautiful small colonial cities of Mexico, more times than we can count. Every visit is memorable for 16th and 17th Century architecture, fantastic decorative arts, and food. Food! The regional Michoacán kitchen is incomparably rich and delicious.

Super Pollo Emilio has been famous for 36 years for enchiladas placeras: plaza-style enchiladas, the only item on the menu. The cooks prepare approximately 400 orders of enchiladas every night.

Great quantities of enormous pechugas (chicken breast halves, each large enough to satisfy two people) and piernas (leg/thigh quarters) are simmered early in the day until they're just done. A bit later, preparation continues with vats of tender potatoes and fresh carrots.

The cook fans four tortillas at a time between his fingers and dips them into this enormous pot of house- made salsa para enchiladas (enchilada sauce). The recipe? Mexico Cooks! has wheedled and whined, but Super Pollo Emilio won't give it up.

The cook spreads the salsa-doused tortillas evenly into the sizzling grease in the industrial-strength comal (griddle), flipping them rapidly from one side to the other. The tortillas need to be cooked till they are hot and soft, but not crisp.

He gives each tortilla a dollop of freshly mashed potato. The tortillas are then folded in half: voilá, enchiladas ready for your platter. Each order contains eight enchiladas as well as–well, we'll see in a minute.

While we waited for our supper, we were treated to a serenata (serenade) sung by strolling local musicians. We were quite taken with the multi-colored strings of this big bass fiddle.

Our order. The platter, which looks fairly small in the photo, measures approximately 16 inches from side to side. The two forks are ordinary-size table forks. Each platter contains:
- eight potato-filled enchiladas
- freshly sautéed potatoes and carrots, enough for two or more people
- the amount and kind of chicken you prefer–we normally order a breast portion, which was more than enough for the two of us
- a sprinkle of thinly sliced onion
- large shreds of queso Oaxaca (Oaxaca cheese)
- shredded fresh cabbage
- crumbled queso fresco (fresh farmer-style cheese)
- fresh salsa roja (red sauce, different from the enchilada sauce)
- a base of fresh romaine lettuce
- chile perón en escabeche (locally grown and pickled yellow chile: HOT), as much as you want
Mexico Cooks! has never seen one person finish an entire platter of enchiladas placeras as prepared by Super Pollo Emilio. We were hard pressed, but in the interest of pure research we managed to eat most of this order. We accompanied the order with a glass of agua fresca de jamaica and a bottle of LIFT, an apple soda. Our total bill was 110 pesos.

Super Pollo Emilio sets up every evening except Tuesdays, just around dusk on Pátzcuaro's Plaza Gertrudis Bocanegra (the plaza chica). It's the booth closest to the portal (covered walkway) on the market side of the square. The booth is open till the food runs out.

If you're still hungry after your platter of enchiladas is gone, there are buñuelos for dessert. You can order a buñuelo broken and softened in a bowl of syrup or still-crispy and dusted with sugar.

Our waiter Jesús and his sweet daughter Paola, who was helping take soft drink orders. Jesús has been a fixture at Super Pollo Emilio since long before his daughter was born.

When you're visiting Pátzcuaro, don't miss the enchiladas placeras at Super Pollo Emilio. If nothing else about this marvelous city brings you back again and again, you'll be pulled in by these addictive enchiladas, eaten on a chilly night under the stars, just by the market-side portales.

Looking for a tailored-to-your-interests specialized tour in Mexico? Click here: Tours.
28 de July de 2012
Crafts, Food, and Mayan Culture in Zinacantán, Chiapas: Part Three

If you have not yet read Parts One and Two of Mexico Cooks! visit to San Lorenzo Zinacantán, Chiapas, please see the articles dated June 23 and June 30, 2012.

Restaurant J'Totik Lol, San Lorenzo Zinacantán, Chiapas

As we walked through the Templo San Lorenzo atrium to the main streets of Zinacantán, our stomachs grumbling for food, we noticed that the first three cocinas económicas (cheap-eats restaurants) were closed. At three o'clock in the afternoon–time for the main meal of the day–we couldn't understand what was (or better said, what wasn't) cooking. Then light dawned: it was a Lenten Friday. In Mexico, many restaurants serving primarily meat or chicken close on Fridays in Lent. It appeared that none of the restaurants around the plaza chose to offer a menú cuaresmeño (Lenten menu). Even though we were considerably past ready for lunch, we weren't ready to leave Zinacantán and head back to San Cristóbal de las Casas to find food. What to do!

"Look!" My partner pointed to a sign: Centro de Artesanía y Restaurantes. An arrow directed us to a short flight of steps carved into the hillside. We crossed our fingers and started up. At the top of the steps was Restaurant J'Totik Lol, jam-packed with San Cristóbal secundaria (middle school) kids on a field trip. We felt sure that unless the ravening teenage hordes had eaten all that there was to be had, we would soon have lunch.

The school group filled every table inside the restaurant and overflowed into the yard. We settled ourselves outside at the single remaining table and gratefully received menus from the wait staff. Would it be the menú del día or something a la carta? Our choice is usually the menú, and today was no exception. The menú at a home-style restaurant in Mexico is nearly always a treat. It normally includes a choice of two or three sopas aguadas (soups), choice of sopa seca (rice or pasta), choice of several guisados (main dishes), frijoles, tortillas, and dessert. Judy picked asado de puerco estilo chiapaneco as her main course and, at the waitress's recommendation, I asked for the menú con carne asada.

Restaurant J'Totik Lol interior with clay and brick oven.

The asado de puerco estilo chiapaneco was definitely the pick of the day. Fork-tender chunks of pork covered with a deep-brown sauce redolent of chiles filled Judy's plate, the thick sauce running gently into her rice. She tasted it and I knew from the ecstatic look on her face that I wasn't going to finagle more than a nibble. Yes, my carne asada was delicious. But after I snagged a shred of her pork and a bit of sauce, it was obvious that she had bet on the winner.

Both of us ate fresh tortilla after fresh tortilla as we enjoyed our meal. We were joined at table by a middle-size dog which had apparently recently delivered a litter of pups. Her beguilingly silent pleas for a snack resulted in a bone or two from Judy's asado and the crusty ends of my carne asada.

We all ate well. You will, too.

Asado de Puerco Estilo Chiapaneco

Ingredients
1/2 kilo (1 pound) fresh pork                   1 onion, quartered
1 kilo (2.2 pounds) small pork ribs          1 corn tortilla
2 cloves garlic                                        Thyme to taste
2 chiles cascabel                                     Oregano to taste
2 chiles pasilla                                        Salt and pepper to taste
1 large or two small tomatillos                Oil

Procedure
Cut the meat into 2" cubes. Cut the ribs into 2" sections. Salt and pepper well. Using a frying pan, sauté in hot oil until well-browned, adding the quartered onion to the meat. Reserve the meat and onion in the frying pan.

In another pan, carefully toast the garlic, the chiles cascabel and pasilla. Don't let them become too dark or they will be bitter. Reserve the mix in a separate bowl. In the same frying pan, sauté the corn tortilla. When all the ingredients are well-toasted, put them in the blender along with the raw tomatillos, add a bit of water, and blend until the ingredients are well blended. Add the blended mixture to the meat in its frying pan. Add the thyme and oregano to taste.

Allow to cook over a very low flame for about an hour, adding water little by little as needed so that the meat and sauce do not dry out.

Serves 4-6, accompanied by arroz a la mexicana (Mexican-style rice), frijolitos negros (black beans), and plenty of freshly made hot tortillas.

Provecho!

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Mexico Cooks! is traveling. We'll be back to our regularly scheduled programming in mid-July.

7 de July de 2012
Wheat, Flour, and Yeast: Basque Spanish Immigrants’ Bakeries in Mexico City

Pan Segura, Legítimo Estilo Jalisco (Bread Segura, Real Jalisco Style) is almost literally a hole in the wall on Calle 16 de septiembre in Mexico City's Centro Histórico. There's just enough open space for a person to squeeze single file and sideways past a bread case and into the slightly wider part of the bakery to pick up a tray and tongs. Buy bread here often enough and you probably won't fit through the door!

A few weeks ago, Mexico Cooks! received an email from a total stranger: Jane Mason, the owner of Virtuous Bread, asked me where to buy certain kinds of specialty flours in Mexico City or anywhere in the rest of the República. Originally based in England, Jane Mason has recently been working on a bread-baking project in the Distrito Federal. After exchanging several notes with me, she mentioned that she and her partner were taking a Centro Histórico tour of traditional bakeries that weekend. Would I like to join them? Did I leap at the chance? You bet!

Racks of Jalisco-style pan dulce (Mexican sweet breads) at Pan Segura. Their most famous sweet bread is the unique cuadros de queso (cheese squares). Large, densely textured, and completely delicious, the bread balances between sweet and salty. With a freshly squeezed glass of juice, it's big enough to be breakfast. It's also addictive. Trust me, eating one cuadro de queso today leaves you wanting another tomorrow.

Universidad Iberoamericana, in the person of Maestra Sandra Llamas, planned the bakery tour to explore the 19th century presence in Mexico of Basque immigrants from the province of Navarre, Spain. Those immigrants came from the Spanish Valley of Baztán to live in Mexico City at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. Ultimately, they became the most important European influence on Mexico's commercial bakeries, flour sellers, and yeast purveyors.

Maestra Sandra Llamas begins the tour of traditional bakeries by offering an overview of prominent Basque bakers in 19th century Mexico City. Approximately 25 people of every young-adult and adult age participated in our three-bakery walking tour.

During Porfirio Díaz's long presidency/dictatorship (1876-1910), all things European were very much the rage in Mexico. Spanish and French goods were much more highly valued than goods made in Mexico. During the Porfiriato (the name used to describe those nearly 35 years), many Basque families were accustomed to sending their adolescent first-born sons to the New World. These young men arrived all but penniless in Mexico, and their families in Spain expected that they would make successes of themselves in their new homes.

In 1877, there were 68 bakeries in Mexico City. By 1898, the bakery count was up to 200. Most of the bakery owners were Basques from Navarre. They did not bring baking to Mexico, but they did bring a particular way of doing business. They bought wheat fields, built urban rather than rural flour mills, bought bakeries, and soon dominated the market that catered to one of humankind's basic needs: hunger.

Don Braulio Iriarte Goyeneche was born in Navarra, Spain, in 1860 and arrived in Mexico City in 1877.

Arguably the most successful of these young Basques was the teenager who, as an adult in Mexico City, would be known as don Braulio Iriarte Goyeneche. In 1877, his family forced him to leave Navarra and make a life for himself in this unknown world across the sea. Industrious, hard-working, and creative, the young Iriarte began his career as an employee at one of Mexico's first commercial bakeries. By the end of the 1800s, he was Mexico's king of flour, yeast, and bread. The two keys to his success were his business acumen and the trustworthy cleanliness of his bakeries.

Jalisco-style bread from Pan Segura. This tiny bakery has been in operation for 85 years.

During the fourth quarter of the 19th century, common practice meant that campesinos (country boys) worked barefoot in bakeries. In an attempt to keep their feet clean, they were not allowed to go outside the bakery during the day–locked in with the ovens, barefoot boys and young men clad in the white pants and shirts of the campesino, danced 17 hours a day in the heat of a wood-fired bakery to knead the fresh-made dough . It's no wonder that some customers complained occasionally that their bread was too salty: blame the extra salt on the campesinos' sweat blended into the flour mixture. Don Braulio's bakeries were considered to be extremely sanitary because, unlike in other Mexico City bakeries, machinery did all the kneading. No one's feet touched the dough.

Conchas (shells, a kind of sweet bread) from Panadería El Molino. These conchas are quiet large, and you can see that the price per piece is five pesos (at today's exchange rate, approximately 36 US cents).

At the end of the 19th century in Mexico, the salary for a Mexico City panadero (baker) was two pesos per month. Yes, two. In 1903, Mexico City's bakers began what is known as la huelga de los bolillos (the bread strike). Their demand? A raise in salary to 2.5 pesos per month. The bakers gave or threw away thousands of the individual loaves of white bread known as bolillos to protest the bakery owners' reluctance to pay them a half peso more per month. The bakery owners' main fear was that their young men would drink substantially more due to the salary increase.

Sr. Iriarte rapidly rose to the highest level of prominence in Mexico's world of wheat, flour, and yeast. Within 30 years of his arrival in Mexico City, he and a business partner owned numerous bakeries, had opened a flour mill in Toluca (near the urban center of Mexico City), and founded Mexico's first commercial yeast factory. By the end of the 1920s, he was grinding nearly all of Mexico's wheat.

In early 1922, Sr. Iriarte added another business to his stable: the Corona brewery, which has grown to become one of the largest and most important breweries in the world. Its flagship beer, Corona, is the largest-selling Mexican beer in the world. What's the connection between beer and bread? Yeast.

At El Molino, a bakery worker paints apricot syrup onto fresh-from-the-oven trenzas (braids) made of puff paste. She will then sprinkle the braids with sesame seeds.

You don't use your fingers to pick up bread in Mexico's bakeries. Near the entrance to any bakery, you'll find trays and tongs for choosing what you want to buy. The check-out clerk will use your tongs to put your bread in its bag or box, then bang the crumbs off the tray and back it goes for the next customer's use.

Our tour took in three bakeries, all within a few blocks on Calle 16 de septiembre in Mexico City's Centro Histórico. Pan Segura is the smallest of the three, barely big enough for four or five people to shop for bread at the same time. Pastelería El Molino, just down the street, has been in business since 1918 and was purchased first by Carlos Slim Helú's Panadería El Globo and then was sold to Grupo Bimbo, a giant international wholesale bread-baking concern which bought both bakeries in 2005.

One small room on the first floor of Pastelería La Ideal.

Cochinitos (gingerbread pigs), detail of one tray with stacks and stacks of one of the most traditional sweet breads in Mexico, Pastelería La Ideal. The number of trays of cochinitos is beyond comprehension. Seeing is almost–almost!–believing.

Little cookie men in their two-button suits at La Ideal.

The crown of our bakery tour was its visit to Pastelería La Ideal, long one of Mexico Cooks!' favorite spots in Mexico City. The bakery is enormous. Founded in 1927, the bakery specializes in…well, it specializes in being special. The first floor is devoted to decorative and delicious gelatins, flans, small cookies called pasta seca, everyday cakes, and breads. Hundreds of kinds of breads–350 different kinds, to be exact. Unbelievable amounts of bread, but there it is: right in front of your eyes and absolutely believable. This bakery alone (it has two more branches in the city) turns out 50 to 55 thousand pieces of bread every day, seven days a week.

Muffins with candied fruits, Pastelería La Ideal.

This branch of Pastelería La Ideal is closed for cleaning for exactly one hour a day. If you go between five and six o'clock in the morning, you'll find the doors locked. Otherwise, teams of master bakers (17 to 20 per shift, three eight-hour shifts per day) supervise and work with 350 workers to give us this day our daily bread.

La Ideal traditional package on Mexico Cooks!' dining room table. We bought our neighbor a coffee cake. Honest, it was for her, not for us.

During the early morning hours, you'll see men and women rushing up and down Calle 16 de septiembre and its surrounding streets, carrying packages from La Ideal, tied up with string, tucked under their arms or dangling from outstretched fingers. Mexico City's desayuno (breakfast), whether at home or at the office, almost always includes a pan, either salado or dulce (salty or sweet bread). Cuernitos (like croissants), biscoches (biscuits), panqué (poundcake), pan danés (Danish pastry), bigotes (bread shaped a bit like a moustache), orejas (elephant ears), and conchas (shells), plus bolillo, telera, and all the other kinds of breads fly off the shelves and into Mexico City kitchens, to be served with a coffee or hot chocolate.

Chocolate cake filled with strawberry marmalade and topped with cream horns, Pastelería La Ideal. In the evening, Mexico City stops back in at La Ideal to buy a little something for cena (light supper): a cake, a gelatin, or some cupcakes or cookies. This cake costs 190 pesos. Click on any photo to enlarge and show details.

The second floor of Pastelería La Ideal is entirely about big-deal party cakes. You and the person who is giving a party with you sit down at a tiny desk with a La Ideal sales associate to have a serious discussion about cake: how many people you plan to invite, how much other food there will be, what the occasion might be, how much you want to spend, and any other question you need to ask to have just the right cake made for your needs.

This six-kilo cake (model J-28) decorated with a chocolate basket and pink sugar roses would be perfect for your aunt's birthday, Mother's Day, or any occasion where a small cake is necessary. Hold onto your hats:

Model L-20, decorated with clowns, balloons, ribbons, and stalactites made of icing, weighs 25 kilos and is designed for a child's birthday party. Twenty-five kilos and four stories equal a mid-size cake at La Ideal. There are cakes for quinceañeras (girls' fifteenth birthday parties), engagement parties, first communion parties, and wedding receptions that weigh as much as 50 kilos or more. Those cakes are constructed with stories, bridges, and some have actual running-water waterfalls. The size of your expected crowd dictates the size of the cake.

Some things at your bakery are just about the same as they were when the Basques came to Mexico: bread is freshly baked throughout the day and night, it's affordable, and some is still quite delicious. Other things have changed completely: in most commercial bakeries, margarine or vegetable shortenings are used instead of butter, most everything is mechanized, and the lowly, delicious bolillo–Mexico's original white bread–is now more like cotton batting than like honest bread. But Jane Mason of Virtuous Bread and Mexico Cooks! have vowed to track down any real bolillo that still exists. It's the best thing since–since before sliced bread! I promise to report back.

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26 de May de 2012
Zirita: Exciting Cooking School Experience of the Taste of Michoacán

Zirita, in a rural paradise mere minutes from Morelia's busy Centro Histórico (historic center), is a center of traditional culinary teaching and experiences. Photo courtesy Guillermo Martínez Acebo.

The frame for Michoacán's traditional cuisine, in one of its most genuine forms, with the warmth of a wood fire and the application of hereditary techniques passed down through generations, are the essence of Zirita. Its creator, owner of Morelia's Restaurante San Miguelito and culinary promoter Cynthia Martínez, prefers to call it 'a workshop of gastronomic experiences'.

The old saying "…the mountain goes to Mohammed…" is especially true in terms of the opening of Zirita. The great merit of Zirita is its nearness to Morelia, Michoacán's capital. In the last several years, various regions of the state of Michoacán have become known for its ancestral culinary values. The subtleties, secrets, flavors and perfumes of some of the most reknowned sanctuaries of Michoacán's cuisines–for example, in the case of Angahuan, where Purhépecha women have continued and spread the great expression of food in their communities–will be present in these remarkable cooking classes. Zirita brings the regional cuisines of the most remote pueblitos (small towns) of Michoacán into readily accessible Morelia.

Michoacán's oro verde (green gold): the ubiquitous Hass avocado, which over the last 30 years has become one of the state's most lucrative crops as well as a prominent fixture in its cuisines.

Located close to Morelia's urban center and very nearly part of the city itself, Zirita is a space apart from the hustle and bustle of Morelia. The workshop location allows the visitor to experience the delights of country life, the sounds of nature, as well as the joys of flowers, fruits, and herbs as a daily recurring theme. Zirita is a small complex which has as its center a large troje (typical Purhépecha house). The troje, in turn, has, above all else, the kitchen as its heart: the place where supplies are stored, where preliminary food preparation is done. This is a traditional Purhépecha outdoor kitchen, supplied with all of the utensils used in any Purhépecha community's cooking techniques.

At Zirita, your hands-on experience will be preparing traditional foods typical of the pueblitos (small towns) of Michoacán as well as Mexican dishes common in other parts of the country. Photo courtesy Guillermo Martínez Acebo.

During a workshop experience, traditional cooks and visitors can prepare great delicacies from old family recetarios (collections of recipes). Those regional delights include atápakuas, corundas, uchepos, churipos, moles, adobos, and a thousand other culinary creations from the state of Michoacán. Needless to say, visitors learn to prepare tortillas from corn ground on the metate, patted out by hand, and cooked on a comal (clay griddle) placed over a fogón (cooking fire) contained by paranguas: the three stones which sustain the food world of the Purhépechas. The paranguas are a symbol of the cosmos, of family and community values, and of the relationship and harmony of humankind with nature and with the gods.

Chiles pasillas drying in the sun. When green, we know this long, fleshy chile as chilaca. Sun-dried in its mature (red) state, it is called chile pasilla. Typically part of the Michoacán chile repetoire, it is grown around north-central Queréndaro, Michoacán.

El Rincón de las Solteronas (the Old Maid's Corner), Restaurante San Miguelito. Photo courtesy Alejandro Canela.

Art and fine crafts are distinctive characteristics displayed at Restaurante San Miguelito, celebrated home of Saint Anthony standing on his head. The items displayed in the room, site of the hopes of so many women from Mexico and the world, are also a distinctive element of Zirita. In addition, Zirita has a great variety of herbs which complement the inventory of nuances, delicate touches, and details which nourish its cooking fires.

The wonderful Maestra Benedicta Alejo, fine regional cook and cornerstone of the Zirita experience, grinds green herbs and chile seeds on her metate. She is preparing tzirita, the typical Purhépecha dish that gives the cooking school its name.

Outdoor kitchen at Zirita, with its traditional fogón, comal, and all of the utensils common to the Purhépecha kitchen. Photo courtesy Guillermo Martínez Acebo.

Conceived as a cooking school, Zirita (which means 'seed' in the Purhépecha language) offers several different experiences to anyone who is interested in knowing the essence of Michoacán's culinary traditions. Those traditions, nourished by legends and family tips, by old sayings and anecdotes, by the wisdom of traditional cooks, is presented almost as if the women were in their own homes. However, in this case it is a shared home, completely outfitted as a faithful replica of the different processes of cooking. Broken down into specific themes, ranging from how to make a tortilla to the preparation of the most complex dish of mole de boda (wedding mole), Zirita offers an opportunity to learn these culinary traditions from their most worthy and authentic bearers. In addition, the visitor learns to use the tools and classical artifacts of the Mexican kitchen, right down to the teachers' secrets for their maintainance and use–including how to cure or 'educate' a metate.

The metate and metapil (three-legged volcanic stone grinding board and its roller). This kitchen tool has been used since well before the Spanish arrival in the New World.

Cynthia Martínez said, "This has been a very intense effort, from the construction of the site to the fitting-out of the different areas. To begin with, traditional cuisine is an authentic showcase of the riches of our people with the added factor that in addition to its beauty, everything in the cuisine has a use.

Zirita cooking class taught by Maestra Benedicta Alejo. Photo courtesy Rubén Hernández.

"Nevertheless, the intellectual and emotional richness, and the sum of so many lives are concentrated in this place with the presence of women like Benedicta Alejo, one of the most enthusiastic transmitters of our culinary inheritance. By way of the courses, local, national, and international visitors can live the excitement of making their own tortillas, of grinding chiles, of treasuring our wild herbs as part of one of life's rituals. The huge difference is doing these things in completely traditional terms, living the chat and the get-togethers which start in our markets. Much of the wisdom that our women possess makes them standard-bearers and the ones who will continue to impart the knowledge of food which is one of our great national treasures, as a culture and as a country."

Original article written by Rubén Hernández and published in Spanish at Crónicas del Sabor, translated by Mexico Cooks!.

Zirita
Zirita Culinary Experiences
Circuito de los Manzanos 250
Colonia Arcos de la Cascada
San José del Cerrito
Morelia, Michoacán
Tel. 011.52.443.275.4536 (from the United States)
All of the Zirita experiences are available in either Spanish or English.

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12 de May de 2012
Amecameca, Kissing the Feet of Two Volcanoes

The active volcano Popocatépetl is the second-highest mountain in Mexico at 5,452 meters (17,887 feet) above sea level. Some sources say that Popocatépetl is slightly higher than those quoted figures. Only the Pico de Orizaba (5,610 meters or 18,406 feet) is higher. All photos by Mexico Cooks! unless otherwise noted.

During the last few weeks, Mexico City's newspapers have been full of information about Popocatépetl, the Náhuatl word for 'smoking mountain'. This volcano, which sits in the very back yard of the city, has once again been growling and grumbling and belching gases, steam, smoke, and red-hot ash. Its last major 'exhalation' was in December of 2000 and everyone in this vicinity hopes the mountain won't explode again.

In mid-April, curiousity and excitement about Popocatépetl's current activities led us to make a Sunday afternoon trip to Amecameca in the State of Mexico, the town closest to the volcano from our Mexico City neighborhood. The town is southeast of Mexico City and we were there in a bit over an hour. Had we not stopped along the way to take photographs, we could have arrived sooner.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZAvtPJKg8U&w=350&h=267]
Popocatépetl erupts, December 2000. Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhautl straddle the boundaries of three states: Puebla, Morelos, and the State of Mexico. Video courtesy NBC news.

The alert system for possible eruptions ranges from green (no danger) to red (extreme eruption). Currently, Popocatépetl has been at Alert Phase 3 Yellow (magma flow and growing explosions) for about three weeks. Phase 3 Yellow is the alert just before red. In spite of the high alert level, no evacuations from towns around the volcano have been ordered. Click the link for updates to the 'semáforo de alertas' (alert system stoplight): ALERTAS

Iztaccíhautl, the sleeping woman, lies northeast of Popocatépetl and east of the town of Amecameca in the State of Mexico. Mexico Cooks! took this photo from the atrium of the Templo de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción (Church of Our Lady of the Assumption) in Amecameca; you can see one of the church arches in the foreground. The photo shows Iztaccíhuatl's head (far left) and chest.

Full view of volcano Iztaccíhuatl. Her head is at the far left in the photo. The clouds are in fact due to the accumulation of steam and ash emitted by Popocatépetl, just out of camera range to the right. The northwestern sky (behind me as I took the picture) was clear blue and brilliantly sunny.

Of course there is a romantic legend about Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhautl. At the beginning of history, when the Aztecs arrived in the Valley of Anáhuac and before the mountains had reached their permanent form, a beautiful princess named Mixtli was born in the city of Tenochtitlán–today's Mexico City. She was the daughter of Tizoc, the Tlatoani Emperor of the Mexicas (to be known later as the Aztecs). Mixtli was sought after by numerous noblemen, among them Axooxco, a cruel and bloodthirsty man, who demanded the hand of Mixtli in marriage. However, Mixtli's heart belonged instead to a humble peasant named Popoca. Popoca went into battle, to conquer the title of Caballero Aguila (Eagle Knight). If he claimed this title of nobility, Popoca would then be able to fight Axooxco for the hand of Mixtli.

Popoca carries his beloved Mixtli to the snowy mountains.

Mixtli knew the danger Popoca faced in this trial. Finally a messenger brought the news that he had been killed in battle. But the messenger was wrong: Popoca was returning victorious. Not realizing this, Mixtli killed herself, rather than live without Popoca.

When Popoca returned to find Mixtli dead, he picked her up and carried her body into the mountains. Hoping that the cold snow would wake her from sleep to reunite them, Popoca crouched at her feet until he froze there while he prayed for her to awaken.

They have remained there ever since. The body of Mixtli became the volcano Iztaccíhuatl (the Sleeping Woman), the ever-watchful Popoca became the volcano Popocatépetl (the Smoking Mountain). The evil Axooxco became the Cerro Ajusco (the highest point of the Distrito Federal). These volcanoes tower above Mexico City and the romantic legend of this couple has been passed on since the pre-Columbian era as a symbol of enduring and faithful love.

Popocatépetl exhales a huge cloud of steam, gases, and ash on April 18, 2012. Photo courtesy Notimex.

The volcano is generally known by a local nickname: don Goyo. Don is an honorific used to address or refer to any respected well-known man; Goyo is a nickname for Gregorio, in this instance specifically referring to San Gregorio (St. Gregory). Legend says that the volcano once erupted on San Gregorio's March 12 feast day and subsequently received the nickname, but the volcano's feast day (yes, he has one!) is celebrated annually on May 2. On that date, some local residencts carry gifts to the volcano: blankets and una copita (a shot of liquor) to keep him warm, and they pay him their continuing respects. As the white-haired toll booth attendant said when we told him we were on our way to pay a visit to don Goyo, "Be careful up there! He's making all this racket while he's sober–imagine if he had already had his tequila!"

The volcano on the night of April 24, 2012. Streams of molten lava flow down the sides of the crater while fire, steam, smoke, and sparks rise high into the evening sky. The volcano is so loud that some residents find it hard to get a good night's sleep. Photo courtesy MSNBC.

During volcanic activity of this kind, the world keeps turning. Residents in the several towns nearest the volcano go about their normal daily lives while keeping one eye on the top of the mountain and one ear out for the latest alerts. In Amecameca, a delightful old gentleman stopped to chat with us on the street while we were letting a local woman take a close look at the volcano through the camera's telephoto lens. "You know," he ruminated, "we still have to shop, cook, eat, and sleep even though we also have to be prepared for…" he laughed and threw his arms high into the air. "In case it blows!"

Life goes on: inside the municipal market in Amecameca, people shop for food, gossip with their neighbors, and laugh at the latest jokes. Click on any photo to enlarge it for a better view.

Our new guide continued, "You should go outside town for a better view. It's easy to get there…" He proceeded to give excellent directions for heading to the east into the foothills at the base of the volcano. We shook his hand and followed his directions as far as we could, but the rutted, stone-filled path we were driving outside Amecameca was too difficult for our vehicle. We turned onto another, even smaller road that took us to the crest of a hill. From there, we had an unobstructed view of the two lovers, Iztaccíhautl and Popocatépetl. While the wind blew from behind us, we watched as don Goyo sighed several times, sending heavy plumes of steam and ash into the heavens and away from Amecameca.

As the volcano steams and roars, commerce continues as it has for thousands of years. Amecameca has a huge Sunday market in the church atrium outside Templo de Nuestra Señora de la Asunciòn. The peaches, bright-green oval chilacayotes, and round calabacitas (zucchini-type squash) are offered for sale piled up in pyramids, the traditional vendors' display method.

Will the volcano blast off into a major eruption? Will it calm down and wait till another time? No one really knows for sure, not even the scientists who monitor its activity. On April 25, the winds shifted and small amounts of ash began to rain down on Amecameca and some of the other nearby towns. We're watching, along with the rest of the populace. And meantime, our lives go on as usual.

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28 de April de 2012