Category: Travel

Dando la Vuelta en la Ciudad de México :: Roaming Around in Mexico City, Part Two

This white pozole from Mexico's state of Guerrero ranks close to the top of Mexico Cooks!' list of best pozoles in Mexico. The pozolería (pozole place) is right here in Mexico City–come with us next time, we go as often as we can.

A selection of beautiful crystallized fruits at Mercado Medellín, one of the several Mexico City markets where Mexico Cooks! takes tours. In the photo from nine o'clock: sweet potato, pineapple, whole orange, more sweet potato, squash, and at six o'clock, chilacayote squash and another orange. The inner group consists of squash, a limón, and a fig.

Sangre de cora, a drink prepared with tequila, sweet agua de jamaica, and frothy egg white. It's adorned with jamaica blossoms. Jamaica is a cousin of Mexico's hibiscus; in English, it's called roselle. The drink takes its name from the Cora indigenous group, which is native to western Jalisco and the coastal state of Nayarit; the delicious drink was served to me in Mexico City at a press event for the Riviera Nayarit.

They look like gears, don't they? Actually, these are molinillos (chocolate frothers), stacked up for sale at a market. There's nothing else like this market in all of Mexico– Mexico Cooks! would be delighted to take you along for a tour!

Oaxaca is filled with culinary delicacies not seen elsewhere in Mexico. Here, a platter of Oaxaca quesillo (think string cheese, but a million times better) stuffed with tiny chapulines (grasshoppers) and rolled jelly-roll fashion in anise-flavored hoja santa (holy leaf). This is one of the most delicious things Mexico Cooks! has eaten in 2015. Thank you, Restaurante Las 15 Letras!

Carmelite nuns buying carnations by the armload at Mexico City's wholesale flower market. An entire bundle of these flowers, the size of the paper-wrapped flowers standing on the floor, will set you back about 70 pesos–less than $4.50 USD.

And now for something completely different–gai lan (Chinese broccoli), stir-fried with garlic, as served at our favorite Chinese restaurant: Jing Teng.

These exotic fruits from South America are curuba–banana passionfruit. Each fruit is approximately 3" long and an inch in diameter. The sweet pulpy seeds are reminiscent of normal passionfruit, but less acidic. The skin isn't eaten. We recently saw these at one of our favorite downtown markets.

Look at the color of the flesh of these ruby red grapefruits! Mexico Cooks! was particularly taken with the extraordinary cut made by the vendor to display (and give tastes of) the fruit.

Mexico's own tuna–aka the prickly pear cactus fruit. The market vendor who offered these for sale had brought along the entire cactus paddle to show clients how the fruit grows.

The tuna has a zipper-skin that's so simple to peel. Just cut off each end of the tuna, make a lengthwise slit in the skin, and peel the skin away from the flesh. Easy-peasy! The tuna's texture is similar to that of watermelon, the flesh is sweet and refreshing, and the seeds are swallowed. Served chilled, they're even more thirst-quenching.

From a small restaurant in the state of Jalisco, this flan napolitano con queso (flan made with cheese) is one of the best I've eaten. My comida (main meal of the day) companion assured me that he isn't a flan fan, but one taste of this one and he said, "We should have ordered two." More the texture of cheesecake than custard, one slice of this rich, creamy dessert was plenty for the two of us.

And finally–Frida! This portrait of Mexico's iconic painter Frida Kahlo is actually a tattoo on the inner forearm of a young woman I saw on the sidewalk outside a market. Claudia very graciously allowed me to photograph just her arm. Here's yet another reason to spend some time with Mexico Cooks!: you never, never know what you'll see next in this enormous and enormously diversified city!

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

11 de June de 2022
Dando la Vuelta en la Ciudad de México :: Roaming around in Mexico City, Part One

Mexico's summer always gives us an abundance of flor de calabaza (squash flowers) to be used in the kitchen. Prepared as sopa de guias (squash vine soup), quesadillas, or stuffed with cheese, these flowers are delicious and are readily available in many Mexican markets. Did you know that only the male flowers are harvested? The female flowers are left to develop squash.

You might like to try this Mexico Cooks! recipe in your own kitchen.

Flor de Calabaza Estilo Cristina
Squash Flowers, Cristina's Style

Ingredients

2 large bunches flor de calabaza, washed and patted dry
1 medium white onion
4 chiles poblano
1 chile serrano
2 large russet or other large white potatoes
Flour
Sea salt to taste
Vegetable oil, freshly rendered pork lard, or half vegetable oil, half bacon grease for frying.

Procedure

Peel and dice potatoes into 1/2" cubes. Boil until just fork-tender. Drain, allow to dry, and reserve.

Roast chiles according to your preferred method until the skin is blistered and they are well-blackened. Sweat for 10 minutes in a closed plastic bag. Remove skin. Slice each chile lengthwise to remove seeds. Dice peppers in 1/2” squares.

Rough-chop flor de calabaza into 1 1/2" pieces.

Dice onion into 1/2" squares.

Mince chile serrano.

In a large sauté pan, heat the vegetable oil until it shimmers. While the oil is heating, shake the reserved potatoes in flour and salt in a plastic bag.

Sauté onions and chile serrano in oil or oil/bacon grease mixture. Add the floured potatoes and sauté until crisp and pale golden, adding more fat if needed. Add the diced chiles poblano and continue to sauté for about 1 minute.

Add the flor de calabaza and sauté just until tender.

Add sea salt to taste.

Serves 2-3 as a side dish.

Late in the spring, we were invited to attend the opening of El Rebozo: Made in Mexico at Mexico City's extraordinary Museo Franz Mayer. The exhibition, which was originally mounted in London, featured both old and new rebozos (long rectangular shawls) as well as some other typical Mexican garments. One of the many rebozos in the exhibit was an exquisitely embroidered shawl from Oaxaca. This is a detail of that Oaxacan rebozo.

This photograph of Evita Perón, wife of Argentina's Juan Domingo Perón during his first term as president of that country, was part of an exhibit at Mexico City's Museum of Modern Art (MAM) during the spring and summer. The photograph formed part of an exhibition of the works of Giselle Freund, a self-taught photographer who worked in Argentina and Mexico in the 1940s and 1950s.

This tiny ironwood mortar and pestle (the mortar is only about 2" high) comes from the state of Sonora, in northern Mexico. It is made specifically for use at the table, for an individual diner to grind one or two chiles chiltepín, which are highly spicy and famously used to season certain dishes from the cuisine of that state. The grinder is passed from person to person at the table, along with a dish of whole chile chiltepín.

Chile chiltepín from Sonora. Each chile is tiny but extremely picante. Photo courtesy Hunter Angler Gardener Cook.

Beautiful ceremonial tortillas from the state of Guanajuato. The tortillas are made in the usual way and are then stamped prior to baking with a wooden stamp dipped in vegetable dye. Mexico Cooks! was privileged to see these twice in one summer, first at an event at the Escuela de Gastronomía Mexicana in Mexico City and again at the Primer Encuentro Nacional de Cocineras Tradicionales (First National Meeting of Traditional Cooks) in Morelia, Michoacán.

This is the tamarillo or tomate del árbol (tree tomato), a native of the South American Andes. Each fruit is approximately 2.5" long. The flesh is fairly firm and deeply flavorful, both sweet and earthy. You never know what you'll see when you take a Mexico Cooks! tour–our group found these delicious fruits at a downtown Mexico City market.

Come back next week for more summertime wanderings with Mexico Cooks!. Our summer was far too interesting for just one article!

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

4 de June de 2022
Not The Usual Tourist Path :: A Stroll Along Calle Uruguay in Mexico City’s Centro Histórico

A large portion of Mexico City's Templo de Nuestra Señora de la Valvanera, Calle República de Uruguay #36, is given over to the veneration of San Charbel Makhlouf, a 19th century Lebanese Maronite hermit whom Roman Catholic Pope Paul VI canonized in 1927. During the last ten to fifteen years, San Charbel has acquired quite a large following in Mexico. The church features any number of images of the saint, some professionally made and others, like this one, made by the devout. Mexico Cooks! is particularly fond of this home-made image of him, with its cotton batting beard and jiggly plastic eyes like those found on some stuffed animals.

Calle República de Uruguay, just south of the Zócalo, the Metropolitan Cathedral, and the National Palace, is one of Mexico City's most interesting and varied streets. Mexico Cooks! loves to walk it block by block, discovering hidden and not-so-hidden treasures nearly every step of the way. The last time I took this walk, I noticed for the first time that one block was lined on both sides with mercerías (button and sewing notion shops) filled with hundreds, if not thousands, of different styles of buttons. AHA! A single button from one of my favorite dresses had recently gone missing in the washing machine. I found a similar button among the countless displays and asked the clerk the cost of just one. "Señora…," she hesitated, "solo se venden por cien." ('We only sell buttons by the hundred.') We both laughed.

The ornately tiled dome of the Templo de Nuestra Señora de la Valvanera. All of these talavera tiles were made in Puebla. This beautiful church is also known as the Cathedal of the Maronite Eparchy of Our Lady of the Martyrs of Lebanon. It is one of only two churches in Mexico City that are decorated with Puebla's talavera tile. The church, built in the 17th century and dedicated in 1671, is open daily for all who care to spend a few minutes away from the bustle of the street.

This rolling contraption belongs to an old-time camote (sweet potato) and plátano (banana) vendor. At the back of the three-wheeled cart is the steering wheel and a supply of plates and bags. In the center are the vendor's other supplies. The baked sweet potatoes and bananas are carefully lined up on top of the firebox and oven of the cart, where they stay hot until purchased. The firebox is stoked with carbón (Mexican real-wood charcoal). At the very front of the cart is the smokestack, with its traditional ear-shattering steam powered whistle. If you listen during the evenings in some of Mexico City's far-from-Centro neighborhoods, you'll still hear the sound of that whistle–the camotero's call for you to run out to the street to buy a hot baked camote for your cena (supper). Click on any photograph to enlarge it and see the details.

Detail, camotes y plátanos–with the ubiquitous can of La Lechera (sweetened condensed milk) that is poured generously over your purchase of either a delicious newly baked sweet potato or a freshly baked banana. Little by little, these wonderfully fragrant carts are disappearing from Mexico City's streets. As I chatted with the camotero, I mentioned that quite late many nights–as late as one o'clock in the morning–I've heard a vendor passing by on a far-flung street and blowing his whistle. The camotero on Calle República de Uruguay scoffed and said that the vendor in that neighborhood was probably selling something other than camotes. "Quién va a querer un camote a estas horas?" (Who would want a sweet potato at that hour!)

Gorras (caps, these with bills) for sale on the street. The embroidered purple cap featuring Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe particularly caught my attention. There is simply nowhere that her image is not.

I peeped into an open door and saw the interior of a seriously deteriorated vecindad (essentially, a tenement house) on Calle República de Uruguay. Restoration work is underway, as you can see from the heavily braced walls.

Package tied up with string from the famous Pastelería La Ideal, which has a branch located at República de Uruguay #74. It's almost guaranteed that as you stroll along this street, especially in the early morning or in the evening, you will see hordes of people carrying boxes and packages with this design. Everyone wants pan dulce (sweet bread) from La Ideal! The extraordinary pan from the bakery is (pardon me) ideal for breakfast or supper. Pastelería La Ideal, with its three branches, is arguably the most famous bakery in Mexico City.

Almond-topped coffee cake from Pastelería La Ideal. It tastes even better than it looks.

Hanging menu outside Los Tacos, Calle República de Uruguay #117. This partial menu only serves as an enticement to step inside: the full menu is enormous, running from the simplest quesadilla (a tortilla folded over cheese and toasted or fried) to delicious chiles en nogada (stuffed chiles in walnut sauce). It's a dandy place to stop for an energy boost while strolling down this street.

The trompo (vertical spit) for tacos al pastor (shepherd-style roast pork) is just outside the door at Los Tacos. Thinly sliced pork is marinated in an adobo sauce, then stacked onto the spit–with a pineapple at the top. The pineapple juices run steadily into the meat as it cooks. The meat spins around and is roasted to order using the gas grate just behind it. The pastorero (specialized cook for tacos al pastor) receives your order (seis de pastor, por favor–six tacos al pastor, please) from the waiter, then turns and turns the spit until he can shave off slivers of pork for your tacos. The slivers go directly from the freshly grilled meat on the spit into a hot tortilla–you can just see that the pastorero is holding a tortilla in his left hand. The order of tacos on the plate in front of him is almost ready. The coup de grace: the skillful pastorero fills your tortilla with meat and then with a quick flick of the knife, sends a portion of roasted, slightly caramelized sweet pineapple flying from the whole fruit straight into your taco while it's still in his hand. As far as I could see, he never misses. What a guy! And needless to say, what a taco! Top it yourself with finely chopped onion, cilantro, and the salsa of your choice. It's a fiesta of flavors in your mouth.

Mexico Cooks! would be delighted to tour you along Calle República de Uruguay, as well as along any of the fascinating neighboring streets in the endless byways of the Centro Histórico (Historic Center). Just let me know when you'd like to come to Mexico City!

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

28 de May de 2022
Strawberry Season in Central Mexico :: When? All Year!

Piled high in every town's market, locally grown strawberries sell all year 'round in parts of Michoacán, Guanajuato, and Jalisco. Mexico Cooks! photographed these at a daily outdoor market in Pátzcuaro, Michoacán.

Right about now, fresh produce bounty from South of the Border is available on your supermarket shelves. Fresh red strawberries, grown from Zamora, Michoacán to Irapuato, Guanajuato, will give you the sweet taste of Mexico's sun and warmth. Fresh raspberries grow near the shores of Lake Chapala, while big-as-the-end-of-your-thumb, sweet, delicious blackberries grow locally in Mexico Cooks!' region of Michoacán. Big beautiful and delicious blueberries are also grown prolifically in both Jalisco and Michoacán.

When you go to your local super market, take a closer look at those clear plastic containers (known in the trade as clamshells) full of red raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries. In the small print on the Driscoll label it says "Product of Mexico". When I still lived in the States, I read that label and imagined a gleaming white-tile packing factory. In my mind's eye, I saw employees in starched laboratory jackets, nurse-like white caps and latex gloves, packing strawberries as the jewel-red fruit came flying down an assembly line. It was a fantasy worthy of Lucy and Ethel at the chocolate factory, in that famous episode of I Love Lucy.

The first time I visited a nearby raspberry "packing factory", I had to laugh at my own earlier ideas. This packing operation was perfectly simple. Several clean-cut young men with bandannas wrapped around their heads roamed up and down the rows between lush raspberry canes. They hand-picked only the reddest, ripest raspberries and gently placed them into small plastic buckets, the kind five-year-olds use at the beach.

Two young women dressed in blue jeans and caps stood at a long folding table (the kind you'd find at a swap meet) and packed those perfectly ripe raspberries into flat after flat of Driscoll clamshells. They packed the plastic boxes into case after case for shipping and then rapidly started packing more.

Within 24 hours of picking, those berries are in the United States, either in Miami or Los Angeles. A day later, they are shipped out to stores across the United States. In addition, red raspberries from the shores of Lake Chapala are shipped not only to the United States but also to Canada, to England, to all parts of Europe, and to Japan.

The half pint boxes sell for about $4.99 the box in grocery stores north of the Mexican border. Here in Mexico, you don't want to know what I pay. Just remember that I live where all of these berries are grown and we can buy them without a middleman or transportation costs.

Remember that raspberries are the most delicate fruits in the vast berry family. Treat them with the softest touch, just like handling like a newborn baby. Rinse them gently (never allowing them to soak) just before you serve them.

In case any of you might have health concerns about Mexican-grown produce, here's what the Driscoll people themselves say about the safety of their raspberries and strawberries:

"Driscoll's farmers have been leaders in the practice of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) which relies on a balanced method of natural and inorganic means to reduce disease and control pests in the field. To insure that Driscoll's fruit is the safest possible, Driscoll's employs a company which conducts third-party independent residue testing of fruit in every Driscoll cooler and facility every week."

These fields in the state of Jalisco are Mexican owned and leased to Driscoll solely for growing raspberries and strawberries. The raspberry crop is rotated annually and the packing operation is moved each year to the fields most convenient to the highway. The plastic protects the raspberries from too much sun, too much rain, and too much wind.

Far-flung fields of Driscoll's other delicious crop—strawberries–are grown from Zamora and Morelia, Michoacán, and as far east as Maravatio, Michoacán–several other towns in Michoacán. Two out of every three strawberries grown in Mexico come from Michoacán, and that's a LOT–about 340 thousand tons per year! Red jewels lie close to the ground, nestled in dark green leaves. The strawberries are ripe and luscious this time of year, ready to be hand picked, packed, chilled, and shipped to all parts of the world. You'll find them, packaged in clear plastic one-pound boxes so you can see exactly what you're choosing, in the produce section of your favorite hometown supermarket. North of the border, the boxes sell for about $2.50 US in season. Here in Mexico, we're paying closer to the peso equivalent of $2.00 US per kilo (2.2 pounds).

Strawberry stands dot the roads leading into and out of Irapuato, Guanajuato. The stands offer tall wicker baskets filled with sweet, delicious fresh berries as well as frozen strawberries with cream, just ready to dig in.

These are not those huge strawberries grown more for looks than for flavor. Is there anything more disappointing than biting into a beautiful berry and finding it white in the middle, dry, hard and tasteless? These berries are mid-size and grown for their sweet taste—the best possible flavor—as well as beauty. Ripened more fully prior to picking than those grown elsewhere, these local strawberries are simply perfect.

Wow, a tower of locally grown strawberries! These are from the area around Irapuato.

Always refrigerate berries immediately—move them from your shopping bag directly to the refrigerator. Refrigerator temperatures between 34 and 38 degrees F are best, but be sure not to freeze them! Fresh berries are very sensitive to freeze damage. Do remember this general rule: for every hour your berries are away from refrigeration, you'll lose a whole day's shelf life.

If you want to freeze red raspberries, spread them out in a single layer on a cookie sheet with sides and place the uncovered cookie sheet in the freezer. After the raspberries are well frozen, shake them gently into a zip-lock bag and immediately put them back in the freezer. Your raspberries, whole and beautiful, will be ready for immediate use when you need them.

Do not wash your berries until you are ready to prepare and eat them. Moisture will hasten decay of these fragile berries, so keep them dry as well as cold until the last moment.

Shelf life varies between berries; however, under ideal conditions, strawberries should keep for about two to five days in your refrigerator and raspberries should keep for between one and three days. For best results, consume your berries as soon after purchase as possible.

If you buy either raspberries or strawberries in plastic clamshells, use the berries and save a clamshell or two for times when you want to store the berries in your refrigerator. farm to protect the berries on the trip home.

Here is an interesting statistic about strawberries: Canada imports all of its fresh strawberries from either the United States or from Mexico. The United States is the major importer of Mexican fresh strawberries. Under NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement), duty is no longer charged on strawberry exports to either the USA or Canada.

Are you drooling yet? Let's look at two more wonderful recipes for raspberry and strawberry treats.

White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake
For the ultimate in red raspberry decadence, try this cheesecake.

18 vanilla wafer cookies
1 cup macadamia nuts, toasted
4 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted
4 ounces white chocolate, chopped
16 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 large eggs
3/4 cup fresh raspberries
8 ounces sour cream
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Crust:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Finely grind cookies and macadamias in food processor. Add butter and blend until mixture forms very moist crumbs. Press crumbs firmly onto bottom and part of sides of an eight inch spring-form pan. Bake until golden (10 minutes).

Filling:
Melt white chocolate in microwave, (about 1 1/2 minutes), stopping every 30 seconds to stir and to make sure it doesn't burn. Set aside. In a large bowl, use your electric mixer to beat cream cheese, sugar, vanilla extract, and lemon juice until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition, just until combined. Beat in white chocolate.

Spoon half the batter into the crust. Top with berries. Top with remaining batter. Bake for about 45 minutes or until cake is set around the edges, but center jiggles slightly.

Let cool for about 20 minutes before adding the topping.

Topping:
In a medium bowl, whisk sour cream, sugar, and vanilla. Spoon over cake, spreading the topping to the edge of the pan. Bake five minutes. Allow cake to cool and then refrigerate overnight. Serve plain or garnish with more berries.

Try the following recipe when you want to serve an unusual fruit treat for a Sunday brunch with friends. You and your guests will love the refreshing berries in a very unusual dressing. Let me know how you like it!

Ginger Strawberries Estilo Mexico Cooks!
This recipe is served cold, and with its hint of spicy ginger it always makes a hit.

2 pounds fresh ripe strawberries
1 orange
2 tablespoons pickled ginger, drained
1 cup unflavored yoghurt
2 tablespoons orange marmalade
2 tablespoons sugar or 2 packets artificial sweetener
1/4 teaspoon salt

Remove green caps from strawberries and wash gently. Pat dry in a large terry cloth towel. Cut the strawberries in half and place in a large mixing bowl.

With a vegetable peeler or zester, cut thin strips of orange peel (orange part only). Cut the orange peel strips into tiny matchstick-size strips, no longer than 1" and no wider than 1/16".

Cut the pickled ginger to the same size as the orange strips. Mix the ginger and the orange strips together.

Add the ginger and orange strips mixture, orange marmalade, sugar (or artificial sweetener) and salt to the yogurt. Stir until well-mixed.

Pour yoghurt mixture over strawberries and stir gently to coat all the strawberries.

Refrigerate until well chilled. Serves 6 – 8 as a side dish.

Remember the taste of a strawberry this red–red all the way through? I was in a produce market and had already taken a bite of this one when I thought, take its picture! The world wants to see a real strawberry, right now in 2022!

Buen provecho!

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

21 de May de 2022
A Beautiful Food and Music Festival in Pátzcuaro, Michoacán

Seasonal chiles en nogada (stuffed chiles poblanos in walnut sauce) were the most popular item at the Pátzcuaro food show one September quite a few years ago.

Pátzcuaro has just celebrated its 474th anniversary as a certified municipio (similar to a US county seat). Lots of events were scheduled during the weekend of September 19-21, including a parade, an artisans' fair, concerts, and two regional muestras de gastronomía (food exhibits and sales).

Joaquín Pantoja, Plaza Don Vasco de Quiroga, Pátzcuaro.

Mexico Cooks! was there, of course. Would we miss a reason for a fiesta? We spent a full and diverse day in Pátzcuaro, first listening to a concert by the incredibly talented guitarist Joaquín Pantoja, visiting friends at a nearby gallery opening, strolling around the beautiful Plaza de don Vasco de Quiroga, and eating–you guessed it–wonderful chiles en nogada at Sunday's Muestra de Gastronomía Regional on Plaza Don Vasco de Quiroga.

Imagine the taste of mildly spicy, fresh chiles poblanos stuffed with a rich meat and fruit picadillo (hash), bathed in creamy walnut sauce, and garnished with fresh pomegranate seeds and parsley. Normally served in Mexico during July, August, September, and October (the time when both pomegranates and walnuts are harvested), this beautiful dish represents the colors of the Mexican flag.

Just one of the Muestra de Gastronomía Regional tables in Pátzcuaro. From the beautifully presented platillos (main dishes) to the hand-embroidered tablecloth, the table was a feast for all the senses.

Pollo en Cuñete, a superb example of comida casera michoacana (Michoacán home cooking) that Mexico Cooks! has never seen on any restaurant menu.

Pollo en Cuñete

Ingredients
1 whole chicken, 4 to 5 pounds, skinned and cut into serving pieces
11 cloves of garlic, mashed
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
2 tablespoons corn or other vegetable oil
20 new potatoes, peeled
3/4 cup vinegar, either white or red wine
1/3 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
6 bay leaves
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 tablespoons dried oregano
2 chiles serrano

Romaine lettuce
Pineapple slices
Orange slices
Avocado slices
Radishes

Procedure
Rub the chicken pieces with garlic, sea salt, and pepper and refrigerate for one to four hours.

In a large frying pan, heat the oil and sauté the chicken pieces, putting them in a large casserole dish as they brown. In the same oil, lightly brown the potatoes. Remove the potatoes from the oil and reserve.

Allow the oil to cool slightly. Add the vinegar (carefully, it will splash) and heat until it begins to boil. Remove the brown pieces that stick to the bottom of the pan. Pour the vinegar through a strainer and over the chicken. Add the olive oil, the salt, the bay leaves, the thyme, and the oregano to the chicken in the casserole dish. Place the chicken over a high fire until it begins to boil. Cover it tightly and lower the flame. Every 10 minutes, turn the chicken. After 30 to 40 minutes, test for taste and add the chiles and the potatoes. Cover and cook over a slow fire for approximately 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are done.

To Serve
Cover a large platter with romaine lettuce leaves. Arrange the chicken pieces on the platter. Garnish with decoratively cut radishes, peeled orange slices, thinly sliced pineapple, and sliced avocados.

Serves 6 to 8 as a main course.

This gorgeous jewel-colored drink is actually ensalada del obispo (the bishop's water), a Morelia traditional speciality served only during Semana Santa (Holy Week). It's prepared with beets, oranges, lettuce, other vegetables, and peanuts. You eat it with a spoon and drink the liquid.

This little section of the muestra de dulces regionales (regional sweets exhibit) features gelatina de frutas con leche (milky gelatin with fruits), pastel de almendras (almond cake), rollo de chocolate (chocolate roll), and ate casero de membrillo (home-made quince paste). We split a slice of almond cake and a little cocada casera (home-made coconut candy).

Pátzcuaro is famous everywhere in Mexico for its ice cream, especially the nieve de pasta (richly creamy ice cream flavored with ground almonds, cinnamon, and honey). Mexico Cooks! didn't have room to eat even a small cup, but instead stopped a passer-by who waited patiently before taking a bite to have a photo taken of his treasure: nieve de pasta con mermelada de zarzamora (with fresh blackberry marmalade).

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

14 de May de 2022
In Honor of Mother’s Day in Mexico: Imágenes de la Mujer en México :: Images of Women in Mexico

A late-19th century image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Queen of Mexico and Patroness of the Americas. She's everyone's mother. There's a saying in Mexico: "No todos somos católicos, pero todos somos guadalupanos" ('Not everyone is Catholic, but everyone loves Our Lady of Guadalupe'.)

In Mexico, el Día de la Mamá (Mother's Day) is celebrated every year on May 10. Whether the day falls on a weekend or mid-week, it's every family's mother's special event, and it's a red-letter day, a huge occasion. If one lives in a town or city other than where mother lives, one goes home. If one is married, the question is always 'con la mamá, o con la suegra, o qué hacemos!' (do we go to Mom's, or to the mother-in-law, or what do we do!)".

Women are depicted in every way possible, in materials, styles, and atmospheres. Let's look at some–in honor of all of our mothers.

His mother, painted by Rodolfo Morales, 20th century artist (May 8, 1925 – January 30, 2001) from Ocotlán de Morelos, Oaxaca.

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

Sayaca (transvestite clown), Carnaval (Mardi Gras), Ajijic, Jalisco 2004.

Native dance costume, Chiapas 2003.

Corn Mother, huipil (a traditional indigenous blouse) installation by Lena Bartula, La Huipilista, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato. The entire huipil is made of totomoxtle stitched onto hemp. Totomoxtle are dried corn husks, normally rehydrated and used to wrap tamales for steaming. Photo courtesy Lena Bartula.

This hand-painted image recently appeared on the outside wall of a house that neighbors mine, in Morelia, Michoacán. Below the painting of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe is written, "And am I not here, I who am your mother?" When the indigenous man Juan Diego saw her initially, in December 1531, she spoke those words to him to give him peace in place of the fear he experienced in the face of something so unusual. At the lowest part of the image, the painter wrote, "Everyone's virgin.". Take heart: "Am I not here, I who am your mother?"

Graciela Alejo, Morelia, Michoacán 2007. Graciela is the daughter of a long-time friend, traditional cook Benedicta Alejo from San Lorenzo, Michoacán.

Lila Downs, Mexican-American singer, in concert, Guadalajara, Jalisco, November 2005.

Two young Purépecha women showing off their beautiful embroidery. Paracho, Michoacán, September 2010.

My own mother at two, with a toy lion, 1924. She died in 2003 and I miss her every day. Here's to you, Mother, on this Mother's Day.

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7 de May de 2022
It’s Back! It’s Back! The Toritos de Petate Parade in Morelia is With Us Again…

Morelia's 2009 Festival del Torito de Petate starred "El Michoacano" featuring as its theme Morelia's own Fuente Las Tarascas (the Tarascan fountain on Av. Madero). The huge creations were originally made of petate (the word for this woven palm mat, similar to a Japanese tatami, comes from the Náhuatl), but today they can be made of almost anything.

Here's a photo of me with a petate that I had made about a year ago. The petate can be used as a simple floor covering in a home, or as a sleeping mat, or in smaller sizes as a mat for kneeling on the ground or on a floor while one uses the metate for grinding. Its symbolism is profound–the petate is considered to be the place where dreams are born, where sleep and wakefulness meet, where life and death are connected.

Morelia's annual Festival del Torito de Petate (literally, festival of the little bull made of woven reeds) will once again have a presence here in the city. For the last two years of the pandemic, there has been no parade–but this year, it's happening again! These "little bulls" are hardly little, and are hardly made of woven reeds. Some measure as high as five meters (more than 15 feet) and weigh in at more than 110 kilos (nearly 250 pounds). Built today by group members from Morelia's working-class neighborhoods, the danza del torito de petate stems from dances that date back as far as 1586, just a bit more than 50 years after the Spanish arrival in the land that today is Mexico.

The towering Torito Azteca incorporates inventive components of pre-hispanic design. You can see the little bull's red eyes, white nostrils and red tongue near the bottom center of the photograph.

This intricate guacamaya (macaw) measures at least five meters tall. A strong young man carries the heavy torito on his shoulders and performs a several-minute-long dance. Cheering crowds and a tumultuous local band urge him and his costumed companions to ever faster spins.

Children absolutely love the Festival del Torito de Petate. The little boy on the left is wearing a horse costume held up by suspenders. He's whipping his steed in more and more frenzied circles. The taller boy in the center has a bull costume mounted on his shoulders; Mexico Cooks! could only capture a shot of the bull's tail as the boy whirled to the music.

Sixty neighborhoods participated in one of the last pre-pandemic editions of Morelia's Festival del Torito de Petate. Mexico Cooks! watched the line of elaborately colorful creatures as it formed alongside Plaza Valladolid; the giant toritos were accompanied by crowds of whoop-it-up well-wishers, cheerleaders, and frenetic dancers.

Mexico Cooks! asked this young man why his face was painted half orange, half black. "It matches our torito," he explained.

"I represent the devil, but you know it's not for real. It's just for the toritos dance."

Little ones perched high up on Dad's shoulders for a great view.

The parade of the toritos de petate and its fans and attendees is the best possible excuse for people-watching. Everyone is watching you, of course, and vice versa!

Every age celebrates when the toritos come out. The toy this woman is holding is also a torito de petate. Strolling vendors set up all over the parade route to hawk these little toritos to the crowd of thousands.

Let's all go next year! I'll let you know when the dates are announced.

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30 de April de 2022
Good Friday Procession of Silence, Morelia, Michoacán :: Viernes Santo Procesión del Silencio

Due to the restrictions of COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021, the procession was shown in a different format via virtual transmission. Like many virtual events during the pandemic, a virtual platform was not the same as being face to face with the enormity of the Crucifixion. Viernes Santo (Good Friday) fell on April 15, 2022. For the first time in two years, the actual Procesión del Silencio (Procession of Silence) took place live on Avenida Madero, Morelia's main street.

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

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

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

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

Roman soldiers.

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

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

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

Penitents from one of Morelia's confraternities carry their crosses the length of the procession. Many march barefoot through the city streets. The procession will celebrate its forty-first anniversary this year.

Robed and hooded members of another Catholic confraternity carry a small image of the crucified Christ. As a sign of penitence, tall pointed hoods called capirotes cover the faces of those who march.

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

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

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

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16 de April de 2022
Purépecha Food Fair in Uruapan, Michoacán :: Una Muestra de Gastronomía Purépecha en Uruapan, Michoacán

The Purépecha woman in the foreground pats out tortillas while her companion sorts through a plate of golden, freshly cut flor de calabaza (squash blossoms).

The first two mornings of the huge annual Tianguis de Artesanías de Domingo de Ramos (Palm Sunday artisans' crafts fair) in Michoacán begin with a food fair: la Muestra de Gastronomía. Fifteen or so outdoor kitchens, set up around a charming plaza just a block from the crafts booths, offer cooking demonstrations and inexpensive meals of representative Purépecha dishes. The food, strictly traditional home cooking and rarely seen outside a Purépecha home kitchen, is, in a word, heavenly. The Mexico Cooks! group that I introduced to this 2-day food festival trooped into the food fair just in time for Saturday breakfast. The crowd could have known who we were by the way our mouths were watering with anticipation. This event starts TODAY, April 9, 2022, in Uruapan.

Corn is the basis for the indigenous Mexican kitchen, and the tortilla is the basis of its meals. On the table in front of this woman, you can see the metate (three-legged rectangular volcanic stone grinding stone) and the metlapil (similar to a rolling pin) resting on it, along with the prepared masa from which tortillas are made. Both the metate and the metlapil are hand-carved from volcanic rock.

To the left of the table is the clay comal (a kind of griddle) that in this instance rests loosely on top of a metal drum inside which the wood cook fire is built. Prior to use, the comal is cured by rubbing it with cal (builders' lime). The cal serves two purposes: it gives the comal a non-stick surface and it adds nutrients to the masa as it toasts.

In the past, all of Mexico's women prepared dried corn for masa by soaking and simmering it in a solution of water and cal. The name of the prepared corn is nixtamal. Once it's processed, it's ready to be ground into masa for tortillas, tamales, and other corn-dough preparations. Some rural women still grind nixtamal-ized corn by hand using the metate and metlapil. Some take the prepared corn to their neighborhood tortillería (tortilla vendor's shop) for grinding, and some prepare their masa using commercial dried corn flour. In urban areas, the majority of Mexican families buy tortillas hot off the tortilla baker at the tortillería and carry them home, wrapped in a special towel, just in time for a meal.

This woman prepares her stove, made of part of a metal drum with an opening cut away for firewood. She's spreading a paste made of wood ash and cal on and around the top of the the drum to hold the comal in place. The white streaks on the red clay comal are cal. The volcanic rock metate and metlapil are on the bench in the background. Her well-used clay cooking pots are visible to your left in the photo.

This joyous woman is patting out blue corn tortillas. The masa and metlapil are on the metate in front of her. She's toasting the tortillas and roasting tomatoes and chiles on her clay comal. The comal is set into a clay stove fired by wood. The haze that you see is woodsmoke.

The Purépecha kitchen repertoire includes numerous atápakuas (literally, a type of thick, soup-like salsa served plentifully over prepared food). The Purépecha word atápakua has meaning deeper than its simple definition. Its connotation is food that is picante (spicy), nutritious, and life-sustaining in a spiritual sense. Mexican culinary historians agree that the preparation of atápakuas dates from as long as 400 years before the Spanish Conquest, around 1100 AD, when the Purépecha were strong rulers in the area of Mexico that is now Michoacán.

An atápakua is made from the ingredients that are easily found in the region. The specialty of one tiny village of the meseta purépecha is atápakua del talpanal (wasp larvae). Another town's specialty is xururi atápakua, the principal ingredient of which is cotton seeds. More commonly, indigenous cooks prepare their atápakuas of seasonal and readily available vegetables along with a bit of meat, poultry, or fish.

We of Mexico Cooks! didn't eat wasp larvae or cotton seeds. We inhaled bowls of atápakua de flor de calabaza (thick, soupy salsa served over squash flowers, fresh corn kernels, and chunks of corundas de ceniza (unfilled tamales made with freshly ground masa and wood ash).

In the closeup of the atápakua you can clearly see the corn kernels (closest to the bowl of the spoon), small pieces of calabacita (similar to zucchini), orange squash flowers, and a piece of corunda made of white corn masa. For flavor and color, chiles serrano and cilantro are blended into the cooking liquid. The thin, soupy salsa is then thickened by blending a small ball of masa into the hot liquid. This atápakua is deliciously spicy and tastes as fresh as the garden. I finished my portion and wanted another bowl.

Photo by Steve Sando, www.ranchogordo.com

Churipo, shown above, is one of my favorite Purépecha specialties. Churipo is a hearty soup, the delicious broth flavored by long cooking with beef, cabbage, calabacitas, xoconostle (the sour fruit of a specific nopal cactus), onion, chile, and other ingredients. Served with a squeeze of limón (Mexican lime), a sprinkle of coarse sea salt, tortillas hot off the comal and corundas de ceniza broken up in the bowl, it's a wonderful meal in one dish. If your palate will take the heat, eat some raw chiles serrano along with your bowl of churipo. Remember that the tip of any chile is less picante than the stem end, where most of the seeds are.

Late in the afternoon, after we'd investigated as many of the crafts booths as we could, we were all in need of something very light and fresh for our comida (middday meal). We ordered a fruit plate and a plate of guacamole with totopos (triangular fried tortilla chips) at a local restaurant.

For dessert we found a traditional dulce: limones, with the pulp scraped away, candied and stuffed with cocada (coconut candy). They're so sweet that half of one of these is plenty!

This was such a sweet finish to a fascinating day in Michoacán. If you'd like to travel to this event in 2022, be sure to email Mexico Cooks! in time to save your place on a fabulous food tour.

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9 de April de 2022
Fresh Blackberries Grown in Michoacán :: Rica Zarzamora Producto de Michoacán

Here's another wonderful dessert for a Lenten Friday: American-style blackberry cobbler, made with super-delicious blackberries grown in Michoacán, Mexico. When you're shopping, look at a 'clamshell' of blackberries. Most blackberries that you buy today in the USA and Canada are exported from fields almost in Mexico Cooks!' back yard!

Blackberries are one of the staples of the Mexico Cooks! kitchen. In season nearly year-round, Mexico's blackberries are primarily grown in the state of Michoacán. This bowlful of delicious blackberries is being crushed with Splenda® and a pinch of salt to add to breakfast yoghurt.

In 1994, the commercially cultivated blackberry first arrived in the area around Los Reyes, Michoacán. High in the mountains, Los Reyes offered a perfect climate for the Brazos variety of erect blackberries. The original commercial growers planted only three hectáreas (about 6 acres) of berries.

Developed at Texas A&M University and introduced in 1959, 'Brazos' has been the Texas standard for years and is still a great variety. The berries are large and the plants produce heavily. In Michoacán, this variety starts ripening early in May. The berries are a little acid and are better for cooking and canning than fresh eating. This variety has more thorny plants and larger seeded fruit than many of the improved varieties. In fact, the blackberries offered in Mexico's markets are huge, about an inch long by half an inch in diameter–as big as the ball of my thumb.

Brazos blackberries 'on the hoof'.

Since those 1994 beginnings, local growers have learned a tremendous amount about the cultivation of blackberries. Today, the fruit fields cover more than 4,500 hectáreas in the area of Los Reyes, Tocumbo, and Peribán–almost all in the west-central highlands of Michoacán. The 2009 production reached a weight of 30,000 tons of blackberries–tons! Ninety percent of those were exported to the United States, the primary foreign market. The rest went to Europe and Japan. This quantity of blackberries represents 95% of those grown in Michoacán and 90% of those grown anywhere in Mexico. This rinconcito (tiny corner) of Mexico produces more blackberries than anywhere else in the world.

Shortly before Christmas, Mexico Cooks! was unable to find unsweetened, unflavored yoghurt in our neighborhood shops–and there was a liter of blackberries in the refrigerator that needed to be eaten immediately. They had been destined for breakfast, but one morning se me prendió el foco (the light bulb went on in my brain) and I thought: COBBLER! In the bowl is the entire liter of berries, mixed with sugar, the juice and some grated zest of a limón (key lime), and a bit of cornstarch.

Blackberry cobbler, as you might have guessed, is not in the Mexican food repertoire. However, when all of the ingredients are grown or made in Mexico, maybe it should be. In the photo are salt, baking powder, an egg, two limones, standard-grade sugar, milk, and freshly rendered pork lard. During Lent, I make the topping with butter.

Pre-heat the oven to 425ºF and butter a glass baking dish.

Scoop the blackberry mixture into the pan and gently even it out.

Measure the shortening (you can use solid vegetable shortening or butter if you prefer not to use lard). I always use the displacement method to measure solid shortening: for this 1/4 cup of lard, I started with 1 3/4 cups of cold water in this clear measuring cup. I added lard until the water rose to the two-cup level, then emptied out the water. Bingo, 1/4 cup of lard and no mess.

The flour mixture that will become the dough for topping the cobbler. You see the lard on top of the flour mixture, ready to be worked into it.

The flour mixture should look like this when you finish working the lard into it.

Break an egg into the milk and beat with a fork till blended.

The cobbler, topped with raw dough and ready for the oven. Sprinkle the raw dough with sugar to give it a finished look after baking. The cornstarch that I mixed with the raw blackberries and sugar thickens the juices as the cobbler bakes.

Bake the cobbler for about half an hour, or until the dough is light golden brown. Your house will smell heavenly!

Here's the entire recipe:

Blackberry Cobbler
Ingredients
4-6 cups fresh blackberries
3/4 cup sugar, divided use
1 Tbsp lemon juice
zest of 1/2 lemon
1 Tbsp cornstarch

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/4 cup shortening–I usually use lard, but for Lent I use butter
4 Tbsp butter
1 whole egg
1/2 cup milk

Preparation
Preheat your oven to 425ºF.

Butter the glass baking dish. Mix blackberries, 1/2 cup sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a large mixing bowl. Reserve.

In a separate bowl, mix the flour, salt, baking powder, and 1 or 2 Tbsp sugar. Add the shortening and butter and work them into the flour with your fingers, until the mixture looks like coarse corn meal.

Measure 1/2 cup milk into a large measuring cup; break the egg into the milk. Beat with a fork until well blended. Pour the milk/egg mixture into the flour/shortening mixture and stir until smooth. The dough should not be sticky; if you need to add more flour, start with just an additional tablespoon. When the dough is smooth but still quite damp, it's ready.

Pour the blackberry mixture into the glass baking dish and gently even out the berries with your fingers. Put large spoonfuls of dough all over the berries, leaving some small spaces on top for the juice to bubble through. Flatten the dough a little–use your fingers, and don't worry about how it looks. Sprinkle the top of the dough with a tablespoon or two of sugar.

Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. A serving of your cobbler, topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, will look like this–truly a thing of beauty.

The finished product: blackberry cobbler, hot out of the oven and topped with rich real-cream vanilla ice cream. The red in the background is a countertop trastero (dish shelf), meant to be used for storing small kitchen items. Mine is filled with miniature kitchen-related local artesanías (crafts).

What could be better on a chilly winter evening–a taste of Mexican blackberries, from a recipe straight out of your grandmother's kitchen!

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2 de April de 2022