Sweet cinnamon coffee is a great early-morning energy booster, as well as a good beverage for those who need to stay awake later in the day. My husband calls it “funeral coffee” because cafe de olla is always served at the velorios — all-night wakes — with large trays of sweet rolls. Ingredients 6 cups water 3 heaping teaspoons […]
Continue ReadingThis versatile recipe may be used as a salad dressing or as a dip for crudités or chips. If using as a dip, eliminate the mayonnaise and water. The dressing is approximately as thick as a blue cheese dressing and works best on crisp varieties of lettuce such as iceberg and romaine. Ingredients: ¼ cup raw pumpkin […]
Continue ReadingBy not over blending the sauce once the herbs are added, a fresh flavor and texture of the herbs is retained. I have also enjoyed this sauce over hard-scrambled eggs at breakfast, alongside hot tortillas to make breakfast tacos. Ingredients: ¾ pound firm tomatillos 1 fresh chile serrano 1 medium white onion, roughly chopped […]
Continue ReadingDuring the warm months in Mexico, a variety of tropical fruit-flavored ices are sold by vendors with pushcarts, usually stationed in the parks and in front of schools. In the zócalo – main square – in Puebla, several exotic varieties are available, including those flavored with the local specialty, an egg-nog like liquor called rompope, and of course, the […]
Continue ReadingIngredients: For the beef roullades: thinly sliced beef raw bacon and ham, sliced into strips raw potato, cut french fry style string beans cut into 1″ pieces For the mole: a few lettuce leaves 1/4 cup roasted green pumkin seeds 1/3 cup of roasted sesame seeds 2 small serrano chiles 4-5 tomatillos a few radish […]
Continue ReadingThis stovetop custard is not as thick as one baked in the oven. It is no longer necessary to use a flaming wooden paddle to caramelize the surface, a process that can be successfully carried out using a small butane kitchen torch, sometimes called a crème brulee torch. Ingredients: ½ quart whole milk ½ cup […]
Continue ReadingRussian-Mexican beef soup is obviously a holdover from the Mennonites’ days as grain farmers in the Ukraine, with the distinctly Mexican additions of chile and tomato. The original recipe calls for the cut of beef called chamorro, or shanks, which provides a much richer taste than other cuts for soups. Use bone-in beef shanks because, like the Italian […]
Continue ReadingMake small crab cakes for appetizers or larger ones for lunch or dinner. They can be assembled ahead of time and refrigerated, covered, for up to 4 hours, then fried before serving. The chipotle sauce can be made a day ahead and refrigerated, covered. Ingredients For crab cakes: 1 cup masa harina (corn tortilla flour), lightly toasted […]
Continue ReadingWild mushrooms are found in abundance in the states of Puebla, Tlaxcala and Estado de Mexico during and after the rainy season, and used in soups, quesadillas and vegetable dishes. Although the comadre used escobetas (coral mushrooms) the following recipe may be successfully prepared using fresh cultivated mushrooms. Ingredients 2 pounds fresh mushrooms (if using button mushrooms, […]
Continue ReadingShellfish such as river shrimp and crawfish are found in abundance in the many rivers that run through the vanilla growing region of eastern Mexico. Called xanath in the Totonac language, shrimp are particularly delicious when combined with the flavor of vanilla. This recipe calls for vanilla extract, a product prepared by forcing alcohol through […]
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