Although it is tempting to describe a fellow human as Nut of the Year (as in “My landlord is crazy, he’s gotta be nut of the year”), in this case, we’re referring to the pistachio, which has been named Nut of the Year 2015 by Baum and Whiteman, a food consulting company that follows culinary […]
Continue ReadingFor months after we moved to Mexico several years ago, my favorite place to eat here in Cholula was a hole-in-the-wall tortería called Tortas Alex. Although a Mexican torta goes far beyond what is normally described as a sandwich – it was something delicious, satisfying and comforting when we needed it most. This was long before tortas […]
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Mexican Kitchen The warm season in Mexico is not summer, but spring, especially right around Semana Santa, which is probably why many people try for an Easter vacation near water. Whether heading for the beach or the local balneario (usually a huge outdoor pool) most have two things on their minds. One is a dunk in the […]
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Wings have landed everywhere. There are endless varieties of these once humble chicken parts, and numerous restaurants are dedicated to serving them. Mexico is no exception to the wing craze, but the many establishments offering these tasty nibbles seem to focus on American style preparations. There are versions of American barbeque wings, hot wings, honey […]
Continue ReadingAs anyone who has ever eaten a comida corrida – the “daily special” at restaurants in Mexico – knows, the course called sopa seca will either be a plate of rice or some shape of pasta with the ubiquitous tomato sauce. Up until recent years, this sauce hadn’t varied much since the colonial era, but the influence of Mexican […]
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Mexican Kitchen The winter season brings with it a culinary conundrum. Part of you craves the comfort foods, mostly creamy and carby, that the cold weather seems to inspire. Some of this is induced by childhood memories of Mom baking bread and cooking hearty stews as chill winds blew outside. Another part of you is […]
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Although the Mock Turtle sang the praises of “soup of the evening, beautiful soup”, here in Mexico it’s “soup of the day”, that first course that is required on any comida corrida menu. Most Mexicans do not consider their main meal complete without a bowl of soup to start it off. Comforting, nourishing, easy to swallow, soup […]
Continue ReadingThis month, as the Equinox marks the start of spring, the idea of planting a garden begins to seem like more than a distant dream. Northerners look toward the return of warmer weather, and south-of-the-border farmers anticipate the advent of the rainy season. But, while the time for sowing seeds is still at least a […]
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One of my younger daughter’s most vivid food memories of Mexico was her first taste of tamarind candy. As a newly-arrived fourth grader, fascinated by the huge assortment of candies available nearly everywhere, from the dulcerías to the corner store, she seemed determined to try all of them. But the one that hooked her, with its tangy, […]
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Foreigners in Mexico often complain about the quality of the potatoes. They are accused of everything from being unbakeable (too hard) or gummy (too soft). These are not baking potatoes, but in a number of Mexican recipes they do work quite well. When I first arrived in Mexico over 20 years ago, I heard a […]
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