El Chupacabra Martini will set your honey’s heart afire. The fiery red blood orange juice infused with the explosive Brazilian aphrodisiac of acai is sure to make sparks fly. Hints of guava and pineapple nectar in this drink are fruits from Puerto Rico (where Chupacabra sightings were first reported). This sensuous drink with a beautiful […]
Continue ReadingMade with lime juice and sweetened with sugar, agua de chia, or Mexican chia seed drink is especially popular during Mexico’s hot spring season. The seeds absorb and hold liquids, thereby helping to prevent dehydration, and the drink is delicious as well as nutritous. Ingredients 1 cup chia seeds 2 quarts water 1 cup sugar […]
Continue ReadingThis beats any lemon or lime ade I’ve ever tried. Its sweet-and-tart zing makes it a good substitute for margaritas if you want to serve appetizers without alcoholic beverages. The recipe comes from my consuegros, Teresa and Enrique. ( Consuegros literally means “co- inlaws” and is used in reference to the parents of your son – or daughter-in-law.) […]
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In addition to being served in Mexican homes during the Christmas and New Year holiday season, hot Mexican holiday punch, or ponche navideño is sold at night by street vendors who ladle it out from steaming cylindrical vats. The tejocote is a small fruit, golden in color when mature, similar in taste to an apple, but with a pastier […]
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This recipe, from the state of Jalisco, is usually served as an aperitif before a fiesta meal. In Mexico, the word ponche is most often used to mean a fruit-based alcoholic beverage. Upon aging, this drink becomes similar to a fortified wine like Madeira. I usually squeeze a large quantity of pomegranates during September when they are […]
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Although grown most frequently in the tropical coastal areas of the country, plantains are found in markets all over Mexico, where they are called plátano macho and look like bananas on growth hormones, ranging in color from bright green and unripe to nearly black and looking overripe. Like the banana, the plantain is an herbaceous flowering plant, […]
Continue ReadingSweet and juicy, cantaloupe melons make a delicious agua, one of the most popular with visitors and newcomers to Mexico, probably because of their widespread use as a breakfast fruit in the U.S. Ingredients: 1/2 cantaloupe, seeds and rind removed, diced (about 1½ – 2 cups diced melon) 1 quart water 1/4 cup sugar, or to […]
Continue ReadingThis seasonal adaptation of a traditional manchamanteles — “tablecloth stainer” — uses the fall season’s apples and pears instead of the usual pineapple; sweet potatoes instead of plantains; prunes instead of summer’s tomatoes; and hazelnuts instead of almonds. Mexican winter fruit mole with hazelnuts is a good example of a recipe that can be adjusted […]
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México está bendecido con abundantes frutas tropicales. Se sirven frutas en platos elegantes, vasos y bolsas desechables que se venden en las esquinas. No importa que tan humilde sea el lugar, las frutas en bolsa siempre se cortan en tiras o gajos uniformes y se sirven con limón fresco y chile en polvo si lo […]
Continue ReadingPineapple seems to be the most common fruit filling for empanadas in Mexico, but guava and apple are frequently used and delicious. The dough for sweet Mexican empanadas usually contains some sugar, but any basic empanada dough can be used, sprinkling sugar on top. Ingredients For the dough: 3 cups all purpose flour ¼ cup […]
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