My favorite Mexican breakfast dish is Chilaquiles, but Machaca con Huevos is a close second. Part of why I love this dish so much is the incredible memory I have of the first time I had it. When I was 18 years old I walked across the border into Mexico with a backpack and Acapulco as my destination. Over the following week I made my way overland more than 1,500 miles to the beach resort. Much of my trip was made by train, largely in American Pullman cars from the early twentieth century. Some of these were in bad need of repair, but others had been preserved and/or restored to their original glory. I spent just a few extra dollars on the route from Guadalajara to Mexico City to travel in first class with my own sleeper compartment and dining service. The dining car was amazing! Mahogany paneled walls, etched glass table dividers, white table linens, and waiters clad in jackets and bow-ties. Lucky for me the first class section was fairly empty, so I was able to sit in the dining car, watch the scenery and chat with the staff for much of the 30 hour trip.

Always interested in cooking, I asked for a tour of the small galley kitchen. Though the chef was surprised that an American teenage backpacker would ask such a thing, he granted me entry and explained all of his equipment with great pride. The stove, cooktop and cooler were all clad in bright stainless steel, which was immaculate and lovingly maintained. Cooking was done on a flattop griddle heated with wood carcoal…not brickets, but logs that had been burned down to pure carbon and still retained their original shape. Refrigeration was achieved with blocks of ice. One item that stood out was a hunk of dark brown beef hanging from a shelf. It was hard as leather and completely dry and at first I wasn’t sure it was food, but thought maybe it was some sort of Santeria talisman. When I asked about it the rail chef explained that this was “machaca,” and that they cooked it with eggs in the morning for breakfast. He also showed me how it was prepared by cutting off a strip going with the grain and the pulling apart the fibers, which he placed into a molcajete. He then started to pound the dried meat with the mortar of the molcajete until it softened and became almost like cotton or wool in consistency. He allowed me to taste some and it was a bit like beef jerky, but beefier with less salt and no sweetness.

The next morning I eagerly made my way to the dining car and ordered “Machaca con Huevos.” I ate and fell in love with this simple dish as the train threaded it’s way south going through low-shrub desert and up into the greener mountains on the way to Mexico’s capital city. Originally made of wild game, such as deer, by Aztecs and other indigenous peoples, machaca can now be purchased pre-pounded and packaged. Look for it in your local latin markets. I picked some up in Mexico recently and made it with eggs at home. Not as picturesque an experience as that first machaca I had over 20 years ago, but you can click the widget below to try my recipe.

Finally, below are scans of the packaged machaca I brought back from Mexico.

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In the far corner of my grandma’s kitchen, below the telephone and in the bottom drawer, is where my grandma stored all her old aprons. Most of them were the ones that tied around the waist, some of them the kind you wouldn’t really cook in they were so nice (like the sheer and frilly organza one), some I think were made by my great-grandmother. Whenever I was at my grandma’s house I’d make a beeline for that drawer and spend hours tying all the aprons around my waist to make a big poufy skirt. I’d twirl and twirl and twirl.

Sometimes my grandma would tell me to choose one apron and come help her in the kitchen. I’d sit on the shiny red vinyl stool at the big wooden island and wait patiently for instructions. I remember one such day when we were about to bake. She’d go in and out of her pantry and place what seemed to me countless ingredients on the island: flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, baking powder. Then, the biggest bar of chocolate I’d ever seen. Mind you, I must have been around four or five years old and at that moment my grandma seemed like Willy Wonka. She saw the look in my eyes (she raised five daughters, she knew the look) and said to me,”That’s baking chocolate, honey, it’s not sweet.” I didn’t listen and the next time she turned her back for another pantry trip I bent down and scraped my little teeth on the big bar of chocolate.

“Eeeeeeew!”

“I told you, dear,” my grandma said sweetly, giggling a bit.

Oh how I loved those days. But apparently I didn’t learn much. On a trip to Mexico I found a bag of cocoa nibs at a sweets shop and bought them. Cocoa nibs are chocolate in their purest form. They’re roasted cocoa beans that haven’t been crushed and transformed into unsweetened chocolate. In a nutshell (or nib), they are definitely not sweet.

Barnaby said to me, just like my grandma all those years ago, “They’re not sweet, you know.” I knew (even though I’d never tasted one), but I popped one defiantly in my mouth anyway. It wasn’t the “Eeeeew!” I experienced in my grandma’s kitchen, but it wasn’t necessarily “yuuuum!” either, at least at first. After chewing it a bit I was able to get past the bitter taste and enjoy the lovely natural cocoa flavors.

Best of all, it made me remember that day spent baking with my grandma and the first time I snuck a taste of baking chocolate.

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Normally this time of year I’d be writing about wine spritzers or something refreshing. Certainly not hot chocolate. But it’s been so cold here in Seattle I would swear it’s winter. Mark Twain once said, “The coldest summer I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco” Well, I’m sure he’d say the same about Seattle right now. Didn’t we just have a heat wave?!

So to take the chill off I cranked the heat up, threw an extra blanket on top of the already-down-quilted bed, and made a big mug of Mexican hot chocolate.

Mexican hot chocolate makes Swiss Miss taste like pond water. Rich dark chocolate that’s laced with cinnamon and coarse sugar, it’s thick, frothy and warms you up like a hug from Granny. In fact, one of my favorite brands, Abuelita, means Little Grandma.

Break one tablet into 4 cups of milk and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Stir the mixture frequently with a whisk until the chocolate is melted and frothy. Traditionally, Mexican chocolate is beaten to a froth with a whisk-like wooden implement called a molinillo. Since most of us don’t own such an item you can pulse a small amount of the cocoa in a blender, then ladle on top of your beverage, much like a barista does with the foam of your latté. Drink immediately (you won’t want to wait anyway).

If you really need to take the edge off, add a splash of whiskey. A dash of chili powder is pretty good, too.

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Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Do you really know why we celebrate this day? Most Americans do not. Here’s why: because it gives Americans just one more day to get their drink on. Or so it appears that way.

Actually it’s a celebration of Mexican heritage and pride. But, I bet if you interview people on the street and ask them why we celebrate this day they’ll probably look and you and exclaim, “So we can drink margaritas!” Or, they will say it the Mexican version of Fourth of July. But, Cinco de Mayo is not, as most people think, Mexican Independence Day. In fact, it’s a regional holiday celebrated primarily in the state of Puebla to commemorate the Mexican victory led by General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín over French forces in the Battle of Puebla on, you guessed it, May 5, 1862.

But it gives us an excuse to indulge on Mexican cuisine and beverages, so arrrrrrrriiiiiiibbbbbaaaa!

Here’s one of my favorite Mexican beverages: the michelada, which is essentially lime beer. Micheladas are refreshing, light and don’t fill you up like sweet/salty margaritas. Nor do they leave you with a nasty tequila hangover the next morning.

Michelada

1. Salt the rim of a tall glass and fill it with ice
2. Squeeze in the juice of half to a whole large lime (I prefer mine very limey so I add a lot)
3. Pour in your beer of choice, preferably Mexican…it is Cinco de Mayo afterall!

Enjoy and be safe!

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I love Mexican food. So much so that I think I was Mexicana in a previous life. Actually, I say that when I eat just about any food, really. I’ve been Japanese, French, Italian…you get the picture.

My newest love is mole. You’re probably saying, “Well, what took you so long?” Honestly, I had a bit of a bad experience years ago (I’ll spare you the gory details) and have been a bit averse to trying this rich dish again. But with a less whimpy belly, a fierce gusto for food and a recent trip back to Mexico, I tried it once more.

“Holy mole this is good!” I cried with gastronomical glee. I.Am.Hooked.

I know visually it may not knock your socks off, but believe me taste-wise it will.

Mole (pronounced mo-lay) is like curry. In fact, mole is a generic term for “sauce” and, like curry, comes in a variety of flavors. Such as, guacamole, or “avocado sauce.”

Probably the most well-know mole is Mole Poblano which is made from dried chili peppers, a whole gang of spices such as cinnamon and cloves, ground seeds and nuts, Mexican chocolate (stay with me now, it’s great), aromatics…oh the list goes on!

It’s no easy thing to whip up a mole. Well, a good traditional Mole Poblano, that is. It can take days to prepare a truly authentic one. But the good news is there are a variety of premade moles readily available at your local Mexican market or markets that carry ethnic foods.

We bought a Mole Verde (green mole) and prepared it with chicken like so:

We julienned some red and yellow peppers along with a large sweet yellow onion. Then we sauteed them in a large pan with a bit of olive oil until browned, removed them from the pan and set aside. In the same pan we heated up some more olive oil and browned a whole chicken (cut into parts). Once browned we added the pepper and onion mixture to the chicken. In a separate saucepan we heated the entire jar of mole and a bottle of white wine (minus a sip or two – wink, wink) until thoroughly mixed. We then added the sauce to the chicken and simmered the whole shebang for hours. You want to simmer at least a good two hours to allow the flavors to truly marry.

Muuuuuy delicioso!

If you have nothing better to do on a Sunday afternoon try one of these great mole recipes from Ramekins. I specifically like the sound of Mole Poblano #5.

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Well…sorta…

During our recent trip to Mexico, we discovered a new product: Agave Syrup. As our loyal readers will remember, tequila is distilled from fermented sugars of the Agave plant. This syrup is made from the very same plant by boiling down the sap or nectar. It is very similar in consistency to maple syrup, so we decided to try it on waffles this morning. The flavor is sweet like other syrups, though a bit more acidic and with a faint flavor that is indeed reminiscent of tequila. The bottle claims Menos Calories, !Más Sabor!…which translates to “Less Calories, More flavor!” I’m not sure what the manufacturers are comparing it to, but I did enjoy the the flavor on my gofres. To learn more, check out the Molino Real Website, available in English and Spanish.

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When you land at the airport in Obregón, Mexico, as we did on our way back from Puerto Vallarta, you can buy candied apples for $2 a piece. And here’s the best part – the Mexican Immigration and Customs officials are the ones selling them! Like Girl Scouts selling cookies they have them sitting right there on the desk in a cardboard box. A dozen or so beautiful tamarind candied apples wrapped in cellophane and tied with little ribbons. I’d love to know how the wife suckered her Customs Official-husband into selling her apples to tourists. “Gustavo, just a few, por favor. They’ll love them, just you wait.” And we did. On the way down we bought one and the way back we bought five. How do you like them apples?

After tasting the tamarind apple I will no longer be able to eat a regular old caramel apple (when was the last time I had one anyway I cannot tell you). It was unlike anything we had ever eaten. Crisp Granny Smith apples were wrapped in a paste made of tamarind (a sweet and sour fruit pulp), chili powder, sugar and salt. The result is a perfect balance of sweet, sour, salty and spicy.

Wouldn’t it be nice if our Customs officials sold sweet little treats to tourists…apple by apple we could whittle away at the national debt!

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No matter how hot and humid the weather, we are always drawn to the smell of freshly made tortillas in Mexico. While meandering around the old-town section of Puerto Vallarta, we happened upon “Tortilleria La Gloria,” a fresh Tortilla factory. A staple and omnipresent element of the Mexican diet, “Tortillas de Maiz,” or corn tortillas, date back to pre-Columbian times. Originally called “tlaxcalli” by the Aztecs, the Spanish conquistadors named them for their familiar “Tortilla Española,” an egg and potato omelet still popular in Spain.

Traditionally, tortillas are made from corn meal that has been treated with the mineral lime, which causes it to release important amino acids. If this step is skipped, a diet high in corn can lead to a horrible dietary disease called Pellagra.

Inexpensive and versatile, it’s easy to understand why Mexicans love their tortillas. We’ve been eating them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The folks at La Gloria were kind enough to allow us to photograph their operation behind the scenes.

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Since we are in Mexico, I thought it only proper that I dedicate at least one blog post to the venerable chili pepper. Here in Mexico you often hear the refrain “si no pica, no es comida,” which roughly translates to “if it’s not spicy, it’s not food.” Suffice it to say that folks here absolutely love their peppers! Chilis are considered “traditional” ingredients in Chinese, Thai, Indian, Korean, and many European cuisines, but in reality all forms of chili peppers originated in this part of the world. Columbus brought them back to Spain five centuries ago, from there they were the disseminated throughout the world and integrated into local tastes.

Today there are literally hundreds of types of chilis grown in a vast array of size, shapes, colors, flavors and levels of spiciness. The Chili Pepper Institute provides some fascinating facts and trivia if you want to learn more. You may also want to check out the Hot Sauce Blog and the PepperFool.

We visited an herb and spice shop called La Abejita (the little bee) in the small town of Buceries, which stocks a rich mosaic of dried chilis. Here’s a short slide show of some of their selection:

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I’m in Mexico on vacation and have been reflecting on that fact that I’ve spent of about 2 years of my life here altogether….boy has the country changed over those years! When I visited for the first time in the early eighties, I was a high school language student in the colonial town of San Miguel de Allende. Back then, Mexico was suffering from hyper-inflation and almost nothing was imported, so I experienced deep immersion in the traditional foods and drink of Mexico. It was then that I first tried Tequila, which originated in Mexico and still can only be produced here by international accord. Though many Americans are familiar with the drink, few know much about it’s origins in the town of the same name. Even Wikipedia fails to properly explain how it’s made, something I hope to find the time to remedy. A more recent discovery on my part is “Agavero” a sweet tequila liqueur that’s wonderful on the rocks as an after dinner drink.

Rather than give you the a full account of tequila, for now I’m going to content myself with drinking the stuff along with salt and a nice slice of lime. However, if you must know more, here are a few good resources:

http://www.itequila.org

http://www.tequila.net

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