cucumbers and limes

Tamales, Tamales, Tamales

If I were to tell you making tamales is easy, I would only be telling you a half truth. Tamales are not easy. Tamales are not difficult. Tamales are something you are either devoted to, or have no interest in ever making. There is no in between. You do not meet the non-comital tamal maker…

Waste Not: Horchata de Melón

The simplest of things are the ones I most enjoy. Lately it has been glasses full of this drink, made with the pulpy mass of melon seeds which would normally end up tossed into a garbage can. The cuisines of the world are full of dishes made with someone else’s garbage. Offal is what most…

The food of Summer: Coctél de Pulpo y Coco

Let me tell you one thing about living in the heat of Arizona. No, nothing about it being a ‘dry heat.’ Don’t even start with that. No. The thing about the special brand of Arizona heat is this: The human body very quickly forgets how to live with it. Exposed skin starts to freak…

A Quick Note: Accents and Tamales

Some of my least favorite things to be told by a complete stranger: You don’t look Mexican. You’re too tall to be Mexican. You don’t sound Mexican. Your accent is all wrong to be Mexican. You’re not brown enough to be Mexican. And so on. This happens all the time. Living in upstate New York…

Tamales de Jamaica, Granada y Piloncillo

There’s been a journey of months and miles back across the country from the backwoods of upstate New York back to the traffic, car break ins, searing sunlight and heat of the Phoenix desert. But I am glad for the move. Along with all the bad listed above comes the rich flavors of the city,…

Road Trip: Quintana Roo and Yucatan, Part 2

Cobá and Cenote Choo-Ha, Quintana Roo Spending the night at Cobá isn’t necessary for visiting the ruins, as the town is only a short drive away from Valladolid and from Tulum, but once I read the words ‘spider monkeys on the grounds,’ I couldn’t pass up spending the night at Hacienda Cobá. The…

Road Trip: Quintana Roo and Yucatan, Part 1

I went to Cancún so you don’t have to. Well, no. Go to Cancún for the nice warm beach. Have a cocktail or two in a hollowed out pineapple. Then spend the rest of your time cruising around Quintana Roo and Yucatán. We (2 adults and a child just shy of 2 years old) visited the…

Paletas de Pinole y Chocolate

These paletas exist somewhere between comforting cold weather food and icy refreshing summer treat. Just sweet enough, the pinole granules are mellowed by the richness of chocolate. These particular paletas were made with Rancho Gordo’s Pinole Azul, but you can also easily make your own.

April 30th: Children’s Day

You would think the final days of April would bring mentions all over Mexico of the approaching Cinco de Mayo celebrations. And you would think wrong. For the most part, there aren’t many celebrations for the 5th of May. It isn’t a national holiday, and unless you’re in Puebla, is my not be mentioned as…

From the Old World: Empanada Gallega

Some days, making many individual empanadas simply will not do. Some days, the only thing to do is to roll the dough as big as you can and make an empanada gallega. A savory dish, these large round or rectangular Spanish empanadas are stuffed with a sofrito of tuna, or a beef picadillo. Having had…

The most important ingredient when making anything with harina de maíz, is not the flour itself, but the water. The most common mistake in using it, is in making too dry of a dough, resulting in overly lacy edges cracked edges and dense, chewy and flavorless tortillas. This is a mistake I’ve made myself, having…

The Nacho: An Ignacio By Any Other Name

The story is simple. One day, in 1943, in the border town of Piedras Negras, Coahuila, in a restaurant fortuitously placed near the border crossing, a group of American Army wives came in for cold beers and a greasy snack. Don Ignacio Anaya (nicknamed ‘Nacho’ as Ignacios tend to be), the manager at this restaurant,…