It's not my intention to generalize but, I think we Mexicans are experts in creating something from nothing and nothing gets in our way when we want to fix something that has been damaged. We don't need to have the right tool or all the materials, when we get an idea in our head no one can stop us!
Where there is a will there is a way, they say - I believe it. I don't know how many times I saw my father make this saying a reality. If he didn't have a hammer he used a stone. If he didn't have a screwdriver he used a knife. If he didn't have... well, you get the idea. I think I inherited my father's ingenuity. Once while spending a weekend in a cabin with my husband's family I was asked to prepare a hot sauce. After roasting the peppers and tomatoes we realized there was not a blender in the cabin much less a molcajete. I had to go find a rock, which I thoroughly washed and used to mash the tomatoes and peppers in a wooden bowl. Last November I had to use a stone to pound a turkey breast because I didn't have a mallet so I managed to pound my turkey with a small stone. I have spread cookie dough with a bottle of wine; I have used a glass to mash beans, and much of that sort. But which Mexican has not done that?
It has been several weeks since my oven broke. Even if I wanted, I wouldn't dare using my "Mexican ingenuity" to fix my oven. Things like gas and electricity are better left to the experts. I have improvised with some recipes commonly prepared in the oven but I made them on the stove top.
I won't write the recipes but I'll show you pictures. You will have to use your own ingenuity to prepare these meals.
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| Roasted acorn squash stuffed with chanterelle mushrooms, leeks and gruyere |
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| Grilled flat bread topped with onions, chard, chicken and smoked mozzarella |
