Mexican Ingenuity / Ingenio Mexicano

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.

Roasted acorn squash stuffed with chanterelle mushrooms, leeks and gruyere

Grilled flat bread topped with onions, chard, chicken and smoked mozzarella

Unexpected Spuds / Hallazgo Inesperado

I love growing potatoes because when it's time to harvest, it is like digging out a buried treasure; I never know how many potatoes I will find, it is always a big surprise! 

I started growing potatoes by accident. A couple years ago around Thanksgiving I bought sweet potato to make a pie but I had one too many. I stored the extra potato in a cover in my kitchen and forgot about it. A couple weeks later I found the forgotten tuber sprouting some leaves. Its leaves looked kind of nice so I decided to place it in water and let it grow on my kitchen counter. Later I transplanted  it into one of my flower beds and, again forgot  about it. But when I saw it blooming I started watering regularly and taking care of the plant. The foliage of a sweet potato plant is beautiful! The leave have a very nice green color and the flowers are white with a purple center. I never grew potatoes so I didn't know what to expect as far as  food but I was happy just having the plant as an ornamental one. 


Several months went by and my sweet potato plant kept growing and producing beautiful flowers that eventually died and the plant started to look not so beautiful. I read about cultivating sweet potatoes and learned that it was time to harvest. What a great surprise! Rich and I started digging expecting to get three or four potatoes but we couldn't believe our eyes when we kept getting potato after potato to sum about 25. What a great feeling!

After that year, I started growing other kinds of potatoes; fingerling, purple, red and new potatoes. Some of which I planted myself and some just started growing on their own (because we bury our kitchen scraps all over our garden). This year I have several potato plants going and I have already picked a few potatoes. 

Potatoes are some of my favorite foods. I like them cooked any way but lately, I have been making potato pizza. Sometimes I make the pizza dough, sometimes I buy it at Mona Lisa,  my favorite Italian store, and sometimes I use flat bread. 

Indian flat bread brushed with avocado oil. Topped with new potatoes, asparagus, blue cheese and sprinkled with parmesan cheese and more avocado oil. 

Precook the vegetable in the microwave for 2 minutes on high. Arrange on the bread with other ingredients and bake in a 350°F oven for 10-15 minutes. Serve hot.

Pita bread brushed with olive oil. Topped with a layer of fontina cheese, purple potatoes and sprinkled with shredded parmesan cheese and more olive oil. 

Precook the vegetable in the microwave for 2 minutes on high. Arrange on the bread with other ingredients and bake in a 350°F oven for 10-15 minutes. Serve hot.

This is a dip pan pizza made with store bought pizza dough and topped with rainbow chard, onions and new potatoes.

Sauté the vegetables in a little bit of olive oil, season with salt and any spices you like. I used curry powder and a mix of a Middle Eastern spices that have cinnamon, cumin and cardamon. Shape the dough into a cast iron skillet and top with vegetables. Cover with a mix of mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Sprinkle with olive oil and bake in a 475°F oven for 25 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes before serving.