No Lard and No Cheese / No Manteca y No Queso

Last week someone from my husband's family said; "I love Mexican food but if I eat it every day I will probably gain a lot of weight." Why? I asked. "Well, because Mexican food is very rich and with all that lard and cheese..." Not all Mexican food is heavy and not everything has lard and cheese, I said. "Really?"

I think it has something to do with their misconception that all Mexican food is prepared with lard. The Mexican food I have shared with my American family is mostly the dishes that they like and that they have eaten in a Mexican restaurant in the United States. They like my food and they always want me to cook beans and salsa for them. When I first made chilaquiles for my husband's family, they thought it was the best thing they ever ate. Until this day every time I visit them all they want is for me to cook chilaquiles; they even have the ingredients ready for when I arrive. I told them I know how to cook other things but they don't care, chilaquiles is all they want!

I hardly ever use lard in my dishes but I guess the person that made the above comment thought I did. The last thing I want is to scared people away from real Mexican food for fear of gaining weight. So, from now on, I'm taking those comments as a challenge. Next time I visit my in-laws (or when they come to visit me), I'm going to prepare a new Mexican dish for them; one that does not include lard or cheese in its preparation; and since there are many, they will be surprised and I'm sure they will enjoy discovering new and delicious Mexican dishes.

This dish may be perceived as unhealthy because part of it is fried. But I assure you, the end product is not heavy or greasy at all. It is a nice vegetarian dish with a light feel and is delicious. Ah! and includes neither lard nor cheese.

Cauliflower Florets in Broth

1 large head cauliflower

4 egg whites and 2 egg yolks

3/4 cup flour

Vegetable oil, enough for frying 

1/2 onion, thinly sliced

1 cup tomato sauce (homemade or purchased)

1/2 cup vegetable broth (can use chicken broth or water)

Salt and pepper to taste

2 teaspoons fresh oregano, finely chopped (can use dried oregano)

Wash and cut cauliflower into small florets, not too big and not too small. Drain and pad dry.

Beat egg whites until stiff. Add the egg yolks and continue beating until just incorporated.

Put flour on a dish and season with salt. Dip the florets in the flour, then into the beaten egg and then fry in hot oil. Place on paper towel to drain excess oil.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet and sauté the sliced onion until translucent. Add tomato sauce, vegetable broth and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the oregano and cauliflower florets. Simmer until the flavors are incorporated, about 10 minutes.

Serve hot.

Buckeyes / Ojos de Venado

María María

A couple of weeks ago I was celebrating my 50th birthday. This year my birthday fell on a Wednesday so my husband and I decided that we were not going to celebrate it until the weekend. However, my crew took me out for lunch and after work my sister, Grace, invited me over to her house for cake. Her daughter and I have the same birthday so she baked a cake for both of us. I really enjoyed my day. 

When the weekend came, on Saturday, my husband told me he made a reservation at María María, a Mexican restaurant relatively new in town. This place is really good - we have eaten there before. The day was very cold and it had been raining thoughout so I really didn't feel like going out. I told my husband we didn't need to go, I was happy to cook something nice at home but he said; "oh no, this is a special birthday and I want to take you out". So, we got ready and headed out to the restaurant. To my big surprise, all my sisters and their husbands were there waiting for me! My husband had been planing this dinner for me all along. I had no idea! This was one of the most precious presents he could have given me. I love my family and having a surprise party at a restaurant with all of them was just so beautiful to me. I adore my husband for being able to keep this a secret and for not letting me stay at home that night. What a great thing to do for me!

Till this day, I think about my birthday dinner and still enjoy memories of the fun we had. So, I wanted to make something nice for my husband to thank him for such a nice birthday present. I made his favorite candy - Buckeye. This is a candy I learned to make a long, long time ago. My mother-in-law taught me how to make it. She makes Buckeyes every Christmas. It is a candy traditionally made for the holidays but my husband loves it at any time of the year. It's made out of peanut butter and chocolate - delicious!

Buckeyes

1 lb. creamy peanut butter

1 lb. confectioner sugar

1 stick of butter, melted

3 C. Rice Krispies (optional)

Mix above ingredients by hand and roll into small balls. Add more melted butter if too dry. Place on a cookie sheet or tray and refrigerate until firm.

In a double boiler melt:

12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips 

8 oz. milk chocolate chips

1/2 bar of paraffin wax

Pick balls with a toothpick and dip into melted chocolate. Place on wax paper and refrigerate or freeze. They are ready to eat as soon as the chocolate sets. 

Farm Eggs / Huevos de Granja

When I was growing up my mother raised chickens for our own consumption of eggs and meat. I remember that I did not like to eat the eggs or the meat of freshly slaughtered chickens. Yes, I ate them because my mother managed to not let me see that fresh eggs were just collected from the chicken coop or that I was eating soup made with a chicken that she slaughtered herself, cleaned and cooked while I was in school. I do not know why but I always said that these eggs were dirty and, as I knew the chicken in life, I would not be able to eat it when served on my plate. The same thing happened with the other animals that were raised at home for our good nutritious food.

I was born and raised in Tijuana, the city bordering San Diego, California. Because of its proximity to the United States, my family had access to many products from abroad. My dad and my older siblings, who worked in San Diego, always brought home bags of groceries with American products. I remember those frozen chickens that, when cooked, were white, unlike the yellow flesh of my mother's chickens. She always told me that hers were more nutritious. And yes they were - the eggs too.

Hens raised in a healthy outdoor life, with good food and clean water lay firm eggs with yolks with a more intense color and a thicker shell and, more importantly, these eggs are more nutritious than the ones from chickens raised in a factory, like the ones sold in supermarkets. Now I buy my eggs at farmers' markets and directly from the supplier from a local farm where chickens roam freely in open spaces and have access to green pastures - happy hens like my mother's.

At the market I find different types of chicken eggs and, occasionally, duck and turkey eggs. Eggs of different sizes and colors but the color of the shell has nothing to do with the nutritional value of eggs. White and brown eggs are most common in the markets. I read that the color of the hen indicates the color of eggs it will lay - the White Leghorn chickens, the most common type in the United States, lay white eggs. Rhode Island Red hens lay brown eggs. Blue eggs are from a chicken called Araucana native to South America and its relative, the Ameraucana. Whatever the color, I like it! And the more simple its preparation the more I appreciate its flavor.

Eggs in Cocotte

(for 2)

2 tsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature 

2 turkey eggs (or 4 chicken eggs)

3 Tsp. heavy cream

2 tsp. fresh tarragon, finely chopped

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Butter two individual casseroles or ramekins. Break 1 turkey egg (or 2 chicken eggs) into each casserole, then top each with 1.1/2 tablespoons of cream. Sprinkle with fresh tarragon and salt and pepper to taste. Bake in a 350°F oven for 7 minute. Serve hot accompanied by bread and your favorite side dish.

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

New Year Wishes / Deseos de Año Nuevo

"May you get all your wishes but one, so you always have something to strive for." - Irish saying

Happy New Year Everyone!