Comida!

     Lets talk about food for a moment shall we? This is one of my favorite subjects and it's been hard holding back this long. I LOVE to talk about food, I love cooking it, tasting it and savoring new flavors. I will generally try anything once just to say that I have (insects and certain seafoods excluded). Our mission when we got to Mexico was to try new things. To enjoy foods that we could read about on the internet but were hard-pressed to find in rural Manitoba. Here are some of the most common Mexican dishes we sampled during our stay:

     Antojitos mexicanos

(Photos courtesy of the WWW)

 1. Guacamole: This is made fresh. I mean they don't cut into the avocado until after you order. Basically your ingredients are avocado, cilantro, white onion, salt and lime juice. In my books, this dip is improved with chili powder and tomato but in general, the first five ingredients are par for the course around here.

   2.Salsa fresca: SOOOOOOO much better than canned salsa, this fresh version is made from seeded tomatoes, cilantro, jalapeno peppers (with the seeds), white onion, line juice and salt. You will get this simple dip at every restaurant and corner store...however, beware the corner store variety- you may end up spending too much time in the bathroom as a result of ingesting this tasty gem.

     3. Tortillas de Mais: Corn flour tortillas are the backbone of all Mexican cuisine. Flour tortillas came later, when agriculture was more established in the north- near the states. "Traditionally the corn is soaked and cooked in an alkaline solution, usually limewater, and hulled (called Nixtamal)" (Wikipedia). Then the corn is dried, and ground into flour. From there it is combined with additional ingredients, flattened and cooked. This basic tortilla is your wrap for burritos, enchiladas and several other delicious dishes. If you go on to fry the tortilla you get the most delicious chips your ever tasted (forget Doritos). These chips can be used to pick up your favorite dip, or put into your favorite soup (in fact, there is a soup here that is called simply "Tortilla soup"). You can even coat the fried tortillas in sugar for a dessert treat, although I have looked for it I haven't found this dish yet...   


     4. Mole: This unique sauce pays homage to the Aztecs and uses chocolate as it's base. Using this simple and intoxicating base, Mole transforms into a sauce that is spicy, luscious, hearty and tangy. Other ingredients include chillis, spices, bread and tortillas. Each region in Mexico has its own version of Mole and in my opinion it is always worth trying...just because it really is so different. I had Mole sauce served over enchiladas, stuffed with cheese. Accompanying this meal with rice and beans- another Mexican staple.

  5. Enchiladas: These are tortillas filled with either chicken, beef or cheese ( and possibly fish, although I haven't seen this offered here). The meat is seasoned and the whole enchilada is baked in a sauce. As I mentioned above, once sauce option is Mole but you can also have red or green salsas of varying heat. I have noticed that most of the dishes we've seen have some form of cheese in them but I have the sneaking suspicion that if you were to travel away from the tourist beaten track, you'd find more meat and tortillas and far less dairy.

   6. Chilis Rellanos: This is definitely a dish I'd never seen north of the 49th parallel. You take a Poblano chili, slice it open and seed it. Then stuff it with cheese. Batter and bread the outside and then deep-fry it. Cover it in delicious red salsa (not the same as salsa fresca) and voila. You've got a dish that is fatty, bready, saucy, and cheesy- all in one.

 
   7. Chilaquiles: A typical breakfast food (classified as a dry soup), in a place where breakfast is meant to have testiculos rather than pose as sugar coated Valium. Chilaquiles are red or green salsa with cheese, fried tortillas, cream and your choice of eggs, chicken or beef. You can really imagine vaqueros (cowboys) filling up on this stuff around the campfire in the early dawn before heading out to wrangle some vacas. I'm sure chilaquiles with tequila would have done the trick nicely.

    8. Empanadas: These are basically meat pies. Empanada means to wrap or envelope and so your filling is completely surrounded in dough. At its best, an empanada is flaky and light, but the ones I ate the other night with thick, heavy and kinda gross. Not a favorite, I'd prefer my empanada filled with cheddar cheese and apples.

Drinks

     Being 6 months pregnant I really couldn't attest to much, aside from virgin versions of the common holiday fair: margaritas, daiquiris, pina coladas, and the occasional sip of cerveza. As much as the gangs of young, aggressive-to-the-point-of-being-nearly-hostile, greasy-haired tequila vendors tried to get us to "cummon amigos, take a shot of tequeela" we resisted. From what I can remember of wild nights on the town- tequila tastes like donkey piss. Sorry, but that's just how I feel about it. 

There was one night when Cally drank some of what I assumed was my virgin Pina Colada. Then she started acting weird. A quick taste test made me wonder and I hastily removed  the drink from her blurry sight.