On Food & Culture
Roasted Anaheim chiles are direct and uncomplicated, with profuse flavor. I think often we miss so much by complicating our everyday, wasting time with artifice. Just look at the beauty of what’s around, take it in, get real and go with it. I think roasting […]
The corn tortilla. Think of it as, well, not a wrap. Not a pita. Not bread, and certainly not a shell. Erase such conceptions and associations, then give a fresh look at this iconic food. In culinary terms, an iconic food is one that is […]
Chef Rico Torres of Mixtli, the famed progressive Mexican cuisine restaurant in San Antonio, Texas, shared his chacales recipe, saying that it evokes memories of his family, and growing up in El Paso, Texas. It is a prized dish of comida casera, home-cooking, along the […]
Guisado de calabacita con maíz is a traditional combination that’s unbeatable for depth of flavor and texture. No creams or cheesy additions are needed here. Paired with steaming, comal-rosted corn tortillas, this ancient combination makes beautiful tacos. Careful, people may actually fall in love with […]
Pinole is roasted corn, ground into a fine powder and sweetened with piloncillo, unrefined Mexican cane sugar. The Tarahumara community in Chihuahua, just south of El Paso is famous for the endurance of runners over long distances and pinole is their go-to nutrition. The Tarahumara […]
Tortilla soup is nutritious, and allows a family to stretch a chicken over several meals. With 6 grams of protein per cup, the chicken stock in this recipe can be used to make three meals for a family of four. Covid-19 means we have to […]
Comfort food doesn’t get better than a tortilla casserole. These are hardship times, Covid-19, so as you make this tortilla casserole, first gather yourself, your thoughts, your emotions, and ask for spirituality to enter your space, then start to cook. This is advice given to […]
Enchiladas Rojas are delicious, delicate and they are traditional. You can buy red tortillas at the grocery store, but I suggest you make some. You can make the red tortillas several days before and keep them in the fridge until you make the enchiladas. I’ve […]
I first ate a tortilla Española on the streets of Madrid, many years ago, at 3 in the morning. The generous, thick tortilla was sandwiched in a 6-inch crusty baguette. I bought it from a guy on the street corner, along with a beer which […]
This pozole, posole, is a vegan delicacy and one of my favorite dishes to serve at dinner parties. Most recipes make pozole with pork, but this is more traditional, because pork arrived in Mexico only about 500 years ago, so before that, we were pork-less […]