On Food & Culture
I did not grow up eating mushrooms in our San Antonio Westside home, but the umami flavor in these mushroom and chile tacos certainly would have been a hit when we would gather around our yellow Formica and chrome trim kitchen table. I discovered mushrooms …
Mesquite Agua Fresca is a naturally sweet and deeply refreshing beverage rooted in the ancient food traditions of the Texas Mexican region, spanning South Texas and northeastern Mexico. Made from ripe honey mesquite pods, the pods are gently boiled to release their rich, honey like …
Mesquite Pan De Campo is my version of the popular Rio Grande Valley bread, Pan De Campo, baked outdoors in the beautiful south Texas landscape. I make it with with mesquite powder (flour) to reclaim the mesquite traditions of our ancestors. For millennia, our ancestors …
This avocado and kidney bean salad is creamy but with no lactose. The adjective “creamy” does not require actual cream from cows, as this recipe clearly demonstrates. The bite of white kidney beans is naturally smooth and creamy. Together, kidney beans and avocado make a …
Cactus and pinto bean salad is an iconic meal. You’ll never go wrong pairing these two ancient and iconic ingredients: nopalitos and pinto beans. The pairing is as natural as you can get. The Caddo people, known as the Hasinai kingdom, grew beans and traded …
The Chicano 50 cocktail marks the Golden Anniversary of the year I founded the San Antonio CineFestival: 1976–2026. The 50th anniversary refers to the founding of the festival in 1976. Stewarded by San Antonio’s Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center since 1981, San Antonio CineFestival continues in …
This delicious soup is both savory and sweet, and it provides a remedy when the days bring on relentless heat. The sweetness of mango is tempered by the acid of vinegar and a bit of onion, and I think you’ll like the refreshing taste of …
This poem by Nikki Darling was written ca. 2019 to honor Dolores Huerta. It’s prescient. Points to abuse of women by men, most often hidden. The shame of Cesar Chavez is now bravely brought to light by Dolores Huerta. The pain. Her immense courage! “A …
Nopalitos are sometimes pickled (en escabeche), but here the vinegar combines with chile guajillo for a light dressing. These nopalitos asados, roasted, echo the traditional hot dish, nopalitos with red chile . Its a wonderful appetizer, letting your guests slice off portions and enjoy with …
Although we never ate them in our home when I was growing up, spinach enchiladas are common in many Texas Mexican restaurants, served as a vegetarian dish. Spinach is related to beets and Swiss chard. It was first cultivated in Iran over 2,000 years ago, …