Recipes and Essays

Breakfast Taco, Sausage and Egg

Breakfast Taco, Sausage and Egg

“Chorizo Country” and egg is a hearty and traditional Texas Mexican breakfast taco.  Just ask anyone in central or south Texas.   Add some freshly made tomato and Serrano chile salsa and you’ll be ready to save the world! The best breakfast tacos are made with […]

3 Mexican Lenten Dishes

3 Mexican Lenten Dishes

Mexican Lenten dishes celebrate the enthusiasm and imagination of culinary artists intent on designing pleasure within the confines of proscribed public penance. Abstaining from meat during the fridays of Lent, avid cooks could return to the indigenous Texas and Mexican traditions of plant-based cooking. Nopalitios, […]

Why Caesar Salad Reminds Me of César Chávez and Dolores Huerta

Why Caesar Salad Reminds Me of César Chávez and Dolores Huerta

Caesar Salad always reminds of of César Chavez and Dolores Huerta because Romaine was our lettuce of choice during the 1970 United Farm Workers lettuce boycott. On August 24, 1970, César Chávez and Dolores Huerta, leaders of the eventual United Farm Workers Union, called for […]

Chorizo Bean Dip –  Frijoles Con Chorizo!

Chorizo Bean Dip – Frijoles Con Chorizo!

Chorizo bean dip is tangy, and the minced pickled Jalapeños enhance the tang with that necessary Mexican bite. This recipe tastes great with canned pinto beans that are sold as “refried” but with no fat. You can also use a good-quality store-bought chorizo. However, I […]

Dulce De Calabaza – Pumpkin Candy

Dulce De Calabaza – Pumpkin Candy

You can honestly call this famous Mexican candy iconic. Pumpkins are native to Mexico, and the oldest domesticated pumpkin seeds were discovered by archaeologists in the Oaxaca Highlands of Mexico and dated to over 7,500 years ago. Sweetened and served either syrupy or crystalized, dulce […]

Mesquite Candy Balls

Mesquite Candy Balls

The mesquite tree has been part of the Texas landscape for at least seven thousand years. The technique for making the candy balls is the same grinding of mesquite that Cabeza de Vaca chronicles in his 1542 journal about Texas, where he describes our Texas […]

El Tiempo Cantina – Savory Native Traditions

El Tiempo Cantina – Savory Native Traditions

FOCUS ON HOUSTON:  El Tiempo Cantina is the final feature in this 5-part series for diners who are looking for a unique Mexican dining experience. Houston is home to many fine Mexican restaurants, gracing every neighborhood of the city, but in this series I focus […]

Texas Mexican History – Ninfa’s

Texas Mexican History – Ninfa’s

FOCUS ON HOUSTON:  Texas Mexican history is the fourth  topic in this 5-part series for diners who are looking for a unique Mexican dining experience. Houston is home to many fine Mexican restaurants, gracing every neighborhood of the city, but in this series I focus […]

Houston’s Cosmopolitan Traditions – Taquería Chabelita

Houston’s Cosmopolitan Traditions – Taquería Chabelita

FOCUS ON HOUSTON: Houston’s cosmopolitan traditions make up the third topic in this 5-part series for diners who are looking for a unique Mexican dining experience. Houston is home to many fine Mexican restaurants, gracing every neighborhood of the city, but in this series I […]

Native Comida Casera – Doña Maria

Native Comida Casera – Doña Maria

FOCUS ON HOUSTON:  Native comida casera is the second topic in this 5-part series for diners who are looking for a unique Mexican dining experience. Houston is home to many fine Mexican restaurants, gracing every neighborhood of the city, but in this series I focus […]