May 2024 – Cooking in Mexico

After three days in our pickup truck, 1,146 miles, and $2,289 pesos for toll road fees, we made it from our home in Jalisco to the U.S./Mexico border crossing at Santa Teresa, just west of El Paso. We have come not for a vacation, but a work trip. However, any reason to go anywhere turns into a food adventure, and we weren’t going to waste this culinary opportunity.

It was a 3-day journey with stunning scenery while driving through the Mojave Desert. But the best part was stopping for breakfast and dinner. We needed sustenance at the beginning and end of each day, and Mexico did not disappoint. A road trip provides new sights, new smiles, and always new tastes.

The end of Day 1 found us at the Restaurante Aires in Zacatecas, weary from a long day of driving. Chicken soup sounded comforting. But it was too late in the day and soup was finished. How about a chile relleno? They were out of that, too. I settled for classic Mexican chicken mole. Spicy, complicated, and oh so traditional, with ground seeds, nuts, chile, chocolate, dried fruit and spices, all simmered and blended into a smooth sauce that bathes chicken or pork in exotic flavors. I ordered chicken. I got pork. Never mind, I was too tired to send it back. Very good and very, very picante! Whoa! If I was lagging before, all senses were awake now. Ay caramba! (I’ve never heard anyone in Mexico say this, but it’s fun to yell out now and then.)

The refritos were delicious, and a restaurant worker, Claudia, told us the beans were flor de junio. Then she sat down and began to sort through eight kilos of beans to remove detritus — bits of plant matter, dried little dirt clumps and little pebbles. This is a typical bean task in Mexico in restaurants and homes, and I’ve sorted through my share of beans, but I have never cleaned eight kilos, over seventeen pounds, at one time! I jokingly offered to help, and she said she would have it done in thirty minutes. She didn’t need this gringa slowing her down.

Zacatecas is an old colonial mining town, and designated a Pueblo Magico, one of 177 towns in Mexico that offer “cultural richness, historical relevance, cuisine, art crafts, and great hospitality”, says Wiki. The muy rico cuisine continued with breakfast the next morning at the little restaurant, Refugio, that adjoined our hotel. I love nopales — opuntia cactus pads — that are a common Mexican vegetable, so I couldn’t resist scrambled eggs with nopal and mushrooms, accompanied by the ubiquitous and always tasty refritos, refried beans.

Russ ordered enchiladas Suisse. I don’t know how I missed this on the menu, but he noticed my gaze going every few minutes to his plate, and gave me one of his enchiladas.

A soft corn tortillas filled with tender chicken and cheese, all smothered with a green chile and tomatillo sauce. Not what you would think of ordering for breakfast, but why not?

Day 2 of this food trip, I mean drive to the border, took us deeper into the Mojave Desert, with towns becoming scarcer and cacti more plentiful. We made it as far as Ciudad Jiménez in the state of Chihuahua, checked into our hotel room, and found dinner at the Barajas Grill. Another delightful menu, another great meal. Plenty of meat dishes for Russ to choose from, and finally a soup for me, caldo de pescado made with mero, aka grouper.

We usually enjoy hotel restaurants in Mexico, and the next morning of Day 3 delighted us with an exceptional breakfast at the Hotel Jiménez Plaza. First, a fruit plate of mango, pineapple and papaya that was so beautiful, I forgot to take a photo in my eagerness to tuck in. Each fruit was at a stage of ideal ripeness and flavor and we had to agree it was the best papaya we have had all year. Mushroom omelets for both of us, with a small bowl of flor de junio beans on the side, and a fiery habanero salsa, which Russ gamely spooned on his omlette, but the fumes were enough for me.

We crossed the border, as enamored with Mexican cuisine as ever. Our next stop was Las Cruces, New Mexico, where we visited the Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum. I had to leave Mexico to experience grinding corn on a metate for the first time. Its hard work! And it’s so easy to buy freshly made tortillas at the tortilleria. This might have been my first and last attempt to grind corn. It’s a workout!

We will return to our home in Mexico soon and the desert blooms on both sides of the border will provide waymarks for our journey.

It has been hot in our part of Mexico. The afternoons have been over 90 F/32 C. lately, and I can only hope this doesn’t foretell the summer ahead. A cold drink would be nice when we are in town. The street stands with beverages always have a 5-gallon jug of cold, icy horchata, but we pass them by. With so much sugar, the sweetness level is over the top for our tastes.

Originally from North Africa, this creamy drink traveled to Spain, thence to Mexico, where it is made with rice, sometimes barley. In Spain, horchata de chufa is made from exotic sounding tiger nuts from the sedge plant, as it is in Africa as well. Someday, I hope to encounter tiger nuts, but until then, rice will do, as it does for thousands of Mexicans.

I made coconut milk for this version. It’s easy with a blender and a fine seive or mesh cloth. Boxed almond, rice, or fresh dairy milk would work just as well.

Start by soaking raw rice (brown or white) and cinnamon sticks in water overnight. Really, white rice is how it’s done in Mexico. I used brown rice, and surprisingly, the horchata was quite white in color when blended. Probably the hull does not make it through the seive. Remove the cinnamon stick and blend until almost smooth. Strain the next day, discarding solids.

To the liquid add milk of your choice (coconut, almond or dairy), sweetener of your choice (sugar, stevia or honey), and vanilla. I used azucar mascabado, an unrefined sugar. While some recipes call for as much as a cup of sugar, I found two tablespoons of sugar plus 8 drops of liquid stevia gave a very pleasant sweetness without the bitterness that can be associated with stevia when too much is used. Chill and serve over ice for the perfect antidote for a hot afternoon. After avoiding horchata for years, I was surprised by how good low-sugar horchata is. Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

Brown Rice Horchata

1 cup/200 gr. raw brown rice (or white rice)
4 cups /1 l. water
1 cup/250 ml. coconut milk (or almond milk or dairy)
2 sticks Mexican cinnamon (Ceylon or cannela in Spanish)
Stevia or sugar to taste
2 teaspoon vanilla
ground cinnamon to garnish finished horchata

Soak rice, cinnamon sticks and water overnight in refrigerator.
Remove cinnamon sticks and blend rice and water in blender until very smooth, about 5 minutes.
Strain through 2 thicknesses of cheesecloth, a nut milk bag or other very fine material.
Discard solids and pour liquid into pitcher. Sweeten to taste and add vanilla and ground cinnamon.
Chill. Serve over ice.

Notes:

~ To help those who don’t have enough hours in the day, instant horchata is common in grocery stores. I suspect that those five gallon jugs of horchata I see on street stands are made from instant mixes.

~ It’s hard to imagine Mexico without rice, but it was not in Mexico until the Spanish arrived. Originating in China, rice made its way around the world, becoming a staple in Mexico. It is the side dish, along with refritos – refried beans – found on most restaurant plates.

~ Cinnamon in Mexico is not the same as the common cinnamon in the U.S. Here, Mexican cinnamon, canela in Spanish (Cinnamomum verum), is widely available and used. Serious Eats describes it as being less spicy, with a flavor that “tends toward vanilla: a warm floral note with hints of heat and honeyed fruit. Though it’s milder, “true” cinnamon possesses a deeper cinnamon flavor that plays well in the background of dishes, especially savory ones.” If you have whole sticks, but are not sure which cinnamon you have, snap a stick between your fingers. If it breaks easily, it’s canela, Mexican cinnamon. The cinnamon common in the U.S., Cinnamomum aromaticum or C. loureiroi, also known as cassia, is so hard that it cannot be snapped between your fingers. Don’t try to grind it in your spice grinder. The grinder may not survive.

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