Fruta con chile

Ground chili pequin peppers, with their glorious 100,000 scoville units of pure spicy bliss~

…alternatively, “100,000 units of pure eternal damnation”, if you’re a wuss B/

Along with added salt and lime juice, the chile is generously spread atop your rabbit food of choice, from the citric pineapple and oranges to the refreshing wateriness of cucumbers and watermelon, this stuff goes with anything, and that anything will become your hot summer fruity romance~ - A-

Cut them all in any shape and size you want: slices, dices, triangles, cubes, stars, butterflies, that flower like shape mangos got there, the only limit is your imagination. And self-respect probably. I mean who the hell puts chile on bananas and berries? People who stoped loving themselves that’s who - .-

Taco Tuesday: Al Pastor

Estos si son tacos y no chingaderas ♥`w´♥

La carne al pastor is the result of a careful blend of many spices, such as achiote, pepper, chiles, paprika, and many more, applied to multiple layers of steaks for marinating, which are then stacked one over the other in a vertical metal stick to form what is known as el trompo and cooked sideways with an open flame.

Only the outer side is seared, and el taquero cuts thin slices of it which fall straight into the tortilla, along with a slice of pineapple that helps tenderize the meat further, as well as provide a wild mix of sweet and spicy tastes we mexicans love.

these are small taquitos, so they serve as a full meal or a snack no matter what, and can be enjoyed with both salsas verde and roja, minced onions, coriander and lime juice everywhere, no city nor pueblo is safe from having at least one tacos al pastor stand~

Camotero

Ah, the oven on wheels that crosses the city by nightfall, offering the baked goods within: sweet potatos, either regular or caramelized; platanos machos and nopales. When it’s whistle pierces the air, you know the camotes are coming, so you better get the milk ready.

Get ‘em while they’re hot, steaming straight out the oven, and enjoy them with condensed milk, jam, honey, chocolate, cinnamon… a treasure trove of sweetness for any night at the city~

La India María

María Nicolasa Cruz was an indigenous woman from the town of San José de los Burros, and as many of the indigenous populace of Mexico, she lives in poverty, but makes due with what she has and lives happily, honestly, without worries.

With a humor fit for the whole family, María was often placed in ridiculous situations, like being a luchadora, a motorciclist, a bullfighter, politician and even a rich lady. But the main focus of her movies was at reflecting the Mexican vices of the time: racism, discrimination, corruption, crime… all of them contrasted by her honest and generous nature, as a hard-worker who gets taken advantage of, but who always finds a way to overcome the dificulties of the world.

María Elena Velasco, the actress behind La India, passed away in the early hours of May 1st, 2015, at the age of 74 years.

Fray Tormenta

A holy fighter, Sergio Gutiérrez Benítez is a priest and founder of the orphanage “La Casa Hogar de los Cachorros de Fray Tormenta”

He donned the mask of gold and red for a good 23 years, in an effort to bring money for the orphanage, making his identity a secret so the fights were taken seriously. The last 10 of which he spent fighting only ocasionally, finally retiring in 2011.

Sound familiar? you bet your ass, this man’s an inspiration, both for Tekken’s King and the 1991 french movie L'Homme au masque d'or

…and Jared Hess’ Nacho Libre I guess - .-

Fray Tormenta has also become a supporting character in the Mexican comic Místico: El Príncipe de Plata y Oro, since he is fellow wrestler Mistico’s mentor IRL, and the baton has been handed to another one of his kids, who is only known as Fray Tormenta Jr.

To this day he still wears the mask every so often during masses, and continues to inspire his children to overcome the adversity to become great people.

Pan Mexicano: La Rosca de Reyes

A yearly tradition, eaten either at breakfast or at night, along with a steaming cup of hot choco goodness - 3-

In Mexico, the spongy dough is covered with crystalized figs, ates (that’s ah-tehs. A candy, not a verb. We’ll talk about those later.) cut into strings, cherries and… that sweet powdery topping from conchas… does it even have a name idfk.

Hidden inside are one or more “monitos”, small plastic figurines in the shape of a toddler. The tradition in Mexico dictates that whoever gets a slice with a monito inside has to host a fiesta on el día de la Candelaria (february the 2nd), or buy/make tamales for it.

There’s also traditions around it in Spain, Argentina, Colombia, Portugal, but hell if I know the full extent of those - .-

Aguas Frescas

Soft drinks made from fruits, flowers, cereals, seeds, your mom, all blended with water and sugar. Simple, quick to prepare, refreshing and all-natural, and always present in fondas, markets and juice bars.

The flavors are nothing like what powders and concentrates can offer, and being all natural means they also are healthier than processed juices and sodas.

The most prevalent are lemon, orange, horchata, hibiscus and tamarind; meaning you can find these almost everywhere.

But other flavors that you can find, at juice bars and ice cream shops mostly, are cantaloupe, pineapple, strawberry, guava, mango, papaya, alfalfa, cebada, soursop, passion fruit, watermelon, cucumber, or any wild combination of them all that the maker can come up with.

Served ice cold, they’re perfect life partners for summer~

El Pozole

A favorite classic of the holiday season, commonly seen at after-party breakfast tables.

The basic recipe calls for cacahuazintle maize, nixtamalized and boiled in water, with optional meat and seasonings. Simple as that. Any other thing is open to the imagination.

During cooking, the maize slowly pops much like popcorn, except nothing like popcorn at all. It just embiggens and fractures, becoming a flowery shape. After it does this the meaty ingredients can be added to the mix. Spicing it up during cooking is what makes it have a characteristic color, either red or green depending on the spices used.

And then there’s white pozole, a blank canvas for anyone eating to decide the flavor. Unless the cook forgets to provide salsas and condiments, cuz then you’re left with a plate full of bland shit and anguish.
SERIOUSLY WHO EVEN SERVES WHITE POZOLE AND DARES CALL IT A COMPLETE MEAL BY ITSELF??

Corn tostadas, oregano, limes, coriander, radish slices and julienned lettuce are often served to accompany the dish.

Los Tacos de Cabeza

Tortilla wraps offer a myriad of posibilities, of recipes and of course flavor in the filling. And oh boy, I can not do justice to these in a single post, so let’s have a weekly taco talk, ok? Ok.

Let’s start it off with the steamy meat delight of tacos de cabeza: made with the steamed meat from a whole cow’s head. All of the meat.
Tongue, eyes, cheeks, ears, brains, snout, you got them all.

Because it is cooked by steam, the meat conserves more of its nutrients and avoids the added fats from oils, as well as being prone to overcooking and burning. The meat is elastic and soft, since there’s an abundance of collagen that doesn’t quite break down while cooking.

A common dish for late night dinners, los tacos de cabeza can be eaten at taco stands all over the country, since there is always at least one, no matter how small the town may be. As such, local butchers will normally have the heads reserved for them, so if you want to make your own, for a huge fiesta (one head alone can easily feed about 30 people) you gotta request the head in advance to them.