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Archive for the ‘Food’ Category

Tejate and tamales

Posted in Beverages, Celebrations, Food, Parks & Plazas, tagged , , , , , , , , on July 27, 2011| 1 Comment »

And now we have the sixth annual Festival del Tejate y el Tamal de San Andrés Huayapam!  A large tent covers half of the Plaza de la Danza and over 100 “tejateras” who belong to the Unión de Mujeres Productoras del Tejate set up shop early this morning to sell refreshing cups of this pre-Hispanic beverage made from corn and cacao.

The festival is part of an effort to preserve the food culture of the Zapotec.  San Andrés Huayapam (aka, San Andrés Huayapan) is about 7 miles north of the city and its main economic activity is the sale of tejate.

Packages of tejate lined up on a table

The festival also features empanadas, hot off the comal…

Empanada being cooked on a comal

and six kinds of tamales:  Salsa verde, Amarillo, Rajas, Verde, Chichilo, and Tamal de mole.A variety of tamales in a metal bucket

I wanted them all!  However, for today’s comida, I opted for chichilo from this gal…

Woman serving tamales

Why chichilo?  The answer is, because I’ve never had that kind before!  Chichilo is one of the seven moles of Oaxaca and is only served on special occasions, such as weddings and christenings, or when the crops have been harvested.  Chilhuacle negro, mulatto, and pasilla chiles; blackened tortillas and seeds of the chiles; and avocado leaves, the latter imparting a subtle anise flavor, give it its distinctive flavor.

Woman reaching into steaming hot cauldron of tamales

She picked out a good one… it was delicious!

People sitting and eating at long tables.

¡Buen provecho!

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Banned in San Fran…

Posted in Food, tagged , , , , , on June 9, 2011| 2 Comments »

Chapulines, illegal???  Say it ain’t so, Joe!!!

Woman selling chapulines from two large baskets.

One of the ubiquitous chapulines vendors in a Oaxacan mercado.

Article from yesterday’s San Francisco Chronicle’s Inside Scoop:

La Oaxaquena banned from selling grasshopper tacos and fried tarantula

Posted on 06/08/2011 at 1:29 pm by Paolo Lucchesi in Controversy

A Channel 7 news report last night brought to light an insect crackdown at popular Mission taqueria La Oaxaquena.
In short, the health department said that La Oaxaquena could no longer sell its grasshopper tacos, because the insects — imported from Mexico — don’t come from an FDA-approved source.
Owner Harry Persaud tells Scoop that the ban actually happened about two months ago, and that it also put the kibosh on La Oaxaquena’s fried tarantula tortas.
“The City is worried people will get sick,” he says, pointing out that no one has gotten sick in the two-and-a-half years the exotic treats have been on the menu.
Persaud says it’s not a substantial loss in revenue, though the unique menu items definitely helped lure out-of-state visitors who wouldn’t otherwise head to La Oaxaquena. Also, he’s sent the tacos to different universities who want to do something clever for their biology department dinner or something like that. The City suggested he raise his own grasshoppers, so he’s flirting with that idea.
(But as Jonathan Kauffman points out, you can still get grasshoppers in San Jose.)
So why did the health department crack down now, after over two-plus years of carefree grasshopper and tarantula dining?
Persaud has a simple answer:
“Because we were in the news too much!”
SF won’t let restaurant owner sell grasshopper tacos [ABC]
La Oaxaquena: 2128 Mission Street, between 17th and 18th; (415) 621-5446

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Challenges and rewards

Posted in Challenges, Food, tagged , , , on March 29, 2011| 2 Comments »

It’s only Tuesday, but it’s been a week already!   Living in Mexico requires a rewiring of one’s brain; wrapping one’s mind around a much more fluid concept of time.   As writer Tony Cohan pointed out, in his book by the same name, one must learn to live On Mexican Time, or endless frustration will result.

This morning I spent an hour at the Telmex office (yet again) attempting to upgrade my internet connection speed; my fourth trip to the office in six days.  Friday, I was assured that it would be taken care of on Monday and that my presence wouldn’t be necessary.  This morning, a check at speedtest.net revealed my connection speed had not changed.  So, off I went with as much documentation, patience, and good-nature as I could muster.  Eventually, after great deal of consultation and computer inputting, I was told all would be well in 24 hours.  We shall see…

Feeling not a little frustrated, I trudged up to my neighborhood indigenous mercado for some much needed provisions.  It’s never bustling with activity nor is it bursting with atmosphere, but it’s my local market and, though unlike Cheers, nobody knows my name, I am recognized and greeted with smiles by the gals who regularly sell me cheese and produce.  And today, there was a woman sitting next to the stairs selling hand (not machine) made tortillas.  My lucky day!

I walked back to Casita Colibrí smiling to myself.   How could I not, when returned home with big ball of quesillo, pimiento, epazote, warm tortillas, 2 aguacates, and flor de calabaza???

quesillo, pimiento, epazote, aguacates, flor de calabaza, torillas

Yummm… comida beckoned!

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