Discover and re-discover Mexico’s cuisine, culture and history through the recipes, backyard stories and other interesting findings of an expatriate in Canada
All wheat-based bread in Mexico has a clear Spanish or French influence, and this particular one can be traced to Spanish recipes, but some families have been baking this bread in the Mexican state of Oaxaca for several generations. Pan de yema translates as “yolk bread”, an apt name since a batch contains several eggs and a few extra yolks, giving them their characteristic flaky texture and slightly yellow tone … click on title for more
Pan de muerto (literally, bread of the dead) is a sweet bread that is almost always included in Day of the Dead offerings, and traditionally eaten on November 2nd. It is fashioned in a round shape which may represent the natural and endless cycle of life and death, and decorated with small pieces of the same dough to symbolize bones and tears … Click on image for more
In the Mexican state of Yucatán, sweet peppers, moderately hot such as xcatik, or extra spicy habaneros, are frequently served with the regional food, either by themselves, or as part of sauces and quick pickles. Habaneros have an impressive range of 100 000 to 300 000 Scoville units, so I decided that including Filius Blue peppers instead of habaneros in the following two recipes, should be much more tamed in comparison … click on title for more
I think Swiss chard is an under-appreciated vegetable; often called to be used “instead of spinach”, it has got a bad reputation because its flavour is stronger and a tad bitter. In the garden, however, it is more resilient than spinach, and has a much longer growing season, even thriving through the hot summer months, as long as some shade is provided. Since I had a good supply of tomatillos and a beautiful harvest of Swiss chard at hand, I decided to prepare them together in a traditional Mexican stew … click on title for more
Although all the ingredients in this recipe originally came from the Old World, Mexican cooks adopted them and embraced their use while creating this and other dishes of their own … click on title for more
