A shared dish of fish roe cooked Veracruz style with tomatoes, onions, herbs, & capers. Veracruz, 2007
Hueva ala Veracruzana
Roadside fruit stand near Papantla, Veracruz
I started my own vintage clothing business!
cactus paddles are a superfood
Best Place to Eat in El Panchan: Doña Felipa
The best place to eat in El Panchan is a little fonda tucked behind Don Mucho’s- follow the signs for the reception for Jungle Palace and follow the laughter to Doña Felipa’s kitchen. Ask what’s available, “Que hay para comer?”
I highly recommend her enormous handmade quesadillas, possibly with grilled bistec and a generous helping of her special salsa de ajonjoli. If she has (cactus paddles), go for it because she slices them extra thin & they are delicious! Her menu is typical of regional eateries: eggs, chicken, chorizo, pork & grilled beef offered as tacos, quesadillas, or al gusto (entree prepared as you like, ie ala mexicana, frito, served with rice & beans, tortillas & salsa…
Breakfasts are $55 pesos and include local coffee, made in the cafe de olla style, but without sugar. We had huevos con nopales and huevos ala mexicana several times. I have to say that coffee has improved leaps & bounds over the last decade in Chiapas. So happy to see the gorgeous coffee grown in the area consumed locally! It used to be so much Nescafe!
Ooh! This is also a great place to drink beer! Caguamas are $45 pesos. Ask for glasses & share with friends.
Doña Felipa is from Oaxaca. She married a Palenque local and lives on a ranch outside of town. All of the food waste is transported to her ranch to feed the chickens, turkeys & pigs. She’s super knowledgeable about agriculture & food traditions of the area. I love how she touches every table, even while her grandchildren were visiting. This is the kind of warm hospitality that makes eating memorable, and is not so often found in the wilds of the jungle.
Exotic dish of Chiapas: Zats, a very nutritious caterpillar 🐛 🐛🐛 Zats, un platillo exótico de Chiapas y con alto grado nutricional | nvinoticias.com
Zats- considered an exotic food, are only available during the months of June, July, and August. Zats are caterpillars living in the cork tree on the hottest days and that presents its larval stage between the aforementioned months.
The municipalities where this rich delicacy is mainly eaten are Chilón, Ocosingo, Huitiupan, Simojovel, and Yajalón. Prepared with the clean, boiling with salt and ending with frying in oil. Seasoned with ground chile and lime to taste.
In the municipality of Simojovel, many families are dedicated to collect, cook and market a worm that the locals consider a delicacy: zats that in the Tzotzil language means worm.
Its collection can be dangerous because the person must climb more than four meters on very thin branches, work that falls on children or very thin people because they must climb the tree and detach the caterpillar.
In an interview with the seller of the Ocosingo market, Mrs. Mari Trejo, who is originally from Tzotzil-Maya and has dedicated herself for years to the preparation of this worm, offers her recipe.
“First I wash it, then I put it in the pot with water, prepare the fire and for an hour’s cooking I add salt, wait an hour to remove it from the heat, drain it in a colander and cook it again with lemon and chili until that broth is consumed,” she said.
Zats preparation is thorough. First, the bowels are removed, then cooked in water with salt and lemon for about two hours. Later they drain to brown them in oil or lard and finally eat it in a very Mexican way, with a tortilla in a taco.
The zats are not alive when eaten, as with other insects, such as jumiles and maguey worms, which are very popular in all the indigenous peoples of Chiapas.
The tradition of eating insects is part of the diet of the indigenous communities of Mexico since prehispanic times since, according to specialists, insects contain a high nutritional level, with between 15% and 75% of proteins.
Throughout Mexico, indigenous groups such as the Zapotec, Tzetzales, Huicholes, Nahuas, Tzotzils, Tarascans, Mayas, consume more than 200 edible species of insects.
Source: Zats, un platillo exótico de Chiapas y con alto grado nutricional | nvinoticias.com
quick translation by me with the aide of el señor google
How to manage — or even conquer! — your cilantro hatred – The Washington Post
When I was working at Mexican restaurants in NYC, I always assumed one’s *cilantro allergy* was a desire of keeping cilantro from getting stuck in one’s teeth.
Are you regularly cooking for loved ones who hate cilantro? Use a combination of other fresh herbs. Over time, you may be able to conquer the aversion.
Source: How to manage — or even conquer! — your cilantro hatred – The Washington Post
Pueblito living: best eatery in the plaza
Lonchería de 3 Compadres in Chicxulub Puerto
Adjusting to living in a pueblito, things aren’t what they seem! In the Yucatan, villages can appear abandoned during the heat of the day. Businesses may appear rundown. Stores look empty. It might take you some time to get into the local groove. Asking locals for their recommendations is your best bet. Don’t bother with google maps.
For example, Chicxulub Puerto, a fishing village on the coast of about 13,000 residents spread along a barrier island between the Gulf Coast & a brackish swamp, is full of vacation homes and business that only open during the high seasons.
I found the local market on my first day and ate a a couple of the loncherías in the plaza. In this part of the world, these eateries stick to masa based antojitos: panuchos, salbutes, and empanadas. They may also we offer soup & tortas. I tried maybe 3 of the morning places and they were all kind eh. Greasy masa, canned tomato sauce, canned beans, sloppy salsas, dirty tables…no gracias! Better to enjoy the local bounty of my own kitchen.
One Sunday, I asked the plant vendor where was good to eat. He gestured to Los Tres Comadres, “Alli se come rico.”
Dios Mío! The ladies running this kitchen take pride in their antojitos. One was grating cabbage for the ensalada de repollo, occasionally stirring the tomato sauce on the stovetop. The other managed the masa & the frying pan. Another handled orders & payment, also running hot panuchos, salbutes & empanadas to the outdoor tables. I
The masa, or tortilla dough, for my antojitos was tender & light, not greasy-even through it had just been removed from bubbling oil. Both the relleno negro atop my salbute & the ground pork filling of the empanada were complex & flavorful. The traditional accompaniments were bright & fresh, totally complementing the fried masa with ensalada de repollo, made from grated cabbage, grated tomato, and tiny slivers of red onion dressed in lime juice; a mild roasted tomato sauce; and a gorgeously picante roasted habanero salsa.
Botanas: Cantina Eats
Around Merida & the Yucatán coast, cantinas are mandatory stops in the afternoon when the heat get to be too much! Cold beers, served as cheladas or in cubetas, accompany small plates (don’t drink on an empty stomach!) If you are lucky, you can choose your soundtrack with a rockola or video jukebox, or if you are luckier, classic cumbias will play from the kitchen where cooks will dance as they prepare your botanas.
Botanas aka mexican apertivos:
Cantinas in Merida & the Yucatan coast offer healthier fare than found in Mexico City. Typical botanas are cooked potato or beets dressed with salt, cilantro & fresh lime juice, Sikil P’aak- a tomato & pumpkin seed purée, scrambled egg & chaya leaf, squash fried in lard, potatoes fried in a suggestion of chorizo, a paste of refried black beans, a stuffed cabbage leaf…And always hot dog salad: sliced hotdogs served cold in a dressing of ketchup, mustard or mayonnaise with onion or jalapeno.
Hot Dog Salad!
