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changelingI'm going to have my birthday party in late August (it'll be my 23 & 6 months party), and I'm going to go with a Mexican Fiesta theme. It'll be fun and exciting for me, because I'm going to do some research and go as authentic as I can with the food.
On the other hand, it'll bedifficult as all hell challenging, as much of Mexican cooking relies on meat and cheese. Some dishes I've adapted, but there's a whole lot (particularly quesadillas) that I haven't even tried yet. I don't think I've made a Mexican soup yet, but I'm interested in the tortilla soup (it's a dry soup, or pasta. I'm learning stuff!) I don't want to resort to pretend food like fake cheese or fake meat. I may recant this for the sake of trying out a vegan quesadilla, but I'd rather such a thing be a bonus rather than the main thrust of the meal.
The other problem is that there's stuff you just can't get here. I've never cooked with cacti for a very good reason – they're generally not considered food here. I've never seen a tomatilla. Hell, I've never seen blue or white corn, or green tomatoes. The chaps in![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
mexicanfood mentioned a herb I've never heard of (epazote?). I don't really believe in importing food, or using tinned food, though I might see if I can get canned cacti (I forget the Mexican word for it and it's too late to look it up) from USA Foods. I'd like to make everything from first principles, as it were. So, I hear you ask, why make life so hard for yourself?
Because I love Mexican food. I really, really love it. I love a vegetarian chili almost drowning in cumin. I love adding cayenne, paprika and chilli. I love what a good combination of tomato, red onion and corn can do. I love tortillas. I love home-made salsa and guacamole. And I love challenging myself to find ways of making non-vegan food.
I already know I'm going to include sweet empanadas, in ode to the recipe I begged off![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
saunteringdown and then didn't get around to cooking before she defriended me (all her posts are friends-only, so I just can't get back into it. Sigh). I've also got this idea for making chocolate-stuffed chocolate-covered chillis based on this recipe – though mine will be stuffed with some sort of chocolate mole, I think, and then half-dipped in chocolate the way strawberries are. And I'm going to make wholegrain Mexican wedding cookies as per 101 Cookbooks. I'm probably also going to make my orange-spiced dark chocolate mudcake, not because it's Mexican, but because it's bloody delicious, and made with freetrade Central American chocolate.
I have what seems to be a pretty good resource book in my Mexican Cooking book, by Roger Hicks (that I borrowed from my parents), but I don't want to rely on it for all my recipes. I'd like to get as many "authentic" recipes as I can, ideally from friends and so forth, especially since there seems to be a dearth out there on teh intarwebs, and on Livejournal (shock horror!).
Also the number of my friends and family that I invite will affect what I cook, and how much. I'd love to have a sit-down meal – based on what little I know of the Mexican comida – but that's obviously impractical since I'll be inviting more than four–six people. It's clearly going to be a stand-up buffet sort of thing. I'd still like some sort of concept of courses, though.
Steph said that the day of the party she and I should eat In The Mexican Way, complete with marienda (second breakfast – which always reminds me of Hobbits) and siesta.
And now a final thought from my love, who hijacked my computer when I went to turn off the heater and blow out the candles:
It's the sleepy time now so I have to go byebye and turn off the heater and come snuggle.
sleepying time.
I have to go. I have so many more ideas to note down, and so many more plans to make, but my love is mewing for me to come to bed, and I can't resist that. Not to mention the now physical as well as emotional pain that she's in due to work.
To bed.
On the other hand, it'll be
The other problem is that there's stuff you just can't get here. I've never cooked with cacti for a very good reason – they're generally not considered food here. I've never seen a tomatilla. Hell, I've never seen blue or white corn, or green tomatoes. The chaps in
mexicanfood mentioned a herb I've never heard of (epazote?). I don't really believe in importing food, or using tinned food, though I might see if I can get canned cacti (I forget the Mexican word for it and it's too late to look it up) from USA Foods. I'd like to make everything from first principles, as it were. So, I hear you ask, why make life so hard for yourself?Because I love Mexican food. I really, really love it. I love a vegetarian chili almost drowning in cumin. I love adding cayenne, paprika and chilli. I love what a good combination of tomato, red onion and corn can do. I love tortillas. I love home-made salsa and guacamole. And I love challenging myself to find ways of making non-vegan food.
I already know I'm going to include sweet empanadas, in ode to the recipe I begged off
saunteringdown and then didn't get around to cooking before she defriended me (all her posts are friends-only, so I just can't get back into it. Sigh). I've also got this idea for making chocolate-stuffed chocolate-covered chillis based on this recipe – though mine will be stuffed with some sort of chocolate mole, I think, and then half-dipped in chocolate the way strawberries are. And I'm going to make wholegrain Mexican wedding cookies as per 101 Cookbooks. I'm probably also going to make my orange-spiced dark chocolate mudcake, not because it's Mexican, but because it's bloody delicious, and made with freetrade Central American chocolate.I have what seems to be a pretty good resource book in my Mexican Cooking book, by Roger Hicks (that I borrowed from my parents), but I don't want to rely on it for all my recipes. I'd like to get as many "authentic" recipes as I can, ideally from friends and so forth, especially since there seems to be a dearth out there on teh intarwebs, and on Livejournal (shock horror!).
Also the number of my friends and family that I invite will affect what I cook, and how much. I'd love to have a sit-down meal – based on what little I know of the Mexican comida – but that's obviously impractical since I'll be inviting more than four–six people. It's clearly going to be a stand-up buffet sort of thing. I'd still like some sort of concept of courses, though.
Steph said that the day of the party she and I should eat In The Mexican Way, complete with marienda (second breakfast – which always reminds me of Hobbits) and siesta.
And now a final thought from my love, who hijacked my computer when I went to turn off the heater and blow out the candles:
It's the sleepy time now so I have to go byebye and turn off the heater and come snuggle.
sleepying time.
I have to go. I have so many more ideas to note down, and so many more plans to make, but my love is mewing for me to come to bed, and I can't resist that. Not to mention the now physical as well as emotional pain that she's in due to work.
To bed.
