The Melting Teapot

A recent post over on the Will Write for Food blog led me to think about my own ties to Mexican food. I wrote a quick response in the comments section, then I opened up Word on my laptop to write more. . . and more. . . and more. . .

Mexican food has been a big part of my culinary life.  I lived in Las Cruces, a small city in southern New Mexico, for a bit more than a decade.  My years living there took place at a time when I was learning what it meant to plan meals and cook on a student and part-time teacher's budget.  The harsh desert climate makes for spectacularly hot chiles that are at the center of New Mexican cuisine, but it also creates a wonderful setting for growing herbs and (oddly enough) juicy melons with big flavors.

A drive south across the border into Juarez meant a shift away from the enchiladas and chile rellenos. Instead, the food experiences tended toward restaurants that featured thick and spicy Mayan barbecue sauces, taquerias (which always had long salsa bars full of pickled peppers and chunky pico de gallo), and my personal favorite -- small cafes that offered queso fundido.  It has been too long since I've tasted any of that stringy cheese, melted in little stone pots on a grill, served bubbling hot with freshly made corn tortillas and a wide range of salsas.  Yum!

Developing a Taste for Tea

While living in New Mexico, I began to explore more loose leaf teas than ever before.  In part this was because of Internet discussion forums, which often provided information about vendors who would send catalogues of tea choices (pre-Web, so no web sites at that point).  It was also because of a fun little shop near the university, called Spirit Winds.

Spirit Winds offered the full range of teas from Republic of Tea, all served in small pots with instructions for brewing.  You could get as much hot water as needed, so it was possible to camp out at an outdoor table for a while.  I often graded papers (or read books for my own graduate studies) while sipping cups of tea and munching on a pastry. Sometimes there’d be another student strumming a guitar at a nearby table, providing a backdrop for those of us studying while we drank our tea and coffee.

Local Wine

Wine was something I loved but couldn’t often afford.  Luckily, there are several wineries in the state, and the wines are usually quite easy on the pocketbook.  The wines I could afford weren’t necessarily world-class, but they were better than most cheap wine (and way beyond wine in a box or a jug)**.  One winery had a tasting room in Old Mesilla, an historic town located within Las Cruces.  You could taste wine at their tasting room during the day, or at night you could buy a bottle at the back of the nextdoor theatre to share with friends while watching a film.

The century-old Fountain Theatre is a tiny place, tucked into an old adobe building. There are murals painted on the stucco walls, rows of old movie theatre seats (torn out of another old theatre), and small café tables at the back.  For a few dollars, I could watch an artsy or indie film, sip wine, and munch on popcorn.  Volunteers who worked the food service area could watch a movie and munch on popcorn for free.

Recipes from New Mexico: Pico De Gallo

I’ve been thinking it would be nice to use this blog to feature some of the recipes and techniques I learned while living in Las Cruces: Chile Rellenos, Posole, Red Enchilada Sauce, Chile Verde, Chile con Queso, Restaurant Salsa, Guacamole, Mexican Rice, even Green Chile Brownies. 

I’ll be working these in from time to time.  Let’s start it off with the basic recipe for Pico de Gallo, which is served on top of soups, in tacos, and spooned onto plates of just about any dish you order in New Mexico.

In Spanish, Pico de Gallo means the beak  of a rooster, and it refers to the zing that you would feel if a rooster pecked you.  It should be hot – you are looking for something that will add that peck to what you’re eating.  It should be fresh, so the zing resides against a nicely cool contrasting flavor.  It is used more as a condiment than it is a dip, although it can also be great on chips or tostadas.

Often a wedge of lime is served next to the pico de gallo; spoon the pico onto your food, then give a quick squeeze of lime juice on top.  If you’re making a small batch of pico, stir the lime in when you make it.  For a large batch that you might want to keep around for an extra day,  serve the lime on the side instead so the tomatoes don't break down to mush after a few hours.

Pico de Gallo

Mix the following together in a medium-size glass or ceramic bowl, then let it sit in the frig for  at least 30 minutes (an hour is better).

• 1 small white onion, chopped fine
• 2-5 jalapenos, depending on your heat tolerance, chopped into small pieces (remove the seeds and veins if you want it to be less hot, keep them if you want it to be muy picante)
• 2-3 cups of chopped tomatoes (use a firmer/meatier type like Romas, so they don’t fall apart when marinating)
• ½ cup chopped cilantro
• juice of 1 large lime (use 2 if the lime isn't very juicy)
• drizzle of olive oil
• salt to taste

**A Quick Footnote: I've been taken to task a bit for saying that New Mexico wines are not "world class."  I  refined my statement to reflect that wines I drank were not necessarily top tier, lest readers think that all of the state's wines are terrible.  Honestly, even the low end wines were very easy to sip, and they provided a great starting point for someone who couldn't afford more than a few dollars a bottle (back in the 80s & 90s). NM has an interesting history with wine, and I've been told there are vineyards that go back a few centuries.  For the past few decades, winemakers of NM have worked very hard to resurrect these vineyards and the wine culture that accompanies it.  It is difficult to find these wines outside of the desert southwest, but if you visit New Mexico make sure you try some.

Coming Tomorrow, Part 2: The Tastes of New Mexico I Miss Most

On the weekends, my husband and I usually drink assams or black tea blends brewed English-style (in a brown betty).  However, this morning’s pot of assam just wasn’t hitting the right notes for me, and I decided to start over with something quite different – a puerh.

I’m hoping my memory is correct about this tea because I’ve had this particular puerh cha for a few years now.  Although the puerh is done in a cooked style, it is still in a pressed cake form, and (if I remember correctly) it was made from my favorite type of tea: golden yunnan.  I believe this was purchased online from Yunnan-sourcing about 5 years ago, and the cha was probably pressed into cake form not long before that.

If any of my Chinese-reading friends can spy a date on the paper wrapping, please let me know!

A slip of paper from the tea makers was included in the puerh cha, with information in both Chinese and English.

YUNNAN CHITSU PINGCHA

Yunnan Chitsu pingcha (also called Yuancha) is manufactured from puerhcha, a tea of worldwide fame, through a process of optimum fermentation and high-temperature steaming and pressing.  It affords a bright red-yellowish liquid with pure aroma and fine taste and is characterized by a sweet aftertaste all its own.  Drink a cup of this, and you will find it very refreshing and thirst quenching.  It also aids your digestion and quickens your recovery from fatigue or intoxication.

My Tasting Notes

Brewed in an yixing pot, using standard gongfu methods (boiling water, multiple infusions).

The puerh's color is darker than the slip of paper described; it is more of a red-brown.  The liquid is definitely clear, not muddied, but the unmistakable aroma of mud that characterizes Yunnan black teas is quite evident.

This tea has an aroma and flavor reminiscent of a dense forest floor, mushrooms, and damp green vegetation. It leans more toward black tea rather than green tea end of things.  There is a pleasant mustiness that reminds me of a library filled with old books.

We are currently sipping our fifth steeping of the tea, and it remains as strong in character as the first cup.  I believe we’ll be able to steep this several more times throughout our day, enjoying many small cups of tea.

Today was a very busy day, and it was getting late, so I pulled together a quick and easy dinner tonight -- Penne (whole wheat) in Vodka Sauce (Trader Joe’s Organic).  Yup, I boiled pasta and heated up a jar of spaghetti sauce.

It wasn’t all jars and dried goods, though.  I also steamed a beautiful whole artichoke, using a special artichoke steaming rack I purchased many years ago.  It is much like this one, offered at Amazon.com:

I was tired and wasn’t feeling very creative, so I pulled out a bottle of Italian wine that was sitting on the sideboard. . . mostly because I hadn’t tucked it away  in the racks yet.  The wine I grabbed was a  2004 Giovanni Manzone Barolo Bricat. I didn’t actually expect it to be a perfect pairing, but at least it would be a nice glass of good wine after a hard day.

It was rather surprising to find that the match wasn’t bad at all.  In fact, it was quite an intriguing pairing.  Against the rich, naturally buttery artichoke, some of the secondary elements of the Barolo began to shine.  In particular, the wild, weedy, herbaceous finish really came through.  The tannins were evident, but the natural oils of the artichoke helped balance those a bit.

Of course, this was a lighter Barolo than most I’ve had, especially given how young it  is.  Usually, Barolo is one of those wines that really needs several years to tame the beast.

I purchased this bottle last week after attending a Barolo tasting at a local wine shop (Fine Wines in Redmond).  Here are my notes from that night:

The bottles had been open for at least 4 hours before the tasting. This was the lightest in color and the least aggressive wine of the evening. It seems to be ready to drink now.

Super light in color, as light as a translucent pinot. It has a very pretty nose. The man next to me (Joe) loved the aroma and called it a "bowl full of roses.” The tannins aren't as aggressive as in most Barolos.  Strawberry, raspberry, in some ways a one-note wine (not incredibly complex, but still quite tasty). Unlike the others sampled tonight, I can actually taste the finish  because my mouth hasn't been shut down by the tannins.

Now, as I sip an after-dinner glass of the wine while writing this post, I am getting a nice tangy rhubarb among the the raspberry.  The nose is absolutely stunning, and in spite of the light color of the wine it is full of flavor.  It is not a cheap wine, but for a good quality Barolo the price is reasonable.

Over on Amazon.com's Al Dente blog, StellaCadente* posted a charming video of her goddaughter helping to make Strawberry Lemonade.  Head over there to read the blog post for the full story and recipe, but here's the video:

Watching her video made me think that there must be many more youtube videos of kids cooking, so I went on a bit of a hunt for some cute young chefs.  There are indeed many videos of all ages of children having fun with their own “cooking shows,” or making special treats with parents.  What follows are some of my favorites.


I love how this next little girl actually pays attention to the location of the camera, thinking about the audience more than her mom, and moving things around to showcase them better.

Take the egg. . . take the egg. . . take the egg. . .

Justin, of Justin’s cooking show, makes French Toast.  He’s so careful when he cracks the egg that it doesn't break, and then he worries that the egg is hardboiled!

Little Chef seems to have a series of youtube videos, during which she offers up tips and sage advice as she cooks.  Here she takes on a salsa and egg pita snack:

Sme-ells Delicious!

This young chef isn’t just baking cookies, she’s trying to make a difference in the world.  Join her as she bakes Crispy Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies for a bake sale to raise money for orphans in other countries.

I love the cheerful British accents of this father and son cooking in their PJs.

A good friend of mine is off to Taiwan for a very special tea tour this weekend.  I'm looking foward to vicariously experiencing the trip through her eyes and know she’ll have many photos and stories when she returns.  Hopefully, she'll be willing to share some of them with readers of this blog.

Here’s a poem for Jan, to send her on her way.

Passing a Mountain Hamlet in Late Spring Perchance

In this mountain hamlet
Of handful houses watered by a streamlet
Damsels were merrily picking tea fresh
From the east to the west!
Strolling on a stone lane,
Wondering why I left foot prints light and faint.
Not knowing all over the sky,
Pine flowers were flying high.

Wu Zao
c. 1799 - c. 1862