Holy mole, smokin' pozole! Fifty ollas de barro lined up, simmering away.
Didi Rose checks her ollas of pozole, both rojo y verde.
Tables ready for 200 + guests. (We ate early.)
View towards Lake Pátzcuaro.
Condiments: giant limón wedges, chopped onions, shredded cabbage, chopped green chiles.
A bowl of pozole verde with pork, seasoned with tomatillos, cilantro and chard.
A bowl of red pork pozole.
Crepas de Flor de Calabaza at Sanborn's Casa de Los Azulejos, México, D.F
Super Molcajete Taquería Los Compadres: enough food for more than four hungry persons.
Super Molcajete closeup
Sr. ?, owner and chief cook of Taquería Los Compadres.
Verduras a la vinaigreta; from a recipe of a Señora de Sahuayo, in a Diana Kennedy book.
A Torta Ahogada is, literally, a "drowned sandwich". This one is a bit atypical: a homemade bolillo was filled with sliced spicy roast pork, simmered in a thin, slightly picante tomato broth, and heaped with American style, creamy Garlic Slaw. It was super good, too, accompanied by a chilled Cerveza Modelo Especial. In some ways, it's not too different than a Southern Pulled Pork Sandwich with slaw.
Torta Ahogada. Another lighting.
Asian vegetables in Mercado San Juan, Mexico City
Gusanos rojos de maguey, Mercado San Juan, Mexico City
Hongos silvestres, Mercado San Juan, Mexico City
"Pan corriente", or "regular, ordinary bread", as sold in Capula, Michoacán. Besides being handsome, the bread is characterful, very slightly sweet, with a moist, open crumb.
Kiosco/gazebo in Capula.
Woman flicks fly whisk over fresh fish.
Another woman and her fish for sale. This was on Ash Wednesday.
Assorted pan dulces for sale on the street, Capula.
"Ojitos", or little eyes. Flaky pastry rings, filled, in this instance with a thickened, pudding-like cinnamon atole.
Catrina Logo in the Artisan's Co-op in Capula.
Mariscos "El Puerto", near the pass between the Capula and Quiroga valleys. This looks very nice, with a short menu, but we chose not to eat there.
Instead, we stopped impulsively at "Los Pavos", also known as "El Jacalito de Los Pavos". It's down the road in the direction of Quiroga from Capula. The name's something like the "Turkey Hut". No turkey on todays' menu. You must come on Sunday for Mole de Guajolote and other dishes.
The old sign and name.
The ample interior.
A sneal peek into the kitchen. It's very clean and well organized. They often host bus tours and can handle a crowd. But the next day, three of our group, who drank the limonada, got quite ill.
Salsa roja: potent stuff.
Salsa fresca of tomatoes, onions, and chiles manzanos. Tasty but not too ferocious.
Enchiladas Suizas: chicken enchiladas in salsa verde, covered with melty cheese and creama. Muy muy ricas.
Costilla de res. Actually, something like a blade steak cut. Reportedly rather chewy but tasty.
Mole de Pollo con sopa de arroz. Standard but good mole.
Bistec a la Mexicana. Diced beef steak with sauteed peppers, onions and tomatoes. Tasty. Served with a bowl of frijloes de olla.
List of prices of regular items at Los Pavos.
Printed menu, with more extensive listing. Not all are necessarily available at any one time.
The señorita bonita haciendo las tortillas a mano.
Pollos Asados al Carbón "El Tejabán", near Tzurumútaro, Michoacán.
Pollos al carbón, seasoned with salt and pepper, chile and freshly squeezed orange juice.
Señor "Doctor" Pollos.
Patitas de Cerdo en Vinaigre, de la Cenaduría La Lupita. febrero, 2004
Cazuelas de arroz and mole at a fiesta
"Birria", Las Cuevas style, for a fiesta.
Exquisito mole, hecho por Carmelina.
Sopa seca de arroz. This one was very well made: not overcooked and not greasy.
Pickled nibblers to tide you over while waiting for the plato fuerte
Carne en su Jugo
Garnishes for Carne en su Jugo
Carnitas "Lalo", Las Cuevas: El cazo
Carnitas "Lalo", Las Cuevas. Hija Norma, izquierda, Lalo a la derecha
Carnitas "Lalo", Las Cuevas. Norma chica y Lalo
Carnitas "Lalo", Las Cuevas
Chiles en Nogada
new facilities for better senior living
The tasting was for the benefit of el Asilo de Ancianos
Preparing the tortillas for enchiladas
Enchiladas de pollo placeras
Cado de trucha close up
Caldo de trucha
Gorditas dulces
Platos regionales
Dessert table
Banner Announcement
Chocolate Joaquinita
A Torta Ahogada. Resized for APIAS.
El "Monstruo Verde" when it was young, vigorous and hungry. "Feed Me!"
In the Autumn, hordes of horny grasshoppers mated and ate the Monstruo Verde. Not much was left.
Chucha asked if they might dig up the roots. These are edible and cooked as you shall soon see.
Mateo knocks down the improvised trellis where the Monstruo Verde once reigned.
The freshly dug "raices" or roots, awaiting their fate.
I call this raiz, "Big Daddy."
A day or so later, the roots are cleaned boiled and peeled.
Verónica separating eggs by a method new too me: break out the end of the egg, holding the yolk back with a fork and letting the whites run into a bowl.
Verónica whips the egg whites.
A pot of caldillo or salsa for the battered and fried slices or chayote root.
On the back of the stove, a pot of "salsa colorada" simmers, waiting to receive the fried chayote slices.
Chucha tests the heat of the frying oil by hand.
The chayote slices are briefly swept through the capeado batter and placed in the hot oil.
Chucha watches the frying with a close eye.
A plate of Arroz Mexicana and Raiz de Chayote en Salsa Colorada.
My contribution to la comida: pechugas de pollo relleno de acelgas y queso Provolone; cocido en aceite d' olivas y vino blanco con ajo y hierbas frescas. Encima, perejil sobre una cama de macarrones con más jugo de vino reducido y tomates frescos picados y tiritas de pimientos morrones de colores..
La Familia (parte) y Susan, a la izq, atrás.
The Raiz Lives On! A week later, it was reheated (L. glass casserole) while in the pottery casserole is a Mexican version of Cheese Grits. There's a layer of cooked, chilled grits, a layer of shredded mixed and seasoned cheese, some salsa colorada, a layer of roughly mashed frijoles negros, a layer of more cheese and some unstrung queso Oaxaca,
A closer view of the cheese grits-black beans casserole.
This season's crop is abundant. Our landlady cooked some and gave us three. You handle the spiny chayotes gingerly. Unfortunately, I found the taste to be strong and mineral, and we didn't eat them. I much preferred the milder root.
A chayote after peeling and slicing. That's chopped parsley on the right. (Unrelated)
