Cinco de Mayo!

Hola, dear friends!  Today many Americans of Hispanic heritage commemorate the victory of a small, ill-equipped Mexican army over a much larger and more sophisticated French militia at the Battle of Puebla.  The Batalla de Puebla took place on May 5, 1862.  Contrary to popular belief, Cinco de Mayo is not Mexico’s Independence Day (that being September 16, 1821).  It is not widely celebrated in Mexico but is a regional holiday limited to the state of Puebla.

The Darling Bakers are also celebrating Cinco de Mayo today!  Here’s how the holiday came to be:  Napoleon III was determined to collect a loan and expand his empire.  His troops landed near the coast of Veracruz and proceeded to march towards Mexico City.  Abraham Lincoln, sympathetic to the Mexican cause, could offer no assistance because he was involved in his own war, the American Civil War.  In Puebla, General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguin and his small militia were able to stop and defeat the French.  It was a sweet victory for a troubled country.

But that was not the end of the French!  Napoleon sent 30,000 (yes, thirty thousand!) more troops who eventually took over Mexico City.  His cousin, Archduke Maximillian of Austria became the ruler.  After the American Civil War, Lincoln provided more military assistance and Maximillian was executed in 1867.  That, in a nutshell is the story behind CDM.

That’s Linda Landeros in the picture above.  Landeros is a dance instructor and performer with many dance companies in the San Francisco Bay Area.  The colors in her dress express the spirit and vitality of the Mexican people.  In the US, particularly in the border states, Cinco de Mayo is celebrated with music, folklore dancing, art and of course food!

One of my favorite Mexican foods is grilled corn with a chili lime sauce.  I first came across it outside a local Hispanic grocery store called Fiesta.  The aroma of roasted corn wafted through the parking lot, leading me to a mobile kitchen where the vendor was slicing the kernels off the cob and into a styrofoam cup.  He topped it off with a delicious, spicy and creamy sauce.  My daughter and I just can’t resist this kind of street food!

 I broiled these in their husks.

Quesedillas are also a favorite.  These are filled with crabmeat, roasted poblano pepper, roasted sweet red pepper, avocado, caramelized red onion, corn, cilantro, chili powder and Monterrey jack cheese.  I served them with my Cilantro Crema – sour cream, lime juice and chopped fresh cilantro. 

This is how I like my cerveza:  ice cold and in an ‘O’ with lime.  Believe it or not, that’s the entire 12oz. bottle in there!

Lime suspended in a golden brew:

Mangos flameados comes from Diana Kennedy’s classic book The Cuisines of Mexico.  It’s a Mexican take on Bananas Foster crossed with crepes Suzette!  I served it with vanilla ice cream.   Mmmm….

These Mexican Nutella cookies are perfect with a cup of coffee.  You can serve them plain or with a dusting of powdered sugar.

I leave you with a bite!   Adios!

 

Prijatno!

A Spring Fling with the Darling Bakers!

My favorite time of year is Spring.   It’s a short season in Texas, and we spend as many evenings outside before the 90’s are upon us – that’s temperature and humidity, and voracious mosquitoes!   It’s time to admire the wildflowers, in particular the bluebonnets that line our highways and carpet the landscape.  The pictures above and below were taken by the lake in my neighborhood. 

I can’t resist the profusion of color and aromas that seem to appear overnight in our garden.  The grass is suddenly greener, the crepe myrtles leaf out quietly and the azalea bushes are a burst of color, alas, for only a couple of weeks.   Let’s see what’s blooming in my garden this Spring.

Here are blooms from our Formosa azalea:

The delicate flowers of the African Iris plant dangles upon long stems:

This Firecracker plant lives up to it’s name:

The Mexican flame vine attracts bees, butterflies and birds.  This makes Husbie very happy!   He plants native species in order to attract small, interesting critters around the yard.

A busy bee on the Meyer lemon blossoms.  It didn’t take long, did it?

A Monarch butterfly caterpillar chilling on the Plumeria:

A variety of vegetables and herbs, now planted in the garden.  This makes moi very happy!

 A fig lover’s delight!  Makes moi so happy I can hardly bear it!

Mexican (Key) lime blossoms – I know what you’re thinking!

The elegant Calla Lily:

Cat’s whiskers!

And finally, a fabulous Knockout rosebush that blooms all year and never fails to impress:

I am honored to belong to a group of lovely ladies called the ‘Darling Bakers’.   I’ve been getting to know them on another website, and boy are they a talented and interesting lot.  Our theme this month is ‘Spring Fling’.

One of the things I look forward to in the Spring is fresh, ripe, sweet strawberries.  For this occasion, I would like to share with you my recipe for Muesli, which includes a healthy portion of them.

Years ago, when I first moved to Houston, I enjoyed muesli at Marshall-Field’s department store in the Galleria.  A German woman who worked in the little cafe made it and she called it Birchmuesli.  I tried to coax the recipe out of her but all she offered were vague instructions on how to prepare it.  I immediately began experimenting, and my latest version is right on!  I’ve included variations for you to experiment with.

This recipe makes a healthy and delicious breakfast.  It combines raw oats with crushed pineapple, nuts and fresh fruit.  You can adjust the proportions to suit your taste.  Begin the night before you plan to eat it. 

Muesli

Serves 2

1 cup raw oats (not minute or instant)

1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple in it’s own juice (you will use the pineapple and the juice)

2-4 tablespoons plump raisins, cranberries, dried blueberries, dried cherries, or a combination.

2-4 tablespoons cream, half and half, milk or yoghurt.  The cream will make it rich and creamy – go for it!

2 teaspoons brown sugar (or honey), optional

1/4 cup chopped pecans, walnuts or almonds, toasted

fresh fruit of your choice, cut into bite-sized pieces - strawberries, blueberries, apples, bananas, peaches, raspberries, blackberries

The night before you plan to eat the muesli, combine the oats, crushed pineapple and its juice, and dried berries in a bowl until well mixed.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.

The next morning add the cream, half and half, milk or yoghurt to loosen the mixture.  It should be easy to stir but not too thin.  Add the sugar (optional), chopped nuts and fresh fruit.  Enjoy!

Prijatno!

The St. Patrick’s Day post, a week late!

Update: Please click on the 'comments' section at the end of this post for the recipe for Irish Whiskey Pound Cake.

Due to technical difficulties (ok, it’s blogger incompetence!), I was unable to post during our ski trip in Crested Butte. So here it is, a week late! The Irish Whiskey Pound Cake I made to celebrate the occasion is at the very end.

Top of the morning to you on St. Patrick’s Day! We are enjoying the beautiful slopes of Mount Crested Butte, Colorado. Because our blood is sub-tropic thin, we are fair weather skiers and March is the perfect time of year for us Texans to invade the quaint mountain villages of this awesome state!

Since this trip was very last minute in planning, and by then the price of plane tickets was way out of our reach, we did the second best thing: we chose to drive the 1,100 miles from Houston to Crested Butte, with an overnight stop in Trinidad, CO. Ten people, 2 SUV’s – believe it or not, it was a breeze!

Taking a break along the Arkansas River in Colorado

Delicate aspens grace the snow

We are very thankful and fortunate to be staying in the private home of Lois and Gerry Pate. The house is a short walk from the ski lifts and includes two large balconies with mountain views.

Teague and Mark enjoying a Linne Calodo 2006 Leona’s

The spacious dining area

And cozy fireplace

The kitchen is very well equipped – it even has a pastry cutter! We are cooking most of our meals with pleasure and ease: spaghetti Bolognese, migas, chili, fresh apple crumble, buttermilk pancakes, fettuccine Alfredo with grilled chicken, banana pudding, and pork chops with applesauce and succotash.

Check out the breathtaking view towards the small historic town of Crested Butte from the window

The house if very tastefully decorated. I love the detail in the backsplash.

It takes a lot of guts for a woman in her forties to take up snowboarding! It’s been a challenge, and a lot of fun for my sister, Vesna, to keep up with her family of snowboarders. There is more ksh, ksh, ksh and fewer bruises every year!

You have always been athletic and determined – stick with it sistuh!

When Emilia was about 10 years old, she came home from her first snowboarding lesson, sat down and drew a pie graph to describe her day. It went something like this: 60% on bum, 20% trying to get up, 10% on lift, 6% waiting for lift, and 4% snowboarding!

You’re quite accomplished now, my little Longhorn!

Alex’s ‘Mental’ cap makes it’s appearance every year!

Even though I had just finished breakfast, I couldn’t refuse the offer of hot chocolate and home-made biscotti at the top of the Silver Queen Express. “You could have said ‘No Thank You’, “ piped Vesna, at the sight of me dunking!

Who am I to refuse these two charming CB hosts?

Teague and Emilia watching the activity on the slopes

Jovan ‘owns’ the snowboard – he’s swift and graceful and the sight of his goggles and helmet prompted me to call him

Astroboarder!

These four daring young men ventured where the rest of us dare not!

Clear blue skies all week

Happy at the end of an excellent day on the mountain

Oh yeah…the recipe! Before we left home, I made an Irish Whiskey Pound Cake. Dried cherries, blueberries, pineapple pieces, cranberries and apricots are soaked in Irish whiskey. The Irish meaning of whiskey is ‘water of life’. I guess it explains how the Irish earned their ‘spirited’ reputation!

The zest of a lemon and toasted chopped almonds round off the flavors. The icing includes a generous helping of Bailey’s Irish Cream!

A slice of this dense and hearty cake is the perfect accompaniment to a strong cup of coffee. And it’s tasting better every day!

Until next time, here’s an Irish blessing for you:

May God grant you always...
A sunbeam to warm you,
A moonbeam to charm you,
A sheltering angel, so nothing can harm you.

Prijatno!