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Mexican Prawn Cocktail...
Friday, 6 June 2014
Growing up I spent some of my childhood years in a smallish town near the Golf of Mexico. My grandparents lived there and, for a while, so did my family. We spent eight years in that town and the one thing I remember the most vividly was the town's busy market.
El Mercado, was a big, squared, red-brick building with a flat roof in the centre of town. It wasn't a pretty structure, but it was red and shiny and was the heart of the town. It was eternally busy with shoppers coming from the surrounding 'ejidos'; an ejido was a rural area of communal land used for agriculture, where families were entrusted plots of land by the government to farm; it also gave them the righ to pass it to their children indefinitely as long as the land was not left idle for more than two years. The 'ejidatarios' or ejido farmers worked the land mostly growing sugar cane for the local sugar refinery and they kept the main town busy.
Photo Sergio HR
My dad went into the family business, tortilla baking, and opened a tortilleria right across the busy market and we were kept busy every day after school helping in it. I used to love going early on Saturday mornings and watch people coming in and out of that market which sold everything you can imagine and more: farming tools, fruits and vegetables, meats, herbs, sweets, spices, crafts, cloths, pinatas, fireworks, toys, ... you name it, they had it. It was like a gigant, old fashion hardware and food store!
Photo from Mexico Desconocido
It also had a section full of eat-in food stalls; simple settings of sponsored old and cold enamel tables & chairs (with the coca-cola or the corona logos), long tiled bars with high stools and in more recent times, plastic tables and chairs (like in the picture), but people were not there for the comfort, they were there for the most amazing foods. I had my very first gordita in that market! There was this stall which sold freshly made juices and smoothies (yes, they've been around a long time!). There was also the woman who made sweet custard pies and the guy who sold puppets right next to the guy who made mango ice-cream by hand in a wood and aluminium bucket.
Photo from Conexion Total
There was one particular food stall that sold nothing but fish and the recipe here, was inspired by the memories I have of my lunchtimes there enjoying a gigant, milkshake type glass of prawn cocktail with freshly made tortilla chips. Man was it good and when I found some lovely prawns in my fridge the other day, the first thing I thought was: prawn cocktail Mercado style. Hope you enjoy it!
Calabacita con Elote...
Saturday, 31 May 2014
My mother made this dish called 'courgette with corn' so many times when I was younger. She loved it. I can see why, as it's easy to make and it got plenty of vegetables into us. It's basically a cross between a stew and a chunky soup and it is served with rice. It's very tasty too. I however, missed the whole point of it for a long time as I used to hate it with a passion.
When I was about 15 I had an incident of food poisoning with pasta and courgettes. Nasty, nasty bout. I went off courgettes for about 15 years! It wasn't until after I moved to Ireland that I started eating courgettes again, and even now I only eat them in certain ways. This dish must have been very, very popular at home, as every time I make it, the smells fill me with warm memories of my mother and her kitchen. Perhaps that is the reason why I now like it so much!
I use pork chops, but in reality you can use any pork meat you like as long as it's cut in bite size chunks. Try and cut all the vegetable in similar sizes, but leave the courgettes a little chunkier to help them keep their form. It's one of those dishes where the star of the show isn't the meat, it's more about the courgettes and corn and the meat is just flavour. It goes a long way. Enjoy!
Sheridans Irish Food Fest 2014
Tuesday, 27 May 2014
Last weekend was quite busy again. We had barely recovered from the Ballymaloe Lit Fest adventure and by Saturday morning, we were embarking on another trip to a food festival: The Sheridans Irish Food Festival which is one of my favourite food festivals in Ireland.
Organised by Sheridans Cheesemongers and held in Sheridans' HQ in Virginia Road Station in Co. Meath, this festival has it all: food, music, workshops, demos and talks. I love the fact that every year, I come home stuffed and with one or two new food findings.
This year, wasn't the exception! I came across this amazing organic vinegars called Wildwood Vinegars. I was blown away by the stunning flavours and the passion of the producer. Their heather vinegar or the elderflower one are my favourites. Watch out for them in Bloom!
We arrived a day earlier as we were attending a pre-festival dinner organised by the Sheridans at chef Richard Corrigan's new place in Cavan, The Virginia Park Lodge. The place is still in the refurbishing stage, but one can see a promise of greatness in it. I can't wait to stay there again once it has officially opened.
The gardens are beautiful, full of old trees and hiden gems. The golf course and a view of the lake frame the place perfectly. Dinner, although a bit late, it was worth waiting for as we were presented with seven great courses. The atmosphere was relaxed and the service impecable. After a good night sleep and a very tasty full-Irish breakfast, we headed to Virginia Road Station for the day.
The Sheridans Irish Food Festival was great. I arrived early enough so was able to browse the stalls and chat to producers before the masses desended on the grounds. There was music and plenty of activities for the kids. Great food to have there and food to go. Over 60 stalls with everything from fruit, vegetables and artisan bread, to icecream, nettle pesto, craft beer and smoked fish!
The National Irish Brown Bread competition was held there too. The weather was not great, but this is one of those festivals that you can enjoy regardless of the rain. There were tons of different cheeses, goat's milk, raw milk, preserves, jams, crisps, pastry, chocolates, teas, baked goods, coffee and even a celebrity turkey (and I'm not talking of Dustin the Eurovision turkey)!!
In the afternoon I booked a demo on Seaweed by Sally McKenna, author of Extreme Greens, where we learned a lot about seaweed and its usues and I also attended a talk/rant on the issues facing food producers and restaurants in Ireland.
The festival was mostly free this year, even the parking, which made it a great day for families and since the place is dog friendly, dog owners can enjoy it too! It is one of my favourite festivals of the year. Thank you to Sheridance Cheese Mongers for the hospitality and for making this a great weekend.
Meeting Diana Kennedy...
Monday, 19 May 2014
I must confess that one aspect of Irish life that I truly love is the fact that Irish people, in general, have a complete disregard for celebrities. Many world-famous celebrities choose to spend their holiday time in Ireland because nobody bothers them. They can go out, like a regular person and enjoy themselves. It is like if Irish people go out of their way to ignore celebrity status... such a cool thing. Some of that 'coolness' has rubbed off and I also do the cool thing... I have never understood how people can go into hysterics at the sight of another human being. Don't take me wrong, I'd happily and discreetly stare at George Clooney on the street, but I would never dream of interrupting a dinner or anything to ask for an autograph. I am, after all these years, a little Irish too, so I must remain cool. Over the past weekend, all that 'coolness' went to hell and I was transformed into a weak-kneed, teary eye, (inner) screamer, starstruck fan, for the most unlikely of characters. I completely lost my coolness when I finally met my ultimate food hero, the most extraordinary woman that is Diana Kennedy at the Ballymaloe Literary Festival 2014.
I have been an admirer of Doña Diana for over a decade. I have all her books, I've read every magazine, every internet article and, most importantly, I have used her books many, many times. They are an incredible source of knowledge, they can be used as inspiration, as reference and as a learning tool. A British citizen by birth, Diana Kennedy was born with far too much spirit for a woman of her time. She left Britain in 1953 for Canada because, in her own words, "somebody said to me - why don't you go to Canada?- and as you know, when somebody says -why don't you- I do!".
From Canada she traveled through the Caribean Islands, landing in Haiti as a revolution was just breaking: 'The first man I saw was the man who became my husband'- she refers to Paul Kennedy, the New York Times correspondent who was leaving Haiti for the safer shores of Mexico; Diana followed him. She arrived in 1957 in Mexico and her love affair with the country and food continues until today. She lived in Mexico until her husband Paul was diagnosed with cancer. They returned to the US and lived in New York so Paul could get treatment; sadly, he passed away a year later and Diana was left alone and with little or no money.
She was encouraged by an editor friend of hers to give Mexican cooking classes in her apartment and thus she found a source of funding for her many travels back to Mexico. Eventually, she moved back to Mexico, to the state of Michoacan, where she bought land (to the amusement of the local men) and settled in what she called 'Quinta Diana'. She has spent nearly 60 years researching and documenting Mexican recipes. She has travelled extensively through the countryside in Mexico gathering recipes and knowledge that she then meticulously catalogued and preserved.
She also mananged to turn Quinta Diana into a sustainable ranch, living off the grid, growing her own food and tendering to her own animals for over 35 years, way before sustainability and green issues were trendy. Her eleven books are a testament to her enourmous contribution to the preservation of some of the most ancient and sacred kitchen traditions in the country and the Mexican people, like it or not, are forever endebted to her researching talents and her determination to preserve recipes and ingredients that would have been otherwise long forgotten and/or lost.
This thinly-framed, 91 year old woman, with a surprisingly youthful spring to her step, walked into the venue on Friday evening wearing leather pants, a black turtleneck top with a khaki jacket and the most stunning Mexican necklace. She went straight to the champaigne and mingled with people before the opening speeches. When I saw her I felt so overwhelmed. Here she was, a woman I greatly admire, not only for the enormous contribution to Mexican Food, but also because of her stubborn determination to be treated as an equal. A woman who survived the Mexican macho culture and paved the way for women like me to follow.
A woman who fought and continues fighting for the rights of small farmers and for the necessity to preserve and protect the incredibly rich food heritage my country has. I was jittery! I approached her and spoke to her in Spanish, which she speaks fluently. We spoke for about 10 minutes about Mexico, my life in Ireland, ingredients and sustainability. Sometimes she seemed to forget which language she was using and mixed the two, I totally relate to that. She seemed to like me as she agreed to a photo with me.
To say that I was beyond myself is not an exaggeration. I was like a 15 year old girl at a One Direction concert (minus the screaming of course, she probably would have slapped me!). Saturday morning couldn't come quick enough. I was so excited, I couldn't sleep. When we got to Ballymaloe Cookery School, we were told Diana had requested no photography or recording of any kind was to be allowed during the demo. I was disappointed, but didn't really care. The room was packed, but I managed to secure front seats as I was there so early! Nobody could wipe the smile off my face.
She walked into the demo kitchen looking fabulous again. The demo was the funniest and most interesting thing I have seen! I knew off her no-nonsense reputation and her tendency to lash out at the minor provocation. I was at the receiving end for whispering an answer to a women sitting next to me, but she forgave me quickly. She was not so forgiving with a guy at the back who asked a question and then ignored her answer: 'You only have me for another half hour you know? You have your neighbour for the rest of your life!'- she pointed out with her wonderfully scornful British accent.
Image courtesy of Carol-Anne O'Shea
Under her strict supervision and with the soothing commentary of Darina Allen every now and then, Doña Diana cooked seven dishes. All stunning, flavoursome and uncommon: 'If I see another book about Tamales, I'll scream' - she told us. When talking about chillis, she said - 'If a book tells you to deseed a chilli, through the book away' - I nearly jumped off my chair and erupted in sudden applauce (only managed a low 'yes!!' as I was afraid for my life she'd scold me again!) Anybody who has seen me knows how I feel about the same subject! She also said salt should be added during the cooking process not at the end and insisted that ALL dishes were to be served in real plates with real cutlery as she hates disposable stuff - it is ruining the planet!- she remarked - (don't ever mention tinfoil in her presence, she hates the stuff!!). She took questions with a mixture of disdain and contempt (she doesn't like stupid questions) but answered them all nevertheless. She signed books and chatted with me a little longer.
Image courtesy of Aoife Cox from The Daily Spud
On Sunday she gave a free talk. 9:30 am at the cookery school. The room was packed to the rim as word had gotten out about her witty lashing tongue. She stood up at the top of the room proud and surprised that so many people had gotten out of bed on a rainy morning to hear her talking. She spent the next hour and a half talking about how she ended up in Mexico, the food of Mexico, her beautiful book Oaxaca al Gusto: and Infinite Gastronomy, her photography skills and how much, again, she hates the fact that Mexicans are not fighting to preserve their food heritage.
I asked her loads of questions and she was very engaging and funny. She apologised to me for saying that the food of the North of Mexico was not as good as the rest of the country's (with the exception of our tamales nortenos, which she said were delicious and 'muy elegantes') and proceeded to tells us about the different types of ingredients found in the regions of Mexico. It felt to me like there was nobody else in the room, I swear to God, if George Clooney had walked in the room, had sat down and started talking to me I would have shush him quickly!!! I was a little teary eyed when it was time to say goodbye and everybody in the room would have gladly sat there for another hour listening to her adventurous stories.
After spending the weekend around her, I ended up so in love with this intolerant woman! She made us laugh so much. I was in awe of her energy, her passion and her dedication for what must feel like a lost cause. I felt inspired, vindicated and challenged to be better. She was passionate, witty, irreverent, funny, challenging, defiant and tough as old boots. She was a touch rude at times - 'I'm 91 I've earned it' - but she did it all with a twinkle in her surprisingly young-looking eyes. I deeply admire the power of her convictions. After 11 groundbreaking books, at 91 years of age, she is planning the launch of her latest book and her Quinta Diana is in the process of being transformed into the Diana Kennedy Centre, Quinta Diana foundation with the aim of providing a way to protect and preserve the culinary traditions of Mexico.
At a different talk, Tom Parker Bowles said that we should all have an opinion when writing about food - For God's sake have an opinion - he said - it doesn't matter if it's right or wrong, you just have to have one!- that resonated with me. Diana Kennedy has an opinion and she is not afraid of stating it, in fact, she shouted it from the rooftops of Ballymaloe. What an honour and what a legend, for as long as I live, I will treasure my little encounter with this incredible woman.
Upcoming Food Festivals...
Friday, 9 May 2014
The last few weeks have been manic. New thing in work and tons of work for the shop, which is in the process of getting a revamping, loads of social engagements and a few family things. May, June and July are full of great foodie festivals and my calendar is jam packed with stuff. While having coffee with friends today, I found myself telling them about all these fabulous festivals in Ireland and was really surprised they hadn't heard about them, so it occurred to me that only because I know they're happening, doesn't mean everybody else does, so got the idea for this quick post on what's coming up in the next few weeks. Hope you find the information helpful! If you live in Ireland, you can choose which ones you want to go to and plan ahead... if you live abroad, hope this wets your appetite for a trip to this beautiful, evergreen-island soon.
The Kerrygold Ballymaloe Lit Fest: now you need to be living under a rock in Ireland not to have heard about this one! It's all over twitter, facebook, the papers and magazines. The Ballymaloe Literary Festival of Food and Wine is in its second year and it's a celebration of all things food and wine in the beautiful and inspiring setting of the renown Ballymaloe Cookery School, the Ballymaloe House Hotel and Restaurant and The Big Shed; all in close proximity to each other in the tiny village of Shanagarry in County Cork. While many of the ticketed events will happen at the cookery school and the house, the Big Shed will host the Fringe Festival, which is just as cool and fun as the rest. The festival takes place from the 16th to the 18th of May and a full programme can be downloaded here. There is still some tickets available and most of the activities at the Fringe Fest, including demos and a market are free of charge. The highlight of the festival, at least for me, is the cooking demo and the talk with the legendary Diana Kennedy, who is responsible for the writing of most of my favourite Mexican Cooking Books, but there is also a ton of my lovely foodie friends, bloggers and chefs that will make this a fantastic festival. This is a weekend I am so looking forward to!!
The Sheridan's Irish Food Festival: this is one of my favourite food festivals of the year. It's in its fifth year and it gets better every time! Super relaxed, mostly free and a fantastic day out for families. When the weather is good, like last year, there is no place on earth I'd rather be! Set in Sheridan's Virginia Road Station (a restored train station which also happens to be Sheridan's HQ) in Virginia, Co. Meath. This festival has it all: cooking demos, talks, foraging walks, kids' activities, plants for those with green fingers, Irish crafts, tons and tons of lovely Irish food and a great atmosphere. Some of the talks and demos need to be booked online, but it's only a 5 each. There is no entry fee and you only pay for parking (I think it was a fiver last year). You park your car in the middle of a huge field and make your way to the festival by foot. I highly recommend this for families. It's truly a lovely way to spend a day. The Festival takes place on Sunday, 25th of May. Get tickets for the talks here. Here's a video from last year's festival when the super talented Donal Skehan did one of his Kitchen Hero episodes there! A little extra note: check the maps and directions provided by the festival, signage is very good once you get near, but we get lost every year!!! :)
The Burren Slow Food Festival: This fantastic festival takes place from the 23rd to the 25th of May in the beautiful Lisdoonvarna in County Clare. This festival is in its 8th year and this year's theme is seaweed. Tickets are 5 euro per person and children go free. There will be tastings, foraging walks, talks by John & Sally McKenna, Sally wrote the book Extreme Greens where she shares her deep love and knowledge of seaweed. There are several cooking demos, a Burren Lamb barbeque banquet, bike tours, a farmers' market, walks and even a chocolate demo which is bound to keep the kids happy! Slow Food extraordinaire, Darina Allen, will be giving a talk too and the list of people involved in this festival is both impressive and very eclectic. Very passionate folk in incredibly beautiful sorroundings. Worth a weekend trip.
Culture and Chips: Now, any festival with the World Chip Championship in it deserves a mention. A lovely reader sent it to me and I absolutely love it! The city of Limerick will host this festival from the 29th of May until the 2nd of June and if you take a look at what's happening during it, you'll love it too; it's totally insane: a Wine Goose Chase, Culinary Carnaval Chip Banquet, Cabaret des Frites and the very first World Chip Championship EVER, amongst other events, I say, what's not to like??? Prices vary from 15 quid to up to 70 euro for tickets, but there are a few free events. Check details here.
That's May pretty much gone guys! There are quite a lot of other festivals coming up in June and July, including the Taste of Dublin, Bloom 2014, and the Westmeath Hay Literary Festival, just to name a few, but I'll leave that for another post during the week! Till then...
