Thanks for cooking with us!
Cauliflower with Indian Spices
Ingredients
1.5 tbsp light cooking oil
1/3 onion finely chopped
1/2 tbsp finely chopped ginger
1/2 tbsp finely chopped garlic
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tbsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp amchoor powder
1 tbsp tomato paste
1/3 head of cauliflower cut into small florets
water as needed
salt to taste
finely chopped fresh cilantro and yogurt for garnish
- Heat oil in a large non-stick pan on medium high heat, add in onions, ginger and garlic and fry for a few minutes till onions soften and lightly brown.
- Stir in the spices and tomato paste and mix well. Now add in the cauliflower florets and mix to coat well with the spice mixture. Cover the par and cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally till the cauliflower is cooked through.
- If you feel the spice blend is too dry and starts to stick to the pan, add a splash of water and mix well. Season with salt and give it a final stir.
- Garnish with fresh cilantro and yogurt, serve warm.
Cafe Juanita Cookbook
I wrote this cookbook for the 10-year anniversary of my restaurant Cafe Juanita. I am filled with so much gratitude to the amazing team that works alongside me as we enter our 17th year in business.
If you have been to the restaurant we would really appreciate if you took a moment to post a review: https://g.co/kgs/kteosNN
Follow my personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livingfoodmexico/
Soufflé
Because you deserve more than an omelette! Make sure you are following me on Insta @livingfoodmexico
To make a soufflé is to transform eggs into a light pillowy cloud. Soufflé comes from the French and means to inflate or blow. I use the yolks to make a creamy bechamel with parmesan and tarragon- I am obsessed with tarragon. I beat the whites until they are filled with air and carefully mix them with my bechamel. As it cooks the egg whites inflate the silky yolks.
1.5 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more to grease dis
1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1.5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole milk
2 eggs separated
1 teaspoon of tarragon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon mustard
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar1.
Preheat your oven to 400
- Grease a ramekin with butter and sprinkle with Parmesan.
Bechamel
- In a small pot add butter with flour, cook on low while stirring to make a roux.
- Slowly add in the milk and keep stirring on low until it begins to thicken.
Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes. - Add your favorite mustard. Season with salt and pepper.
- Gently mix in one yolk at a time.
- Add tarragon and remaining parmesan cheese
Egg whites
Beat your 2 eggs whites with cream of tartar until stiff.
Fold in half the egg white mixture into the bechamel. Be gentle. Then fold the bechamel into the remaining egg whites. Sprinkle the top with parmesan and put into the oven for 30 minutes.
Serve with a green salad.
Cochinita Pibil
Marinade:
10 garlic cloves roasted
2 tablespoons lard or vegetable oil
3 ounces of red (rojo) achiote paste
2 tablespoons Mexican oregano
3 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns
1 tablespoon whole cumin seed
1 tablespoon whole allspice berries
1 tablespoon juniper berries
1/2 cup orange juice,
1/3 cup lime juice
1/4 cup cider vinegar salt
For the Pork:
1 kilo pork shoulder or pork loin
2-4 banana leaves
2 Roma tomatoes
sliced 1 red or green bell pepper
1 white onion, sliced
12 bay leaves
Blend all marinade ingredients until it is a smooth sauce. Pour over pork. Mix well, cover and keep in the fridge for at least 6 hours and up to 24 hours.
Bake in oven 3 to 4 hours: Cooking this takes 3-4 hours, so plan ahead. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line a large casserole with a double layer of heavy-duty foil, or a triple layer of regular foil – you want a good seal.
(Traditionally, cochinita pibil is wrapped in banana leaves, which add a wonderful flavor to the pibil. So, if banana leaves are available—you may be able to get them at the same store as the achiote paste, or at an Asian market—consider using them. Just heat the leaves first to make them more pliable.)
Pour in the pork and the marinade and close the foil tightly. Put the casserole in the oven and bake at 325°F for at least 3 hours. You want it pretty much falling apart, so start checking at the three-hour mark.
Remove bay leaves. Shred cooked pork meat with 2 forks: When the pork is tender, take it out of the oven and open the foil. Remove the meat with a slotted spoon to a bowl, then shred it with two forks. You don’t have to shred the pork, but I like it this way. Pour enough sauce over the meat to make it wet.
To serve, either use this as taco meat or over rice, garnished with cilantro, lime wedges and queso seco, a Mexican dry cheese a little like Greek feta. Pickled red onions are a traditional garnish, and if you like them, they’re good, too.
Homemade Grapefruit Soda
I love fresh homemade grapefruit soda. I got this awesome vintage juicer from my mum’s cupboard, she never used it anyway, and it is perfect for single servings. Squeeze your citrus of choice, add lots of ice and top with club soda.
*make it Paloma by adding a shot of tequila
*make it a Greyhound by adding a shot of gin or vodka
#mexicanfoodporn #mexicanfoodlover #mexicanfoodisbest #mexicanfoods #mexicanfoodie #mexicanfoodislife #cookingclasses #mexicancooking #oaxacatravel #oaxacafood #tacolover #cocktails #cocktailrecipes #huatulco #huatulcomexico #huatulcooaxaca #travelfoodie #travelforfood #foodgasmic #foodstylish #restaurantlife #culinaryaddict #chefsofinstagram #restaurantlife
Have we always been obsessed with our own image?
Yesterday I visited the Caixaforum in Seville, Spain and saw an exhibition, that is on loan from the Prado in Madrid, showcasing Spanish portraiture from the 1800s.
Perfectly curated to show the chronology of obsession we have had towards the self. It started out with portraits done of kings and other upper class gentry who could afford such luxuries. When portraiture became more common in the mid 1800s there were children and merchant class men and women who could afford to have their likeness preserved for future generations.
There was a room devoted to death mask portraits- yes… paintings done of people just after they have expired.
And then miniatures became popular because they were more accessible- small portraits that one could carry around and even give as an intimate gift. This has to be the precursor to the ‘wallet photos’ people used to have. As I examined the delicate miniatures on display I looked around at the number of people taking photos with their phones and realized we haven’t changed that much.
The mirror we know today was invented in Germany approximately 200 years ago and even then it wasn’t the common item it is today as it wasn’t accessible to all, only the upper classes could afford to buy a mirror because of the high cost. Until the beginning of the 1900s most families could only buy small mirrors to check their hairdos and bonnets. Prior to this people relied on nature to see their likeness, think of Narcissus staring into a pond and seeing his reflection.
How has this access to our image affected the way we live today? Our thoughts seem perpetually turned inward and our focus has never been more ego-centered. Something to consider next time you look in the mirror or snap a selfie.
Travel without a plan and see what happens…
When I head off on a big holiday I usually have a tentative idea of how things will pan out and where I will end up.
However, a lot can be said for being open to letting unexpected delights and opportunities derail my original vision.
The seed for this current vacation was the spontaneous purchase of concert tickets to see the Dave Matthews Band in Lisbon. I bought the tickets on a whim six months before the trip when a friend sent me the DMB concert link so I could see about shows in Mexico, where I live.
I arrived in Lisbon with just the first five days of accommodations and the concert booked. After my first social media post a friend reached out who would be in Spain later in the month and would I like to join them touring Andalucía? Um… yes, done.
A few days later another amazing friend wrote to tell me she was eating and beaching around Sardinia alone and would I like to meet up. I booked a last minute flight and before you know it we were pigging out on culurgiones after a day in the cold turquoise waters.
I am still on this trip. Heading back towards Lisbon and then to Oslo to drive north and see some fjords.
One of my favorite things to say is ‘over preparation is procrastination’. I apply this when rolling out a new business idea and now also when traveling. So randomly buy a concert ticket or a flight and just keep saying yes.
Interested in following my adventures, check out my Instagram @livingfoodmexico
Here are five beginner-friendly poses to help you get started on your yoga journey:
Who are you?
Latest editorial from my magazine The Eye, if you aren’t already following us be sure to check it out:
“Identity is never singular but is multiply constructed across intersecting and antagonistic discourses, practices and positions.”
Stuart Hall
Who are you? What is the first trait you think of to describe yourself?
Is it your gender?
Is it your nationality?
Your race?
Perhaps a description of the kind of person you view yourself to be?
Tensions feel high lately. Not only in the world we see through our phones and television, but in real life. The conflicts across the world remain a safe distance away, beyond our ability to affect change, other than voicing our outrage and hoping we fall on the right side of history.
There are tensions closer to home, things we can do something about. On the outer edges are the migrants, avoiding the immigration officials as they move towards the unknown. Inside our bubble we cling to our opinions about the situation- no, not just the situation- we cling to our opinions about the people- how we imagine them to be, where we imagine they have come from and where they are going.
On the inner edge we have tensions between the outsiders: the travelers, tourists, digital nomads, snowbirds, expats and gringos versus the locals, nationals, long-term residents, the “Mexico experts,” who are pushing back. Blame for everything that seems to be going wrong is thrown around like a tennis ball or maybe I should say like a pickelball.
Last year I was sitting at my favorite sushi haunt in Terminal 2 of CDMX when the man on the stool beside me attempted to engage me in conversation. I am not the kind of traveler who enjoys idle chitchat with strangers. He was undeterred and proceeded to tell me with a hint of pride that he had been living in Oaxaca City for the past eight years.
‘That’s nice,” I responded out of politeness.
“Where do you live?” he persisted.
“On the coast.”
“How long have you been there?”
“Twenty-six years,” I said turning back to enjoy my unagi.
“Oh. You win I guess,” he said.
“It’s not a contest,” I replied.
People are always having conversations like these, asserting their identity and experience to justify their entitlements and points of view. But who are you really? Take away the cloak of where you happened to be born, where you live, your job, your religion, your gender, the amount of stuff you have collected on your journey and the opinions you have formed, based on the information you have. When you strip those things away, what are you really entitled to, that someone else isn’t?
Aren’t we all just minnows in a school of fish moving through the water on the momentum of each other?
March is usually our Women’s Issue. However, in the spirit of shedding our identities, rather than clinging to them so fiercely, I am calling this the ‘Achievement Issue’. Our writers have profiled people whose accomplishments are inspiring.
See you next month,
Jane
Jane Bauer 