My daughter Celeste recently returned from a semester abroad in Dakar, Senegal.
She spent several months in the West African city perfecting her French, learning Wolof, the unofficial language, and studying West African culture, art and Islam. One of the biggest adjustments for her was the custom of eating out of a communal bowl….with toddlers no less! Boy, I wouldn’t want to share the plate with my own family, and we’ve been exchanging the same germs for decades.
So, what did Celeste miss most after months of mutton and rice en famille? Bacon, avocados, pie, eggs from her back yard AND Mexican food.
My daughter Celeste recently returned from a semester abroad in Dakar, Senegal.
She spent several months in the West African city perfecting her French, learning Wolof, the unofficial language, and studying West African culture, art and Islam. One of the biggest adjustments for her was the custom of eating out of a communal bowl….with toddlers no less! Boy, I wouldn’t want to share the plate with my own family, and we’ve been exchanging the same germs for decades.
So, what did Celeste miss most after months of mutton and rice en famille? Bacon, avocados, pie, eggs from her back yard AND Mexican food.
I indulged her several mornings this summer before she headed back to school at Lewis and Clark in Portland, with fried egg, bacon and tomato sandwiches. Or, sometimes, just fried egg and tomato on toast. (You should really try this: top buttered toast with a fried egg, slices of home-grown tomato and sprinkle of sea salt and fresh basil—amazing!)
Celeste cooked a lot this summer too. She baked pies, made plenty of guacamole and treated her friends to barbecues featuring One Cow Burgers, Grilled Fish Tacos with Cilantro and Lime Cole Slaw and Skirt Steak Tacos with Rajas con Crema, all from Blue Eggs and Yellow Tomatoes
When she didn’t eat at home, she visited all the neighborhood taco trucks and frequently dined at one of our favorite little Mexican restaurants, El Huarache Azteca #1 in Highland Park (5225 York Blvd. L.A. CA. 323 478-9572). The restaurant has lots of great classics and wonderful daily specials, but it’s named for the huarache—an amazing Mexican antojito consisting of naan-shaped, griddled bean-stuffed masa, topped with meat (a choice of chicken, beef or pork adobado—we always go for the spicy pork bits), onions, cilantro, queso anejo, crema mexicana and a really wonderful, smoky spicy salsa—delicioso! Also, especially refreshing on a hot day are the house-made aqua frescas—tamarindo, Jamaica, a new cucumber and lime cooler and Celeste’s favorite, horchata.
It’s good to know that my kitchen garden and Mexican food will keep Celeste returning to Los Angeles from wherever she may roam.
Jeanne Kelley is an established food writer, recipe developer and food stylist based in Los Angeles, California. Integrating locally grown produce with globally influenced flavors, Kelley’s approach to cooking is both simple, festive and fresh. Her recipes can be found in her latest book is Blue Eggs and Yellow Tomatoes: Recipes from a Modern Kitchen Garden