Growing up in a dual cultured household gave me the opportunity to enjoy
varied foods, and to make up recipes incorporating my Mexican and
Peruvian roots. If there is one thing that our house was filled with,
it was warmth in the form of comfort food. With kids returning to
school, fall is just around the corner and this is an easy recipe I
enjoy with my family on sunless weekends. It incorporates my mother’s
Mexican style of cooking with lots of citrus and flavor, and my father’s
Peruvian technique of basically putting everything in one pot into the
oven.
The idea of this recipe came to me while traveling in Peru in 2010. I experience my first “pachamanca” while visiting family in the high altitude villages 2 hours away from Lima. Pachamanca is a Quechua word; a language still spoken in Peru today. Pacha means: of the earth; and manca mean: pot. This form of cooking requires that all ingredients go into a large hole in the earth lined with hot stones. This includes Chicken, lamb, beef, guinea pigs, potatoes, etc. Once all ingredients are placed inside, it’s covered with more stones, and ultimately becomes a mound of dirt. Within a couple of hours, everything inside is cooked to a tender texture and wonderful flavors.
On the quest to bake the perfect scone, I've baked batch after batch of flat, hard, and dry scones. But as the saying goes, the third time's the charm. On my third try I created the fluffiest, most tender, high-rise scone. I have a great love for scones. Some of my best memories have been made while eating scones over tea with friends. I love them spread with clotted cream and jam. I remember the first time I had a scone was at the Orangery in Kensington Gardens in London. A group of us had the full English afternoon tea treatment with cucumber sandwiches, pots of the best tea from India, scones, and other tea cakes.
If you've ever taken the time to read a Chinese takeout menu closely you may have noticed it has the dishes organized by regional cuisine such as Cantonese, Hunan, and Sichuan. Most Chinese restaurants try to have a wide offering of its cuisine to appeal to many different tastes. Those who love spicy food know to choose a dish from the Sichuan page. This cuisine is characterized by an abundance of heat in many forms, including dried chilies, chili sauce, and tongue-tingling Sichuan peppercorns.
Sometimes a huge craving for Chinese food can be settled with a simple bowl of fried rice.
Since I love pretty much all Mexican food, it would be hard for me to pick a favorite, but I particularly love any dish poured over with salsa verde, made of tomatillos. This fresh, slightly tart, and bright green sauce is so aromatic and flavorful, that you can't help but think of Mexico. Sometimes, though it's hard to differentiate between authentic Mexican and Tex-Mex recipes. Many foods that are popular in American culture are interpretations of Mexican foods. Just think of nachos, burritos, and chili. But no matter the actual origin of these foods, they all taste great due to the familiar Mexican flavors.