Blog Post #2

This week has been fantastic in regards to the progress I am making to my final goal!

Last weekend, I visited Toloache in New York City and had an authentic Mexican meal.  Everything was absolutely delicious, and I also learned many new words relating to Southwestern cuisine, as the menu was written entirely in Spanish.

After all of this wonderful food, I was inspired to create some of my own.  As soon as I got home, I began researching how to make different drinks, salsas, and desserts.  I have previously tried agua fresca, which is water mixed with sugar and fruit, but I find it incredibly interesting because of the different flavor combinations you can make.  So today, I created my own versions of this refreshing drink in three different flavors: strawberry, mango, and strawberry-mango.  I also added vanilla to my version of agua fresca Even though this drink sounds fairly simple, the sheer amount of ingredients and the mess they make means you must set aside several hours for just a few gallons, but I believe that all of this is worth it.  The result is a delicious cross between a simple sparking water and a smoothie.

Before this, however, I read a recipe in a book titled, "The Cooking of Mexico" by Matthew Locricchio (Locricchio, Matthew, and Jack McConnell. The Cooking of Mexico. New York: Marshall Cavendish Benchmark, 2012. Print.) for tortilla chips that seemed to be quite simple.  This book provided not only instructions and ingredients, but history, materials, and precautions, which made it a highly valuable tool.  In short, it said that all you had to do was cut tortillas into triangles, deep-fry them in canola oil, and then sprinkle with salt.  Instead, I decided to take a more complicated route.  I first made my own tortillas, baked them, and let them rest overnight.  The next day, I sliced them into triangles and very lightly coated them with a mixture of lime juice, olive oil, cilantro, and salt using a cooking paintbrush.  I then carefully placed them in the deep fryer to avoid the splash of hot canola oil.  After 2 minutes, I took them out, placed them on a paper towel, and put the next batch into the deep fryer.  Once they were somewhat dry, I sprinkled salt on them.

Next, I made a mango salsa to pair with my tortilla chips.  I put mango, cilantro, lemon and lime juice, jalapeño and habanero peppers, salt, pepper, and water into a food processor and blended until smooth.

This week, I learned many interesting things about not only about the food of Southwestern countries, but also their cultures, languages, and histories.  I also discovered several new Mexican markets and grocery stores, which will definitely influence my future shopping choices.  Next week, I will continue exploring salsas, but I will also begin creating desserts.

Check here next week for more information on my progress in creating flavorful Southwestern food!