School Lunch

Actually, we only buy the desayuno for E, but I love these menus. So healthy and delicious. I wish I could eat with the preschool.

International Food, Part Deux

Here's what the pasta sauce I buy looks like:

Italian, right?

After posting about the source of my parmesan, I happened to notice this on the label:

Can you see the bottom line, in bold and all caps? It's from FRANCE.

So pasta from Mexico, sauce from France, and cheese from Uruguay - it's hard to call that an Italian dinner.

Dientes Dulces

One day, E came home with this award.

He apparently won a game for his "Habilidades de mouse" - abilities with a mouse - during clase de computacion. Yes, this is 21st century schooling here!

It also came with a huge bag of candy. After he got one lollipop, the rest went into the ever-growing bag of candy that I keep hidden under the sink.

I don't even think that's all of it. I think I threw some out or gave some away, and of course he's eaten some. It is just astonishing how much candy kids receive here. During calendas, at concerts, for holidays, and now at school.

Much of it wouldn't interest E - it's chilesalada or chamoyada. In addition, I'm pretty reticent about commercial Mexican candy, after seeing a news report a few years back about high levels of lead. I'm planning to keep a few pieces to pacify him during our travels home, and leave the rest to a local orphanage.

Anticipation

We discussed what we are looking forward to eating when we get back to America. D said asian food. E said pizza (which we have eaten occasionally here, but not as often as he likes I guess). I couldn't think of anything.

But just now, I remembered that I'll be reunited with my beloved nooch, and I can't wait to get back!

Origen (dos)

Last week, I gave a colloquium talk at the university here. I think it went well, but it was a little hard to tell how many of the blank stares in the audience came because of my math or because I needed to speak in English.

Afterwards, K and I went on a celebratory date lunch to Origen, a fancy-shmancy restaurant near the zocalo. It is definitely an example of modern alta cusine, with a meal that included both traditional ingredients and foams and a pricetag that could have bought roughly 75 tamales in the park near our house. (In fact, look for the restaurant on the upcoming season of Rick Bayless' tv show!)

But it was a great meal. We had a delicious carrot soup, Kay had a strange but tasty risotto (with grapes!), and I had a vey nice whitefish cooked in a chorizo broth with a black bean cake. There was also a ceviche amuse bouche, and Kay had a fancy cocktail. But I think the highlight of the meal was dessert. We split a plate of these heavenly chocolate-pasilla bunuelos served with a side of lemon verbena ice cream. And chopped tomatoes. Which was weird, but actually contributed to a phenomenal dessert. In fact, we dove right in and ate a bunch before we even thought to take a picture.

Origen

Date lunch. With grapes in my risotto and tomatoes in dessert. Most dishes topped with cilantro flowers.

Tamales In The Park

Right around the corner from our apartment there is a woman who sells tamales every morning. And every Friday she sells dulce tamales, with raisins and pineapple. At least, the sign says she sells them every Friday. But most weeks after I drop E off at school she is already sold out. (Or did she ever have them?) So this morning, E and I left early to get some on the way to school and we succeeded, buying the last three. We ate two in the park, and brought the last one home for Kay. Mmmm.

Leche de Vaca

To me, all the dairy products here - cheese, milk, butter - taste like cows. This isn't a surprise, since this is a region known for its dairy. Quesillo de Etla, or Oaxacan cheese, is famous in Mexico and beyond.

When we visited the mercado in Etla, we even saw this sign:

"For hygiene and security to you the consumer, please don't bring dogs in the hour of milk sales." To me, that means there is an active dairy industry here.

I have to say, though, it scares me a bit to think of cattle roaming the most biologically diverse area on the planet, but I'll just cross my fingers that they are well-managed to avoid the cloud forests.

Tlacolula

One of the "problems" with being so busy here is that I feel we have fallen way behind on describing our adventures.  Alas.  

The weekend before last we went out to Tlacolula, a nearby town, for the big Sunday market.  From what we have read, this market draws tens of thousands of people from the surrounding communities each week, and what we saw seemed to agree with that assessment.  In addition to the normal market building filled with panaderias, vegetable vendors, butchers, and comedors, there was block after block after block of people with temporary stands set up.  And it even bled into the large (and beautfiul) churchyard where vendors were walking around and setting up their wares for sale.  And they were selling everything you can think of -- handmade clothes, cheap t-shirts, tamales, sandals (hooray!),  weavings, toys, fruit, knives, ice-cream, wood-carvings...it would probably be easier to list the things they didn't sell rather than the things they did sell.  

We even bought a handwoven hammock to replace the one that we bought in the Yucatan seven years ago that has outlived its time.  And we had a very nice conversation with the woman who sold it to us and wove it.



Even compared to the other market experiences we have had here in Oaxaca, and we have had many, the Tlacolula experience was quite interesting.  At one point, Kay suggested that comparing the market to a Super Walmart would be both the best comparison she could think of and the worst, and I think that hit the nail on its head.

PS - If you go to the market, it is well worth searching out Comedor Mary for lunch, which is one of the storefronts on the outside of the market on the side facing the church.  I am sure that other comedors are equally tasty, but I would happily vouch for Mary's mole, which was among the best we have had in Oaxaca, which made last weekend a very good weekend for mole.

Desayuno

Plantains sautéed in butter with shaved Oaxacan chocolate on pan de tlacolula (rolls made with butter and eggs).

Besos de Nieve

One of the fun things about being in another place is always exploring the different ice cream flavors they have. Here in Oaxaca, one of the famous flavors of 'Nieve' (the local ice cream, which is often more like a sorbet) is Beso Oaxaqueno (literally meaning 'Oaxacan kiss') and includes apples, nuts, and carrots. A number of the places we have gone also serve Beso Zapoteca or Beso de Angel, although the internet is not as forthcoming about what is in those flavors.

Last night we went to the Plaza de Nieves - yes, there is a whole plaza dedicated to ice cream vendors - right outside the Basilica in town. And one place was serving 'Beso de Judas' flavor. I'm not sure I want to know what is in that one.

International Food

Pasta is our non-Mexican go-to food here. You can find noodles and sauce easily, and its simple to make at home, filling, and uses up the last two liters of water you have to our into a pot to give the water man the old bottle.

It feels a little funny to cook Italian food in Mexico, but then I noticed the statement printed on the lower right side of the "Parmesan" cheese label and just laughed.

La Capilla

Eight Reasons You Should go to La Capilla if you ever happen to be near Zaachila Oaxaca

1) We have had many good meals on this trip. Many of them included mole. But we had yet to have one of those mole's that is so tasty and so smooth that you just want to eat it up by the spoonful. We had two of them at La Capilla: mole negro and coloradito. Mmmmm.

2) The goat barbacoa that Rick Bayless tweets about every Christmas isn't on the daily menu, but I cant imagine it is better than the lamb barbacoa that is.

3) Every restaurant should have hammocks that you can lie in and rest for an hour or so after you stuff yourself silly.

4) There are many cages filled with animals that you can look at. Turtles, and parrots, and peacocks, and monkeys. Yes, there is a giant monkey cage with two monkeys that are climbing and swinging and playing.

5) Many attentive waitstaff and a kitchen that opens up to some of the dining areas so that you can watch the women make tortillas and sauces and all kinds of other goodies.

6) We ordered a half pitcher of jamaica, and it was so big that it was still a third full after we had each had several glasses full.

7) Zaachila also has really cool ruins and a great looking market and is a town that just had a very nice vibe to it.

8) Just when you think things are all fitting together well, a mariachi band walks in to serenade you.

Music of the Night

I promised a more full report about our Candelaria evening, so I should probably write one before too long.  We had heard from various sources that there would be processions from the various churches with their baby Jesus dolls all dressed up to commemorate the event. So Saturday evening we strapped E into a backpack carrier and went to the zocalo in search of music.  We weren't sure what to expect, but we got a whole range of exciting activities.

First up, as we passed the Santo Domingo church, we passed a group which was clearly a small version of one of the processions we expected. There were maybe two dozen people, a half dozen Nino dolls dressed in their finest clothes, and a couple of acoustic guitars with singing as they walked by us.

Next up, as we passed the museum of contemporary art we heard music coming from inside that E was intrigued by, so we decided to go in and take advantage of a chance to look at some free art while listening to the live music.  Now, the music was billed as a combination of acid jazz and a Hip Hop DJ, and those of you who know me know that these might be two of my least favorite genres of music to begin with and so it wasnt a very promising combination.  But it was fun to listen to and a lively crowd, and we did indeed get to see some good art (including some very cool outdoor luminescent murals by George Mead Moore) and a good time was had as a diversion.

We continued on to the zocalo but before we got there we found a breakdancing group and again E wanted to stop to watch.  The dancers were pretty exciting, even if the choice of music on their MP3 player (House of Pain! A Hip Hop remix of 'Horse With No Name'!  Some 80's goodies!) left something to be desired.

Then we went on to the zocalo itself, where we ate our free tamales and wandered among some artisans and said hi to some friends.  After awhile we decided we werent going to get to see more processions after all, so we called it a night and headed up to our favorite bakery to get some bread and pan dulces for the coming days.  

But as we left the bakery we stumbled across a large and lively procession through the streets.  It was hard to tell how many of the people were with the original procession, how many were just hangers on, and how many were tourists like us who just thought it was all pretty cool.  It was similar in some ways to the procession we marched with during Esquipulas -- there was a band playing lots of brass instruments and drums, there was a pickup truck with an image of a saint, there were women dancing and the giant puppets and globos that Oaxacan celebrations always seem to have -- but it was both smaller and more festive.  It was clearly a religous calenda, but it was less formal and there was a lot more mescal being passed around.  We ended up dancing with them for many many blocks, and in fact decided to get a taxi home even before they reached their destination.  In the end, we think it had nothing to do with Candelaria and was probably one of the Saints celebrations of a cathedral in a neighborhood across town.

So yeah, modern music and art, teenagers performing in the street, and religious celebrations both quiet and loud...sounds like a typical night in this exciting and fun city!

Agua

Each Wednesday and Saturday, the water guy comes by and swaps out an empty for a new 20-liter plastic bottle of quadruply-filtered water. They're the size that you use in an office water cooler. We go through exactly two of these a week, filling up smaller water bottles to carry with us, for drinking, cooking, and teethbrushing. This doesn't include showering, washing dishes or clothes, or any water used in cooking food that we buy preprepared. It's interesting to know that our little family of three consumes 40-liters of water a week, or a little more than 5 liters a day. It costs us 50 pesos, or around $5, a week.

Meal Planning

K: "Would you like a sandwich for lunch today?"
E: "No."
K: "How about a torta, con quesillo y aguacate?"
E: "Si, por favor."

Senor de Esquipulas

A big chunk of our weekend was taken up by the festival that our neighborhood church (which I say despite the fact that there are at least a half dozen large cathedrals within a five block radius of our house.  But this was one of them) was throwing in celebration of the Senor de Esquipulas, often referred to as the Black Christ.  This is an important and meaningful celebration throughout central America, which you can read about here, but being the heathen that I am I viewed it mostly as a chance to soak in more Mexican culture and traditions.  And this festival was full of them.

Friday night we went to the church in time to hear the end of mass and then watch the churchyard erupt into celebration with music and dancing and chocolate to drink.  We then joined in a calenda, which is a celebratory procession following a truck with the black Christ statue on its back through the streets of the neighborhood, with fireworks and music and giant puppets and dancing.  It was lots of fun.

Sunday afternoon we wandered back over to the church for a cultural festival featuring dance performances from different regions, food, and lots more live music.  E even got to take a turn inside one of the giant puppets:

But the highlight was Sunday evening.  After dinner and some rest at home we returned to the church and watched another procession with the statue, but this one was much more solemn, with quieter music and incense and lots of banners decorated with silver.

 

When the statue returned to the church, the whole place turned back into a party with confetti and more music and dancing.  And a fireworks show.

I know what I said the other day about how fireworks shows were more casual here in Oaxaca, and for the most part I stand by it.  But last night was the exception that proves the rule, as it was just like an American fireworks spectacular in scope, but not in content.  You see, when we arrived at the church on Sunday afternoon we saw what already looked like a pretty big structure covered with firecrackers.

But that was nothing compared to what it looked like later in the evening:

I would guess it was fifty or sixty feet tall.  And covered with firecrackers decorated as words and flowers and Guadalupes and a Christ figure.  And when it was time for the show, it was indeed quite a show.  There was dancing -- including a series of people dancing in a cow costume that was covered with firecrackers that were shooting off while they were dancing! -- and there were angels made out of firecrackers that flew into the air as they were going off.  And there was that structure itself.  Which did not actually seem quite this scary when it was doing its thing, but still sent smoke and debris and sparks everywhere.

I'm not sure I have seen anything quite like this show.  The closest thing would be at a festival that Fort Worth held in conjunction with the 1995 MLB All-Star game, but that had those pesky safety standards that Americans seem to hold dear, whereas this was just lights and colors and noise.  And smoke.  Lots of smoke.  It was quite an event.

Hmm

One reason to live in a foreign country is to experience new things. And for the most part Oaxaca has not disappointed. Especially when it comes to culinary experiments, where I have almost never been let down by a meal.

But that chicken stuffed with cheese in banana sauce...Huh. I'm not sure about that one.

Breakfast Taco

This morning on my walk into the institute I walked by a group of women set up at a comal outside a church selling tacos. They were making fresh tortillas out of masa, cooking them up and then putting some beans, onions, cilantro, salsa, and either chorizo or a chile relleno inside before cooking them some more. I tried one with a chile relleno, and it definitely hit the spot.

ACK!

I don't think I ate a mango yesterday! And it seems too long since I ate an avocado. Must remedy this situation ASAP.