Licuados - The Mexican Milk Shake

I have to say that I am ridiculously excited about sharing this recipe.  Liquados are easy, cheap, versatile and amazing delicious - which explains why they are available on every street corner in Mexico City.  You really have no reason not to made one!

I personally like to refer to them as "Mexican Milk-shakes" because they are rich, creamy and their main ingredient is typically milk (although juice or horchata are sometimes used instead).  It as if a milk-shake became literal, rather than being the "ice-cream shake" that it is.

Licuados are principally made of your choice of fruit, milk, and sugar to taste.  Almost any type of fruit will work: mango, guava, banana, papaya, cantaloupe, strawberry, etc, but banana is my current favorite.  I think that is because it goes so well with the two secret ingredients: vanilla and cinnamon.  These will take your drink from ho-hum to addictive.

First you, of course, need to gather your ingredients along with a trusty blender.

For 1 pint you will need:
- About 1 cup (not packed) of your choice of fresh fruit (mango, peach, apricot, banana, strawberry, mango, papaya, etc.)
- Milk (about 1.5 cups)
- Sugar (1-3 TB to taste)
- A few drops of vanila (no more than 1/4 tsp)
- A good shake of cinnamon

From watching people make licuados, I have noticed they fill the fruit to about half the total volume of licuado that they want.  For instance, if they want a 0.5 liter of licuado, they fill fruit (including some air pockets) to the 0.25 liter point on their blender.

Add milk to the total volume desired (0.5 liter), 1-3 TB of sugar, a healthy shake of cinnamon, and a splash of vanilla.  Blend 45 to 60 seconds until you have a nice, frothy mixture.  The froth is really important!  Taste and add more sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla as desired - until the flavor is amazing.  (You can also blend in a few ice cubes, if you like.)

Pour into a chilled glass and enjoy!
Kim

Feasting on Scraps: Cantaloupe Seed Water

When I first moved to Mexico, I, of course, was trying to cook delicious and fabulous meals for my new husband.  As cooking is my sweet spot (and the one thing I really felt I was contributing to the relationship - as I did not speak Spanish, understand the culture, nor was I making money), I would get rather annoyed when Ismael would come into the kitchen and ask me why I was throwing away parts of the food.  I, of course, felt like he was questioning how I was preparing the meal.

The first time this happened, I was trying to make a mock BBQ Loaded Potato that Ismael had fallen in love with in Texas.  The cut of meat I had cooked had a lot of chewy bits in it and, as I was not used to eating those parts, I had picked them off to throw into the "Organic Waste" (yes, in Mexico City you need to separate your waste into organic and inorganic items.)

The conversation went like this:
Ismael: "What are you doing with this part of the meat?"
Kim: "I am throwing it away - it is not good."
Ismael: "That is the best part of the meat!"

We ended up adding the nerves back in and I had to agree with my husband - it was delicious.

The second time, I was preparing mashed potatoes for dinner.  Ismael came by and asked what I was doing with the potato skins.  I told him that I wanted a smooth version of mashed potatoes and so had removed them.  He was still staring at the pile of potato skins, asking what I was going to do with them.  I told him I was going to throw them away (once again into "Organic Trash.")  He just replied that his mom made a really delicious dish with them that he would show me sometime.

Seriously - I thought was were having a communication problem.  Potato skins do not really equal delicious meal in my mind.

The third time, I had cut up some cantaloupe as part of our breakfast.  Ismael asked me what I had done with the cantaloupe seeds.  I looked at him blankly and said I had thrown them away - he said "Oh, my mom makes a really, really, really delicious aqua fresca (fruit drink) from them.  It is so delicious - I will show you how to make it sometime."

You would think that by now I would have caught on to the trend, but really - I just could not imagine something delicious made from cantaloupe seeds.  Anyone else have any great recipes for Cantaloupe Seeds?  (Silence.)  That is what I thought.

But eventually my husband did show me how to make the Cantaloupe Seed Agua Fresca (Horchata de Semilla de Melon) and it was really, really, really delicious.  So if you happen to love cantaloupe and are looking for something delicious to do with the seeds (after all, I know you do not want to waste any perfectly good food), this recipe is for you.

The first few times I made this drink I figured it would really make a difference in the drink if I added a little bit of the cantaloupe's flesh along with the seeds.  I have since realized that it is really just the seeds that are so rich in cantaloupe flavor giving this drink it it's deliciously fresh flavor.

Horchata de Semilla de Melon (Cantaloupe Seed Aqua Fresca)
1 Cantaloupe
4 Cups Water
3 to 6 TB sugar

Assemble your ingredients along with a cutting board, large knife, blender, sieve, and bowl.

Carefully cut the cantaloupe in half.

Scoop out the seeds and any juice into a small bowl.  If don't want to make the Aqua Fresca now, it will keep tightly covered in the refrigerator for a few days.

Add the cantaloupe seeds, your initial level of sugar, and water to the blender.

Blend for several minutes to pulverize the cantaloupe seeds.   Taste and add more sugar as needed.

Strain through a sieve into a pitcher or other container that is easy to pour from.

Pour the aqua fresca into tall glasses filled with a few ice cubes to enjoy this very, very, very delicious drink.

As for the cantaloupe flesh, might I suggest serving it with lime wedges?  This combination has vastly increased how much I enjoy this type of melon.

I love this drink for breakfast, but it is also tasty for lunch or whenever you want a slightly-sweet, fruity treat.

~ Kim

A Halloween Party In Mexico City...

As you may know, Halloween is not celebrated much here in Mexico City - the country is much more interested in the following two days, the 1st and 2nd of November, during which they celebrate Day of the Dead (Día de Muertos).  

During Día de Muertos, Mexicans hold a huge party as they believe that their dead relatives can come back during these two days to visit the places they once lived.  In honor of this occasion, each family puts up an offering of food and drinks that their deceased loved-ones enjoyed during their life.  Traditionally, tamales, Día de Muertos bread, and sugar skulls are the most popular offerings.  The belief is that during the night, when everyone is sleeping, the ghosts can come visit the offerings, only taking up the offerings' scent.

It was a fascinating experience to see everywhere you went - schools, markets, on the streets, or in people's houses - these offerings.  Many places have Mega-offerings, where groups of people work together to create huge offerings of food, and even art, for the ghosts to enjoy.

Of course, as this culture is new to me, what I really wanted was a good old-fashioned Halloween party... one that of course included pumpkin carving.  Thankfully my friends at my Spanish language school where happy to oblige.  I think for all of them it was their first time to carve pumpkins - and they created some masterpieces.

I, naturally, was super excited that this party gave me the perfect excuse to search online for some crazy, weird food to make for the party: a Pumpkin-shaped Veggie Tray, Witches' Mouths, Mummy Dogs, Meatloaf Cupcakes, Peanut Butter Ghosts, Slimy-Orange Punch, and lots of sugar cookies - to be decorated at the party.

Jack-o-Lantern Veggies consist of a carrot-body, cucumber mouth, a broccoli stem, and your favorite veggie-dip for the eyes and nose.  I used an easy Cucumber-Curry Dip I found in one of my favorite cookbooks -The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook.

Cucumber-Curry Dip Makes about 1 1/2 cups
3/4 cup mayonnaise
3/4 cup sour cream
1 Tb fresh lemon (or lime) juice
1/2 cucumber, seeded and chopped fine
1 Tb curry powder
1 Tb minced fresh cilantro
Salt and pepper

Stir all of the ingredients together and season with salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate the dip for at least 1 hour to allow the flavors to blend. The prepared dip will keep, covered and refrigerated, for up to 2 days.  Season with additional lemon juice, salt, and pepper before serving.

Witches' Mouths is a fun and delicious concoction consists of red apple slices, creamy peanut butter, and mini-marshmallows.

Now, Mummy Dogs are really something to get excited about.  For the first one, a modified pretzel dough is wrapped around half a hotdog with mustard for the eyes.  

The second one was my husband's idea: you tear some Oaxaca Cheese into long strips which are wrapped around the mummy, using a hot knife (be careful!) or a flame to sear the end of the cheese strip to the rest of the cheese.  What made these so fun was the shreds of cheese made an excellent imitation of the mummy's cloth-bands.

Peanut Butter Ghosts (Modified from Spooky Eyeballs)  When I saw the Ghost version of this treat, I had to make it - so cute!  I did add 2 cups of Rice Krispies and took the suggestion to freeze the shapes before dipping them.  Just like another version of Buckeyes (Go Ohio State!)
Note: If you make the linked Buckeyes recipe, I highly recommend adding in a Tb of vanilla extract - it makes them extra addictive.

Slimy-Orange Punch (seen in the bottom left-hand corner) is a sweet, additive concoction of pineapple juice, orange gelatin, orange juice, ginger ale, and orange sherbet (though I used lime sherbet, as that was all I could find.)

In this picture, you can also see my Halloween-Shaped Sugar Cookies.  As I now live at a very high altitude, I recommend this recipe.

Sadly, my Meatloaf Cupcakes were so in demand, that I did not get a picture of them.  But feel free to take a look at the blogger that inspired that creation (I did use her recipe for the mashed potatoes, but the meatloaf recipe follows - and if you want a good meatloaf recipe, look no further.)

All-American Meatloaf from America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook
Serves 6 to 8
1 Tb vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped fine
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
4 tsp cider vinegar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk, plus extra as needed
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp Worcestershire
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp perpper
1/4 tsp Tabasco
2 lbs meatloaf mix (equal parts ground beef, pork, and veal or 1 lb 90% lean ground beef and 1 lb ground pork)
2/3 crushed saltine crackers or 1 1/3 cups fresh breadcrumbs
1/3 cup minces fresh parsley

1. Adjust an oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees.  Heat the oil in an 8-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until simmering.  Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.  Stir in the garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds.  Set aside to cool for 5 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, mix together the ketchup, brown sugar and vinegar and set aside.  In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, milk, mustard, Worcestershire, salt, pepper, and Tabasco together.

3. Mix the meatloaf mix, crackers, parsley, sauteed onion mixture, diced pear and egg mixture until evenly blended and the mixture doesn't stick to the bowl (if the mixture sticks, add additional milk, 1 Tbsp at a time until it no longer sticks).

4. Turn the meat mixture onto a foil-lined baking sheet and shape into a 9X5-inch loaf.  Brush with ketchup mixture.  Bake the loaf for 45 minutes to 1 hour.  (Alternatively, form tennis ball-sized rounds of meatloaf and put them into a greased muffin tin and flatten slightly.  Spread about 1 tsp of sauce over each ball and cook for about 30 minutes.)

5. Brush the loaf with the remaining ketchup mixture and continue to bake until the center of the loaf is 160 degrees, about 15 minutes. Let cool for 20 minutes before slicing and serving.

The nine pumpkins made during the party.

This carved pumpkin was the talk of the night - winning the "Most Mexican" Award.  If you cannot tell, it's creator stuck a 200 peso note in its mouth, about a $16 USD bribe for the judges.

I loved making these crazy recipes and can't wait until I get to do it again next year.  If you have any suggestions for what I should try next, please let me know!

~ Kim