Traditional findings from Sinaloa, Mexico.

When we were in Mazatlan Sinaloa we cooked a lot, so tasting local food was not our main goal. However, we came across these wonderful tamales which are traditional in the entire country but each state/area has different types of tamales.

A tamal (Spanish: tamal, from Nahuatl: tamalli) is a traditional Latin American dish made of masa (a starchy dough, often corn-based), which is steamed or boiled in a leaf wrapper (banana leaf or corn leaf). The wrapping is discarded before eating. Tamales can be further filled with meats, cheese, vegetables, chilies or any preparation according to taste and both the filling and the cooking liquid may be seasoned.
Tamales were one of the staples found by the Spanish Conquistadors when they first arrived in Mexico and were soon widely spread throughout their other colonies. Tamales are said to have been as ubiquitous and varied as the sandwich is today.

The tamal we ate (mainly I did) was filled with chicken, veggies and sauce. Fantastic for only $10 pesos which really makes for a great meal, just one and you are full and happy…

I have to say that so far the best tamales I have ever tried are made by my mom and pretty soon we will be eating them… This time I will learn how to make them so that one day I can cook them for you.

-Looks messy, tastes awesome!!!-

Tacos del Lerma.

Tacos are just amazing, healthy and cheap. In this recipe we use seasoned pork meat, spent $65.5 pesos for all the ingredients plus fruit and had leftovers for other recipes. A pack of beer (8) is $68 pesos, so those have to be used throughout several days to justify the expense.
A taco is always better with a beer, especially if you are feeling stress!!!

Ingredients:
Tortillas
Seasoned pork meat
Olive oil
Onion
Jalapeño
Cucumber
Lime
Fresh cheese
Avocado
Lime zest
Beer!!!

Preparation:
1) Cut the meat in strips and cook it with a little bit of olive oil, put aside.
2) Cut (in reasonable pieces) the onion, jalapeño and cucumber. Cut the limes in halves. Place everything in a container on the table.
3) Peel avocado. Place avocado and fresh cheese on the table, people can cut the pieces depending on how big they like them.
4) Warm up the tortillas and cover them with a cloth to keep them warm.
5) Prepare your taco by placing on the warm tortilla the meat, fresh cheese, avocado, a bit of lime juice, lime zest, onion and jalapeño. Pieces of cucumber can be included but since this taco is already “gordo” I suggest serving them in the side.
6) If you happen to have beer, go ahead and try…

Gorditas Mazatleñas.

Gorditas are typical in Mexico, they are different from place to place. Here in Mazatlan, I found the tick tortillas already made at the tortillería which saves a lot of time, it is just the matter of putting on top whatever you like. In some states these are also called “Picaditas” because they are pinched in the middle. Anyway, I will refer to them as “Gorditas”.

Ingredients:
Gorditas
“Carne machaca” (dehydrated meat from Sonora)
Olive oil
Fresh cheese
Onion
Lime zest

Preparation:
1) Place the gordita on a pan and add a little bit of oil.
2) Add “Carne machaca” and let it cook for 1 minute.
3) Add lime zest, chunks of onion & fresh cheese.
4) Enjoy…

Finally Pineapple!!!

Finally we had just pineapple and enjoyed it very much. Simple, simple and delicious breakfast…

Ingredients:
Pineapple
Sweet bread (Pan de dulce)
Coffee

Preparation:
1) Peel the pineapple and cut it into wedges.
2) Serve the pineapple with “Pan de dulce” and coffee. We had a kiwi from another day so we ate it too!!!
3) Enjoy.

Don’t talk to me in the middle of it.

This is one of my favourite dishes so far. I have to tell you that Brian has great ideas in many areas, he is a real man, the man to travel with… Nothing is impossible with him and cooking is a pleasure. The following dish can be prepared on target (budget) without diminishing the quality.

Ingredients:
Rib-eye steak
Pineapple
Corn
Avocados
Cilantro
Jalapeño
Onion
Tortillas
Olive oil
Butter
Salt
Seasoning salt

Preparation:
Tortilla chips or “totopos”-
1) Cut several tortillas in strips or triangles.
2) Add olive oil to a pan and drop some tortilla strips or triangles in it until they are brown ish.
3) Take them from the pan and place them on a napkin to drip the unnecessary oil. Do the same with the rest.

Corn-
4) As simple as just cook the corn in some water until is tender and put aside.

Steak-
5) Prepare the steak with some oil and seasoning salt.
6) Fry in a little bit of oil and add some butter once it is cooking. Ensure all the juice is poured on the steak while this is being cooked.
7) Cook the steak to the level you desire.

Caramelized pineapple-
8) Cut strips of pineapple and place them on the pan.
9) Let the strips cook until they have a brown appearance.

Guacamole-
10) Peel the avocados and place them in a bowl.
11) Cut a piece of onion, jalapeño y cilantro in fine pieces and add them to the bowl.
12) Add some salt and mix all these ingredients together ensuring a chunky consistency, you will enjoy it more.

Finally put all these items together on a plate in a way that makes you feel good…

-Safety first-

-Pineapple goes excellent on this dish-

Quesadillas.

Simple, simple, simple!!! and tasty. A package of tortillas, if not fresh, is about $8 pesos / 25 pieces; or you can buy a fresh kilo of tortillas at the “tortillería” for $7 pesos. We needed tortillas that were a bit harder than fresh for other purposes so we bought a package. Cheese prices depend on the type, a typical cheese for quesadillas costs around $17 for a ¼ kilo in Mazatlan but as we head South prices will be better…

Ingredients:
Tortillas
Cheese

Preparation:
1) Warm the tortilla, add some cheese previously cut in reasonable pieces.
2) Let the cheese melt.
3) Ready!!!
4) You can always add a piece of tomato, avocado or anything you like.

Simple curry.

Thai food is one of my favourites and unfortunately/fortunately we have left the land of beauty: Canada, specifically Vancouver when it comes to food. The good thing is that I packed some Thai-curry paste with us and Seonaid, my friend who lives in Smithers BC, sent me away with some powder coconut milk. Today we finally cooked a meal with these ingredients.

Ingredients:
2 Chicken thighs
Powder coconut milk
Thai-curry paste
Veggies (the other half of the bundle used to cook Sopa de Verduras)
Raisins
Rice
Butter


Preparation:
1) Cook the chicken in some water.
2) Use the broth from the cooked chicken to boil the rice.
3) In another pan, use a bit of butter to cook the veggies and once they are soft add the powder coconut milk, Thai-curry paste and water until it has a creamy consistency.
4) Add the chicken and cook for couple of minutes.
5) Add some raisins.
6) Serve the rice with the flavoured veggies on top.
7) This is NOT Rob Fennie, these are just “Brian & Deya” cooking with love!!!