Sketching at the Coffee Shop

My recent trip to Teotihuacan put lots of ideas into this brain. The sound of the jaguar whistle is still resonating in my skull. I'm fascinated by the way of life in the old world. I often imagine what the daily life of people were like and what the process of making a meal was like. I think of corn and molcajetes.

So I sit with my pen and coffee while I bring these thoughts to life on paper.

Sketch by Xhico

Sticky and Sweet: Honey in Mexico City

I love honey! It's my preferred sweetener, along with agave nectar. I always think of my childhood friend Amy when I buy honey because her dad is a beekeeper. To this day he still keeps bees in my hometown of Oakdale. He even has bee boxes on my dad's property, so he shares some of the honey with my family.

Honey Cart in Mexico City

Rather than buying honey from a store in Mexico City, I buy it from the honey man. He wheels his cart around the neighborhood selling honey and many bee related products, like honey comb and even royal jelly. This last time I got avacado flower honey. I've been using it over avacados, vanilla ice cream and in my tea.

La Cadencia Lonchería in Mexico City

(Xhico en México)

Alambres de Pollo al Pastor

If you're looking for a good bite to eat in the Roma neighborhood of Mexico City, check out La Cadencia. It's more than just a stop for cyclists and local hipsters, it's a little loncheria offering breakfast, lunch and dinner. The funky decor made of bike parts supports their menu of traditional Mexican dishes with a twist. The food is freshly prepared in huge portions. The staff is friendly and efficient. My friends and I have eaten here several times and always had excellent service from Adrian. He's one of the best waiters we've had in Mexico City. My friend Tara swears by the Molletes and I'm a fan of the Mole Chilaquiles and Alambres.

If you're a vegan or vegetarian, they have plenty of options for you, including tofu! They are also pet friendly and bike friendly too. They have a great lunch deal for comida corrida, so check out La Candencia Lonchería for a good bite.

Chilaquiles with Chicken and Mole Sauce

Molletes, Tara's Favorite

Coffee and Fresh Orange Juice with Breakfast

Agua del día: Melon

La Cadencia Lonchería Logo

La Cadencia Lonchería
Tonalá 183B, esquina Chipas
Colonia Roma, Delegación Cuauhtemoc
México, DF 06700

Bringing the Perfect BLT to Mexico City

( Xhico in Mexico City )

I'm going to be making deliveries in Mexico City soon! So I've been working on some classic American recipes to bring to the mouths of the people in Mexico via ComeCasero. I decided to start with one of my favorites, the BLT, sometimes the BLTA.

The perfect BLT on Ciabatta from Panadería Rosetta

That's right, the simple Bacon Lettuce Tomato and add Avocado if you want it California style. Who thought getting this sandwich right would be such a challenge. First, of course, there was the bacon. I had to figure out where to get good bacon and an efficient way of cooking large amounts in a tiny kitchen. First of all, finding good bacon in the grocery store isn't going to happen. The butcher there will not have it, so I needed to head to a carnecería at my local market. That took me to one of my favorite places, the mercado, Mercado Medellín to be exact.

There amongst the fruits and vegetables toward the back corner you will find the meat men. An array of butcher stands that specialize in poultry, pork, fish, beef and sometimes other things. I began to collect samples of bacon as I visited a few stands and made sure to hit up the butcher where I bought that amazing chicharron prensado from the trip before. Mostly because I like it when the guy calls me "patron".

Butcher cutting my smoked bacon into slices

After testing all the bacon for flavor, thickness, fat content and how it held up after cooking, the butcher that calls me "patron" was the winner. Their bacon was smokey and perfectly marbled and the butcher could cut the bacon to my preferred thickness. Now I had to figure out how to cook large amounts of bacon in a tiny kitchen. After some skillet tests and oven tests, the oven was going to be the method. Now I thought I had it down.

Perfect smokey, marbleized bacon from Mercado Medellín

I just needed good bread now. Then I realized that I'm in the land of tortillas. There aren't many bakeries around and most of them specialize in pan dulce - sweet bread and other pasteries. Finding a good fresh loaf of bread was not easy. I started with the supermarket bakery. This made me appreciate my supermarket bakery in Los Angeles much more. There was no beautiful loaf of brioche. The bread here was dense and mealy, and the interior crumb, was just that – crumbs. The loaf was beyond disappointing. This challenge led me on a hunt for the best bread that I could find in Mexico City.

Making my bread at Panadería Rosetta

Going for coffee at Panadería Rosetta

I hit up some of the bigger chains like La Espiga and Globo, as well as some artisanal bakeries. They were all dissapointing (though those donuts in Globo smelled and looked delicious - I had to resist, because I'm was on my mission). I had a few more high-end artisanal bakeries to explore. My friend, Tanya, had reminded me of a bakery we went to once to have pan dulce and coffee, Panadería Rosetta – but it was too busy and we went down the street to La Puerta Abierta.

Ciabatta Test: Panadería Rosetta (left) vs. Pan Verde (right)

I finally made it to Panadería Rosetta for a coffee with Tanya. We sampled some pan dulce and it was delicious. The roll was airy and light and the scones were fluffy, moist and had a nice outer crunch. I had a good feeling about this place. I left with ciabatta and a loaf of pan blanco (which is the closest thing I could find to sourdough or good white bread). I arrived home with some bread from other bakeries as well.

3rd Place: Ciabatta from Pan Verde

Slicing, buttering and toasting was how it spent the next hour and a half. Making notes and taking pictures in between. Then I had to make sandwiches and see how they all held up. This brought me down to the top three breads to use for my BLT. They were Cibatta from Pan Verde and a Ciabatta and Pan Blanco from Rosetta. Ideally I would have used the pan blanco because it was more like a traditional BLT slice. But the bread was difficult to slice into even pieces because of the shape of the loaf. This left me with the two ciabattas and Panadería Rosetta was the clear winner. The ciabatta had a wonderful cloud-like inside with a slightly salty crust and they were easy for preparation.

2nd Place: Pan Blanco from Panadería Rosetta

1st Place: Ciabatta from Panadería Rosetta

After nailing down those two main ingredients, my BLT was well on it's way. It just need some lettuce, tomato and some of my secret sauce. It will remain a secret, but where to find amazing bread in Mexico City won't. Panadería Rosetta is the bakery where you want to be buying bread.

Panadería Rosetta
Colima 179
Colonia Roma, Mexico City

Chocolate Cheerios Hit Mexico City

Chocolate Cheerios

I love chocolate and I love Cheerios. So what could be better than Chocolate Cheerios? I was given samples in Mexico City and I was getting the munchies late one night and decided to give them a try. They weren't too bad. They are basically Cheerios coated in Nesquick chocolate powder. I could see why kids would love them, because they transform your ordinary milk into tasty chocolate milk. I think Cheerios is onto something!

Chocolate Cheerios

Chocolate Cheerios turn your milk into chocolate milk!

Cucumber Ice Cubes Recipe

Cucumber Ice Cubes

Cucumber ice cubes are the perfect summer refreshment. I grew some cucumbers in my garden this year and the plant took off like wildfire. I had so many cucumbers and ran out of pickle jars. I started making cucumber agua frescas which were so refreshing. I had some extra and decided to make some popsicles and ice cubes. The ice cubes turned out to be great. They made water more refreshing and added a great nuance of flavor to vodka cranberry cocktails.

Cucumber from my urban garden.

Cucumber ice cubes and popsicles are easy to make. Here's how:

Ingredients:
1 Large Cucumber
Water
1/4 cup sugar (more or less to taste)
Pinch of salt

You need:
Blender
Ice cube trays (or popsicle molds)

1. Peel and roughly chop a large cucumber into one inch pieces. It doesn't matter how they look, because it's going into the blender.

2. Add cucumber, sugar, salt to blender. Fill blender almost to top with water. Blend until smooth.

3. Pour into ice cube trays and freeze. If you have popsicle molds, these are also a great summer treat for kids.

4. Serve with water or vodka cranberry cocktails.

Enjoy!

Verdolagas Sauce Recipe, Something New to Cook

(Xhico en México)

Chicken with Salsa Verdolagas and Crispy Fried Potatoes

I was at the Tuesday Tianguis for my usual ritual of quesadillas. I always pick up some produce to cook. As I was leaving, a woman was waving a large handful of greens at me and shouting, "Joven, diez pesos!" The leafy green looked similar to watercress, but I was sure what it was. As usual curiosity got the best of me and I stopped to investigate this produce. It turns out it was "verdolagas" which translates to English as "purslane". I had heard of it, but never heard of eating it. This annual succulent is actually one of the most nutritious greens on the planet with high levels of omega-3's and vitamins.

Verdolagas (Purslane) and Garlic

It sounded great, but I had no idea how to prepare it. The woman rattled off several recipe suggestions to me, but the one that resonated with me with the idea of making it into a sauce to accompany chicken. Chicken was already on my menu for the night, so it seemed like the perfect plan. And it was.

I prepared Chicken in Salsa Verdolagas topped with Queso Blanco served with Crispy Fried Potatoes and Spring Onions. Here's how I made it:

Recipe: 

CHICKEN IN SALSA VERDOLAGAS

INGREDIENTS:

2 Chicken Breasts (pounded flat)

1 Bunch of Verdolagas (Purslane)

1 White Onion

4-5 Cloves Garlic

1 Small Serrano or Jalapeño (Optional if you like it Spicy)

1 1/2 Cups Chicken Stock

Juice of 1 Small Lime

Salt to Taste

2-3 tbsp Oil for Cooking

METHOD:

1. Prepare your ingredients. Slice onion, crush garlic cloves whole with side of chef's knife, chop verdolagas into 1-2 inch pieces.

2. Sautee onions and garlic with a little oil on low-medium heat until the start to caramelize. Remove and set aside once caramelized. I use a deep stock pot so that I can use the same pot to cook the verdolagas.

3. Add verdolagas to the hot pot. You may need a splash of oil. Not much though. Let the verdolagas wilt down until the start to become tender. Don't overcook them and let them get too dark.

4. Add all ingredients to blender and blend a couple minutes until smooth. If you are added a chile for spiciness, chop it and add it into blender with rest of ingredients. Return salsa to a small sauce pan and cover or put on low heat to keep warm.

5. Meanwhile, those chicken breasts... I buy them here in Mexico already pounded flat and thin -"aplanado" or "para milanesa". Warm up your skillet to medium heat. After it is evenly hot, add 1 tbsp of cooking oil to the skillet. Let it get hot. Gently add your chicken breast as not to splash yourself with the hot oil. Let each side cook until light golden brown. These are flast so the cook pretty quick, just about 3-4 min on each side.

6. Served chicken with sauce poured over and topped with queso blanco.

Provecho!