By Dave DeWitt Chile is so ingrained into the culture of Mexico that chile expert Arturo Lomelí wrote: “Chile, they say, is the king, the soul of the Mexicans—a nutrient, a medicine, a drug, a comfort. For many Mexicans, if it were not for the existence of chile, their national identity would begin to disappear.” Early Origins In southern Mexico …
A World of Curries: The Curries of the U.K. and the Raj Reversed
By Dave DeWitt Recipes: Eggs Baked in Curry Sauce;Mulligatawny Soup;Lamb in Cashew Nut Curry; Chicken Tikka Massala; Mixed Vegetable Korma; Meat with Balti Curry Sauce While England was helping to spread curries around the globe through colonization and emigration, it was slowly becoming the curry capital of the world after India. How ironic for a country supposedly known for its bland foods! A …
A World of Curries: South and East Africa
By Dave DeWitt Recipes: Malawi Curry Powder Berbere Ethiopian Curried Butter Ethiopian Chicken Stew Curried Beef and Bananas Pinang-Kerrie The Dutch colonized South Africa because of its ideal position halfway between the Netherlands and the Spice Islands. It was a perfect outpost for raising the vegetables and livestock necessary to replenish their ships. In 1652, the Dutch East India Company …
Guatemalan Lava and Fiery Foods
By Paul Ross Recipes: Suban-IckPork in Adobado SaucePepian de PolloGarafuna Seafood StewOyster Ceviche Dotted with more than 30 volcanoes, Guatemala is the kind of country where folks like to take the family on a Sunday afternoon picnic up the slopes of an erupting peak, straight past signs cautioning “unstable ground and dangerous fumes.” Then the survivors stand atop a crumbling …
Yo Soy un Chiltepínero!
By Dave DeWitt Above, the Sierra Madre, Home of Chiltepins My amigo Antonio swears that the motto of the Sonoran bus lines is “Better Dead Than Late,” and I believe him. The smoke-belching buses were flying by us on curves marked by shrines commemorating the unfortunate drivers whose journeys through life had abruptly ended on this mountain road. We waved …