Civil War reenactments reminds me a lot of "
Cinco de Mayo". Why? Well, both commemorate battles. While some participate with great fervor others couldn't really care less. In the Mexican state of Puebla the celebration is relevant, since that was the location for the memorable battle the holiday commemorates. It was an important turning point in Mexico's history, a Mexican Gettysburg of sorts. South of the border this holiday is known as
La Conmemoración de la Batalla de Puebla and it is really a minor holiday. The name doesn't necessarily rolls of the tongue, does it? Maybe that is the reason "Cinco de Mayo" (the
date of the battle) has become the popular name for this holiday.
There are many other reasons why "Cinco de Mayo" is more popular in the United States than in Mexico. One of the reasons was the promotion of this holiday by South West authorities after the Mexican Cession of 1848. It was a way to "boost" the moral of the Mexican population now living in US territory but it was also a way of steering new citizens away from any nationalistic sentiment associated with Mexican independence, celebrated the 16th of September. To this day some folks in the South West still get nervous any time a Mexican flag is waved in US territory. The State and city of Puebla however, are more interesting than just one battle.
Puebla has amazing gastronomy, the mixture of Indigenous and European influences. The culinary delights of the city of Puebla are far from tacky "Mexican" restaurants, frat boys wearing sombreros and clever marketing inviting people to drink. In honor of this city I present you
Arroz Poblano, a classic recipe from Puebla. The roasted
Poblanos give this rice a nice bite that is actually quite tolerable, even by those not fond of spicy foods. Traditionally prepared with sour cream, cheese and chicken stock, this version of
Arroz Poblano uses no animal products. It is by no means any less delicious. To prepare it, you'll need the following ingredients:
- One cup of long grain rice
- Two cups of vegetable broth
- One fresh ear of corn
- One roasted poblano chile, prepared as you would for rajas con papas
- One green onion or scallion, including the green part
- A tablespoon of roasted garlic
- A bunch or cilantro
- A tablespoon of olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Optional garnish
- A teaspoon of Better than Sour Cream by Tofutti
- A few drops of lemon
- Chopped cilantro or parsley
- Extra poblano slivers and corn kernels
Start by roasting and slivering a Poblano pepper as instructed in the recipe
rajas con papas. De grain the corn using a sharp knife. Place a cutting board under the corn to catch all the kernels and save for later. Using a knife, scrape the corn husk in a sauce pan as shown in the picture.
Boil the corn husk and corn scrapings, together with the onion, cilantro, broth and half of the roasted pepper. Boil for about 10 minutes until everything is soft.
Remove the corn husk and discard. Puree everything else in a blender. If necessary add more liquid in order to obtain two cups of broth. Strain the flavored broth and save for later, try to keep it warm.
Fry the rice in the olive oil at low heat. Use a large sauce pan that has a good, tight fitting lid. Stir the rice continuously until it starts turning a nice golden brown. Pay attention the the way the rice smells, before it is done it will start to smell nice and toasty - but don't over fry it or it will turn bitter. Turn the heat off and let the rice cool a little bit. Add a tablespoon of roasted garlic.
If your flavoring broth is cold, heat it up. Add two cups of the warm broth to the sauce pan. Stir in the pepper slivers and the corn, and salt and pepper to taste. Turn the heat back up until everything starts to bubble. Don't stir too much once you add liquid, or the rice will break. Add a spring of cilantro and cover. Turn the heat down. Simmer for twenty minutes using a very gentle flame. Make sure you don't lift the lid or you'll let the steam escape and your rice will be chewy.
After twenty minutes check to see if the rice is done. Take a spoon full of rice from the very top of the sauce pan and check if the grains are soft. If the rice is still hard add a bit more liquid, cover, and steam for another 5 more minutes. I the rice is done you can fluff it with a fork, but don't stir it too much or it will get mushy.
Before serving you can add a bit of sour cream and cheese. This recipe uses no animal products, so I use a bit of Better than Sour Cream by
Tofutti that has been thinned a bit with a few drops of lemon juice.
Serve your rice and garnish it with a little bit of chopped cilantro or parsley, and extra peppers and corn if you wish. Enjoy! Feliz
Conmemoración de la Batalla de Puebla!
The illustrations at the beginning of the recipe are from a painting titled "La Venta" by Primitivo Miranda. Via the
Women of the Independence and Revolutionary Wars of Mexico.
I created this mural and adjacent window installation for Galeria de la Raza. Read about the inspiration for this digital mural here. The staff of the gallery work hard to get the mural up, even after days of non stop rain! The mural went up not only to celebrate the holidays - but it also coincided with the winter solstice, and during a recent lunar eclipse. I think it was very appropriate - for many ancient cultures in the Americas, the deer was a sacred animal in charge of bringing back the sun. I wish happy holidays to everyone, warmth, y mucha felicidad! 
I threw a chocolate party last Friday to commemorate the Day of the Dead holiday. Why chocolate? Well, everyone loves chocolate! Chocolate was also a sacred food to ancient Mexicans so I found it very appropriate to celebrate this ancient holiday using a chocolate theme. Here's some tips if you want to organize a Day of the Dead chocolatada (chocolate feast) of your own:
No chocolatada can be complete without some hot chocolate. I used tablets of Chocolate Ibarra and Chocolate Abuelita and mixed them with hot low fat milk and soy milk. A little bit of the pasilla and negro chiles was added to the blender in order to make a delicious spicy and sweet drink. A little bit of Mexican vanilla also gives the chocolate a wonderful scent. Please make sure you get authentic Mexican vanilla, it really makes a big difference. One of my guests said it was the best hot chocolate she had ever tasted! You can get Ibarra and Abuelita hot chocolate tablets at MexGrocer, I get my vanilla from Xanath in San Francisco.
Artwork by Jesse Hernandez
I started my walk on 16th street and Dolores. I saw this cool dress on the window of Sunhee Moon, a kicky boutique for fashionable gals. The pattern of the dress seems to be inspired by Dia de los Muertos papel picado patterns! Very cool, isn't it? The design is called "Calya" and also comes in red for $195. Sunhee Moon also has "Meg" (pictured below) also in a papel picado print, but with bird and flower designs. It is $248. If you like these dresses also check out my other post about the papel picado dresses by Ronaldo Fraga.
Valencia street seems busy with the many efforts to widen the sidewalks, plant trees and add additional lightening.
Interestingly enough the Calavera poster was posted on a construction site where the former Valencia Hotel used to stand. Many people met horrific deaths during the 1906 earthquake, more than in any other site in San Francisco. Many were trapped three stories below the surface under mud, and the rest of the survivors burned alive. The image comes via The Virtual Museum of The City of San Francisco. It is available for licensing.
Remove the corn husk and discard. Puree everything else in a blender. If necessary add more liquid in order to obtain two cups of broth. Strain the flavored broth and save for later, try to keep it warm.
Fry the rice in the olive oil at low heat. Use a large sauce pan that has a good, tight fitting lid. Stir the rice continuously until it starts turning a nice golden brown. Pay attention the the way the rice smells, before it is done it will start to smell nice and toasty - but don't over fry it or it will turn bitter. Turn the heat off and let the rice cool a little bit. Add a tablespoon of roasted garlic.
If your flavoring broth is cold, heat it up. Add two cups of the warm broth to the sauce pan. Stir in the pepper slivers and the corn, and salt and pepper to taste. Turn the heat back up until everything starts to bubble. Don't stir too much once you add liquid, or the rice will break. Add a spring of cilantro and cover. Turn the heat down. Simmer for twenty minutes using a very gentle flame. Make sure you don't lift the lid or you'll let the steam escape and your rice will be chewy.
After twenty minutes check to see if the rice is done. Take a spoon full of rice from the very top of the sauce pan and check if the grains are soft. If the rice is still hard add a bit more liquid, cover, and steam for another 5 more minutes. I the rice is done you can fluff it with a fork, but don't stir it too much or it will get mushy.
Before serving you can add a bit of sour cream and cheese. This recipe uses no animal products, so I use a bit of Better than Sour Cream by Tofutti that has been thinned a bit with a few drops of lemon juice.
Serve your rice and garnish it with a little bit of chopped cilantro or parsley, and extra peppers and corn if you wish. Enjoy! Feliz Conmemoración de la Batalla de Puebla!
A group of young people painting a mural during the Cesar Chavez parade and celebration last week. Thanks to everyone that supported the event, and the Spring Crucero Artero at Galeria de la Raza!
