Curanderismo, Herbs, History, Native Plants, The Kitchen

A Naturopathic View of the Aztec Diet : Part 2 : Appendix 2 : Chocolate Drinks

I briefly look at the masa based drink called atole in a couple of earlier Posts (1)(2) and I recommend you check these out for a little more context (culturally speaking). They’ll introduce you to the core ingredient (and arguably the basis of life in Mexico), the nixtamalised corn dough called masa, and it will introduce you to an archetypal piece of Mexican cooking equipment, … Continue reading A Naturopathic View of the Aztec Diet : Part 2 : Appendix 2 : Chocolate Drinks

nixtamal9924th Mar 202517th Mar 2025Leave a comment

The Kitchen

Recipe : Al Pastor

Cover image via Antojitos Mexican Curious on Facebook Typically tacos al pastor are made with marinated pork which has been stacked onto a vertical spit known as a trompo and cooked much in the same was as the Middle eastern doner kebab (1). The doner kebab (and tacos arabes) are of course not made with the forbidden flesh of the swine but the meats more … Continue reading Recipe : Al Pastor

nixtamal9925th Oct 2021Leave a comment

The Kitchen

Marinades : Recado Rojo

Typically when I think of a marinade I think of a liquid that something (usually meat) is immersed in so as to give it flavour or, in the case of tougher cuts of meat, to tenderise it. You marinate the meat by soaking it in the marinade. The word marinade hearks back to the use of salted water as a brining/pickling liquid (1). Generally anything … Continue reading Marinades : Recado Rojo

nixtamal993rd Jun 202112th Aug 2022Leave a comment

Herbs, Native Plants, The Kitchen

Achiote (Annatto)

Alo called : urucum, açafrão , açafroa , açafroeria-de-terra (Brazil), axiote (Mexico), bija (Peru, Cuba), santo-domingo (Puerto Rico), urucu (Argentina, Bolivia), bixa (Guyana), analto (Honduras), onotto, onotillo (Venezuela), guajachote (El Salvador), lipstick tree Achiote is a Yucatecan spice obtained from the seeds of the Bixa orellana shrub/tree. Achiote held a sacred function for the Mayas and Aztecs as an extract of the plant was regarded as a symbolic … Continue reading Achiote (Annatto)

nixtamal9920th Jan 2020Leave a comment

History, The Kitchen

Tacos al pastor

Moorish culture had an impact on more than just the medicinal practices of the Mexicans. The method of cooking tacos al pastor (in the style of the shepherd), is a dish developed in Central Mexico that is based on shawarma spit-grilled meat brought to Mexico by Iraqi immigrants in the early 1900s and Christian Lebanese following the Israel-Lebanon war in 1948 and the 6 day … Continue reading Tacos al pastor

nixtamal999th Sep 2019Leave a comment

Masa Americana

A naturopathic view of the culinary and medicinal sciences of the Americas

Tag: achiote