A Naturopathic View of the Aztec Diet : Part 2 : Appendix 1 : Atole

I briefly look at the masa based drink called atole in my Post Mexican Cooking Equipment : The Molinillo but lets go into it in a bit more detail here and in another related Post I’ll investigate a range of chocolate beverages based on this ingredient called masa. Atole (Spanish) from atolli (Nahuatl) which, according to the definition, is a beverage made from finely ground maize, mixed … Continue reading A Naturopathic View of the Aztec Diet : Part 2 : Appendix 1 : Atole

nixtamal9924th Mar 202513th Mar 2025Leave a comment

Herbs, History, The Kitchen

Esquites, Tequesquite and a Witches Curse.

Esquites are a “ Mexican snack ” composed mainly of seasoned, boiled corn kernels served in a cup. They are a well known and loved snack throughout all of México. Vendors can be found on street corners, bus stations, train stations and in mercados pumping out the most fundamental (and probably the most original) street food of all Mesoamerica. Now do you want it on … Continue reading Esquites, Tequesquite and a Witches Curse.

nixtamal9931st Jan 20247th Apr 2025Leave a comment

Herbs, The Kitchen

Quelite : Mafafa

Xanthosoma robustum Also called Paxnikak (1), Lok, barbaron, pitzoquilit This plant is a “tolerated” quelite when found growing in coffee plantations or the milpa, in that I mean it will be left to grow if it sprouts up as a weed in commercial or other agricultural crops. This is often the case with quelites which are generally considered to be weed plants. There are some … Continue reading Quelite : Mafafa

nixtamal9926th May 2023Leave a comment

Herbs, Native Plants, The Kitchen

Xocoyoli : The Sour Quelite

As a child one of my first plant memories involves what we called “sour grass”. This is a plant in the Oxalis family (Oxalis pres-carpae) that has four leaf clover like leaves, bright yellow flowers and long juicy stems. The stems (or peduncles) would be chewed like a farmer chews a haystalk as we walked or played. It was often a challenge to see who … Continue reading Xocoyoli : The Sour Quelite

nixtamal9926th May 202328th Jun 2023Leave a comment

Uncategorized

Aceitilla : Bidens pilosa

Genus epithet ‘Bidens’ (BY-dens) means ‘twice’ (bi) and ‘toothed’ (dens), a reference to the two bristles on the tip of the achene-seed (1) of some members of this genus. Species epithet ‘pilosa’ means ‘hairy’, describing the velvety foliage. Synonyms: Bidens abadiae DC; Bidens abadiae var. Sherff pilosoides ; Bidens arenaria Gand.; Bidens gully ME Jones; Bidens bimucronatus Turcz.; Bidens californica DC.; Bidens caracasana DC.; Bidens … Continue reading Aceitilla : Bidens pilosa

nixtamal995th Dec 202216th Jun 2023Leave a comment

History, The Kitchen

Puches : Part 2 : Puches or Puchas?

Cover Image : Puchas from the Panadería La Purisima De Silao in Guanajuato, Mexico My last Post (1) was borne from a readers comment regarding tequesquite. Tequesquite is a natural mineral salt that has been used in Mexico since pre-Hispanic times (mainly as a culinary ingredient/food seasoning). It was mentioned in an historical document from 1844 that was a list of ingredients, and their costs, … Continue reading Puches : Part 2 : Puches or Puchas?

nixtamal9928th Jun 2022Leave a comment

History, The Kitchen

Puches

Cover Image via Commonwealth of Social Services (Sierra Norte de Madrid) I received some interesting feedback on the Post Tequesquite from an independent historian in New Mexico (1) who noted that tequesquite was listed in a document from 1844 (2) that listed it as an ingredient in a dish called “puches”. The document was part of a folio regarding a 16th of September (3) celebration … Continue reading Puches

nixtamal9922nd Jun 2022Leave a comment

Herbs, History, Native Plants, The Kitchen

Quelites in Old Texts

In this case the text in question is Nuevo Cocinero Mejicano (1) En Forma De Diccionario (1888) Mejico or Mexico? and why? See the link to David Bowles etymological journey in the website references. See also my earlier Post : Origins of the words Aztec and Mexico I stumbled across this text purely by luck. In response to a readers comments regarding tequesquite (1) being … Continue reading Quelites in Old Texts

nixtamal9926th Apr 2022Leave a comment

Curanderismo, The Kitchen

Tequesquite

or tequexquite (from Nahuatl tequixquitl) tetl: stone, and quix-quitl: sprout, sprouting stone. Quixquitl has also been said to translate as “foaming/efflorescent” (1) (Parsons 2001) or “something that comes out by itself, that floats” (algo que sale por sí mismo, que flota). Also called : sal de tierra (land/earth salt), sal de laguna (lagoon salt) Tequesquite is a natural mineral salt containing compounds of sodium chlorate, … Continue reading Tequesquite

nixtamal9923rd Nov 20206th Jan 20233 Comments

The Kitchen

Masa, Tortillas and Vitamin T

Comida callejera is very popular in Mexico and is enjoyed by people of all social classes. This food is produced by home cooks and it is not unusual to see businessmen standing in line with the working classes and indigenous locals waiting for a dose of vitamin T. The quality of the food is measured by the length of the queue and people will travel … Continue reading Masa, Tortillas and Vitamin T

nixtamal9920th Jun 201912th Feb 2025Leave a comment

Masa Americana

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

Tag: tequesquite