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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 5, 2022 7:08:01 GMT
It is such a relief that so many things are finally returning to normal.
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Post by tod2 on Apr 5, 2022 9:11:18 GMT
Yes, absolutely wonderful news.
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Post by lugg on Apr 6, 2022 20:05:30 GMT
Yeah !!! I guess you are going and hoping you will post
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 6, 2022 21:26:57 GMT
Thanks!
I saw the information posted on a local fb group and it seems that people are thrilled about it. It will probably be a mob scene, but a happy one. Hope it cools down here before then!
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Post by breeze on Apr 20, 2022 22:35:33 GMT
Oh, how did I miss this announcement? I blame the phone screen; it's too small and I zip through.
Again I'll have to miss the festival so bixa, I hope you'll go and try all 150 dishes and then come back here and describe the best dishes in detail.
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 21, 2022 1:24:50 GMT
I was wondering about that radio silence on your end!
Here is part of a puff piece announcing the event ~
After two years of absence due to the pandemic, this 2022 the meeting returns to bring together 50 traditional cooks, 41 of whom are new and nine will repeat because they present some vegan dishes, a demand from diners in recent years. Originally from the eight regions, the guardians of flavors will bring at least three ceremonial dishes, each, in addition to traditional sweets, ice cream and ancestral drinks.
Who are these diners clamoring for vegan dishes?!
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 21, 2022 17:00:44 GMT
I'm wondering a bit if new innovations appear every year or if it is the same traditional food every time.
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 25, 2022 18:34:19 GMT
For anyone wondering, yes I did attend the 4th Encounter of the Traditional Cooks of Oaxaca. I went to the Saturday session, eager to seek out foods new to me. Even though I went at lunchtime without having eaten anything beforehand, there is simply a limit to how much a person can or will want to eat in a hot, crowded tent. It would be great if the ordering and paying process could be streamlined and cooks urged to offer smaller portions so that more dishes could be tried by the attendees. Here we are at Plaza de la Danza at @ 1 pm on April 23, 2022. The Basilica of Nuestra Señora de Soledad keeps watch in the background ~
Set up opposite the entrance to the food pavilion. Next to it was a stand giving covid vaccination boosters ~
Looking down into the plaza from the steps above. Not yet very crowded ~
A lovely and welcome addition immediately to the right of the entrance to the food court ~
Our first exotic menu board, which reads from top to bottom: chichilo mole with chicken, white beans with shrimp, amarillo thickened with potato, "fist tamal (so called for its shape, mule driver's water (?)
Ice cream stand ~
Ciruelas (aka jocote) and nances in compote ~
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Post by lugg on Apr 25, 2022 19:32:54 GMT
Our first exotic menu board, which reads from top to bottom: chichilo mole with chicken, white beans with shrimp, amarillo thickened with potato, " fist tamal (so called for its shape, mule driver's water (?) Oh yes please . and the Nance fruit sounds like a miracle cure. As ever your photos are so fab x
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 25, 2022 22:46:13 GMT
As ever, Lugg, you are too kind ~ thank you! To be honest, nance is not a fruit I care for, even if that makes me feel disloyal to the local cuisine. Many people love them, though, so maybe I'm just being a pill. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ While looking up the various ingredients, recipes, etc. online, I found something remarkable. Remarkable, but I'm not sure it's entirely legal. Someone has put Diana Kennedy's book, Oaxaca al Gusto online. Yes, the entire book in pdf form! I'm including the link here for those who'd like to read more about Oaxacan cooking in English. Note that the book can be purchased from various sellers in both new and used editions and also, very economically, in digital form. Here is the pdf link. And a further note on the links included in this thread: I've done my best to find accurate information and recipes in English, but some of these wonderful dishes have either never been written in English or have not made it online. In that case, Spanish links or recipes are included, for which google translate can be used, if necessary. I imagine people more knowledgeable than I might be reading this, in which case corrections will be gratefully received. So, moving right along ~ Lots of interviews and videoing in progress ~
From the lady's blouse on the right, along with the beautiful embroidery on the town's sign, we can tell these cooks have brought their food from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. They offer: garnachas, lard bread, and corn tamales in stew (?)
Making tortillas ~
Food of the gods: pickled pigs feet with pickled vegetables ~
Iguana in mole amarillo, white beans with shrimp, thick stewed chepiles. I would have liked to try that last dish, a different use for the popular green chepil.
Crawfish mole amarillo, pork ribs in flying ant sauce. chicatanas
The crawfish ran out before I got any -- a crushing disappointment. Here is the biggest crawfish I've ever seen, and I have seen millions of crawfish. This monster was at least five inches from his forehead to the where the tail curves ~
An amazing thing at this event is the tireless cheer, friendliness, & patience of the hardworking cooks. This lady noticed me taking a picture. I said, "I didn't get you -- I was focused over your head." She cocked her head, so I said, "Do you want me to take your picture?" She removed her mask & here is her lovely sweet face ~
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 26, 2022 1:08:27 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 26, 2022 5:01:57 GMT
And back in the first courtyard, there is the work of Aidé Ramirez, whose work I love and collect ~
And here is the lovely lady herself. After letting me take her picture, she honored me by taking mine, saying she needed a photo of her fan ~
As I go to leave this courtyard to return to the pavilion, I have to make way for some luminaries ~
Adriana Aguilar Escobar is the Secretary of Cultures and Arts of Oaxaca ~
She turns to help Abigail Mendoza, a true culinary star, down the steps ~
Back at the pavilion, books about Abigail Mendoza are for sale ~
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 26, 2022 5:19:07 GMT
I went back to the beginning of this thread looking to see if there were any men cooks. Apart from the heavy duty barbecue work, there don't seem to be any except for the man receiving an award.
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Post by onlyMark on Apr 26, 2022 5:32:40 GMT
All the tin/ceramic etc work shows how skilled they are and intricate some of it is. Even the sweets. I'm not so keen on the pastel stuff but I can see its benefit for day to day usage. Regarding the tin work, your city is known for knives and swords as well, was there any on display?
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 26, 2022 6:10:52 GMT
These men are sandwiched between the wall of the Municipal Palace and the pavilion area. I had to quickly snap this picture and jump away before the heat melted the camera. I don't know how they stood it!
It's time for me to wrap this report up. Some of you might want to know what I ate.
Due to the large portions and the heat, I only managed two dishes, but also enjoyed a foamy cold chocolate drink with a base of toasted, ground rice.
I wish I could have tried everything on this menu, but only had the mole valdado, which was delicious. The broth was thick and rich, with a tang lent by the green ciruelas cooked with it. The fish was perfectly fried. The accompaniment was a surprise -- sort of a corn meal patty. I've never had anything like it in Mexico before.
A good while later, when I sat down to a bowl of white beans cooked with dried shrimp, the woman sitting across from me said her father's family were all from Bogalusa, Louisiana. Small world! As we ate, the brass band broke into a furious tune so the Chinas Oaxaqueñas could do their thing in the narrow space between the bandstand and the long tables where people were eating ~
Alas, the beans were a disappointment. They were nicely cooked, but I discerned no shrimp. Floating in the bowl was a piece of rather dense fish which had been fried in fluffy egg batter. Had the dish been sparked with some chopped onion, chile, & lime I think I would have enjoyed it more ~
A while later I decided to return home. When I left the pavilion I saw that the vaccination stand had moved to the shade of the steps descending to Jardín Socrates ~
This man fills out his vaccination form. His companion is appropriately attired for a visit to the food pavilion ~
After my excitement over being able to get my 2nd booster, it was revealed that there were no more doses.
Crestfallen, I decided to take a couple of pictures & make another pass through the pavilion.
The beautiful basilica of La Soledad ~
A balloon seller has a solitary meal on the steps down to Jardín Socrates ~
Back in the pavilion, this stately person moved like a ship through the eddying crowd ~
The menu board on the right above offers toasted tortillas with beans & cactus paddle, tacos with mixed wild greens, and tamales of bean & jumiles -- aka stinkbugs.
I plow my way back out of the crowd to find that more vaccine has been delivered. So it was that I enjoyed a day of Oaxacan culture & food plus shored up my immunity. I leave you all with a last look down at the very packed pavilion ~
~ ~ ~ ¡Buen provecho! ~ ~ ~
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 26, 2022 16:19:24 GMT
Sorry for not responding to the questions in #72 and #73 sooner, but I fell into bed after that last post last night & didn't see them. I see I also never responded to Mick's question way back at #59. mickthecactus asked: Btw, what's a rescue dish?Mick, I believe that is a traditional dish that was in danger of being lost, but that would be featured at this kind of event by a cook(s) who still knew how to make it. As far as men cooks, I think it's logical that there are fewer of them than women because of the interpretation of "traditional" and by the standards applied in choosing the cooks for this event. Probably in most of the world, women have mostly been the cooks in the family, passing that on to their daughters as an essential life skill. Reading & hearing the stories of the women participants, one thread that runs through all of them is that they started very young and under the guidance of adult women in their families. Not uncommonly, this was because of economic necessity. The man featured on page two of this report, Rogelio Chávez García, didn't have quite such an "at mother's knee" experience, as he only started helping his mother at her café when he was 22, while also studying to become a primary school teacher A few years later he illegally entered the US and wound up as a dishwasher in a Tex-Mex restaurant in New York. He also learned to make tortillas & secretly practiced recipes at night. Rogelio introduced the restaurant's owner to food from back home in Mexico and the owner in turn invited his friends to try those dishes. This culminated in the owner having Rogelio cook for the restaurant because, as Rogelio recounts, "the chef was always drunk". While in the process of getting legal papers, Rogelio received news that his brother had been killed in an accident, so returned home to Putla, Oaxaca. There, his mother gave him the restaurant, which has now been open for thirty years. In his experience, there are not as many male traditional master cooks because there is not enough initiative for the male gender in this area. "I think that men think they have to study and be 'chefs' to have a place, when it doesn't have to be that way." (This information was cribbed & translated from the book Oaxaca y sus Cocineras.) onlyMark, I didn't see any of the knives or other such implements this time around. You'll see the wares of a master knife maker at reply #18 on page two of this report, but that was back in 2018. A man I know from a Oaxaca Group on facebook makes wonderful reports and videos on artisans of this region. Here is one about a knife maker that I think you'll very much enjoy: brianparksart.com/el-espadero-swordsmith-de-ocotlan/
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Post by mich64 on Apr 26, 2022 19:21:31 GMT
Bixa, Thank you for sharing your visit! I enjoyed seeing everything! I do love the tin products and will be searching for something here that I can copy the look to display my tea bags. The woven bags also reminded me to begin searcing for one that I need for use as a beach bag.
The bean soup would sound amazing with the addition of the chiles and lime, hope to remember that.
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Post by lugg on Apr 26, 2022 20:19:17 GMT
Mouth-wateringly good ... and I don't just mean the food pics as great as they are. Love the pottery and I can just imagine how good was it to meet Aide . To be honest I really like all the pottery , yes even the pastel pieces - but I especially would love to own the deep blue dish you? are holding. Yeah you did manage to get your booster after all - icing on the tortillas .
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 26, 2022 21:58:11 GMT
Thank you so much, Mich -- your words are so gratifying! Now that your dear Mark is retired, you have to think hard about coming down here to visit. I know you would enjoy yourself and it would be such a thrill to meet you.
I bask in your praise, Lugg -- thank you! Yes, I like all the pottery, too. It's just as well that the pastel pieces are too pastel-y for my taste, as their quality, heft, and texture were pretty seductive. If I'm remembering correctly, the four serving bowls in the middle forefront of that display were @ $30 usd apiece.
I have met Aidé before, having bought directly from her. But it was immensely flattering that she remembered me from two or three years ago. I really, really, really wanted the middle of those three compote dishes in the photo immediately above hers. It was 1300 pesos, so @ $65 usd, which I think is a steal for one of her pieces. It has to be mentioned that I am sitting in my dinky living room which presently holds five of her ceramics, plus there are another two up in my bedroom. Were I to figure out a place to put it, that compote would be mine, all mine.
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Post by breeze on Apr 27, 2022 19:51:10 GMT
This place looks festive right from the get-go.
Bixa, your first indoor caption says it's not crowded. Oh no? I held off scoffing and was glad I did when I came to the end. Okay, now it's crowded.
Seeing that view from upstairs, I wanted to smell the cooking aromas. What does the tent smell like? Maybe a better question is, is there a predominant smell of Mexican food? If I go into a Chinese restaurant in PA, the smell is of hot cooking oil. In a lot of small old country restaurants, there's a lingering smell when you walk in of cigarette smoke. In a restaurant in France, you can usually smell the meat of the day when you walk in, but there's not going to be a predominant herb or spice. I know I'm asking a question that's likely impossible to answer.
I can't wait to tell my husband that in Mexico stink bugs are on the menu. He is their sworn enemy and escorts them out of the house whenever he sees one. He picks them up on a webster (tool for picking up spider webs) and escorts them outdoors, very gently but ruthlessly.
It must have been overwhelming. So many choices, 50 I believe? Oh, that's 50 cooks, so 150 dishes. I would want to try some of everything, and as you say, smaller portions would give visitors a chance to try more dishes. I'd love to go around with a small bowl and get just a taste of everything. Could I manage to eat 50 tastes a day for 3 days in a row? I doubt it.
I've never had pickled pigs feet, never been tempted, but if you recommend it, bixa, I'll try to track it down. I doubt the kind sold in jars in our area would be as tasty as one cooked in the Oaxacan tradition.
Tin, pottery, textiles, palm baskets, add to the event. I would take some of those pastel plates, but the whimsical animal heads and cups appeal to me more.
I'm very happy for you, finding a dish you'd never tasted in Mexico.
Thanks for taking us along to this wonderful event.
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 28, 2022 1:38:40 GMT
Breeze, even though the tent was open on all four sides & the ceiling of it was very high, the main thing I noticed was how smoky it was -- you can even see that in some of the pictures. I'm betting you would have noticed and identified any specific, characteristic specific-to-Mexico scent more easily than I, as what I was getting was "food cooking", without my brain sorting it in any way. The way those stink bugs are described in the link, they sound like the bright green ones I know from Louisiana -- the kind that smell intensely spicy, kind of like a new, overly aggressive car deodorizer. Honestly, their bugginess & my cultural bias will probably keep me from ever trying them. I have had chicatanas -- the flying ants -- and they're quite nice. Still, ants are somehow less icky seeming than other bugs. You're right about the choices being overwhelming. There is the consciousness that any one thing you eat will take up space that can't then be expended on another worthy dish. At some point, I was muttering, "Where's that damned Breeze when I need her?" I figured I've photographed the event enough times that at the next one I'll make sure to go with at the very least one other person so that we can share plates and get to try more things. The one thing I know about Mexico is that you'll always find something different, surprising, and delicious to eat. I was once traveling with my sister in the state of Mexico. We were in a market bound for the nearby bus station. I boarded & realized she was no longer with me. Shortly afterward she came panting on board right before we took off. She said she'd been right behind me, but then some market lady sitting on the ground said to her, "Buy this!". She didn't know what it was, but got some anyway. It was dried corn husks wrapped around something cold. That turned out to be ricotta cheese enwrapping some kind of berry jam -- a perfect travel treat. re: pickled pigs feet ~ I've eaten them my whole life, so no cultural bias for me to overcome there. (aside: I've also eaten hogshead cheese my whole life & am here to report that Louisiana style is much better than Mexico style. Sorry, Mexico.) But I digress. Here is a recipe for the pigs feet. My suggestion is for you to get a jar of them from a store where you live. Then use the recipe to kind of season the jarred ones to an approximation of the Mexican piggy foots. Maybe give the jarred feet a short bath in boiling water or broth, then dress them a la south of the border using the recipe as a guide. That will let you know if you want to go whole hog, as it were, in starting from scratch and making your own. anyportinastorm.proboards.com/post/89903I can't thank you enough for your generous words. My last word is: remember that when you come to Mexico to try the food that there is also shopping.
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Post by Liz Renn on Apr 28, 2022 16:24:52 GMT
Your coverage of this event was amazing. I didn't know about it in time to go tjis year, but I have enjoyed it in the past. This year's event tops all previous years. I especially loved your coverage of the artisans and their work. The ceramic pieces of each one are outstanding, and I will definitely try to find them for always-needed gifts. Thank you so much for what had to have been a hectic day for you. the results are worth it!
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 29, 2022 2:44:39 GMT
Lovely Liz ~ thank you so much! I know your frustration about finding out in time. I lucked out & saw it somewhere on facebook, but I swear I don't recall seeing a physical poster anywhere. Also ~~~~~ did you know that the pavilion on Alcalá is back? Yes, the one we haven't seen for two years. I believe the dates are April 25 to May 1. I talked to one of the artisans there today & he said everyone is mystified as to why it wasn't on during Semana Santa. Whatever -- it was a nice stroll through it, looking at all the lovely items and, best of all, it felt so normal.Again, thanks for taking the time to look through my report and for your kind words.
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Post by Kimby on Aug 13, 2022 13:22:55 GMT
I’ve come to this thread very late, but it was worth the wait! Bixa, you have outdone yourself with this one. The blend of colors, candid portraits of really interesting-looking people and their creations - both culinary and artisan - and your word pictures conjuring up the atmosphere and scents of the experience. Thank you, thank you!
PS With enough advance warning of the dates of the next food fair, one could consider booking a flight to come join you and share plates. (I still need to retake the photos of Oaxaca and environs from the roll of film that was lost in transit to or from the processor in 1991!)
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 14, 2022 21:36:31 GMT
Oh Kimby, thank you so much for those generous words!
Looking back in the thread, I see that the first notice I saw of this year's event was on April 5 and that the event itself was on April 23, so not much warning at all.
Let's hope that in 2023 things will be far more stable and that the Encuentro will be announced much further in advance. The second I know, I'll let you know. What a treat to finally meet you in person AND to have you willing to taste test more dishes with me!
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