Cultura, Español, Recipes - Recetas

Un champurrado, por favor.

MoKa Hammeken

¿Quién no ha probado el famoso champurrado (o champurro)? Ideal para el frío, con pan, para una mañana familiar o  en la noche junto a una chimenea o fogata. Lo pedimos, lo compramos, unos lo hacen más sabroso que otros (sin duda). Sin embargo, a veces, la ley de Murphy se hace presente, y cuando […]

¿Quién no ha probado el famoso champurrado (o champurro)? Ideal para el frío, con pan, para una mañana familiar o  en la noche junto a una chimenea o fogata. Lo pedimos, lo compramos, unos lo hacen más sabroso que otros (sin duda). Sin embargo, a veces, la ley de Murphy se hace presente, y cuando se antoja uno, no encontramos por ningún lado, entonces ¿por qué mejor no hacerlo? Claro, al estilo tradicional sonorense. ¿Lo mejor? Combina perfecto con los típicos tamales del 2 de febrero (Receta de tamales de elote) Arremánguense y manos a la obra. Ingredientes: 1-1/4 de litros de agua 250 gramos de piloncillo (3 pilones) 1 raja de canela 4 clavos de olor

1/2 taza de harina 100 gramos de cocoa (1/2 taza) Agua para mezclar la harina Preparación y procedimiento: Se hierve el agua con el piloncillo, la canela y los clavos hasta que se disuelva el piloncillo. Se tuesta la harina en un sartén hasta que tome un color dorado. Se deja enfriar y se mezcla con agua fría. Se le agrega la cocoa y se revuelve hasta que no queden grumos. Puede colarse. Una vez que el agua haya hervido se le agrega lentamente la harina diluida con la cocoa, y se revuelve constantemente para que no se pegue. Se deja hervir hasta que se cuece y se espese.Y a disfrutar se ha dicho.

Recipes - Recetas

Caldo de queso

MoKa Hammeken

¿Qué me dicen, si antes de cualquier cosa, se lanzan por cosas para hacer un caldito de queso? Y así ya está todo listo para mañana.- Se escucha decir a mi mamá un sábado por la tarde. Y es que, desde que tengo memoria, en mi casa es una tradición hacer el caldo cuando la […]

¿Qué me dicen, si antes de cualquier cosa, se lanzan por cosas para hacer un caldito de queso? Y así ya está todo listo para mañana.- Se escucha decir a mi mamá un sábado por la tarde. Y es que, desde que tengo memoria, en mi casa es una tradición hacer el caldo cuando la familia está reunida, o después de una fiesta, casi siempre en domingo. Es uno de los pocos platillos que disfrutamos todos en la familia y es algo muy sonorense. El ritual familiar dicta sentarnos todos cerca en lo que hacen el caldo, para platicar y reir hasta que la mamá dice ¡ya está! Y entonces nos acercamos con nuestro plato. El caldo hirviendo y el queso desapareciendo. Sin embargo, lo mejor es el recalentado. Es por eso que mi mamá lo hace en la olla más grande que tiene. Esta receta, está ya tan clavada en nuestro ADN que mi mamá ni siquiera lo tiene en su viejo

y deshojado cuaderno de recetas. Cuando le hablé, porque se me había antojado prepararlo, me la dijo de memoria, sin tanteos. “Es lo más fácil del mundo”. Mi abuela lo hacía, mi mamá lo hace y hasta hace poco lo empecé a hacer yo, cuando invité a una amiga a comer. Cae como ángel en las nubes a un estómago medio torturado. Esta es la receta de la casa. Claro que habrá varias formas de prepararla, y cada familia tendrá su “receta secreta”. Pero la idea es que, conforme la vayan haciendo y probando, le agreguen o le quiten elementos hasta que quede a su gusto. Menos el queso, obvio, si no, ya no se llamaría caldo de queso. Caldo de Queso (para 4 personas) Ingredientes: 1 puré de tomate 3 chiles poblanos 3 papas Sal o consomé de pollo al gusto (o consomate) ½ litro de agua ½ litro de leche 3 tazas de queso asadero,…

Cultura, Recipes - Recetas

Caldo de Queso / Cheese Broth

MoKa Hammeken

“What do you say, before we do anything else, you go get stuff to make a caldito de queso? That way everything is ready for tomorrow,” my mom said one Saturday morning. As long as I can remember, it’s been a tradition in my family to make caldo (broth) when the family gets together, or […]

“What do you say, before we do anything else, you go get stuff to make a caldito de queso? That way everything is ready for tomorrow,” my mom said one Saturday morning. As long as I can remember, it’s been a tradition in my family to make caldo (broth) when the family gets together, or after a fiesta, usually on Sunday. It’s one of the few dishes we enjoy together as a family, and it’s very Sonoran. The family ritual dictates we all sit together while the caldo is being prepared, so we can chat and laugh until mom says, “It’s ready!”  Then we all gather round with our plate, broth steaming and cheese melting. Nevertheless, the best part is heating up leftovers, which is why my mother always uses the largest pot she has. This recipe is so entrenched in our DNA, my mother doesn’t even have it written down in her aging notebook full of recipes.  When I called her, because I

had the urge to prepare caldo, she recited it from memory without hesitation, “It’s the easiest thing in the world.” My grandmother makes it, my mother makes it, and just recently I’ve begun to make it myself, after inviting a friend over to eat.  It is like an angel tumbling from the clouds into a half tortured stomach. This is our home recipe. Of course there may be different methods of preparation, and each family has its “secret recipe.”  The idea is as you continue to prepare and test it, you’ll add or take away elements to your own liking…well, except the cheese of course because without cheese it would no longer be “caldo de queso.” Caldo de Queso (serves 4) Ingredients: 1 small box of tomato purée 3 chile poblanos 3 potatoes Salt or chicken broth to taste (or Consomate) ½ liter of water ½ liter of milk 3 cups of cubed asadero, chihuahua, or…

Cultura, Recipes - Recetas, Rocky Lounge

Courtesy of abuela: Lentil & Bacon Soup

MoKa Hammeken

Given an expected cold front set to roll into the area this weekend*, we thought we’d bring up this goodie from last year to help keep us all warm.  ¡Buen provecho! *Granted, “cold front” may be all relative for anyone visiting us from points North.   By MoKa Hammeken  (Republished from Jan. 2013) January is […]

Given an expected cold front set to roll into the area this weekend*, we thought we'd bring up this goodie from last year to help keep us all warm.  ¡Buen provecho! *Granted, "cold front" may be all relative for anyone visiting us from points North.   By MoKa Hammeken  (Republished from Jan. 2013) January is a grand month. It begins with tremendous energy, stuffed (like a turkey) with resolutions, optimism, and cozy cold temperatures calling for jackets, blankets, and layers of clothing. We treat the New Year like a magical being, covered in a padded cape of fairy dust. When eating twelve grapes at midnight (on New Year’s Eve), with our eyes closed and our hearts anxious, we wish for many many things and (if I’m not mistaken) a common denominator within these New Year resolutions is that of achieving the much sought after, and thousand times imagined, body of our dreams. Not a soul can be found at fast food restaurants, just

the poor kids working there who must be having fun as if it were their vacation. Nevertheless, our enthusiasm seems to decrease as we start to take off the layers of clothing engulfing us, obviously not expecting to see any change at all. So then the lettuce and tomato begin to beg for accompanying partners within two slices of bread…possibly a generous portion of ham or cheese and of course hopefully the waitress won’t forget how well these go with a good serving of French fries. I imagine the cold doesn’t help much either. Very few of us crave lettuce when we’re shivering; in our minds, the synonym for “fresh” is polar ice cold – still, there are other options, like soup. So, we turn to a rich and comforting soup for the season, with a variety of healthy vegetables that will help us meet our goals. This can be accompanied with one or two pieces of…

Cultura, Recipes - Recetas

A taste of Sonora: Cocido de Res

MoKa Hammeken

At my grandmother’s, the famous “cocido de res Sonorense” (Sonoran cooked beef) was known as “puchero” (stew). She would greet us with this dish every time we visited her home on Calle de Xochicalco in Mexico City. My family always delighted in this, though personally I must admit I wasn’t much of a fan. “Monica,” […]

At my grandmother’s, the famous “cocido de res Sonorense” (Sonoran cooked beef) was known as “puchero” (stew). She would greet us with this dish every time we visited her home on Calle de Xochicalco in Mexico City. My family always delighted in this, though personally I must admit I wasn’t much of a fan. “Monica,” my grandmother would scold, “How is this possible? This is from where you are from, and it’s beef, how can you not like it? Taste it, it came out really well.” It was always the same. We would eat this for the first two days because, in her excitement, she would always cook a lot. She really did prepare it well, but honestly I was always holding out for a milanesa, enchiladas, or tacos de canasta. Now here in Puerto Peñasco, one day a friend of mine called up: “It’s Tuesday, Cocido de Res day at Lolita’s; do you want some, because they’ll run out.” “What is it?,” I asked naively. “It’s like

a beef broth with vegetables.” I still didn’t understand the relationship of one with the other; I heard beef, broth, beef…I could leave the vegetables to the side if I didn’t like them. “Ok,” I answered. When my friend arrived at my home with a styrofoam cup, imagine my surprise to see this was the famous dish my family had baptized “puchero”! I became a bit nostalgic; it was delicious (though not like my grandmother’s). While my friend lived here, she would go to Lolita’s religiously almost every Tuesday for their famous Cocido de Res. The thing is, one cannot always go out to eat and/or buy enough for the whole family. Plus, what happens when it runs out and you’ve still got a hankering for it? I decided to go to the phones for a recipe. This is the original, which my mother had jotted down in a notebook that no…

Cultura, Recipes - Recetas

Time for Tamales

MoKa Hammeken

We all know what a tamale is. We’ve enjoyed them at parties, celebrations, and feasts and above all they are the guests of honor on February 2nd, the Día de la Candelaria (Candlemas Day), when those who found a small doll in their slice of Rosca de Reyes on Jan. 6th now have the obligation […]

We all know what a tamale is. We’ve enjoyed them at parties, celebrations, and feasts and above all they are the guests of honor on February 2nd, the Día de la Candelaria (Candlemas Day), when those who found a small doll in their slice of Rosca de Reyes on Jan. 6th now have the obligation to bring the tamales! While we know tamales are a dish quite typical of Mexico and Central America, we do not know specifically who created them or how recipes have been passed down. According to archeologists Karl Taube, William Saturno and David Stuart, tamales date back to 100 B.C. They have found pictorial references in the Mural of San Bartolo in Petén, Guatemala. Isn’t that incredible! Tamales have been around since then!  This is why tamales are so deeply rooted on our palette and in our celebrations. What we do know is the famous corn tamale is a culinary tradition in Sonora. For generations these tamales

have been the envy and wonder of many, with a taste so very typical of the region. I remember my mom would go crazy, while my grandmother’s eyes would widen upon hearing “corn tamales from Magdalena,” which they would joyfully (though properly) devour, freezing leftovers for another occasion. I am sure many have their regional favorites, but we have family [in Magdalena] and I lived there as a girl which is why the taste stirs up family gatherings.  My father, nevertheless, is not as much of a fan as he only like tamales prepared with cooked cheese. So, in order to shine this February 2nd, I leave you with a delicious recipe for Tamales de Elote, which is a traditional recipe according to Sonoran Regional Cuisine. Tamales de Elote Ingredients 5 kilos of white corn (36 pieces on average) 2¼ kilos of green chile (Anaheim chiles) 750 grams of vegetable shortening 400 grams of white cheese 1 cup of…

Cultura, Recipes - Recetas

A little mole about mole

MoKa Hammeken

By MoKa Hammeken We’re well into September, the patriotic month for Mexicans! The month full of explosions of color and tastes! We’ve also had the famous long holiday weekend, “puente”, invigorating the hearts of the nation with fiestas streaming with tequila, sombreros, fireworks, and typical dishes. Who as a young child didn’t want to go […]

Mole in Cordoba, Veracruz Photo: Plinio Rivero 2011

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