You can't disappoint such keen-ness so Wednesday it was. And I think the mental note is stick to Tuesdays. I don't go to work on a Tuesday so have more time/energy, prior to the kids rolling in, to prepare. This time was not so well thought through, executed or received, to be totally honest.
There was no rolling around on the floor or screaming, which was a nice improvement, mostly because we were travelling to Mexico and there isn't a six year old alive who doesn't like taco shells. However I can't escape the fact that in a total of 4 weeks travelling to a variety of places in Mexico I never once saw taco shells. Maybe we didn't travel tonight to Mexico at all. Maybe it was Texas?
It was still rather lovely, though, to get out our photo albums (remember them?) of our two fabulous trips to that wonderful place - so wonderful that our friend declared it to be her ideal holiday destination: sun, sea, friendly people, delicious food, and abundant cheap markets. The younger kids were a bit taken aback when the Eldest declared "Isn't that where you had sex to make me??" Glad at least one bit of her story has sunken in!
It even felt like a bit of a cheat, all this 'Mexican' food because it's not exactly new to us. Our lovely lodgers, David and Eden, often made tacos for us last summer. But I did push the boat out a bit, making 'frijoles' (refried beans) though I know that none of the kids like pulses of any sort. And (double cheat) they weren't even really Mexican frijoles because I didn't have any pinto beans in the cupboard. All I had was butter beans and a recipe for 'Burmese butter bean mash' from the Guardian's recent all new Cook section of their Saturday paper. I left out the chilli flakes and fish sauce and mixed in the topping and mash altogether, squeezing a lime all over it in the hope of bringing it a rather more Central American flavour than Asian subcontinent!
For the mash- 400g tin butter beans
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- Dash of light soy sauce
- 1 tsp chilli flakes (optional)
- 2 tbsp groundnut oil
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 shallot, thinly sliced
THE DISH (with stars to denote something not really ever experienced by me in any authentic Mexican meal)
*Frijoles (as above)
*Mexican mince (just fried with onions and garlic and 'taco' seasoning out of the packet
*Heuves (eggs)
*Taco shells
*Fried potatoes (because I had some to use up)
*Chopped carrot and cucumber (because I know the kids will eat these)
*Guacamole
*Tomato salsa (I can't believe I am admitting this but this was a Dorito dip)
*Sour cream
* Grated cheese
Salad
So, it's good to know we were authentic on one aspect of the meal at least! To be honest though I can't remember eating rocket and the strange looking salad leaves we get in our organic veg bag in Mexico either. And yes, of course guacamole is an iconic Mexican dish, but any we were ever given in Mexico (and I actually can only remember having it once in a rather Americanized fast food place) burnt your mouth out with the amount of chilli in it. Ditto with the eggs.
THE REACTION
General pickiness rather clouded this worldly adventure. Youngest had a taco shell full of tomato ketchup and would not, for love nor money, try the tomato salsa (even with the Dorito branding). Only the Eldest would get the frijoles anywhere near her mouth (and she didn't like it even though she's a 'pescatarian' and really should embrace pulses for her own good). Basically they mostly ate taco shells with egg, cheese, carrot, cucumber and fried potato in. Pretty rounded diet, actually, but not exactly embracing Mexican food. Maybe Chicken Mole would have been better instead - the kids liked the sound of trying chicken stew made with chocolate sauce! The Eldest was still terribly keen and put her Aztec outfit on - one that she made herself for an assembly at school (I was pretty impressed I have to say). THE VERDICT
The meal descended so much into a fight about who wouldn't try what that I forgot even to ask them for an official verdict. I might try and revisit this. Who knows - in the gap of several days since they ate it they may even give it a more favourable verdict! But it did rather mean we didn't spend as long as I would have liked talking more about the place. We did mention the Wall and the problems Mexicans face trying to find a better future and the difficulties for families who's loved ones leave for the 'North'. But I never even got to tell the story of Sylvia and Eriberto - the baker and his wife with whom we sat one hot sunny day in their dusty courtyard outside their shack dwelling in Huicholes, one of the poorest areas on the outskirts of Mexico City. As we left these inspirational community leaders they gave us a present (why is it that the poorest of the world are so generous in their gift giving?) of an embroidered tortilla cloth which Sylvia had hand sewn. That was in 1997. I still have it and use it to keep the roast chicken warm on a Sunday while it 'rests' - but it was nice to use it for its original purpose!
OTHER RELEVANT LEARNING
- Don't attempt these adventures when there is less than 2 hours to prepare/eat.
- Stop writing such long posts.
- I'm a one-pot girl at heart. All these countries where you have to lay out 16 different dishes! Goodness.
- Photographing food is not as easy as it appears (is it Mark Kensett?!).
- Sort out the photo issue. (There is a long running Mac vs PC battle in our house and I have been caught in the middle whereby my technology doesn't talk to each other. It could get nasty if I can't sort it out soon).
**LATE UPDATE
When I asked the kids about a week after the Mexico event what they thought of the food they all declared 'We loved it'. Which just goes to show you... When pushed the Middle one said "I loved it. But the guacamole and refried beans I hated." And the Eldest said "I was blown away at what mum had put out on the table". And she's right - these cuisines with many dishes spreading before you do look rather more impressive than a one pot wonder. She must take after her Dad (the flamboyant bit of the cookery department in our household).
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