mexican far from mexico

Part of our trip to Toronto included a bit of the weekend with a friend in Barrie, which is about an hour north of Toronto. I had been expecting a night of cooking with her, but as her and her husband are currently waiting for his contract to finish in Manitoba before he moves to Barrie, she is keeping possessions light and most of her kitchen is still out west. Instead, she said that there were a few actually good restaurants in Barrie, something I have to admit I was not expecting. We ended up getting Mexican at Si Señor, which, with a name like that, we weren’t sure of the food. Our host’s recommendation was true, however, from the Mexican guy who greeted us at the door to the musician who came in and started singing songs in Spanish and asking for requests while we were eating. We ended up ordering a mix of foods and sharing it all while we enjoyed the singing.

The ceviche was fantastic in a tomato-based sauce, which I wasn’t sure if I’d like, but the whole table was trying to get the last bits at the end, so I’d say it was a winner.

The pollo (chicken) tostadas were served at the same time, and while I do remember them being good, I don’t recall anything specific about them. I guess they were overwhelmed by the other fantastic dishes.

The queso fundido was kind of like a dip, served with delicious warm tortillas. Thick and cheesy with pork in it, there was lots of flavour to it and generally I thought it was stick-to-your-ribs good.

The big winner of the night was the alhambre. I don’t recall the full name of the dish, but it had beef, peppers, cheese, and pineapple, along with spices. Eat bite was a bit of heaven, especially with the tortillas. The pineapple was a nice addition and really helped set off the other flavours.

We left with both our bellies and our souls sated.

Si Señor
24 Dunlop St. W
Barrie, ON

drink what the incas drink

Well, I not all of these were enjoyed by the Incas and their predecessors, but you get the idea.

Two beverages that cannot be missed while in Peru are Inca Kola and the pisco sour. The first is a bubble-gum sweet, radioactive-yellow tinted pop sold everywhere. It is very popular, outselling Coca Cola by…I’m not sure. A lot. I liked it a lot and drank it when I could. No caffeine!

The pisco sour is the signature alcoholic drink of Peru. Pisco is rather like grappa, the Italian liquor made from grapes. Kind of like a Peruvian grape brandy, I’ve heard it described. It’s also made in Chile, but the Peruvians are fiercely protective of it, citing national pride. There’s a lot of that down here. Either way, it’s a pretty strong, pretty tasty drink that, again, you can buy in every bar in Peru. It’s topped with beaten egg whites.

Other drinks reach further back. Chicha is an old, old drink made from corn. The alcoholic version was made by communally chewing corn (that’s right, sharing spit), then letting the remains sit and ferment until you had booze. We tried some, and though it wasn’t too alcoholic-tasting, it was definitely fermented. I rather enjoyed it. You can buy chicha in almost every town in Peru, you just have to keep an eye out for a pink/red flag (most commonly a plastic bag tied to a stick) hung outside of a home. That means CHICHA HERE.

Even better was chicha morada, a non-alcoholic drink made from purple corn. This was probably our favourite drink, consumed at every possible opportunity. Of course, it was best when homemade, but you could buy it in a two-litre bottle as well. It was often made with bits of pineapple or apple in it, giving it a slight fruity taste. Oh, man, I’m drooling just thinking about it! You can find a recipe from Cocinando con Carmen at the end.

Coca tea is another ancient drink, one often used to help with altitude sickness. It’s much weaker than chewing the coca leaves themselves, but still delivers some of the benefits. After every meal, this is one of the options you receive – the other two are anise tea and chamomile. I enjoyed my coca tea with a touch of sugar.

I don’t know if the Incas drank quinoa juice, but lots of people do now. It’s a popular breakfast food/drink, as a matter of fact. Hot, filling, and tasty, it’s usually sold on the street. A quick recipe for it from Cocinando con Carmen can be found at the end of the article.

Lastly, the drink that’s wrinkled the most noses – essence of frog. I tried this in a market in southern Peru, where the guy selling it to me told us that 10-15 people come by every day to get their healthy frog juice. He was one of many, many sellers in town. It’s not just frog, there’s also carob extract, half of a banana, carrot and beet juice, a raw quail egg, water, honey, and maca (a kind of powdered root). It didn’t taste too bad, kind of sinister juice. Chris likened it to juice made with pond water. I don’t know if there’s a direct connection, but I was rather ill that night. We’ll never know. Oh, and just so it’s clear, the frog was alive right before I ordered the drink – it’s killed and skinned on the spot.

Mmmm, thirst-quenchers.

Chicha Morada

3 L water
1/2 kg purple corn
1 tsp whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
1 pineapple
Brown sugar and lemon juice to taste

1. Cook the purple corn, cloves, cinnamon, and pineapple skin in the water for 10-15 minutes.

2. Strain and let cool. Add the sugar and lemon juice if you wish, then add the pineapple, chopped into small cubes. Cubed apple can also be added.

Quinoa juice with apple

1/2 c cleaned quinoa
1/2 kg apples, cut into quarters
2 cinnamon sticks
1/2 tbsp cloves
sugar to taste
1/2 c brown sugar for colour

1. Put 2 litres of water, quinoa, apple, cinnamon, and cloves in a pan. Bring it to a boil and let it simmer. When the apple is cooked, remove it and blend/smash it, put it through a sieve and return liquid to the pan. You can skip the sieve if you like. Drink is finished when quinoa is rather soft and mushy.

2. To give the drink some colour, heat the sugar in a pan. When it caramelizes, add it to the pan. Add extra sugar to taste until desired sweetness is reached.

soyo

This may not look the most appetizing, but it is an amazing meat broth-soup commonly eaten here in Paraguay. A pretty simple recipe, it results in a very flavourful soup that I really enjoyed every time I got it.

This recipe is taken from Comida Paraguaya by Josefina Velilla de Aquino. Translation by Chris.

SOYO

500 g minced meat
2 L cold water
2 tbsp rice
3 tbsp oil
1 medium onion
1 bell pepper
1 tomato
3 green onions
1 level tbsp flour
salt
oregano
parsley

1. Grind meat and rice in a mortar or a food processor several times, until it forms a paste. Put in a bowl and mix well. (You may also mix meat and water in the food processor.)

2. Heat the oil in a pan. Cook the onions a little, then add the tomato, pepper, and finely chopped green onion. Add the flour to this sauce, then the meat and rice in water. Stir until it comes to a boil.

3. Add salt, oregano, and parsley to taste. If you wish, you can put the whole soup through the blender again for a smoother dish.

Serves 8.

Often served with noodles in the soup.