The Mija Chronicles

A gringa in Mexico City

Lesley — Fri, 17 May 2013 13:13:41 +0000

This morning, at a coffee stand inside the Terminal del Norte bus station in Mexico City:

Me: I’d like a cafe americano with milk, please.

Young woman: We don’t sell an americano with milk. You can get a black coffee or a cappuccino.

Me: Can’t I just get a small amount of milk in my [...]

The glory of the Mexican breakfast

Lesley — Wed, 08 May 2013 16:15:53 +0000

Breakfast in Mexico City is one of my favorite meals. Usually it’s a fruit plate or a glass of freshly squeezed juice, followed by a heavy, spicy, substantial dish that will keep you satiated until the 3 p.m. lunch hour. Pancakes in DF can be a dinnertime snack.

The most typical Mexican breakfasts offer [...]

Quick chipotle salsa in Puebla York

Lesley — Fri, 03 May 2013 13:11:09 +0000

Since moving to New York, Crayton and I have suffered from intense salsa deprivation.

It took me awhile to start making my own because I kept looking for chile de árbol, the go-to red table salsa ingredient in Mexico City. But the chiles de árbol in Queens always looked stemless and [...]

A Queens gem: Inthira Thai Market in Woodside

Lesley — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 18:11:29 +0000

Until yesterday, I’d never smelled a handful of kaffir lime leaves.

The ones I smelled were frozen, sheathed in a little plastic bag at the Inthira Thai Market in Woodside. Event through plastic the smell was unforgettable: sharp and green and sour like lime juice, with the flowery perfume of a lemon and [...]

Mango season in Mexico City

Lesley — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 17:14:10 +0000

Just wanted to steer your attention to this quick piece I wrote for Culinary Backstreets, about mango season in Mexico City and what it means to me now that I’ve developed a mango allergy. Does this mean no more mango pico de gallo for me? Yes, probably. At least I still have [...]

Mexican foods I love: Tlacoyos

Lesley — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 15:53:18 +0000

Tlacoyos are small, flattened masa pockets that are stuffed with either beans, cheese or fava beans and then grilled on a comal. They’re a Mexico City street snack made almost exclusively by women, and usually you can find them near any subway station, market or tianguis.

A well-made tlacoyo has a crisp exterior, creamy innards [...]

A quick visit back to Mexico City

Lesley — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 16:58:50 +0000

I’d been kind of nervous about visiting Mexico City so soon after moving to New York.

Five weeks in a new place is not long enough to put down roots, and a glimpse of my former life — a two-week glimpse amid gorgeous weather — might unravel the fragile routine I’d built for [...]

How dried corn becomes masa, or nixtamal

Lesley — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 16:39:07 +0000

One of my favorite places in the Centro Histórico is an old corn mill on Calle Aranda. It’s one of the few places left in the neighborhood that still grinds dried corn into nixtamal, the dough that forms the base of tortillas, sopes, huaraches, tlacoyos, gorditas and countless other Mexico City street foods.

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Mexico City chef Margarita Carrillo on her new restaurant, Turtux, and saving forgotten tamale recipes

Lesley — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 02:07:28 +0000

Today’s post marks an occasional series I’m launching on this blog called “Tastemakers.” It’ll be a series of Q&As with people doing inspiring things with Mexican or Latin cuisine, in Mexico, New York and elsewhere. If you want to nominate someone, email me.

Margarita Carrillo Arronte is among the most well-regarded chefs in [...]

Crispy quesadillas with rajas, chicken and cheese

Lesley — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 23:03:04 +0000

For the past few weeks, meal-planning has made me anxious.

I couldn’t think of any dish that would make me feel how I used to in the kitchen — relaxed, happy, a gusto. This is probably because our temporary kitchen had dull knives, no blender and two tiny pots that held four [...]