Sense Of Place
The Day of the Dead is Better than Memorial Day
My Grandparents-in-laws’ grave, 2 November 2004 |
The curtains in my kitchen. |
Colorful Things – understanding cultural differences.
My Mexican sister-in-law’s colorful dishes, just washed. |
Why are bright, colorful things so cheerful and why is America so afraid of them? I’ve spent my whole life becoming fascinated by color and it’s combinations, from fingerpaintings to oil paintings to colorful gemstone jewelry. I’ve often wondered why so many cultures embrace and celebrate color while my own seems to suppress and marginalize it. In Mexico, colorful living is standard practice, a way of releasing control over their lives and giving it back to God. In America, only the fringe live colorfully: artists, bohemians, hippies. Here, a colorful outfit is a sign of a dangerous mind, of an impulsive rule-breaker, of someone who’s not afraid to stick out.
My mom had us playing with color as far back as I can remember. She’d set us up at the kitchen table with watercolors or crayons and we’d just go to town for hours! I remember that new boxes of sharp crayons or pristine, unmuddied watercolor sets were the most exciting presents. I used to get so distressed when, in my haste, I’d muddied up a once bright yellow pan of watercolor. Mom would always swoop in with a napkin and resuscitate my sunny friend. I suppose that this early training predisposed me to a love of colorful things.
Now I know that color exists in America, but the “adult” and the “professional” and the normal rhythm of our society lean toward quiet, somber, dignified colors. The next time you’re in a crowd – look around – most outfits are composed of dark blues, greys, blacks, white, beige, khaki and forest and olive greens with the occasional red accent thrown in. Take a look at all those cars out on our roads – they paint the same picture. The next neighborhood you drive around – check out the house colors – equally drab. A culture of people who, by and large, play it safe and follow the rules and believe in protocol and proper conduct. Good news for personal safety, bad news for beauty.
By contrast, in Mexico (not the only colorful country, but it’s the one I know best,) color runs rampant. There are just as many pink or green houses as white ones. There are even houses painted all three of those colors! Color is everywhere, even the normally boring plastic housewares are a riot of pink, purple, orange, red, blue, yellow and green. I read somewhere that this flagrant use of color in Mexico started as a way of living closer to God. “Let go and let God,” if you will. It’s a letting go of control over your environment, an act of recognizing that existence is, ultimately, out of our hands. The wonderful colors found everywhere in Mexican society are a natural extension of their whole cultural attitude of freedom and taking chances.
It’s strange to me, how in America, “colorful” is at once marginalized and admired. When children say they want to grow up to be artists, most parents try to steer them toward something more “respectable” with tales of the starving artist and of doing something with your life. (Thank goodness my parents aren’t like that, because they would have been awfully disappointed!) People in really colorful outfits are seen as eccentric at best, freaks at worst. While at the same time, works of art are bought for millions of dollars and people lament their inability to be artistic (as if it was the exclusive dominion of a few gifted souls.)
Boy am I glad I married someone from Mexico so I could be closer to such a colorful culture. I need color like other people need T.V. or heroin. Funny thing is that my Mexican is actually quite fond of subdued colors for big things like walls and vehicles and for his own outfits. His American wife is always sprinkling the house with orange afghans and lime-green pillows and pinning magenta silk flowers to his nice, brown, deer head. Poor guy.
How do you all feel about the cultural color divide? Am I completely off my rocker, do you think that America is plenty colorful (thankyouverymuch)? I don’t mean to say that America is devoid of color or lovers of color. I’m simply suggesting that the whole of our society tends to lean toward a more homogenous and safe color pallette. Tell me what you think, leave a comment 😉
Corn on the Cob – Estilo Mexicano!
It’s corn season!! In Mexico, corn on the cob is sold at outdoor markets when it’s in season. They stick it on a thick wooden skewer and then slather it, either with lime and chile powder, or with mayonnaise which is then sprinkled with queso cotija (kind of like parmesan cheese) and chile powder. You can find it prepared this way in most Mexican groceries here in the states, usually in season and usually on the weekends. The one we go to always has a warming tray of them sitting on the counter to encourage impulse buyers (including me and my husband!) Nothing like shopping to work up an appetite!
It’s easy to make corn like this at home. Start with corn that’s either been boiled or grilled and then just spread it with mayonnaise, and sprinkle on the cheese and chile powder! If you have a Mexican grocery nearby, that’s the best place to find the chile powder. Look for one that says it has lime in it! While you’re there, you can pick up a bag of powdered queso cotija (or if you have some powdered parmesan cheese at home, you can use that.) Have fun turning your next backyard barbecue into an authentic Mexican Fiesta with this easy recipe (for maximum host/hostess ease, let guests put their own mayo, cheese and chile one!) If you really want to make some up ahead of time, wrap them in wax paper afterward like the Mexican groceries do to keep the toppings from getting allover everything! And you might want to get out some of those corn holders to help keep guests’ fingers clean!! (Depending on the crowd you hang with!)
Lamb, estilo Mexicano!
You don’t normally think of spicy chiles when you think of eating lamb. People recommend gentle spices like mint or rosemary and garlic to help bring out the lamb’s flavor. The recipes I normally see are ones inspired by Greek and Turkish cooking. Well, in Mexico, they’re very fond of lamb and, you guessed it, they eat it real spicy!
My husband recently found some “naturally raised” lamb from a local farm and we had a two-day, Mexican lamb-eating party. Some they just grilled with Spicy Steak Seasoning so we could hurry up and start eating. Most of it they steamed in a huge pot after basting in a chile sauce my cousin-in-law made. This is known as Barbacoa (Like Barbecue!) and is the traditional way lamb is prepared in Mexico. Goat is sometimes cooked the same way, but then it’s called Birria. I’ve had venison and chicken like this, also, and it’s very tasty. The meat is very, very moist and everything is infused with tasty chile and aromatic herbs that are placed in the water at the bottom of the steamer (bay leaf, peppercorn, garlic, onion, cumin) and then served with extra chile sauce for those who want more. The best incarnation of this lamb meal, however was the next day when my husband basted some pieces of lamb all over with the leftover chile sauce and cooked it slowly on the grill. Tender on the inside, nice and spicy and grilled on the outside. Like American barbecue, but without the sweet. We both agreed that that’s how we wanted to make it from now on!
To make the chile sauce (for grilling or for steaming up some barbacoa) you will need:
1/2 clove garlic
1 black peppercorn
1/8 tsp. cumin seeds
1/8 tsp. oregano
3 dried chiles anchos (also known as poblanos) (All of these chiles can be found in your local Mexican grocery.)
4 dried chiles guajillos (or red new mexican chiles)
6 dried chiles de arbol (also known as pikines)
salt to taste (at least 1/2 tsp.)
Remove the stems, seeds and veins from the dried chiles, place in a pot with water to cover and bring to a boil. Cook until soft (~5 min.) Place the hydrated chiles and the other ingredients in the blender with just enough water to get it to blend well and blend on high for about a minute. Pour into a bowl and you’re ready for basting!
Cut your lamb up into grillable pieces, salt, grill (at about medium-low) ’till it’s not quite as done as you like it. Then baste with the chile and grill until that dries up and it’s done to perfection. Most people say that you should leave lamb pink on the inside, but my husband and I prefer meat that’s been cooked within an inch of it’s still being juicy (no pink here!) Serve with refried beans and tortillas, if desired, maybe some Mexican rice! Enjoy!