Traditional Foods Photo Essay

I have neglected my blog of late. My college class schedule has been very demanding and posting my weekly menu has been pretty boring. I know nobody really cares that I eat leftover frozen soup and goulash most of the time.

I recently travel to Zihuatenejo, on the southwest coast of Mexico. Immediately I appreciated the simple menus and dishes we were exposed to while there. This was a great example of a traditional diet that truly had changed little in hundreds of years.

One of the first things I noticed was the portion sizes. In almost all cases, the portion was enough to satisfy you, but never left you feeling stuffed. The pork chop above was good sized, but the portions of the sides were small and were just an accent to the main dish.

This fish was served at the same restaurant. The preparation was simple for both dishes. The meat and fish was marinated in herbs and garlic and grilled on an open grill with the vegetables.

We watched this bean dish being prepared. Soaked dried beans were cooked with chorizo, onions, garlic, and tomato. The only nod to modern cooking was the use of vegetable oil instead of lard. When I asked why the oil was being substituted, the cook explained that it was simply a matter personal preference because vegetable oil is more shelf stable. Many families still use lard.
The beans were garnished with fresh queso and spicy onion relish.

In the town's market we watched masa (whole corn treated with lime) being ground and combined with water to make fresh tortillas. These tortillas held fresh mahi mahi that had been cooked on a hot grill, not fried, and served with salsa and fresh vegetables.

Roasted tomatoes, peppers, garlic and salt are combined in a pestle to make salsa. Green salsa is made with roasted tomatillas.

We caught fresh Yellowtail and dropped it off at a beachfront restaurant. They prepared the fish by grilling it with herbs and garlic, diablo style (very hot) and lightly breaded and fried. They also made ceviche that was served as an appetizer. We shared this meal with another couple and we still had too much food to eat in one setting. We caught a 25 pound fish. We should have requested that they only cook four portions and keep the rest for themselves, rather than have so much go to waste.

We ventured into the local market and found the source of our meals. From our room, we watched the fishing boats come in at sunrise.

Fresh chickens

Fresh queso. I don't know all the names, but I tasted three. One was very mild, one was very strong (think stinky feet) and one was similar to ricotta.

Sandwiches made with pork stew. The crusty bread made these perfect for packing in your lunch. At the pier before we went fishing, we picked up tuna sandwiches. The tuna salad was not made with canned tuna and had corn, peas and green beans mixed in. It is my new favorite way to have tuna salad.

Dried beans in the foreground

Fruit stand

We spent a week eating local foods, including refreshing waters flavored with fruit or hibiscus flowers (surprisingly my husband's favorite) and never had any stomach issues. We flew home, had a meal in the Houston Airport and I immediately felt intestinal issues.

Between eating meals that contained no highly processed ingredients and the miles of walking we did, I actually lost weight while on vacation.

Breakfasts consisted of eggs, fresh fruit, and my favorite: chiliquiles (breakfast nachos.) I'm pretty sure I could eat this way every day. My husband did break down and eat a cheeseburger after a couple days. I did not miss American cheese at all