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Showing posts from July, 2015

Cuñape

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"Cuñape" is the best cheeseballs in the world, and it’s from Santa Cruz, Bolivia. These gooey and addictive cheese balls are similar to the Brazilian "pão de queijo" or the French "gougères" or the Colombian "pandebono" but all of these are different from each other as well. Gougères are lighter and more airy while the Brazilian ones are chewier but drier on the outside. I would say the pandebonos are closest in taste and texture to the Bolivian cuñape but it is slight more bready. In Bolivia, we use mennonite cheese (farmer's cheese) for this recipe and honestly without that cheese it will never be exactly like the original but you do what you can. I've been hunting down a similar cheese in the U.S. for ages but the closest I can get to it is to use the queso blanco or fresco and add some more salt (or even mix some feta into it). The history of the cuñape is very interesting. It is a Guaraní word that means "a woman's b

El Chato Taco Truck

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We alway drive by and see the lines, sigh, and say another time. This time though, the crowd's gone because it's a little later. Tonight's the night! We finally swing over to park (almost getting into an accident from an oncoming truck without his headlights on), and head over to the truck. Did I say head over? I meant skip over! Once there, a hipster looking dude makes a line behind us. We tell him to go first since we're El Chato virgins. He tells us to get the al pastor tacos. It's the best he's ever had. He then orders a quesadilla. Uh, okay. So we get 2 al pastor tacos, 1 chorizo taco, and 1 quesadilla with the mixed meats, and 1 horchata to go. The total comes to $8. Really? I just paid $9 for a shitty salad at baja fresh for lunch!  Once home, the devouring begins. Why is it SO good? Is it the price? Is it the spice? Is it the fatty goodness? Is it the convenience? I don't know but I think it's one of the more legit Mexi

Popotla,Valle de Guadalupe, Ensenada,

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Oops I did it again.  I went back down to Mexico after my first amazing trip to the Valle de Guadalupe that I had to return with others.  This time, we stopped by the sleepy seaside town of Popotla first. Here are the highlights: my car, after it got stuck on the beach. you roll your car right in front of the crashing waves, grab a table and order We saw a fisherman get off his boat with this  BOATLOAD of uni. this is maria with her stash They are ALIVE my hungry companions A fisherman with his boat Before our feast fresh fresh oysters Oysters so fresh all you need is some lime and hot sauce. In Popotla, you buy the seafood and bring it to a stand like this and ask them to do whatever you want. You can also buy the seafood from the stands as well. Our bowl of Uni that we got from our purchase. Everything is so so fresh. The campechana we got. Our Uni Oysters Ceviche Spi