Omigosh, so much fun!

Hola a todos!

Well so its been sometime since I last posted, with a promise of adventures to come. Come they did, and it was an especially good time. Since then I have been working and having more adventures. If I have not mentioned it previously, last semester was quite the busy and stressful one, and a vacation was much needed. Anyway, on to the good stuff.

Wednesday, July 14, I went with my friends Chuck and Oscar to the palanque out in Santiago Matatlan where the mezcal they import to the US and around the world is produced. The fabrica is called Don Tacho, after the owner, and he is a lovely man. We got there around nine, and were immediately offered mezcals. Heh. After a lovely and much needed breakfast, we walked around back to where the mezcal is roasted and fermented. After it is roasted, the maguey is pounded with a huge stone pulled by a horse.

Then the liquid is air-fermented and stored in huge plastic barrels.  In this picture you can see the person taking out the mash after the fermenting process.

 The meeting itself was interesting, as there were these two chavos from Guadalajara were trying to convince the mezqueleros that they needed to modernize, for whatever reason. They were trying to sell this whole mechanized process and admitted within the first two minutes that the process would change the taste of the mezcal. Eck. And of course, with a mechanized process, it stops being mezcal and just becomes tequila, which no one likes nor wants. Objections were raised of course, but who knows what will happen? Hopefully, the history we witnessed that day was resistance to modernization and a preservation of tradition rather then the conversion of mezcal to shitty tequila. Because, above everything else, if they mechanize the production process, the horse pulling the stone and the man taking out the mash will lose their jobs.

Anyway, the next day Chuck, Carolina and I traveled to Mitla to meet with Don Richard for a lecture on Oaxacan archaeology. After a lovely meal at the palapa, from which you can get an excellent view of the cave of Guila Nequitz where they found some of the earliest domestic cultigens, we went to the ruins of Mitla. And got in for free! Excellent.

Unfortunately, it began to pour so we had to jet. At least we got see the best parts of the site. Once the rain had ceased, I took Chuck--Carolina had left to get back to Oaxaca during a lull in the rain--to see other monticulos that weren't part of the formal archaeological zone of Mitla. Most tourists only see the ruins up the hill, the more famous ones, but the modern town of Mitla is actually much smaller than the archaeological town. And the best part? These other structures can be seen for free. So we checked out Patio G, and then my favorite El Magote which is where Megh and I used to go drink beers and watch the storms over the mountains. It was pretty cool. From the top of El Magote you have a view of the entire Mitla valley subarm. Chido.

The next day, after I interviewed the guantero who makes the gloves for pelota mixteca, I went to the Feria de Mezcal, which is a 12 day festival where people get to try mezcal marcas from all over the state. Chuck and Oscar, along with Don Tacho's family, had a stand at the Feria. Chuck, another woman named Blanca, and I got to participate in the calenda which opened the festival. Starting at the Almada de Leon, we walked in the calenda and gave out mezcal to people. It was a good time.

Ok, so that was those 3 days. I promise to post more, including some of the ballgame stuff I have been up to. This weekend, we go to San Jose del Pacifico up in the mountains and then onto the beach. Yeah!

Super-easy Campbell's Tomato Soup Indian food

Okay so yeah its been about a month since I last posted. Please forgive. It's been quite a month, super busy and all but with a lot of exciting stuff happening. Plus, not so much homesickness (though I do go home next week! and am so looking forward to that) and quite a number of new friends and important connections.

Anyway, so right now I am sitting at my desk in Lab 408A (did I mention before that I had a desk in Takesh and Dani's lab? If not, remind to do so in the update post, coming soon!) I just heated up my lunch, which is a quick dish I made last night. The background story is that I spent most of the day pondering what I was going to make--while I did have two dishes already planned out for the week to cook, I was missing some ingredients and didn't feel up to making them.

Figuring that since I had rice, cheese, and numerous cans of Campbell's Tomato Soup I could make some sort of dish with that, maybe even a baked thing with breadcrumbs on top. Not having any regular, long-grain rice I was going to use Jasmine rice, but wasn't sure how it would turn out after baking in an oven. Plus, the dish just didn't sound exciting. Then I thought, why not use Basamti? That should stand up well. And then, it hit me. I should just do an Indian style dish using curry powder and other such stuff that I have in my kitchen. And voila! A super easy Indian dish was born--adding lentils was a final stroke of genius.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients-- (makes a lot) 3 cans Campbell's Tomato Soup; 1 medium-to-large onion; several garlic cloves, according to taste; 3 green onions; 2 cups red lentils; turmeric powder, cumin powder, and Madras curry powder; salt; vegetable oil; Basmati rice

1. Chop onions and garlic finely
2. Slice green onion
3. Heat vegetable oil in pan using desired amount
4. Once oil is hot, add in onions and garlic and cook for 5-7 minutes
5. Add in green onion, 3-5 more minutes (when onion starts to get really clear)
6. Add turmeric, cumin and curry powder, according to taste
7. Add more vegetable oil if necessary (you want it to be a little oily)
8. Meanwhile, soak rice and lentils (rice takes longer to soak so you may want to do that sooner)
9. Cook rice and lentils when they are ready
10. To onion/spice mix, add the three cans of soup and equal parts water, according to directions
11. Let soup simmer and flavors meld together
12. Add salt and additional curry powder if desired (I put in a ton)
13. Once lentils are ready, add them and let cook for at least 7-10 mins
14. Serve over basmati rice w/ garlic pickle paste

This dish was super easy, and with the soak times it still only took about an hour to make. The nice thing too, is that you can play around with some of the ingredients. In fact, the next time I make this I will probably add okra, since I love it so much.

Welp, that's the super tasty dish I made last night. Updates on what's been happening to me in the past month to come soon (today I hope!)