Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Handmade tortillas


It was so interesting watching the food being prepared on the island of Pacanda without the help of modern conveniences.

A volcanic stone is used to create the dough for the tortillas. Once a ball of dough is made, another woman uses a hand operated machine to make the tortilla and place it on the hot grill. Two other women watch as the tortillas cook, and once done place them in a covered basket. They all looked so perfect!

The tortillas became our spoon, fork and napkin! We had no utensils at all, and had to scoop our food using the tortillas! Now that is truly a good use of materials!

Handmade tamales

These tamales were handmade by the women who cooked for our group at the school. They worked from a large washtub that was filled with a mixture. They patted the mixture into balls and wrapped each in a corn leaf. All the tamales were placed in a large pot that was placed over an open fire. After they were cooked, the women scooped the tamales from the pot with their bare hands!

Cookie anyone?


This is a cactus cookie, well a cookie made with cactus juice. It tasted like an oatmeal cookie with a twist! It was rather dry, but I think I would have really enjoyed it if it had raisins!

More food!


Red pepper tortilla, beans and this steak. Can they cook steak!! I am not a much of a steak eater, but I ate it twice and both times it was delicious. As you can see, beans are a common food. We even had beans on our breakfast buffet.

Food from the Island of Pacanda


On the tiny island of Pacanda at Lake Patzcuero, parents prepared lunch for our group.

We had rice, beans, fresh avacado and vegetables, and fried whole fish. Everything was made without modern technology....including the tortillas and the tamales! Wow! Good eatin'!!

The apple soda was cool and refreshing too!

The Food of Mexico


Cactus Juice, yes, the green stuff is made from cactus. The rest is traditional American food. I had a homemade omelet, yogurt with nuts and granola and the best tangerine juice I've ever had!




Fresh 'squeezed' cactus juice anyone??