‘Mom, where do chiles come from?’ ‘From Oaxaca, mija!’

ancientchiles

Chile peppers were first domesticated in the area now known as Oaxaca, in eastern Mexico, about 8000 years ago, according to scientists.

Popular Archeology explains:

Central-east Mexico gave birth to the domesticated chili pepper — now the world’s most widely grown spice crop — reports an international team of researchers, led by a plant scientist at the University of California, Davis.

Results from the four-pronged investigation — based on linguistic and ecological evidence as well as the more traditional archaeological and genetic data — suggest a regional, rather than a geographically specific, birthplace for the domesticated chili pepper.

Mas…‘Mom, where do chiles come from?’ ‘From Oaxaca, mija!’

Super Bowl Sunday is guacamole’s biggest day (videos)


Americans will eat 100 million pounds of avocados on Super Bowl Sunday (that’s 100,000,000), mostly as guacamole:

Southern California Public Radio reports:

Avocado growers in Mexico have figured out that Americans need a lot of avocados about now, and they’re always ready to meet the demand.

“They step up their volume for those weeks leading up to Super Bowl, and they do it each year,” said Steve Taft, President of Eco Farms Avocados Inc in Temecula. His 40-year old business grows and packs avocados, but also imports them from countries like Mexico, Chile, Peru, and New Zealand. He said this time of year, about 90% of the avocados consumed in the U.S. come from growers in Mexico.

Baby Margaret sure loves her some guacamole:

Mas…Super Bowl Sunday is guacamole’s biggest day (videos)

Tia Lencha’s Cocina: Rajas con crema if you don’t espeak English

Hola. Is Tia Lencha here. Today I give you the recipe for Rajas con Crema. This was inspire by a trip to the store that sells Mexican things like dancing papier mâché skeletons, Frida Kahlo key chains, overpriced things for the wall. You know, is like Mexican Disneyland. I went in looking for a rebozo to give as a present for my comadre’s birthday.

I find the skinny hipster girl behind the cash register and I say, “Do you have any rebozos?”

“What’s that?” she say.

Anyone who knows Tia Lencha knows that she wanted to give the hipster girl a coco in la cabeza. “What do you mean what’s that? Is…a shawl…like you call it in English.”

“Oh. No,” she say.

“No what?”

“We don’t have those here,” she say. And she turn around like we were finish.

Mas…Tia Lencha’s Cocina: Rajas con crema if you don’t espeak English