I get a kick out of it when Mexicans ask me, "What foods do you eat in the U.S.?" and then answer the question themselves, only half jokingly: "Hot dogs, hamburguesas, pizzas, y Puro Pan! (Pure White Bread!)..." Well, yes, you can find those foods, I reply, but there's lots more to it than that. I try to explain how foods people eat in the U.S. depend a lot on the particular family's lifestyle, economic class, and heritage and less on the location in the U.S. where they live. As I explain, I realize the multicultural identity of the U.S. is reflected in the foods we eat. In major cities and small towns alike, restaurants often reflect a variety of cultures: Chinese, Italian, and Mexican restaurants are easy to find in many places, for example. While in many of these restaurants, these cultures' foods are americanized, they still reflect some base connection to another culture. I also explain how there is growing interest in locally grown and organic foods, in my hometown and beyond, and that many people are seeking ways to eat healthier for themselves and the environment, lower on the food chain. Here in Mexico, each state is known for particular types of foods, and then this gets even more specific with foods common to regions, towns, and then families. Many Mexicans here ask frequently, "And what do you think of the food here in Mexico?" And I reply that I like just about all of it. "And do you like spicy food?" they want to know. For reasons unknown to me, since arriving in Mexico, I've happily spinkled spicy salsa onto almost everything (my Scandinavian, Scottish, Dutch, English ancestry certainly does not explain it.) I am already thinking about carrying around limes and chilis in my purse when I get back to the U.S. because I've gotten used to putting lime juice and chili on just about everything! In spite of common foods across much of Mexico, like limes, chilis, and what often comes to mind in the U.S.: tacos, there are diverse, rich and rooted culinary traditions here, and food is an important part of sharing among Mexicans and foreigners. "Para que lo pruebes," "So that you can try it," Mexicans and market vendors will often say as they offer to share something with me that I've never tried. Many Mexicans love to share their eating traditions, and are delighted when foreigners share the food they eat with them in the way they eat it. When I first walked thru markets, I was super surprised to see things like pigs' heads, pigs's feet, whole unskinned fish, whole chickens with vendors pulling off feathers, and intestines hanging from the market booths. Just yesterday, I ate a handful of grasshoppers (smothered in lime juice---which makes everything go down easier) for the first time. Now in some strange way, I appreciate this whole hearted approach to meat - it gives me a more of a sense of connection to the animal I eat. In the U.S., sometimes the meat we buy in the store has been so processed that it loses its raw animal-ness. A piece of chicken that has no bones, no feathers, no blood, makes it easier to forget that this meat used to be a living breathing creature.
Many Mexicans also have asked me, "so what did you eat in the U.S.?" and before they can answer for me, with their assumptions of white bread and pizza, I explain some of my family's favorites: goulash, chili, soups, salads, stir fry chicken, homemade bread, and, in attempt to show how the U.S.'s multicultural heritage is reflected in foods, I tell them about Swedish pancakes, a family favorite on my mom's side. I've made Swedish pancakes in Mexico for my coworkers, host family, and many other family friends, on several occasions. Esther, my host mom, shares the name of my Swedish great grandmother on my mom's side, and so I think its a funny coincidence that she happens to be the biggest fan.
Its a simple recipe. I've realized Swedish pancakes end up kind of like tortillas, but I have yet to try putting lime and chili on them!
Here's the recipe (this makes enough for 6 hungry people or so):
4 dry ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cups of flour
a pinch of salt
a few shakes of ground cinnamon (optional)
Mix these three dry ingredients together.
3 wet ingredients:
6 eggs, beaten
3 cups milk (any kind will do)
a little bit of vanilla
Mix these wet ingredients together.
Then, mix the wet and dry ingredients together gradually. The batter should be runny and bubbly.
Then, pour oil into a pan, let the oil and pan heat up. Then, pour a little bit of the batter into the pan, and pick up the pan and move it around in a circle so the batter spreads evenly. Put it back over the heat, and wait till you see bubbles on the top, then flip the pancake! Walla! Swedish pancakes. You can eat plain or top with yogurt, fruit, jam, sweetened condensed milk, butter, syrup, limes and chili, peanut butter, or whatever else you want to try!
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