A Life Less Ordinary: Sketches from Mexico with Recipes

By Deborah Harston

Not so much a cookery book but more a recipe for spicing up your life!

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Mar 9, 2020
• ISBN: 9781728399546

Book preview

© 2020 Deborah Harston. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or

transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

AuthorHouse™ UK

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Bloomington, IN 47403 USA

www.authorhouse.co.uk

Phone: [phone] (Domestic TFN)

[phone] (International)

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed

since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not

necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

ISBN: 978-1-7283-9955-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-7283-9954-6 (e)

Published by AuthorHouse 06/13/2020

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Contents

Introduction

Preface

Chapter 1   On Bread Making And Romance

Wholewheat Bread

Chapter 2   Up The Mountain

Cinnamon rolls

Chapter 3   Economic Catastrophes

Oatmeal Loaf

Chapter 4   A Volcano Erupts

Cheese and Onion Loaf

Chapter 5   On Rui̇ns And Bearded Gentleme

Irish Soda Bread

Chapter 6   The Mud Hut

Carrot Cake

Chapter 7   Adobe And Wattle And Daub

Sourdough Bread

Chapter 8   Baking Begins

Pastel de Elote

Chapter 9   Selling Bread

Banana Bread

Chapter 10   Paradise Lost

Pumpkin Loaf

Chapter 11   The Juanas And We Open A Shop

Cheese Scone

Chapter 12   On Muffins And Immigration

Muffins

Chapter 13   Chickens, Pigs And Picnics For Bees

Desperate Dan Quiche

Chapter 14   Doggy Stories And A Town House

Blackberry and Apple Crumble

Chapter 15   Romance In The Bakery

Spiced Mango Chutney

Chapter 16   Carpe Diem

Flan or Crème Caramel

Chapter 17   We Open Our Doors

Lentil Soup with Banana

Chapter 18   More Stories About Our Dog

Rye Bread

Chapter 19   What We Did On Our Holidays

Walnut Pie

Epilogue

Introduction

When I was a young woman and enjoying the exciting times of the 1960s and 1970s, I was ambitious to live a life less ordinary. I had no idea what this might involve exactly, but my mission was to avoid the restraints of the nine-to-five that were, and still are, an inevitable progression from school and university.

This is the story of how I met my Mexican partner in London and subsequently went with him to live in southern Mexico at the beginning of the 1980s, and the recipes that I used to start a bakery and a restaurant.

I had no formal training in either of these activities. Then, as now, we were encouraged to be academics and neglect practical skills, as if they were the domain of people with lower intelligence. I had dutifully studied English literature at university in 1968, although it was not my passion. I did enjoy baking and cooking, and I came from a line of good women who religiously put home-prepared food on the table. It turned out that the latter proved more useful in finding a means of survival in my new environment.

I was influenced by natural eating trends that emerged in the late 1960s, so wholewheat was essential in the preparation of bread as was a restaurant menu containing fresh vegetables. I was also very determined, something I’ve found to be the most important ingredient in the success of any reasonable enterprise you may choose to embark on.

In the summer of 1980, I briefly visited Mexico with my new partner and my two young daughters by a previous marriage. Finding it sufficiently vibrant and exciting, I flew in to Mexico City on Christmas Eve of that year, complete with my children and, of course, the dog.

We went to live in San Cristobal de las Casas, a beautiful town in the mountains of Chiapas, and my partner found work in agricultural projects. I didn’t have a plan, but my life evolved there as this book will now relate. That life grew around the preparation of food, and so I’ve included a favourite recipe in each chapter.

Preface

I was inspired to write this book a few years after we opened the Madre Tierra Restaurant and Bakery in the 1980s. A friend had just published an excellent recipe book based on her rival establishment.

‘Don’t you have a recipe book, Deb?’ someone commented, raising one eyebrow. I was obliged to reply in the negative, but the gauntlet had been thrown down.

As a person who isn’t keen on measuring and timing things in the kitchen, my book turned out to be about the story behind the restaurant, but I have shared some favourite recipes in each chapter as they are part of the story.

Time passed, and with the encouragement of my friend Sally Mitchell, I developed a passion for painting. And I have illustrated the book with some of my art work.

I have deliberately left my family members unnamed for fear of embarrassing them.

Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.

—John Lennon

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Chapter 1

ON BREAD MAKING

AND ROMANCE

‘Why on earth would you want to make bread in Mexico?’ I hear you say.

‘Don’t they already have bread?’

Well, yes, they did, but not the same sort of bread. They prefer white bread and have a decent white roll called a bolillo and to the detriment of their health had recently acquired the white sliced loaf common in the United States, this one inappropriately labelled ‘BIMBO’.

The traditional fare was and still is the corn tortilla, especially delicious when handmade and straight off the griddle but just not right for breakfast with a boiled egg. And dietary habits are not easy to change.

I was sure there was a market for wholewheat bread amongst the growing community of American and European immigrants and tourists. As a foreigner, I needed to capitalize on my skills.

Necessity is the mother of invention, and I needed to earn a living!

Bread making is a sensitive activity, and as this is a recipe book, after all, I think it’s worth describing it in detail. You cannot make a good loaf merely by following a recipe, as you need to get to know the feel of the dough.

People often ask,

‘How do you make such delicious bread? Mine just doesn’t turn out right.’

It isn’t a helpful answer to quote a recipe, as they all tell you that bread is basically flour and water mixed together, so how you handle the ingredients is significant. Results are altered depending on the quality of the ingredients, altitude, and even the