Viva Mexico!

On a day like this, I love Toronto. We explored the Corazón de México festival down at Harbourfront Centre today. It was fantastic. Mexican culture is so amazing to me: the warmth of the people, the passionate music, the dancing, the colourful clothes, the humour. What's not to love?

We viewed, tasted, and listened to so many fantastic things today. There were folk dancers and singers, puppet shows for kids...
Here, Duncan checks out our first ever tamale. He also contemplates our yummy beef burrito that could choke a horse.
Toronto doesn't have a large Mexican population the way a city like Chicago does. Slowly, more Mexicans are coming. If the Minister of Immigration is reading my blog - let more Mexicans into Canada!!! They can only make the country a better place!

Duncan works on a mask.

Incredible paper maché Dia de los Muertos figures celebrating the harvest season. These were hand made in Mexico. Awesome.
We also watched a cooking demonstration by cool chef Francisco Alejandri, who hails from Mexico, but now lives in Toronto and runs the restaurant Agave y Aguacate in Toronto's Kensington Market.

Photo courtesy Eye Weekly

Do you want his recipe for Tinga de Pollo and a drink made of lime and chia water? Read on. You can play Los Lobos for mood music while you read or copy down.

Kisses and cha cha cha

Erin

Tinga de Pollo

Ingredients

6 ounces chorizo, about 3 links

1/4 cup white onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 cups of finely chopped cabbage

4 plum tomatoes, finely chopped to make 1 cup

3 canned chipotle chiles to taste

2 tablespoons sauce from the can of chiles

2 cups poached and shredded chicken

1/3 cup chicken broth

1 avocado sliced

salt to taste

1 red onion cut in half, reserve one half for a different use

juice of two limes

1 teaspoon coarse sea salt

Directions for chicken

Remove the thin casing from the chorizos and break them apart into a large skillet using a wooden spoon.

Cook over low heat to render out the fat, being careful not to brown the chorizo. Strain off all the fat, reserving three tablespoons.

Add the onions, garlic, and cabbage and fry over fairly low heat, stirring the mixture with a wooden spoon occasionally, until the vegetables are soft.

Add the tomatoes, chipotles, and chipotle sauce and continue cooking over medium heat until most of the juice has been absorbed and the mixture is almost dry.

Stir in the shredded chicken and broth and cook for another 5 minutes or until the mixture is moist but not juicy. Adjust the salt.

Lime and Chia Water

Ingredients:

The juice of 6 limes

1 teaspoon of chia seeds

1/4 cup of white sugar

1 quart of water

Directions:

Combine everything, serve cold, and enjoy.