MeXscape

I know you all are going to think I have completely gone off the deep end this time in my search for new and interesting things to do with piloncillo, but trust me, you have to try this. Candied bacon is great on its own, but try serving it with pancakes, over dulce de leche ice cream, on a fresh green salad, or as a tasty garnish for roasted squab.

I love corn. Always have. Fresh, roasted, sautéed, corn bread, corn chips, corn dogs, tortillas, hush puppies, pancakes, soufflé, pudding, soup, popped, fried, ice cream – you name it. If corn is a main ingredient, I am going to love it. Living in Mexico, where corn is the main grain, is tasty bliss. And here in Mazatlan, corn is actually a street food! I can stroll the Malecón and nosh on roasted corn, on the cob or in a cup.

I have been really curious about piloncillo, but also really intimidated by the large, brown cones. The sugar I have bought all of my life has come as fine, pure white granules. Or sometimes soft brown in a bag. I had no idea what to do with a hard brick of sugar. But, finally, my curiosity got the best of me and I brought a few cones home.

Over the past three years a lot more American products have become regularly available in the stores here. I can go and buy Blue Bell ice cream, Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies, and now even Wheat Thins any time I want. But there are still a lot of things that are difficult, if not impossible, to find, like canned pumpkin, which really throws a wrench in Thanksgiving and Christmas preparations. I even have a hard time finding pie pumpkins to make make a pie from scratch. Carving pumpkins are plentiful around Halloween, but pie pumpkins, well, no. How can it be Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie?

I woke up from an afternoon nap the other day with a craving for something sweet. For some reason whenever I nap, I usually wake up with a sweet craving. I wish I knew why that was. It seems so strange. Whatever the reason, it was there, and this one was stronger than most. I lay in bed and pondered my options, trying to put a point on my desire. Peanut butter cookies? Toffee? Fudge? No, none of these were quite right. Then it hit me: chocolate pudding.