Mexican Hot Chocolate

Another popular drink in Mexico is hot chocolate.


It is a sweet, slightly spicy, warm drink that feels like smooth silk on your tongue.


Traditionally, Mexican hot chocolate was made with unsweetened chocolate, milk, vanilla, sugar and cinnamon.


But Today most people make their hot chocolate using pre-packaged chocolate discs.


Which are a pressed mixture of sweetened cacao nibs and cinnamon.


These chocolate discs are available under several brand names.





The most popular brand seems to be Ibarra.


But other brands such as Don Gustavo, Moctezuma and Abuelita are also available.















A few people still prefer to make make hot chocolate the old, traditional way.


They begin by shaving some unsweetened chocolate into a pot of milk.






Then they add either brown or white sugar and some cinnamon.


They simmer the mixture 'til the chocolate has melted and the sugar has dissolved.


Cones of brown sugar (like in the picture below) are often used.







When the chocolate has completely melted, they add a drop or two of vanilla.



Then they place a tool called a molinillo into the pot and spin it between their hands for a few minutes 'til the hot chocolate is good and frothy.






An ornately carved molinillo can be found in every Mexican kitchen.





When making Mexican hot chocolate, using a pre-packaged disc, you first put the disc in a pot and crush it with a molinillo.



Then pour in 4 cups of milk and and a touch of vanilla, and slowy simmer this, stirring occasionally, ‘til the chocolate has melted.


Just before serving, twirl a molinillo in the pot to produce a light, foamy drink.








I sometimes add a few instant coffee granules to my hot chocolate.

Horchata

Horchata (pronounced or-cha-ta), is a rice-cinnamon drink that is served the same way as Aguas Frescas.

The cinnamon is powerful, but it doesn’t take away from the drink's wonderful flavour. If there’s not enough cinnamon in the drink, it doesn't taste as good.

At first sip, the texture is similar to skim milk, but when it hits your taste buds, an explosion of cinnamon overtakes your mouth.


This cold refreshment goes great with Mexican food any time of the day.







Ingredients: *
1 cup long grain rice, rinsed
1½ quarts of water
1 cinnamon stick, broken into pieces
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup white sugar
1 tsp lime zest

* Sometimes coconut milk and/or ginger is added.





Directions:


In a large pot, combine rice, water, lime zest and cinnamon stick. Set aside for 3 hours
After 3 hours, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes. Allow to cool.
Puree rice mixture in a blender ‘til smooth.
Strain through cheesecloth or a fine sieve.
Flavour with vanilla and sugar to taste.
Chill and serve over ice.








Horchata is delicious.


It tastes like rice pudding, but is fat-free and much more refreshing.







The yummy blend of rice, sugar and cinnamon, makes Horchata a preferred drink of many Mexicans.

Aguas Frescas (Fresh Waters)

My latest breakfast drink of choice is Aguas Frescas.

First thing in the morning, we have our glass of freshly squeezed orange juice.

Then about an hour later, I make myself an Agua Fresca.

I prefer Aguas Frescas over smoothies, because they are much lighter.

These Mexican coolers are refreshing and delicious any time of day.

Any fruit, veggie or combination of the two can be used.

The larger stores sell bottled concentrates, but I like to make my own.

This morning I put some pineapple, cantaloupe, apple, cucumber, crushed ice, ½ a cup or so of water and a squeeze of lime into the blender.

I blended everything for a few seconds and – voila – I had a frothy drink that was both tasty and nutritious.

Even though Aguas Frescas are light, they are filling.

So it’s all you need for a satisfying breakfast.

I think my favourite is a combination of watermelon, banana, lime, water and ice.

Aguas Frescas can be bought at street stands, restaurants and ice cream parlors, all over Mexico.

They are typically served from large, barrel-shaped, glass containers.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

This is the good part of the story.

The other day, when I tried to get to the market in Guayabitos, the traffic was stopped and there was a huge crowd milling around a brand new garbage truck.

So I parked the car and went to see what was happening.

This lovely Mexican lady told me that the President of our County of Compostela was in town to listen to the views of some of the local business people who were protesting against a bunch of squatters who have recently set up unsightly stalls in and around the town square.

She also told me that she had lived in the States for years and had worked hard to save enough money to retire in Guayabitos and build some small condos. She then added that she was proud that her property and condos are immaculate and that they are all currently rented to Canadians, for the winter.

This lady lives just a couple of blocks away from the square, next to where the Goverment wants to move the squatters.

Naturally she doesn't want the squatters setting up shop next to her and her condos.

Many of the local shop, restaurant and hotel owners also don’t want the squatters near them.

They want rid of the squatters and were asking the President to take a stand regarding the squatters and the garbage problem.

The first thing you see as you enter Guayabitos, is the town square and all the squatters.

This can't be good for business. Guayabitos relies on its tourist trade and needs to be cleaned up for good.

When the President arrived in town, he brought with him a brand new garbage truck and a load of trash barrels to be placed around town and on the beach. This is a step in the right direction!

The protestors had arranged to have a bunch of students available for garbage pickup while the president was in town. This also is a step in the right direction!

There were at least a hundred or so students, with brooms and bags, cleaning up the streets of Guayabitos.








And there were lots of people coming from the square, wearing badges that said Keep Guayabitos Clean.





There were adults picking up trash.






Young and old were participating in the cleanup.


















Everyone was happy to do their part to keep Guayabitos clean.

The Stalls

This is the bad part of the story.





The squatters basically live on the streets with no washrooms and throw their garbage on adjacent lots.





They pay no rent, and this isn't fair to all the business people in Guayabitos who pay very high rent.






Their tattered laundry and garbage is strewn everywhere.

The Garbage

This is the ugly part of the story.





The squatters just don't care.





A while back, I said that I was going to talk about the good and the bad things about living in Mexico.

For the most part, there are many more good things than bad.

And although there is still a problem with garbage, the majority of Mexicans have come a long way over the past few years and do their best to keep the country clean.

First Stage is Finished

Jose, Ernesto and Zacarias have finished the first stage of the roofdeck repair.





There was sand leftover so it is being loaded into a truck to be hauled away.





Jose, the jefe, on the left and Eduardo, our painter, are taking a break while Ernesto and Zacarias keep on shoveling.





The concrete on the roof will have to sit for a month or so to thoroughly dry out.





Then another different mixture gets poured over the surface of the concrete.





The mixture will be a blend of white cement powder, marmolina (crushed marble) Pegapiso (glue ) and Sellador (Sealer).

This final mixture will produce a smooth surface which won't allow any water or moisture to seep through.

Our painter has been here since Saturday.

He has acid washed and sealed the bricks on the ceiling of our new covered walkway on the Padre’s side of our casa.

We ran out of time before heading home last year so the final phase of that job didn’t get done.

Today Edwardo is doing some painting.

I’m getting him to paint small parts of the exterior of the house bright fuchsia pink and others a burnt orange colour.

These bight colours will pick up on my décor and pull everything together.

Besides it’s time for a change.

Some Things Stand out More Than Others

I have been attaching pictures of the many tropical flowers that grow down here.

But, this spectacular flower deserves a blog of its own.






We discovered this plant growing out of a post on the beach in Sayulita.

The post was directly in front of a banana tree.






The broad, bright green leaves of the banana created the perfect backdrop for such an exquisite bloom.





We asked some beach vendors if they knew the name of the plant, but they didn’t.

They could only tell us that the plant blooms just once a year and always produces only one flower.