Lemon Grass Tea

Right now I'm enjoying a hot cup of Lemon Grass Tea that I just made.   Before I sat down to write this blog, I went out and pulled out a couple of bulbs of lemon grass which I cleaned and cut into pieces. 
 

You can see that I used both the bulb and its green leaves in my tea.

The pieces were all about 4" long, so small enough to fit into a bowl of water.  



I nuked the water, stem and leaves for about two minutes and then poured some of the intensely flavoured water into a mug and added a bit of sugar and a sliver of lime. 

That was all there was to it.  It is that simple to make a delicious mug of tea.

I just wish you could get a hint of the wonderful aroma coming from this really fragrant tea. 

I added some more water to the bowl of lemon grass and nuked it again and then poured it into a tall glass and placed it in the fridge to cool.

Later on, I added a bit of sugar to the liquid and made myself a thirst quenching glass of Chilled Lemon Grass Tea. 

I have 8 very large clumps of lemon grass growing near the deck of my seaside garden.

I started each plant from just one stalk, including the bulb and roots, of lemon grass.  One stalk quickly multiples to a very large plant with numerous bulbs and stems.

Because the plants get so big, many of the stalks have to be trimmed regularly.  The outer stalks can be cut off at the base without disturbing any of the other bulbs.  The bulbs are quite difficult to pull, so cutting is a much easier option when you are pruning the plant.

 

Lemon Grass is a fibrous plant with tall, coarse, flat green blades of grass and dense, purplish white inner stalks. 

It is these tender, inner stems that are used extensively in Asian cooking. The delicate, lemony essence of Lemon Grass permeates and flavours many different soups, curries, rice dishes and desserts. 

  

Lemon Grass is also highly regarded by herbal doctors for its healing qualities and has been used for centuries to treat colds, flu,

cramps, indigestion, fatigue, etc.

Many Mexicans have a plant or two growing somewhere in their yard. 

Camotes

Camotes are sweet potatoes that have either orange or white flesh.

I usually buy my camotes from the Camote Man who often has a truck load of them on the main street of La Peñita.

We eat orange fleshed camotes more often than regular potatoes because they are so flavourful and very inexpensive.  I normally buy the camotes with purple skin.  Sometimes the flesh turns yellow when they are cooked and other times it is slightly more orange.

We don't particularly like the flavour or texture of white fleshed camotes.   The taste is more bland than the orange fleshed ones and the texture is less appealing.

We love camotes roasted, baked, mashed or made into soups and latkes.

 

I particularly like baked camotes that I split down the middle and then loosen the flesh slightly with a fork.  Then I spoon on some of my own yummy sour cream and powdered ginger concoction.

I mix together some light sour cream, a little bit of brown sugar and pinches of salt and powdered ginger.

Camotes are also super delicious when the skins have been basted with a mixture of olive oil, salt and pepper and then roasted.  We eat the whole camote, skin and all, with nothing more than another sprinkling of salt and pepper.
 

Some Mexican vendors bake a whole load of camotes in a rustic old brick oven and then sell them around town. 


 

There used to be an old man who had a brick oven on one of the vacant lots in our neighbourhood.  Every Saturday around noon, he would take the camotes out of his oven and gently place them in a giant pot like this one.

Then he'd load the pot on a tricycle cart, similar to the ones we see vendors using to peddle their food and drinks up and down the streets and beaches in small towns all over Mexico.

The old man would sell his camotes to Mexicans and people like us. Sometimes we'd buy a few to bring home for dinner of we'd grab one and eat it right on the spot.  I can't tell you how good these piping hot, perfectly roasted camotes tasted.  Their soft, sweet, mushy flesh was absolutely delicious.

One year, we returned to learn the old camote vendor was peddling his cart over to La Peñita one Saturday when he was hit by a passing car and killed.  It was accidents like this, that prompted the gringos around here to build a food bridge over the river between Guayabitos and La Peñita.  We were always sad when we drove by our friend's old brick oven which remained standing for several years.   

Any locals who happen to have a brick oven in their back yards, sometimes throw a few camotes right into the coals alongside whatever else they are cooking for dinner.

Mexicans also love their camotes mashed and used in baked goodies.

They also love to soak their cooked camotes in all sorts of syrupy concoctions.  Sometimes these delicacies are prepared at home or can be purchased from someone selling them on the street. These treats are eaten cold as a dessert or piece of candy.

I don't know how Mexicans can eat these sickly sweet confections, but they absolutely love them.

  

One More Christmas Tradition

The day Carla and Al were leaving, I made them a couple of bunwiches to take on the plane.

I filled them with some of the Marbella chicken and pan stuffing left over from Christmas dinner.

The Marbella chicken was really tender after it had marinated overnight in all sorts of good ingredients .  Once the chicken was cooked, it shredded very easily and was perfect for making sandwiches.

I spread mayo and lots of homemade Cranberry Sauce on Telera buns and then piled on the chicken and stuffing.

This pretty well used up the last of the cranberry sauce I'd made last Christmas, so it was time to make another batch.

Luckily I had a few of my fancy little red and green containers left. My vibrant burgundy sauce looks so nice in these little jars. 

Now I have enough cranberry sauce to hopefully last 'til next Christmas. Both Bruce and I love cranberry sauce on roast chicken, barbecued thighs and chicken sandwiches, so we go through a lot of it.

When I was young, we always made homemade Cranberry Sauce for Christmas dinner.  I can't imagine eating the awful canned stuff that has virtually no cranberry taste and very little colour.