Dear Reader,
Of all the foods in the world, I truly believe Mexican cooking is the most exciting, and sometimes even the easiest. More than any other cooking style, Mexican cooking takes the wonderful ingredients of many different countries and puts them together in one meal. It is, in cooking terms, the true melting pot of the world.
In many ways, Mexican cooking symbolizes our shrinking world. There are few barriers. If you like it, and the ingredients are either grown in Mexico or can be obtained from one of the many different countries using Mexico as a stop on their trade routes, it’s fair game to throw in the pot.
The result is sometimes very interesting. After all, where else can you mix hot peppers with mangoes or put cayenne pepper in your chocolate candy? What other culture would unabashedly combine Greek olives with Spanish wine and Mexican fruits? Where else would you put peanuts and lettuce in a holiday drink?
Mexican meals also have no pretensions. They are meals of necessity. You use what is on hand to make the most wonderful tastes you can make in no time flat. And then you enjoy what you have created, surrounded by your family and friends.
I hope these recipes provide the opportunity for you to experience the variety and unique tastes—but most importantly the excitement—that Mexican cooking has to offer.
Margaret Kaeter and Linda Larsen