Rustic Mexican Cooking

As of late, I've been trying to brainstorm ways I can get back to the basics, the nitty-gritty of cooking. I love using fresh vegetables, fresh cuts of meat or fish, and spices that blend well for anyone's palate. The use of fresh vegetables is important to me. While I don't incorporate them nearly as much as I should, my goal for the next few weeks is to attempt to.

When I cook Indian food, I often make pea or spinach dishes with frozen vegetables. My husband (whom I will refer to as The Man from here on out) does not like frozen vegetables, much less canned ones. He has probably never tasted canned veggies, now that I think of it. Being raised in the U.S with a working mom in a middle-class family, I learned that canned vegetables were great for convenience and nutritionally. Granted, the taste and nutrition are nothing compared to fresh, but sometimes we need to improvise. This is a great article about canned and frozen veggies versus fresh vegetables. Taste is compromised in my opinion, but in a crunch or sometimes for monetary reasons, frozen or canned make sense.


When I consider rustic Mexican cooking, I mean it goes back to basics. None of the hoity-toity-hybrid-fusion stuff like chimichangas, fancy Tex-Mex stuff, or anything that's not truly organic to the culture. Rustic to me signifies traditional and time-tested, family-approved cuisine.

One recipe I make often is colache. It's versatile and is often compared to sambar by The Man because it utilizes whatever vegetables are in season and ripe at that time. It is also a great "dumpster" meal, which I coin as such because it's nice to use when you clean out your refrigerator and have odds and ends of vegetables or fresh herbs. It works and is versatile. I can also say The Man does not like these sorts of meals. They are fairly bland, but rustic Mexican soups are kind of bland. He doesn't like it so if you prefer rich, thick gravy-type stews, it may not be a good fit. I love it on a cold day because it's what I'm used to.

Colache Recipe

(picture from Howstuffworks.com)

1 pound zucchini, sliced or chopped in chunks
1 cup chopped green beans
1 onion, roughly chopped
2 ears of fresh corn on the cob (frozen is fine)
3 tomatoes, peeled
1 jalapeno
1 can hominy
1 small bunch cilantro, chopped
2 large cans vegetable broth/stock (or chicken broth if you like the meat taste)
2 cloves garlic, either whole or chopped (your preference)

Pour vegetable or chicken stock into a large cooking pan. Add the zucchini, onion, corn, green beans, tomatoes, jalapeno, and garlic. Let cook for about 15 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Add the remainder of the ingredients and let it cook for another 10 minutes. Serve with squeezed lime juice and season with salt and pepper as you wish. (At this point my dad uses about 2 tbsp tabasco sauce, because he loves things spicy.)

Alternate veggies used could be: any squash, eggplant, okra, any peppers, plantain, or avocado.