Food, Magical Realism and Mexico: Like Water for Chocolate, by Laura Esquevial

I've just finished reading Like Water for Chocolate, the first novel by Laura Esquevial. Set in early 20th century Mexico, this novel explores the mystical link between cooking and passion.

Denied her true love, Tita, the protagonist, experiences torrid emotions while cooking for her (dysfunctional) family, sparking either fits of depression or wild orgies in those who consume her exquisite meals. Daily life and the extraordinary, culture, family, love and food all intertwine in this surreal novel.

Each chapter opens with a recipe. While as a health lover I'm not inspired to suddenly produce meals using so much meat or heavy cream, the traditional Mexican and pre-Hispanic recipes have me enthralled.

Alchemy that is not to be missed: the perfect way to make hot chocolate, simply using fresh cocoa beans and freshly boiling water...

Beautiful, intriguing, delicious...

Inspiration: Thomasina Miers

So, here's a post dedicated to one of my favorite chefs and food writers... Thomasina Miers.

Stylish, healthy, world traveler and creator of beautiful recipes Thomasina Miers is certainly an inspirational figure, and the more I read up on her and her food philosophy, the more I admire her for it.

From a young age, Thomasina Miers discovered and cultivated a love of cooking, enhanced later by her travels in Mexico, where she learned to cook with the incredible ingredients bio-diverse Mexico is famous for. You tube has her Mexican Food Made Simple series available online, providing a delicious and fascinating insight into Mexican cuisine, with her own mouth-watering take on popular Mexican recipes - I can't wait to try them! Watch here: Mexican Food Made Simple: Episode One.






Thomasina proves you can be stylish, healthy and slim while passionate about cooking, flavours and eating 'real food'; the chef declares herself that she shuns items such as low-fat dairy products. Her own grandmother, a successful model, always had a dollop of cream in her morning coffee and would never dream of eating her new potatoes with out mint and butter.

With her stylish Texan model grandmother on one side, a South African grandmother who believed in magic and ghosts on the other, and a brief stint living in Venezuela as a child, it's no wonder Thomasina Miers is the chef-explorer she is today. While globally inspired, her food philosophy includes truly understanding where food comes from, and using locally sourced ingredients where possible. She also stresses the importance of cookery education in school; considering how little most people seem to know about cooking and nutrition today, this is clearly a pressing issue. Food is one of the most essential components of our lives, nourishing us, forming every cell of our bodies, providing us with a certain pleasure each day... and yet, sadly, so many people today lack knowledge or passion for real (i.e. not plastic, factory spurned) food.

So, let's get out into the world and explore, discover and most importantly, eat.


dis
T