Robin: Please don’t discard the carcass left over after carving a roasted turkey; it is extremely valuable! Cooking the turkey’s “skeleton” will yield a rich, delicious broth that can be turned into soup or any one of a number of other yummy delights. Turkeys are native to all of North America, from Canada through Mexico,…
Sweet Potato and Cinnamon Gelatin
Robin: Inspired by the multitude of sweet gelatin dishes I came across in Mexico, I came up with this easy-to-make and somewhat sophisticated-looking dessert that might remind you a little of a crustless sweet potato pie. The gelatin is creamy and mousse-like in texture, but firm enough to hold its shape when cut into slices….
Autumn Vegetable Chili
Robin: Ed and I moved back to my native Indiana in the spring of 2022, but before that we’d lived several years in places (South Florida and Costa Rica) that don’t really get an autumn, and I missed that season most of all. I did my best to enjoy pretending to cycle through the four…
Spinach Pie
Ed: For me as a South American man, this is a real comfort food. You could say It’s just a simple savory pastry, and it is, but for me this delicious baked spinach pie is a memory attached to my soul. As a child in Lima, Peru, one of my favorite lunches or substantial snacks was what…
Autumn Spice Puppy Chow
Robin: I made a first version of this in October of 2016 and took it in to work. Now, Ed and I live in South Florida—a huge salad bowl of people of different cultures, cuisines, and languages—and plenty of things that might seem ordinary to folks back in the good ol’ Midwest (where I grew…
Tuna-Stuffed Avocado
Ed: Back when I had a gluten sensitivity and had to select my food very carefully, avocados were the one of the top ingredients on my list. I no longer have that excuse for eating them, but they are still one of my favorite foods. Stuffed avocados are a popular appetizer in Latin America, where…
My Mom’s Pear Cake
Robin: When they lived on a tiny-but-lovely Royer Lake in northeast Indiana, Mom and Dad had their very own pear tree. Some years the harvest was huge, others not so much. When the supply was abundant, Mom would find creative ways to take full advantage of the delicious fruit, using pears in salads, desserts, and…
Meet the Traditional Peruvian Hot Peppers
Ed & Robin: Although Mexican chile peppers seem to get all the press, Peruvians are proud of the long and delicious history of their own varieties. In South America, a hot pepper is called an ají (instead of the Mexican term chile), and the plural is ajíes. Dozens of varieties are cultivated in Peru, but…
Spaghetti Squash a la Mexicana
Robin: The other day at work I overheard part of a conversation. One women made a comment that went something like, “Spaghetti squash? Yeah, I’ve had it, and it doesn’t fool me!” I had to smile, because I don’t think that spaghetti squash intends to actually fool much of anyone. Yes, its long strands can…
Mexican Spaghetti (Sopa seca de fideos)
Robin: It might not “look Mexican” at first glance, but pasta made this way is one of millions of Mexicans’ favorite everyday dishes and beloved comfort foods—due, perhaps, to the fact that it is made with simple ingredients (tomato, onion, chicken broth) and brings back warm childhood memories of the dinner table. Like many other…