What Are You Hungry For?

Growing up as a Mexican American Catholic, I experienced Lent as a procession of my mother’s traditional Friday culinary masterpieces. Of her many moles, complex sauces made with rehydrated dried chiles, two stand out: mole de papas, with cubed potatoes and melted cheese, and mole de bolitas de camarón, with cactus and patties made from dehydrated ground shrimp. Other dishes include crispy potato tacos, mojarras fritas, which are whole deep-fried fish served with a lime wedge, vegetable lentils, and chiles rellenos—cheese- stuffed poblano peppers covered in egg batter, fried, and served over a spicy tomato sauce with a distinct cumin flavor. (My father for his part still spends the season dreaming of capirotada, a Lenten bread pudding.) My mother would start the cooking process early in the day, and dinner was perfectly timed so that it would be ready when my father got home from a hard day’s work as a millwright. The aromas filled the house the way the smell of incense fills a church. It was ritual and comfort: abstaining from meat, being steeped in tradition, forging memories of family around the table.  Read Full Article »