FOOD!

Mexican food has been one of my favorite types of food for a while. Since moving here, it has been a struggle to get myself to eat at home when there is so much to try. This week Querétaro has been celebrating La Fiesta de la Exaltación de la Santa Cruz, a local remembrance of its history and ancestry (which I will discuss in a later post). Because of this, there was a TON of food in La Plaza de La Cruz, the center of the fiesta. I was thrilled when I came across all of the food tents and walked up and down the aisles as I struggled with indecision until I came across a woman selling pozole.

I've been battling a cold this week and steaming bowl of pozole rojo was exactly what I needed. Two women were already sitting at the stand when I arrived and expressed how valiente I was as I added in some spicy chili sauce to help clear my congested head, which made me feel like I'm really learning to hold my own here in Mexico (and not to brag or anything, but last night at a BBQ someone else was impressed by my ability to eat and enjoy the hotter of the two salsas.). I then went to a stand where a woman was making gorditas, tacos, quesadillas and sopes all with blue corn flour tortillas. I asked for a gordita, one of Querétaro's specialties, and froze when the woman asked what I wanted in it. There were literally over a dozen ceramic bowls full of possible fillings in front of me and I didn't know what any of them were called. I stuttered "¿tiene flor de calabaza?" because I'm still kind of excited by the idea of eating flowers to which she replied "solo en las quesadillas" and showed me a quesadilla with zucchini flower and melted cheese. The blue corn tortilla added an excellent flavor to the cheese and flower combination. I also listened closely as others ordered gorditas so I'll be prepared next time.
I wandered back through the tents considering which of the sweets I should try. I had seen one that looked like a sweet potato latke at one stand went back to find out what it was.

I chose the latke-looking sweet, a dulce de leche and a lime rind filled with candied coconut.

The latke look-a-like turned out to be fried coconut. Good but not as exciting as I had hoped. The coconut-filled lime rind was my favorite. It took me a minute to realize I could eat the rind as well which added a nice tangy, citrus flavor to the sweet and smooth coconut. That was by far my favorite of the desserts.

And as I left the food fair, I decided I hadn't eaten enough vegetables and stopped for an elote on my way out. Because obviously mayonnaise and cheese covered corn is an important part of a balanced diet.