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CAPTAIN BOOTSIE'S MAGIC TIME PORTAL TO HIS OUT OF THIS WORLD RECIPE KORNER! |
HI, TIME TRAVELLERS! |
The common people's diet consist largely of corn-based dishes with chilis and herbs, usually complemented with beans and squash. Their diet also includes chocolate, maize, tomato, vanilla, avocado, papaya, pineapple, chile pepper, beans, squash, sweet potato, peanut and turkey. The totopo, or corn tortilla, is cooked in a fire oven. We also have more exotic dishes, with ingredients ranging from iguana to rattlesnake, deer, spider monkey, and even some kinds of insects. |
Smoked chiles - The chipotle or smoked jalapeno is a staple in our Aztec diet, and the Avocado is an important source of fat and protein which we use in a sauce similar to what you now call guacamole. |
Now the young people of Earth today may think that Salsa (or sauce) is relatively new, but in fact we have been combining chilies, tomatoes and other ingredients like squash seeds and even beans to make our salsa, so Salsa isn't a new invention but built on our history. |
Our food markets are a site to behold. The food vendors sell just about everything you could want.... foods, sauces, hot sauces, fried food, olla-cooked, juices, sauces of juices, shredded food with chile, with squash seeds, with tomatoes, with smoked chile, with hot chile, with yellow chile, with mild red chile sauce, yellow chile sauce, sauce of smoked chile, heated sauce. They also sell toasted beans, cooked beans, mushroom sauce, sauce of small squash, sauce of large tomatoes, sauce of ordinary tomatoes, sauce of various kinds of sour herbs, avocado sauce. You really must take some back to your planet, Captain Bootise. In that I was in full agreement. |
Due to the fact that I was a very special guest, I was permitted to sit with him. Before dining we carefully washed our hands and paws respectively in a basin, then we sat on stools before a low table covered with a fine white cloth. We were secluded from view of his court by a decorated wooden screen. Our meals were served on fine brightly colored ceramic dinnerware imported from Cholula. We than selected our dishes from the 300 hundred prepared. The left overs went to feed his large palace staff and retainers. |
We were served delicacies from all over the empire, the best the Aztec world had to offer. Elegant dishes covered with rich sauces of tomatoes, chiles, herbs, chocolate and toasted seeds, dishes cooked in their native style, which his chefs and their assistants put over earthernware braziers to prevent them from getting cold. The chefs cooked more than 300 plates of food daily for Moctezuma. Being a chef in his time sure wasn't easy, I thought to myself! I saw then prepare fowls, turkeys, pheasants, partridges, quail, tame and wild ducks, venison, wild boar, marsh birds, pigeons, hares and rabbits ...His servants brought him some of every kind of fruit that grew in the country... and two handsome women served us... with maize cakes kneaded with eggs...These maize cakes were very white and were brought in on plates covered with clean napkins. |
Where am I this time? Well, now I'm in present day Mexico, but I had a fantastic voyage back in time to the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan (on the ruins of which Mexico City was built). In fact, I'm filing a story with the Puppy World Gourmet Chefs Journal, on all the news of this rich ancient civilisation's contribution to the food you now enjoy. I even had an exclusive with Montezuma II, the last Aztec emperor. What an interesting chap, even though he really didn't want to be emperor. Did you know that they had to search for him to tell him he was elected emperor? He was hiding out from the messengers! |
Before we get to the interview, did you know that Mexican cuisine is known for its intense and varied flavors, colorful decoration, and the variety of spices that it has? Mexican gastronomy, in terms of diversity of appealing tastes and textures, is one of the richest in the world in proteins, vitamins, and minerals! I'm going to have a mouth watering recipe for you after the interview, so be ready to have a great time! |
One of the things I found most interesting was that no one was allowed to get drunk under the age of 70! If you were caught, you were punished and if this type of behaviour continued...well...the offender could lose his life! Hmmmmm......interesting concept! |
Tamarindo juice, pulque with lime, Chocolate, hot or cold, prepared with vanilla and honey |
The day was passing so quickly that I hardly noticed it was time for me go. Montezuma and I said our goodbyes with promises that he would come to my world and I would visit him again. |
Did you know that they were first created in 1943 by Ignacio "Nacho" Anaya. Anaya's original nachos consisted of fried tortilla chips covered with melted cheese and jalapeņo peppers. In their simplest form they are fried tortilla chips covered in melted cheese. |
Here's a Sample Menu: |
In fact even today, if a person really wants to prepare a Precolumbian feast, it can still be done quite simply, using only the foods and ingredients from our time. |
Guacamole with baked crisp tortilla chips, popcorn, roasted peanuts, toasted pumpkin seeds, miniature steamed tamales filled with beans and chiles. |
Fresh fruit cup with pineapple, mangos and papaya. |
What, you ask? Why Nachos of course! |
With all this food around, I'm getting hungry and I did promise you a mouth watering recipe.....so since I'm in Mexico...here's something special.... |
Ingredients |
1. In a skillet, brown ground beef with Mexican seasoning and Taco Mix. 2. When beef is browned, add the can of diced tomatoes with green chiles, cover and allow to simmer an additional 5 minutes. 3. Put tortilla chips on a large plate. Place 2 tablespoons of sour cream on plate. Sprinkle beef and diced tomato mixture over top of the chips. 4. Serve and enjoy. |
Well, it's time for me to fly! Don't know where the others have landed.... so guess you need to warp into their time portals! |
Don't forget to check our new Amazing Adventures Time Portal! |
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material excerpted from the Wikipedia article "Aztecs". and the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License |
CAPTAIN BOOTSIE HERE! |
* 1 pound lean ground beef (92% lean or better) * 1 can diced tomatoes with Green Chiles * 2 teaspoons or less taco seasoning mix (mostly cumin) * 2 tablespoons sour cream * 1 dash Mexican seasoning * corn tortilla chips |
When I met Montezuma, he was a little surprised at who his interviewer was, but I must give him credit, he took it in stride and invited me to dinner. Oh my......what a feast! |
Moctezuma only drank chocolate, which was served to us in golden goblets along with a golden spoon. The chocolate was flavored with vanilla and spices, and whipped into a froth that dissolved in the mouth. Mmmm....Mmmmmmm... Good...... Montezuma explained that no less than 50 pitchers of it were prepared for him each day, and 2000 more for the nobles of his court. Now that's a lot of chocolate! He gave me the recipe, which I gladly accepted! He further explained that Cocoa was an important comodity in Aztec times. |
After our meal, we sat down to some serious interviewing......... here's what he recounted........ |
Appetizers: |
First Course: |
Cerviche with fresh fish prepared in a salsa of lime and hot chiles. |
Second Course: |
Roast turkey with native sage, yams prepared with honey, baked squash, salad of tomatoes and jicama with fresh lime. Freshly baked tortillas. |
Dessert: |
Drinks: |
NACHO RECIPE |
Preparation |
Don't forget your special virtual mission to help save the people on the Island Sheyland The United Nations Food Program needs your help! |
