Today focused on Mexican/Spanish food, mainly discussing its widespread influence, and how the authenticity of Mexican food gets questioned when made in a different setting. Our day started with one of our teachers/leaders, Mrs. Toreson, explaining to us the various meals that Spain and Mexico enjoy. These descriptions helped us to comprehend the contrast of their foods, despite Mexico being influenced by Spain. Specifically, Spain has more dishes based upon seafood, as it is surrounded by the Atlantic, Mediterranean, and the strait of Gibraltar. Spanish food also relies on olive oil and potatoes, like many of its European neighbors. Mexican food on the other hand is commonly spicier and relies on various types of peppers and chili. Our class then tried some delicious Spanish foods that Mrs. Toreson had brought in, specifically two types of ham (Jamon), a salty cheese, sweet bread, along with some churros with thick chocolate and powdered sugar. The churros were essentially of a different take on donuts but withheld a flavor very different than one. I noticed the cheeses seemed to have less of a funk compared to Italian food but none the less I enjoyed. Our class then watched a video that talked about a woman who lived in Oaxaca Mexico. She made bean paste tortillas with dried pepper salsa on top.
After exercising we came back watched another short video and got ready to head to the restaurant.
We went to Totopos Street Food and Tequila, which had various delicious foods. This included chimichangas, which are just deep-fried burritos, fajitas, tacos, and to wash it all down, some horchata. At the restaurant I noticed a few non-traditional Mexican dishes but over most seemed to be authentic. I ordered the “Iron skillet fajitas” and got skirt steak. It came with rice, beans, peppers, dipping sauce, and tortillas. It was very good and felt the blend of all the ingredients made it whole. After this wonderful meal, we went back and tried more food. In this case, it was a desert named Tres Leches, and another called flan. The Tres Leches cake was a moist cake that has a mixture of three different kinds of milk in it. The flan had two parts, one like a chocolate cake, and the other like a cheesecake. The Tres leches was my favorite because it had such a sweet and unique taste. The cholate flan was very good and had a weird jiggly texture to it. Afterward, we watched another show about a guy trying out foods in a huge Mexican market. Within this market, it was clear that Mexicans like to use all of the animal when cooking, and that they had many interesting food items.
After watching this, Mr. Velto discussed the authenticity of food influenced by Mexican culture. This relates to how some people say Taco Bell is not authentic due to it being somewhat Americanized. Overall, we learned many different things about Mexican and Spanish culture while enjoying delicious foods.
by Fred and Sawyer
