Learning to cook your own food is a very empowering way to release yourself from having to buy expensive plastic-wrapped ready-meals and takeaways, often made with inferior ingredients. Choose your favourite cuisine, and master it yourself at home. Then every night is restaurant night!
Comida Casera is by a Mexican-born chef, who shares over 100 plant-based Mexican recipes. This is a love letter to her food and culture! Written by a professional chef, find everything from comfort food to fine dining recipes.
Don’t eat cooked rice after 24 hours. And don’t rub your eyes, after chopping chillies! Before cooking, read up on food safety for people and pets (onions, garlic and spices are not safe near animals).
Bin allium scraps (onion, garlic, leeks, shallots, chives) as acids may harm compost creatures (same with tomato/citrus/rhubarb scraps).
Enjoy recipes for:
- Almond Queso Fresco
- Green Chilaquiles
- Chilorio Burritos
- Pumpkin Seed Enchiladas
- Mushroom Carnitas Tacos
- Bean and Nopal Tostadas
- Potato & Poblano Stuffed Corn Cakes
- Mole Poblano Enchiladas
- Tres Leches Cake
- Vanilla Flan
- Tres Leches Cake
What a beautiful cookbook! Dora manages to make gorgeous looking food that is delicious and accessible. This book and its food, is as delightful as Dora herself. Pati Jinich
Author Dora Ramírez is a chef, recipe developer and photographer who was born and raised in Mexico, and graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in New York, where she adopted a vegan diet for health reasons. She is passionate about teaching others the benefit of plant-based lifestyles, and lives in Texas, USA.
Pentire No-alcohol Margaritas (from Cornwall!)
Pentire Margarita is a Cornish sustainable drink, with no-booze. This is a healthy riff on the classic Margarita, blending coastal botanicals with lime, agave (a natural sweetener related to cactus), sea salt and a dash of Mexican chilli. To create a fantastic ready-to-drink cocktail.
If you prefer a boozy Margarita, know that most tequila bottles don’t have a ‘worm in the bottle’, but their cousin mezcal may).
To serve, pour 100ml into a rock glass over ice. Garnish with a lime wedge, and a slice of chilli.
This is a really eco-friendly company that sells all their items in easy-to-recycle packaging, sends in zero waste packaging, and uses a portion of profits to give back to organisations that are helping the planet.
The drink is also sold in cans. You don’t have to crush cans for recycling, but do pop the ring-pull over the top before doing so, to avoid wildlife getting trapped inside.
Agua Fresca (like natural Slush Puppies!)
Strawberry Agua Fresca (Broke Bank Vegan)
Do you ever fancy something cool and refreshing and fruity to drink, but don’t want a fizzy pop, nor a sugary fruit juice? Then discover Agua Fresca, the national drink of Mexico! This mixes fresh fruits with water and sugar, and sometimes a little fresh lime juice. It’s sold everywhere in Mexico on street stalls, and makes a lovely homemade refreshing beverage.
Avoid unpasteurised juice for pregnancy/nursing or weak immune systems. Just bin citrus/rhubarb scraps, as acids could harm compost creatures.
If used, cantaloupe melon should be stored differently, due to slight risk of salmonella. Thoroughly scrub exterior with a produce brush then store cut melon in a sealed container, discarding leftovers that have been at room temperature for over 2 hours.
Agua de Pina (Broke Bank Vegan) only needs fresh pineapple, water and sugar.
You could almost compare it to our Slush Puppies, but far more healthy (a drink that is blue for the raspberry flavour is not good!) This drink is a slushy cool drink, but totally natural.
Although in Mexico, the drink is usually made with tropical fruits (like guava), you can make this a seasonal English drink, simply by subbing with local fruits like strawberry, raspberry, apple, peach, plum or cherry.
Simple Agua Fresca Recipe
This recipe makes about 4 to 6 servings.
Shopping list:
- 4 cups fresh fruit, chopped (try strawberry/basil)
- 4 cups cold water
- 2 to 4 tablespoons sugar or agave
- 1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- Ice, to serve
Always wash fruit well to remove dirt and pesticides.
- Chop your 4 cups of fresh fruit into chunks. Then add to a blender containing 2 cups of the water. Blend until smooth.
- Sieve the mix, using a spoon to press out the liquid. You can use the discarded pulp for baking or smoothies.
- Transfer the strained liquid to a large pitcher, and stir in the other 2 cups of water.
- Add sugar or agave to taste, starting with 2 tablespoons. Squeeze in lime juice for colour. Don’t add too much.
- Chill for at least 30 minutes to let the flavours settle, then serve over plenty of ice. Garnish each glass with a slice of fruit or mint sprig.
How to Make Mexican Horchata
If you fancy something a bit more creamy, try this recipe for Horchata (Broke Bank Vegan). This is another traditional refreshing Mexican drink, made with soaked rice, almond milk, cinnamon and real vanilla. And optional cane sugar to make it sweeter.
Mexico is Doing Good Green things!
As well as being mostly plant-based, Mexico (a large country in central American that borders the USA) is also home to a stunning coastline (including the world’s second-largest coral reef), and at the forefront of protecting its country from deforestation, air pollution and lack of clean water.
Home to over 200,000 species of wildlife and plants, there is a real urgency now. Local legislators are upping their game, with moves to ban over-tourism, which is harming marine life (snorkelling alongside whale sharks etc).
And a ban is imminent on performing dolphin shows, something that their friends over the border in the USA could learn from.
