House & Garden Tour
By Jennifer Hamilton
Bonus discount!
House & Garden Tour ticket-holders receive a bonus 10% discount at La Tienda. Applicable to certain items on Sunday purchases.
House & Garden Tour
Sun, Sep 20, tour departs at noon
Biblioteca Pública
Insurgentes 25
US$15 or 150 pesos
Breakfast at Café Santa Ana starts at 9am
Stunning statues, mellifluous archways and concha covered ceilings
| 1. This house was unsold and incomplete for seven years when first seen by the current owners. After tearing down walls and windows, creating doors and skylights, the result is a charming and comfortable home filled with light, patios, a delightful garden and an extra: a view to the south of the charming neighborhood park with its outstanding lighted fountain. |  |
|
The first living room (there are three!) is furnished with deep plush chairs and pre-Columbian-type pieces. Arches abound, giving the home a soft, gentle appearance. At the far end is a stunning five-foot statue of San Rafael carved from a single piece of wood and an extraordinary Pino statue, by design, is a miniature “earthquake detector.” The kitchen is a gourmet’s dream with every conceivable gadget, bright colors, wonderful tile and a full-sized commercial stove. Three bedrooms, a spacious master suite and the third living room are on the second level with their own flower-filled patios overlooking the pool, fountain and multi-hued bougainvillea an
d fruit trees in the garden. At night, the garden is illuminated by 51 lights. Bóveda ceilings were added to the second level in order to add extra height and a feeling of spaciousness and drama.
 |
|
2. This elegant home is hidden behind the walls of an old cobbled street in Centro and is truly a magnificent example of modern architecture blending with contemporary, antique and Mexican Colonial. |
The first floor is completely open, encompassing two salas, dining area and kitchen. Stretching two stories high and topped by an imposing white bóveda ceiling, the larger sala is flooded with light, and a phenomenal fireplace containing hand-blown glass pieces is topped by a huge, intricately carved mirror. The highly polished black tile floors offset the white walls and modern furniture with interspersed color accents. The most commanding vista is the prominent staircase with glass sides, alone an imposing and exceptional work of art. The master suite contains two arched ceilings with a cozy seating area, modern art and a four-poster bed. A long corridor, also with glass sides, overlooks the sala below and leads to a second bedroom with a colorful tapestry-covered bed filled with pillows and ojo de buey windows.
Mellifluous archways abound inside the house and out, invoking a warm and inviting feel to this distinctive home. Stretching from the front garden is an open-air covered corridor for outdoor entertaining painted in eye-catching Mexican colors with a barbecue and brilliantly hued masks on the outside walls.
 |
|
3. This home, the site of a former tannery, was purchased in 1992 and renovated in the Mexican style. The entry has a cactus garden with its field rocks collected by the owners on their travels. |
A dining room display case shows off the more impressive specimens, many local. All the furniture in the house was custom made by Mexican craftsmen. The long walls of the open, well-lit interior provide ample room for gallery-like presentation of paintings by the owner and many of San Miguel’s other well-known artists. The hallway to the bedrooms has a collection of more than 100 masks from Mexico and elsewhere. The patio/garden sports a fountain and impressive specimens of hanging burro tails and other succulents. The home features three fireplaces and an inviting outdoor sala. On the top terrace are a studio, a sun terrace and a garden house converted into a computer room and study. The home boasts two architectural features borrowed from Spain: Over the dining and living rooms are vaulted ceilings with eight impres
sive conchas, handmade from wet concrete in the shape of scallop shells, the emblem of St. James, patron saint of Spain.
THE HOUSE & GARDEN TOUR THANKS THE FOLLOWING FOR OPENING THEIR BEAUTIFUL HOMES
On Sunday, September 20, 2009
Nancy Nashban
Jay Nashban
Donald Collins & Richard Muetz
Pam & Don Knoles
Food & Wine
Flavors of the Sun
By Victoria Challancin
The Aztecs called it what?
 |
|
Huitlacoche (pronounced wheat-la-co-chay), the luscious and delicious corn fungus so prized in Mexico, underscores two things I have come to understand about food and life. |
First, aesthetics are a funny thing. Second, one woman’s sauce is truly another woman’s poison.
I find the glistening, pearlescent kernels of corn infected with the Ustilago maydis fungus a visual treat, an optical ode to silvers, grays and blacks, molded into soft hills and valleys of what promises to be exotic gastronomic joy. Yet others revile it as monstrous, grotesque, rank, and disgusting—words guaranteed to foil even the most adventurous appetite. In Mexico farmers rejoice to see their crops infected with the culturally adored fungus, which assures higher prices and untold gustatory pleasures.
North of the border, however, American farmers wince, knowing the appearance of corn smut can mean a significant yield loss in valuable sweet corn. They fail to understand that their more savvy competitors are deliberately trying to cultivate this agricultural “disaster” in an attempt to corner the specialty food markets and cater to gourmet restaurants.
 |
|
Even the nomenclature is an obstacle to its acceptance. The word “huitlacoche,” or “cuitlacoche,” as it is called in some parts of Mexico, is derived from Náhuatl, the language of the Aztecs, in which huitlatl means “excrement” and cochi means “black” or “raven.” |
The ancients must have had quite an irreverent sense of humor or were incredibly tolerant of what they ate to name such a culinary prize “raven’s excrement.” The amusement continues with yet another translation of the Náhuatl, “sleepy excrement,” which the gods actually shared with mortals in the form of ceremonial offerings of huitlacoche. The French don’t help either with their goitre du maîs, or corn goiter. Nor is the English “corn smut” very appealing. Perhaps the term “Mexican truffle”, which some may suspect is a gastronomic oxymoron, may provide the best chance of moving this delicacy into the mainstream of kitchens.
The fungus Ustilago maydis is botanically classified as Basidiomycetes, a grouping which includes rusts and smuts. Although the soil-borne organism can affect all the growing points of corn, it is the young ears of sweet corn and some popcorns which are the most susceptible to infection. These contaminated ears produce spores that fill the interior of what would normally be kernels, producing distended, fleshy gray-black globules covered by the taut silvery skin of the corn tissue. When enough spores are produced, smut galls (another unfortunate and unpalatable name) up to four to five inches in diameter are formed, giving us the much prized and very edible huitlacoche.
Getting a handle on the flavor of corn fungus is not unlike coming to grips with its appearance. “Earthy” (it is a fungus after all), “inky” (a spin-off from its visual jolt, I’m sure), and “exotic” (perhaps this is just an excuse for eating “smut”) are all terms cooks throw around. Perhaps “smoky-sweet” comes the closest to describing the dark mushroom-y taste, which has mixed so gloriously with the faint sweetness of the would-be corn.
Even though today’s farmers in the United States are trying desperately to eradicate Ustilago maydis, their early indigenous predecessors embraced its spontaneous eruption with joy. According to the gracious and knowledgeable Betty Fussell, author of the award-winning The Story of Corn, the early Zuni tribe venerated huitlacoche as a symbol for the generation of life, using it in various ceremonies and endowing it with both medicinal and miraculous powers. The Hopi also thought corn smut a delicacy. And the Aztecs positively loved it.
Mexicans today still consider huitlacoche to be a luxurious treat. Some aficionados use the powdery form of the more mature fungus as a condiment to sprinkle on food. Pregnant women should avoid that practice, as it may cause uterine contractions. Without bothering with the old and decayed form of the smut, there are still abundant ways to enjoy the freshly cooked fungus.
Although available year-round frozen or canned, as with all produce, fresh is best. During the rainy season, modern Mexicans await the appearance of the treasured huitlacoche in the markets and on the streets. Sold off the cob in bags or displayed still on the ear, this delicacy is greeted with much-anticipated pleasure. When buying fresh corn fungus, look for plump, moist-looking gray-black nodules of deformed corn kernels. If using canned, Herdez is a reliable brand.
Sautéed in butter or oil with few additional seasonings, it makes a terrific stuffing for chicken, fish, or even a simple tortilla. Elevated to a filling for crepes, it commands high prices in restaurants. Paired with its seasonal companions, such as squash blossoms, epazote, and fresh chiles, it makes a lyrical soup. Teamed with cream and cheese, it shines as a stunning and delectable sauce for meats, seafood or vegetables. In fact, huitlacoche can be used almost anywhere a more familiar mushroom might appear in cooked form, or it can be approached via the vast Mexican repertory of classic recipes.
Victoria Challancin owns the Flavors of the Sun International Cooking School and takes culinary tours to the Middle East and Europe. A longtime resident of San Miguel de Allende, she can be reached at 152-5912. For more recipes check her blog: flavorsofthesun.blogspot.com.
Preparing fresh huitlacoche
Use the following recipe to fill crepes, make quesadillas, or stuff red snapper or chicken. Purée and thin it with a little cream to make a sauce for meat, poultry or seafood.
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp white onion, chopped
2 small garlic cloves, minced
4 poblano chiles, roasted, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch strips
1 1/2 lbs fresh huitlacoche (approximately 6 cups)
Salt, to taste
2 Tbsp chopped fresh epazote or cilantro
Heat the oil in a large sauté pan. Cook the onion until soft and translucent, about four minutes. Add the garlic and chiles and cook for an additional two minutes. Add the huitlacoche; cover the pan and cook over medium heat for ten minutes or until the corn fungus is soft and cooked through (this will depend on the size of the kernels). Season with salt and add the epazote. Cook for an additional two minutes. If using cilantro instead of epazote, simply stir it in without cooking.
Note: If the huitlacoche is in very large pieces, chop it roughly.
Sopa de huitlacoche
2 Tbsp vegetable oil or butter
1 medium white onion, finely chopped
1 lb mushrooms (white or oyster), chopped
1/2 lb huitlacoche, fresh or canned
6 cups fresh chicken broth
2 sprigs epazote (optional)
4 poblano chiles, roasted, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch strips
1/2 cup cream
Salt, to taste
Heat the oil or butter in a large sauté- or saucepan. Add onion and cook for three to five minutes, or until soft. Add regular mushrooms and the huitlacoche; cook for eight minutes. Add the chicken broth, cooking for an additional three minutes to incorporate flavors. Add the epazote and chile strips and cook for four more minutes. Add the cream and salt. Serve immediately. Serves eight.
Note: For a lighter version cream may be passed separately or drizzled over the soup instead of incorporated into it.
Reprinted, with permission, from http://flavorsofthesun.blogspot.com/
|