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Rachel, it seems unlikely to me that uchepos would have been a staple. If they were made early, I would think they would have been a special occasion food only made during the harvest. Partially because of storage issues, but also because non-nixtamalized maize isn't that healthy. The Michoacanos who would have tried it as a staple would have had a hard time surviving unless maybe they had a source of vitamins that the rest of the pre-conquest Mexicans didn't have. Also, why do you assume that Michoacan is the source of the dish? I mentioned that Chile, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Peru all have their own version. Plus, I've eaten such things at Salvadorean restaurants. I imagine that some sort of fresh corn dish like a tamale was made anywhere there was corn. I've got a couple books on pre-conquest food that I'll check. One includes a lot of recipes.

Several of the recipes I looked at added baking powder. I've had uchepos in the US at taquerias that were owned by michoacanos. I assume they used sweet corn to make them. Kennedy recommends talking to a farmer who grows corn for cattle feed. It's not corn season here, yet, I don't think. But once it is, maybe I'll be able to talk to some of the farmer's at the various farmer's markets and see if they grow any odd varieties. In fall, we usually get some odd varieties of corn in places like Whole Foods.

Well, like I said, I haven't seen it in Mexico either. When you say "all over the place" can you be more specific. I've travelled mostly in Western Mexico, but I never saw such a thing in DF either. Note: I'm talking specifically about cabbage in tacos, not cabbage in general. Though most of the cabbage recipes I've seen seem to be from the Yucatan, a place I haven't been. I couldn't find any recipes for tacos garnished with cabbage.

Okay, I decided to get off my lazy ass and get the proportions from the Mexican cookbooks that have it in my collection. (It means I have to get more than one book off the shelf at a time!) KENNEDY In both books of hers that have it, she not only doesn't compromise, but doesn't offer an alternative at all. She just says get field corn. A little annoying. 5 C field corn kernels 1/4 whole milk (if necessary) 2 T creme fraiche BAYLESS He offers a version that doesn't sound too good. Too similar, imo, to normal tamales with corn added. The kernels of two ears of sweet corn 2 cups hydrated or fresh masa ZASLAVSKY 2 cups corn kernels 1/4 C fresh masa OR 3 T flour and 1/4 C masa harina with 1/4 C water POORE Kernels of 6 ears of corn 1/3 C masa harina

In South American Table, here are the ratios for the humitas: ECUADORIAN 4 cups corn kernels 3 eggs 1/2 C corn meal The corn is put in a food processor and the yolks and cornmeal are added. The whites are whipped to stiff peaks and folded in. PERUVIAN and CHILEAN 4 cups kernels 1/2 cup corn meal 1 lightly beaten egg (if necessary) Same as above without the separating I'd like to try draining the liquid from the processed corn and mixing it with some corn starch and then adding it all back together to see what would happen.

I wish Rancho would just start selling on the interweb. I'll do the code for an online store if you need it. You can pay me in beans and corn and chiles. When I've done cachapas, it really didn't take that much starch (I usually use wheat flour; I've never tried corn starch). But it helped to let it rest. It always seemed a little too soupy, but then would work out. I bet you wouldn't need more than a tablespoon per ear of corn. I wonder if you just used egg whites if you could get the binding without much flavor added. When I've used them in cachapas, I think I used about one egg for two ears of corn, and you couldn't really taste it.

fifi, say it with me: "FedEx". It'd be interesting to take Esperanza's recipe and see how much corn starch or flour has to be added, along with egg, maybe, to get it to bind.

I just talked with my sister-in-law who just got back from spending two years in Ecuador. She reminded me the name I was trying to think of. In Ecuador and much of South America, fresh corn tamales are called humitas or humintas. Looking in my copy of South American Table, there are several recipes, most of which involve some flour and egg to make up for the lack of starch in American corn. This might be a good source for testing recipes since there are so many compared with the uchepos recipes in Mexican cookbooks that carry them.

Yeah, uchepos are great. They're not actually unique to Michoacan, I don't think (but maybe by that name). They are sometimes called tamales de elote, too. Plus you can find them outside of Mexico. There are also little, almost bread pudding or custard like creations made with fresh corn. And in Venezuela they make cachapas, one of my favorite things, a fresh corn pancake/crepe. The uchepos recipes I've seen really vary in their contents. I really like the sound of that one. What's the source of the recipe. Some recipes add all kinds of binders. I've never seen them made with green corn, but I'm no expert.

Damn I need to come down and eat some Indian some time. Texans should thank Michael Dell and other tech leaders for helping you guys get good Indian food. I think I could just come down and eat BBQ, Mexican, and Indian and never have to touch another cuisine in Texas. I look forward to the photos.

It seems like I've seen both green and blue corn antojitos in Mexico City. I would think that they would have used dried green corn for those. But I don't understand exactly how the processing works. The one time I used red corn to make masa, the masa still came out white. Where the hell is Sharon these days to answer all these questions.

It was nice meeting you guys and I had fun gabbing with you both. I'm looking forward to hearing what you did with the rest of your time in Portland. That cucumber soup is so green. Was it just cucumber? Did it have an herb or avocado in it or something?

The owner of Poncho's al Pastor in Vancouver had told me that her favorite taqueria is Luis's in Woodburn. Ever since then I'd wanted to try it. They have a good menu and offer huaraches and a large selection of meats. They also take credit cards. I ordered way too much food: a pork tamal, a carnitas taco, a chicharron taco, a carne asada sope, and a cheese quesadilla. The quesadilla was just a folded corn tortilla, unfortunately. I still haven't found a place that makes real quesadillas in town. The tamal was a little dense for me. I prefer interior style tamales that are lighter. The tacos, interestingly, came with shredded cabbage. They were pretty big tacos with freshly made tortillas. The meats were all good. The sope was nice as well. They don't have house made salsas as far as I could tell. They're not as good as Salvador's, imo, but they're another good option in Woodburn. Pics: http://www.extramsg.com/modules.php?op=mod...bumName=album73

Glad you liked that area, Nathan. That corner is one of the better areas of Mexican food I've seen in this country. It's just so impressive to have so much concentration of quality Mexican food. I needed a big group with me when I went so I could have tried more stuff. Also glad to hear El Alteno is getting more positive recs. It was really my favorite of the places I went in Watsonville. The menu at Tepa was very cool, and I'd buy one from anyone who can get one for me, but the execution was spotty. The tortillas were fantastic, however. Everything was consistently decent to good at El Alteno.

Weird. I've never noticed cabbage in Mexico before. Not sure if it wasn't there or if I just didn't notice it. I've noticed cebollitas and radishes plenty of times. Cilantro and onions, certainly. But never cabbage. I wonder if I just blanked it out.

I was at a taqueria I haven't tried before here in greater Portland. You can often tell the origin of the proprieters by the selection of foods. Portland has a lot of people from Jalisco and Michoacan. Today, though, the tacos came with shredded cabbage. Where is cabbage popular in Mexican food? Is it a Texas or California thing? Is it a regional Mexican thing? Normally taquerias just put cilantro and onion on tacos here.

Despite Suzanne's disdain for the stuff, I really like keeping a tin of Tasmanian leatherwood honey on hand: http://earthy.com/a_gourmet_honey.htm?EDI=...c6190e3099caad9 Luckily, I have a couple local sources. I also buy a lot of honeys at farms and farmer markets and gourmet shops while I travel. I don't think it matters that much what type, but just to have a couple types in addition to your basic commercial clover honey.

Nullo, my favorite thing for Bufalo chipotle sauce is mixing it with cream or sour cream/water and salt for a quick salad dressing. It's not quite drinking it straight, but it's not far off. I know one or two people here make their own chipotles, maybe Rancho Gordo? I think there might be some comments in a chipotle thread on the Mexico forum.

Because I'm sure no one else will ever go to San Jose and eat.

Sure, maybe the average peasant worker in DF or Guadalajara can't go to McDonald's, but in many cities I've been in, hamburguesas were one of the most popular street vendor dishes (and I'm talking about in street markets and places where I was the only gringo; it's not Americans buying hamburgers off the street). And perros calientes are pretty darned common everywhere, too. Though Mexico, along with Chicago, is one of the few places I'll gladly eat a dog, wrapped in bacon, griddled, and served with roasted jalapenos. See pic: http://www.extramsg.com/modules.php?set_al...=view_photo.php

You should definitely go get some Mexican food, preferably in a heavily Mexican area. See this report on a visit I made there: http://www.extramsg.com/modules.php?name=N...icle&sid=8#mxsj There are also pictures.

You Anthony Bourdain fans are a bunch of obsessed motherfuckers. Look at this listing of what people who have ordered this book have also ordered: Of course, Larousse is probably heavier than all the others put together.

I always have dried and canned chipotles on hand. My favorite dish using them is tinga, a tomato and chipotle stew, usually with chicken or pork. I also always have Bufalo's chipotle sauce on hand. Much better than Tabasco's new version. It's essentially chipotles en adobo puree. See here: http://www.mexgrocer.com/1251.html

Both had copies of Legends.

I think you both have it right. I did a little informal research on it a while back and I think the tortilla chip version is total Tex-Mex. I couldn't find a direct relation between the Spanish version and the Tex-Mex version. I think it's just because you make crumbs of them. At least sometimes, chilaquiles are made with crisp, fried tortillas. I prefer them that way myself. I'm not sure if it's a regional thing or just a taste thing. btw, I tried to find your book at two Barnes & Nobles and Powell's today and they were all out. I don't know if they didn't buy very many copies or if you're just selling that well here in Portland. I had already ordered it a couple days ago on Amazon.com, though, and just wanted to be able to ask better questions.