Not Just Tacos
Mitch and Steph
Hi, we’re Mitch and Steph, two Peace Corps volunteers serving in Atltzayanca, Tlaxcala working on conservation and environmental education in this unique and beautiful ecosystem. We’re also food/cooking enthusiasts and have been fortunate enough to be placed with a host family that cooks incredible food, passed down from many generations, and now passed onto these lucky gringos. While we run the blog, the recipes are the host family’s, primarily Dominga and Guille’s, who have been generous enough to share them with you!
Our Host Family
We live with an incredible and ever-growing family. Dominga, our host mom/matriarch/top chef, and her husband live with three of their daughters and their husbands and kids, while another daughter lives around the corner with her husband and sons and another son lives around the corner with his wife and kids. And now of course there’s us, the curious Americans who are never sure if we’re being laughed with or laughed at. And who, with all the love and generosity of these amazing people, have been truly invited into this family.
The Blog
This is not a “10 ingredient” or “1 pot” or “30 minutes or less” blog. This blog is for people who want to cook authentic Mexican food traditional to the central Mexican highlands. You might find yourself journeying into new neighborhoods to find the right chile, or getting creative with substitutions because sometimes even the store where the Mexicans shop might not have exactly what you need. These recipes require that you taste your sauces before adding more spices, or that you add more cream if you think you want it creamier! Yes, we give measurements, but these dishes in the flesh are not made with measurements, but eyeballs and taste-tests. And though we try and pare down the recipes so they’re good for 4-6 servings, our family is usually cooking for 20-30 people. So take it all with a grain of salt and have fun with it! You might end up with a very spicy dinner, or you might end up discovering what can happen when you let go of the tight reigns of a recipe and let your senses make more decisions…enjoy!