action 2: terroir

Pen in hand an blank paper at face, I began to draw ingredients. Tomatoes, onion, garlic, cilantro, peppers, and limes. And to boot, a bag of chips and a bottle of beer.

Action 2 very much felt like an extension of Action 1.

Had I known that the assignment would have been about food and terroir, I may have gone another route initially. I had several ideas in front of me for this action, including tamales, breakfast tacos, and a Thanksgiving feast — a quick chat with Maleeka helped me narrow down what might be a good place to start, salsa.

I chose two of my three staple recipes. The ones I shared with her are nearly the same ingredients with a very different result, one is charred and one is fresh. Pico de Gallo and Salsa Roja. I’m more than happy to share my third as well with those who dare, the Doña, also known as the jalapeño death sauce by some.

I’ll share what I included in my offering to Maleeka, as I feel that it introduces this action well.

Me, riding a donkey in Boquillas, Mexico, a border town across the Rio Grande from Big Bend National Park in Texas.

Salsa is the glue that holds every occasion together, from the complimentary basket of warm chips at any self-respecting Mexican restaurant, to the stock of ingredients you have at home to whip out at a moment’s notice. I can remember few occasions where it wasn’t on a table to be shared, and certainly no family gathering is complete without it. 

I could have chosen to talk about the tradition of making tamales, or handmade tortillas with refried beans. But in truth, we always had access to the best tortillarias and tamale makers, and supported them with what they did so well. And not to say we don’t buy salsa, but it is almost always homemade. 

Simple ingredients, and a quick turnaround time, it is undoubtedly the most consumed snack in the state. I’ve gone through the motions of making batches so many times, that I can almost float through the routine. But when I get the chance to do it slowly, and to make all three of my go-to recipes, nothing brings me home more immediately. 

I hand-write all of my best recipes, and in that way this assignment didn’t feel very different, so I struggled to find a way to expand the experience. Ultimately, I wish I could make this for all of you and hopefully someday I will. 

I don’t follow a recipe for measurements, and every time is different. I like that about it. 

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Maleeka’s offering to me was Channa Chat, a chickpea dish very popular in Pakistan (and India). I noticed quickly that our ingredients were pretty similar. I pose that you could substitute tomato, onion, cumin, cilantro, and chiles in her recipe for a generous scoop of my pico de gallo quite easily. Would be fun to try!

I, like my classmates, did find myself caught up in the process of documenting the process which dragged it out substantially. My dinner guest noticed sooner than I.

These kinds of offerings are not new to me, I have often cooked with friends from all over the world, and kind of live for these experiences. I had never experienced Pakistani cuisine before, so I hope I did it right, but I find that there are few better ways to experience a culture than through eating their food. Especially in the world we’re in now, where it may be the closest we get to taking a trip overseas.

My first educational experience of terroir is with wine. I have a background in working in restaurants and curating a wine program for a time back in Austin. I first learned about natural wines, wines made in the spirit of doing the least to get the grapes into a bottle. That missionis to get the most unobstructed sense of terroir in the final result. Being able to taste the elements of the soil, temperature, and overall conditions of where the grapes where grown. Terroir is something I think of constantly, as the west coast has become a large source of inspiration for me and my practice. Without it, I have trouble finding meaning. Bringing things back to the earth is how I orient myself, and how I ascribe worth to the things that I make.

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