These horchata popsicles are a spin on Oaxaca-style horchata, which usually includes diced cantaloupe and red prickly pears that give it it’s signature pink hue. In Oaxaca, this kind of horchata is commonly referred to as horchata con tuna. Some people even like to throw in chopped pecans and a sprinkle of ground cinnamon as a garnish. Horchata has always been one of the most popular recipes on The Other Side of The Tortilla, so I thought I’d share a popsicle version that my family loves to eat.
Recipe
…Vegan banana chocolate smoothie
This vegan banana chocolate smoothie recipe is a creation I’ve been drinking over and over again for the last few weeks. I love experimenting with Mexican ingredients that aren’t necessarily always in traditional Mexican dishes. Cacao has been harvested and consumed in its raw state by ancient cultures such as the Aztecs and Mayans in Mexico as well as some other Latin American countries for centuries. Today, it’s easy to find a variety of raw cacao powders commercially available and made by different brands; it’s often sold in health food stores and it’s easy and inexpensive to buy online as well. Raw cacao powder has plenty of health benefits in addition to the rich flavor it provides to any dish. It’s packed with antioxidants, and has high amounts of nutrients and minerals such as magnesium, copper and manganese.
This banana chocolate smoothie recipe is vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free and has no added sugar, but trust me when I say that you will feel like you’re committing a sin while drinking it.
…Paletas de fresas con crema
Fresas con crema are a traditional, popular dessert all over Mexico.
Irapuato, a town in the state of Guanajuato, is particularly known not only for its bountiful strawberry fields, but also its roadside stands where you can get freshly picked berries or an impromptu treat of fresas con crema. Most of the roadside stands keep a cooler with crema on ice for highway travelers hankering for this sweet and simple treat. With only three ingredients—strawberries, cream and sugar—it’s easy to fall under this dessert’s spell.
You’ll love these popsicles so much, you’ll want to eat them all spring and summer long until you can’t get any more strawberries.
Variations on the traditional fresas con crema mostly come in the choice of the “crema” part of the recipe. Some people like to use crema Mexicana, while others may use a canned version known as media crema table cream. These Mexican strawberries and cream popsicles are made a little less dense—but equally creamy—with a quick homemade whipped cream made from scratch.
Paletas de fresas con crema are one of my absolute favorite desserts for spring and summer, and my friends, family and co-workers all love when I make a big batch of these popsicles to share. During the hottest days of the summer, I suggest freezing them overnight before serving so they aren’t quick to melt in the heat.
Supplies I used to make this recipe:
Progressive International Ice Pop Mold
Wooden popsicle sticks
Cuisinart Mini Prep Plus food processor
Paletas de fresas con crema
- Prep Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 hours
- Total Time: 9 hours, 15 minutes
- Yield: 10 3-oz popsicles 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: Mexican
Description
Fresas con crema, a traditional Mexican dessert of strawberries, cream and sugar, gets a warm-weather makeover as popsicles.
Scale
Ingredients
- 1 pound ripe strawberries, stems removed
- 1/2 cup Zulka Morena sugar (a Mexican non-GMO sugar)
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 3–4 tablespoons sugar
Instructions
- Wash and dry 1 pound of strawberries, then remove stems.
- Slice strawberries and put them in a deep bowl. Sprinkle 1/2 cup sugar over the strawberries and stir gently to coat. Allow strawberries and sugar to macerate for 1 hour to draw out the juices.
- While the strawberries are macerating, measure 1 cup heavy whipping cream and put it in the freezer for 1 hour, gently stirring once after 30 minutes so no ice chunks form.
- After 1 hour, add the macerated strawberries to a food processor (I use a Cuisinart mini prep) or a blender and pulse a few times until the strawberries are chopped but not liquified. Add them back to the bowl.
- Clean out your food processor cup or blender and dry thoroughly. Remove the heavy whipping cream from the freezer and add to the food processor cup or the blender. Add 3 tablespoons sugar (or 4 tablespoons if you like your fresas con crema to be very sweet). Run the food processor or blender on high until you have a thick, sweet whipped cream. (Be careful not to overwhip,or you’ll end up on your way to making butter.)
- Spoon the whipped cream into the bowl of macerated strawberries with a flexible spatula and gently fold the whipped cream into the berries.
- Pour into popsicle molds and freeze for a minimum of 6-8 hours or overnight.
Notes
Active prep time is 1 hour and 15 minutes; inactive time is for freezing the popsicles until solid.
To loosen the popsicles from the molds, run the bottom of the molds under cool or lukewarm water for a few minutes. They should slide right out.
*If you use processed white sugar for this recipe, you will want to reduce the amount of sugar by 1/3 to 1/2 and taste along the way to make sure that it’s not too sweet for your liking. I prefer not to cook with white sugar and do not keep it in my pantry.
Keywords: fresas con crema, strawberry, strawberries, popsicles, paletas, ice pops
You might also like to read…
Trenza de huevo con chorizo
This savory Mexican breakfast pastry braid stuffed with scrambled eggs and chorizo—known as a trenza de huevo con chorizo—is a simple recipe to please your breakfast or brunch crowd.
If you ask me, breakfast pastries are a pretty genius invention, whether they’re sweet or savory. And I admit it: I will pretty much eat anything wrapped in puff pastry. It’s one of my weaknesses. This recipe is one of my go-to breakfast or brunch recipes when I’m trying to do something fancy that looks like I put in a ton of effort but don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen cooking. I like to serve slices of this savory breakfast pastry braid with coffee, fresh-squeezed juice and seasonal fruit.
If you like, you can choose other mix-ins with your scrambled eggs such as chile poblano strips and onion, chiltomate (a salsa made with Roma tomatoes and chile habanero), or anything else you normally would scramble in with eggs.
…Agua de melón verde y pepino
Aguas frescas are a staple in most Mexican and Mexican-American homes, mine included. The best aguas frescas are made with ingredients that are in season because they’re easiest to get, typically cost less because they are more abundant, and have the best flavor because they’re at their peak growing season. Honeydew melon—also known as melón verde—is in season typically from May to October, with the peak from May to August, but we’ve been seeing a lot of this melon in the grocery stores in Southern California since mid-March. This honeydew and cucumber agua fresca recipe is light and refreshing for warm spring and summer days. You can also opt to serve it straight as a juice with breakfast—just run through a juicer or powerful blender and leave out the water and optional sugar.
…
Semi-homemade empanadas
April 8 is National Empanada Day, and far be it from me to deny a day meant to celebrate these delightful pastries, savory or sweet. This is more of a kitchen tip than a recipe on how to make semi-homemade empanadas, but I’ve included proportions below as a guideline—though you should feel free to tweak to your liking with different fillings or cutting the dough to different sizes. Whether you’re looking to fool party guests, need a quick potluck dish, or just want to make a snack or appetizer for your family, here’s my cheater’s guide to making empanadas, 30 minutes from start to finish.
…Botana de Chicharrón con Salsa Verde
Mexico is a very nose-to-tail consumer when it comes to eating animals; like in many other developing countries, and often motivated by economic circumstances in an effort to use the whole animal and not leave much—if any—waste, there are a lot of delicious and unique foods that have come out of this scrappiness. One of these simple delicacies is chicharrón, made of fried pork skins.
This botana, or appetizer, of chicharrón served with salsa verde is very typical in Mexico. Generally, these pork skin cracklings are made by boiling the skin, hanging it to dry, then deep frying it in hot oil until the skin puffs up. They’re by no means a healthy snack, so should be eaten in moderation, but they’re a guilty pleasure worth the indulgence.
They’re not quite the same as processed food pork rinds or pork cracklings you might find in a potato chip-like bag in the supermarket. For that reason, it’s best to buy them from your local carnicería or near the butcher’s counter in any Mexican market.
Mexican-Style Carrot Juice With Lime and Chile
I’ve been on a healthy homemade juice kick since we returned from Mexico in January. I’ve always loved carrot juice and whenever we vacation at the beaches in Mexico, I always order carrot juice with my breakfast if it’s available. Drinking carrot juice before getting sun, as well as after, can also help you hold onto a tan for a bit longer. (But don’t forget to wear sunscreen to protect your skin from harmful UV rays.) Carrot juice is high in Vitamin A and beta-carotene, which aids in tissue and bone development, benefits eyesight, boosts your immune system to help stave off colds, and helps heal dry, flaky skin. Carrot juice is rich in other minerals too, thanks to carrots being a root vegetable, and folates, which are a safe, natural provider of folic acid (and why you’re likely to see pregnant women drinking it). It’s packed with antioxidants, Vitamin C, B complex and also has a low glycemic load, making it a healthy and safe drink for diabetics. What’s not to love about carrot juice?
Spiced Pear Margaritas
This spiced pear margarita recipe has a cinnamon-infused kick and gets a sweet, molasses-like depth from piloncillo.
There are two great things about this recipe: First, it can be served cold or hot, depending what kind of climate you live in and whether you’re suffering through a brutal winter or not. Serving it hot is just like having a fruit-infused tequila hot toddy! And second, the spiced pear puree will keep in an airtight container (I recommend a glass jar) in the refrigerator for up to a week, and the recipe can be easily doubled if you want to make it in advance for a party or just enjoy a few cocktails during the week.
This margarita recipe calls for Bosc pears, which have brown skin and sweet flesh. They’re in season from September through April. If you can’t find Bosc pears, you can substitute Bartlett pears, which also are sweet and juicy, and in season from August through February.
…Vegetarian Queso Fundido
Queso fundido is an easy dish, made with melted cheese and toppings served dip-style, that even the most inexperienced home cook can make.
This vegetarian queso fundido with rajas de chile poblano (roasted poblano pepper strips) and mushrooms is super easy and can be doubled, tripled or quadrupled depending on the amount of guests you need to serve.
I share this because with the holidays approaching, menu planning can be stressful and even if you’re great in the kitchen, you may have some helping hands that are not. This recipe is so easy that it’s hard to mess up.
This post is part of a compensated campaign from Latina Bloggers Connect and Cacique but all opinions and this recipe are my own.
How to serve vegetarian queso fundido
Alongside a basket of warm tortillas—your choice whether they’re corn tortillas or flour tortillas—this appetizer dish will definitely please any crowd.
If you’re ambitious and have a little extra time on your hands, you can even make your own homemade chorizo to add to your queso fundido if you’re not worried about keeping this dish vegetarian. Or substitute soy chorizo!
But who says you only have to serve queso fundido with tortillas? You can also use tortilla chips, tostadas, or even served as queso fundido potato skins!
For big chile poblano fans, you should also try rajas con crema, which is similar to queso fundido in that there’s lots of cheese and it can be eaten in a tortilla or on a chip or tostada.
Print
Vegetarian Queso Fundido
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Snacks
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Mexican
Description
Vegetarian queso fundido is an easy antojito (appetizer) to please any crowd! Great for holiday parties!
Scale
Ingredients
- 5 ounces queso Chihuahua or queso quesadilla
- 2 small poblano chiles, roasted, seeded, skin removed and cut into strips
- 1/2 cup sliced white mushrooms
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Prepare your chiles first. Here’s my tutorial how to roast poblano chiles. This can be done as long as two days ahead of time (just store the chiles in the refrigerator if you prepare in advance).
- Shred the cheese into a bowl and set aside.
- Slice the mushrooms and poblano chiles, and toss together with 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt.
- Combine the mushroom and chile mixture with the cheese and put it into an oven-proof dish or casserole dish.
- Bake at 400ºF for 10 minutes, then heat under the broiler until all the cheese is melted and it starts to get bubbly and form some brown spots.
- Serve immediately with warm tortillas, chips or tostadas.
Notes
Prep time includes the time to roast, sweat and devein the poblano chiles.
Keywords: queso fundido, vegetarian
Looking for more vegetarian Mexican recipes? Try these!
Mexican Vegetarian Meals
Poblano chile, mushroom and onion vegetarian tacos
Crema de elote
Mexican Vegetarian Side Dishes
Arroz poblano
Mexican Vegetarian Snacks
Roasted chickpeas with Tajín
Pellizcadas (mini sopes)
Guacamole hummus
Roasted jalapeño hummus
Spicy Mexican Hot Chocolate
How to make sugar skulls for Day of The Dead
What are sugar skulls and why are they used to decorate for Day of the Dead?
One of the most common decorations on altars for Day of the Dead is the sugar skull. Decorated with colorful icing, foils and other adornments—often including the names of loved ones who have died—sugar skulls symbolize the departed souls to which the altar pays homage.
You might not know how easy they are to make; they just require a little time (drying overnight) and patience (decorating with royal icing). All you need to make your own sugar skulls is a plastic mold, sugar, meringue powder and water. I’ve put together a detailed tutorial with photos so you can see how easy it is!
You can even do this project with the kids—but be sure to use a drop cloth in case they make a mess with the sugar.
…
Paella de chorizo, pollo y coles de Bruselas {Go4Gourmet Challenge}
I love cooking challenges, so I was completely floored to be asked to participate in the Go 4 Gourmet cooking challenge with McCormick Gourmet this month! The rules were simple: They’d ship me a box of ingredients and I would create a dish that included all the ingredients. Maybe I’ve been watching too many episodes of “Chopped,” but I couldn’t wait to get into the kitchen and create something. As soon as I found out the ingredients in the box would be paprika, chorizo and chicken stock and the requirement that I needed to also add fresh Brussels sprouts, I knew exactly what to make: A paella!
Spanish influences in Mexican cuisine mean it’s not out of the ordinary to see different kinds of paella served in Mexico. This is a sponsored post and I received some of the ingredients from McCormick and was compensated for my time and talent to develop this recipe. I’ve written about eating paella in Mexico and shared my own paella recipe here before, along with tips for making paella (from the pan to the correct rice to use, and how to steep saffron).
Although one might not think of Brussels sprouts in a paella, this recipe is a riff off of a classic paella Valenciana that has rabbit and artichokes and I replaced the rabbit with chicken thighs (just because chicken is easier to find) and substituted Brussels sprouts for the artichokes. The earthy flavor of Brussels sprouts and spicy, salty chorizo is a perfect flavor combination as well. I knew I wanted the Brussels sprouts to retain a little crispness, so I decided to roast them with a little olive oil, paprika and kosher salt before putting them into the paella. The result: Brussels sprouts that still had a bite despite being submersed in chicken broth and rice. The chorizo also provides enough salt that aside from the kosher salt you’ll use to roast the Brussels sprouts, you likely won’t feel the need to cook with more salt.
You can participate in this and other Go 4 Gourmet challenges at Go4Gourmet.McCormick.com! New challenges are announced every two weeks through December and you can enter your own recipes to win weekly prizes!
Paella de chorizo, pollo y coles de Bruselas
Earthy Brussels sprouts, spicy and salty chorizo, and chicken thighs are an excellent flavor melding for a spin on a classic paella Valenciana. This is a sponsored recipe for the Go4Gourmet challenge with McCormick Gourmet.
Ingredients
- 5 ounces baby brussel sprouts, cleaned and halved
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (for tossing and roasting the brussel sprouts)
- 1/2 teaspoon McCormick’s paprika
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 12 threads of saffron plus 1 1/2 tablespoons hot water
- 7 oz chicken thigh, cut into bite-size pieces
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (for browning the chicken)
- 4 oz sliced Palacios Spanish chorizo
- 1 tsp garlic (crushed in a garlic press or diced)
- 1 1/2 tsp McCormick’s paprika
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste plus 6 tablespoons water (to make a tomato paste)
- 1 1/4 cups Spanish rice
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1 sprig of rosemary
Instructions
- Clean and halve 5 ounces of baby brussel sprouts.
- In a bowl, add brussel sprouts, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon McCormick’s paprika and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt. Toss until coated.
- In a shallow casserole dish, spread brussel sprouts out and cook under your broiler for about 5 minutes or until the brussel sprouts start to brown and crisp. Remove from the broiler and set aside.
- While the brussel sprouts are under the broiler, steep your saffron in a small dish with 1 1/2 tablespoons of hot water. Set aside.
- In your paella pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat and sear the chicken until it browns a bit.
- Add the garlic and stir for about a minute.
- Sprinkle the paprika over the chicken. Pour the tomato puree around the edge of the pan all the way around. Let it cook for a minute or two.
- Add the rice and chicken stock; stir gently until the rice is completely moist. Add the saffron and the little bit of water that you steeped it in. Stir gently.
- Add roasted brussel sprouts to the pan, tucking them into the rice and chicken stock. The brussel sprouts should be mostly covered. Allow it to cook for a few minutes until you see the rice rise, then tuck the sprig of rosemary into the rice.
- Turn the heat to medium low. After about 10 minutes, tuck the pieces of sliced chorizo into the rice.
- Continue cooking until the rice is soft and you can hear the socarrat forming along the bottom of the pan. You’ll know the socarrat is forming when you hear a little crackling noise. (Socarrat is the yummy, crunchy sort of caramelized rice that sticks to the bottom and is the prize of the paella party.) Don’t be discouraged if you aren’t able to achieve socarrat perfection on your first try; it takes some practice to get it right.
- Remove from the heat at let the pan rest for a few minutes before serving.
Notes
Be sure to use baby Brussels sprouts and hard, cured Spanish chorizo.
©2009-2015 theothersideofthetortilla.com
Tacos de longaniza en salsa verde
Quick and easy meals for weeknights are essential in most households, mine included. But if you’re like me, you still want to put something at least semi-homemade on the table to please your family at dinnertime. Longaniza en salsa verde is one of my go-to dishes that’s both easy and quick to make and can also use homemade or store-bought ingredients depending on how much time you’ve got to cook.
If you have the time, you can make my salsa verde recipe from scratch (but I suggest that you leave out the salt until after it’s cooked; longaniza can be rather salty so you may find you don’t need to add any salt in the salsa). If you don’t have time to make the salsa, you can use your favorite brand of store-bought salsa verde. I often serve this dish with a side of black beans diced onion and chopped cilantro as garnish….
Frozen prickly pear margarita
A prickly pear margarita is just the drink you need to punch up your cocktail hour!
Grocery stores are typically overflowing with prickly pears—known as tunas rojas in Spanish—in July, August and September. You can eat them plain, use them to make agua fresca de tuna roja, watermelon and prickly pear paletas, prickly pear sorbet or even margaritas! There are so many possibilities.
Read my helpful guide on how to peel and eat cactus fruit before you begin this recipe!
Prickly pears are full of pectin, which means they’re ideal for making jelly and jam! The pectin produces a syrupy consistency that’s also perfect for blending with ice to make a frozen margarita.
Print
Frozen prickly pear margarita
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 2 minutes
- Yield: 3 cups 1x
- Category: Cocktails
- Cuisine: Mexican
Description
Red prickly pears are the star of this spin on a classic frozen margarita.
Scale
Ingredients
4 ounces (1/2 cup) tequila blanco
1 ounce Cointreau
3 large red prickly pears (tunas rojas)
Juice of 1/2 of a large lime
1/2 cup natural cane sugar, such as Zulka azúcar morena
3 cups ice
1 tablespoon of Tajín (to rim the glasses; optional)
Instructions
Remove the skin from the prickly pears and chop roughly.
Add chopped prickly pears to a food processor or blender with tequila blanco, Cointreau, lime juice and sugar. Puree until smooth, then strain the puree to remove the prickly pear seeds.
In a clean blender or food processor cup, add the strained puree and 3 cups of ice and blend until the mixture becomes slushy.
Wet the rims of the glasses by rubbing with a lime wedge. Put the Tajín in a flat dish and dip the glass rims in it until they’re coated all the way around.
Pour the margarita into the glasses and serve immediately.
Keywords: red prickly pear, red cactus pear, cactus fruit, margarita
Watermelon and red prickly pear paletas
Watermelon and red prickly pears are one of my favorite fruit flavor pairings. This summer I’ve been making a combination agua fresca with both flavors, and I started modifying my agua fresca recipe to turn them into paletas (er… Zokuletas). While mixing them together and pouring straight into my Zoku Quick Pop Maker for a quick and tasty treat, I found that I enjoy them much more when they look pretty too. I love making these layered pops for a refreshing snack on a hot day.
If you don’t have the Zoku Quick Pop Maker, you can also use a popsicle mold with 2-ounce pops (affiliate links to El Mercadito, The Other Side of The Tortilla’s Amazon aStore); you’ll just have to wait longer for the layers to freeze before you can add another layer….
Mango agua fresca
Agua de mango is a popular agua fresca flavor in Mexico. Mangoes are high in fiber, packed with Vitamin A, C and E, have more than 25 kinds of carotenoids which help boost immunity, and can help lower cholesterol.
Ataulfo mangoes are best for this recipe because they are the sweetest variety and also least fibrous texture, which means you’ll discard less pulp.
Close substitutes or other names for this kind of mango can include Manila mangoes, honey mangoes or champagne mangoes.
Ataulfo mangoes are in peak season between March and June, but can often be found in stores all the way through December depending on the part of the country where you live.
Leave the mangoes out on the counter at room temperature for a few days if they’re firm at the time you buy them. You’ll know they’re ripe and ready to use when the skin gives a little when you press it and/or the skin starts to wrinkle slightly. If the skin is already wrinkled when you buy them, they’re ready to use immediately.
This variety of mango is less fibrous than the Tommy Atkins (green with red blush) variety, and therefore is more ideal for making aguas frescas.
If you like this recipe, you may also like my agua de fresa y mango recipe (strawberry and mango).
Print
Mango agua fresca
- Prep Time: 20
- Total Time: 20
- Yield: 5 cups 1x
- Category: Drinks
- Cuisine: Mexican
Description
Ataulfo mangoes are best for this agua fresca recipe because they are the sweetest variety and also least fibrous texture, which means you’ll discard less pulp.
Scale
Ingredients
- 2 Ataulfo or Manila mangoes
- 3 1/2 cups cold water
- 3 tablespoons natural cane sugar (such as Zulka azúcar morena)
Instructions
- Peel the mangoes and remove all the flesh from the pit. Put the flesh directly into a blender or food processor. Squeeze the juice out of any remaining flesh on the pit that is too difficult or rough to cut away from the pit.
- Add 3 tablespoons of cane sugar and 3 1/2 cups of cold water to the blender or food processor and puree until completely smooth.
- Place a fine-mesh strainer or sieve over a pitcher and pour the contents of the blender through the sieve. You should only end up discarding about 2 tablespoons or so of the fibrous pulp left behind from the mango flesh.
- Serve over ice if serving immediately, or refrigerate. Will last about 4-5 days in the refrigerator.
Notes
Serve over ice. If you don’t consume it all, you can refrigerate the rest of the pitcher for up to four days. Remember to stir the agua fresca well because the mango puree will separate slightly when at rest.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
Keywords: mango
Try more of my aguas frescas recipes:
Agua de jamaica | Agua de mandarina | Agua de melon | Horchata | Agua de tuna roja (red prickly pear) | Agua de piña | Limonada
Try more of my mango recipes:
Mangonada paletas | Mango and peach paletas | Paletas de mango con chile | Guacamole with mango and pomegranate seeds
Mangonada paletas with a Zoku Quick Pop Maker
Paletas are a serious weakness of mine. All summer, I’ve been testing dozens of flavors and the hardest part is always waiting for them to freeze. That’s why when several friends were telling me about the Zoku Quick Pop Maker, I knew I had to get one. Make single-serve popsicles with three different flavors at once? A dream. Do it in 7-10 minutes? Even better! I’ve been playing with it all summer and I’m finally ready to start sharing some of my tasty creations using this fun kitchen tool.
This post includes affiliate links to all the products used to make this recipe, which are available in El Mercadito, my Amazon aStore.
I’ve been experimenting with so many flavors, that I wanted to try something very classic and simple, similar to my mango con chile paletas recipe that I shared here a few summers ago. I can’t seem to eat enough mango this year, and I brought back a bottle of chamoy from Mexico when we visited earlier this summer. This recipe is similar to a mangonada or chamoyada, just blended together and frozen in paleta-form—but you’ll definitely recognize this classic Mexican flavor combination. I’ve started calling my Mexi popsicles made in my Zoku machine “Zokuletas” (insert cheesy grin here). Let’s see if we can make it catch on!…
Mango and peach paletas
I’ve been absolutely obsessed with testing paleta flavors all summer, partially because of my access to such a wide variety of fresh fruits in Southern California for months on end, and partially just because I have an inner-kid who still remembers the excitement I felt from hearing the jingle of the bell on the paletero’s cart. This mango-peach paleta recipe has been a mega-hit both in my household and with my office mates who got to taste them when I brought them to work for an afternoon snack to share last week.
…Jarritos fruity tequila cocktails
If you love to entertain and want to whip up some fun, fruity cocktails that are so easy to make, you’ll have plenty of time to spend with your guests, this is your cocktail! This is what I’ll be serving up to visitors during the Labor Day weekend while we hang by the pool and soak up the last of the summer sun.
I typically stock the following flavors at home to make this easy cocktail: Fresa (strawberry), tamarindo (tamarind), mandarina (mandarin orange), piña (pineapple), guayaba (guava), limón (lime) and mango. For those who like to play bartender, you can try mixing some of the soda flavors to make more unique cocktails, such as pineapple-guava or strawberry-mango. If you like, you can also substitute rum for the tequila. Even when we’re not entertaining friends, I like to hang out on the balcony or by the pool sipping these fruity cocktails.
Note: If you use the toronja (grapefruit) flavor + tequila, you can make a version of my paloma recipe!…
Guacamole with mango and pomegranate
You may remember from a recent post that my family goes crazy for fruity guacamole. That’s why, when I hosted an #iloveavocados live party with Avocados From Mexico, I wanted to make another version of my fruity guacamole with one of my favorite fruits: Mango. I love to experiment with lots of different sweet and savory guacamoles and this version with mango, pomegranate seeds, red onion and serrano chile is one of my absolute favorit
My guests practically licked the bowl clean and there may have been some arguing over who got the last scoop. Another sure sign that the recipe was a success: Some of the guests sent tweets or posted on Facebook the next day that they wished they could have some more!…
Guacahummus
Guacahummus sounds a lot like what you might imagine it to be… guacamole (sort of) mixed with hummus. Actually it’s a blend of hummus, avocados and lime juice. I served this simple, healthy dish at my #iloveavocados live party with Avocados From Mexico recently and surprisingly, most of my guests were having it for the first time. The dish was definitely a hit—they scraped every last morsel out of the bowl.
The main reason why this dish is so great—aside from being very healthy—is that you can make a semi-homemade version with a store-bought hummus of your choice (I like Sabra’s classic hummus), which helps you get this dish from food processor to plate in about five minutes. I use a 3-cup Cuisinart mini prep (available in my Amazon aStore, El Mercadito), which fits the ingredients perfectly. A bonus: This recipe is both vegetarian and vegan-friendly and is also gluten-free.
…How to make iced café de olla with a Keurig machine
Café de olla is one of my all-time favorite Mexican recipes. In fact, it was the first recipe I ever posted here on The Other Side of The Tortilla. During the spring and summer, I love to drink iced coffee. Naturally, I came up with this recipe to enjoy a summer version of café de olla so I can drink it on ice—and it doesn’t take me more than five minutes to make, so I can grab it to go in the morning as I head out the door to work.
Of course, you can also make this recipe without the ice for a quick, hot version of café de olla if you’re in a hurry. It doesn’t have all the flavor depth of the traditional version which is infused slowly, but it’s perfect for a quick fix!…
Avocado paletas
This post is part of a compensated campaign in collaboration with Latina Bloggers Connect and Avocados from Mexico but my love for avocados from Mexico is 100 percent authentic and the opinions and recipe in this post are my own. This post includes affiliate links to my Amazon aStore, El Mercadito, recommending products that I used to make this recipe.
Summer means paleta time in my house. And though we like the traditional flavors, I also like to branch out and make flavors that are considered “normal” in Mexico, but that are not as common to see in the U.S., such as avocado. A few friends have looked at me sideways when I said I was working on a popsicle recipe with avocados, but I assure you that you’ll be won over by the creamy texture and pleasantly earthy, sweet taste.
I prefer to buy avocados from Mexico because of that distinctive, earthy taste due to the fertile volcanic soil in which they’re grown. They’re packed with nutrients and are a versatile ingredient that can be used in both savory and sweet dishes—but most people don’t think of using avocados in a sweet dish. The thing I especially love about this recipe is that the light coconut milk and sweetened condensed milk (also known as lechera) don’t overpower the natural flavor so you can still taste the earthiness of the avocado….