Celebrating food and national Spanish heritage with Ale Graf

As someone who creates Mexican dishes with herbal twisting, how is food a significant part of your culture and how do you share your culture with others?

Food is much more than food – it’s how we love, connect and remember who we are. For Mexicans, food is really part of our DNA. From antiquity, when our ancestors offered food to the gods to the modern day Contemptible With family and friends, the exchange of food is how we express love. I grew up surrounded by women who talked about recipes the way others talk about dreams. My mother, grandmother and aunts were always planning the next meal or discovered a new dish. Now I do the same with my brothers. Although my food today is mostly herbal, its essence is the same: to bring people together. Through my recipes, I want to recreate this feeling of belonging, always have enough to share and always leave room for one more on the table. This is monument mean to me. This is not a nostalgia. It’s about to show what Mexican really looks like it looks and tastes like today.

When did you start cooking and developing your own recipes? How do you train people to make beautiful Mexican dishes using herbal ingredients? People are ever surprised to learn that your recipes are based on plants?

I started 23 years ago, shortly after my son was diagnosed with dairy allergy. This moment has changed everything. I had to rejuvenate how to cook. I leaned into spices, explored new vegetables and discovered different cooking methods. What started as a necessity quickly turned into a passion. I have even registered in an online lesson to believe as a vegetable cook. As my children grew up, so did my curiosity and my creativity in the kitchen. Education of others has always been fun for me. I do not drive with “herbal” or “vegan”. I drive with a taste. You will serve someone a bowl of bean soup and, after devouring it, I will smile and say, “Congratulations, you just had your first meal Vegan”. It is always a surprise to them, and this is the magic-which shows how beautiful, satisfying and deeply Mexican vegetable foods can be.

What are some vegetable ingredients and/or vegan dishes that you would like to highlight as part of Mexican food traditions? Anything you would especially like to people to know about these foods?

Masa, hands down. It is the heart of so many favorite Mexican dishes, sopes, huaraches, tlaCoyos-and are natural plants. What I like the most is how adaptable it is. You can customize Masa to Antojitos, but you can also use it to make pasta and cakes or create creatively and interpret global dishes with a Mexican twist. Take a good sope and lay it with puree potatoes or creamy beans, top with salsa, guacamole, sliced ​​lettuce, tanned onions – whatever you love. This is the beauty of Mexican food. It is endlessly customizable. You can adjust a spread with all sorts of garnish and let everyone build their own dish. It’s not just delicious. It is comprehensive, happy and rooted in sharing.

What do you envision as the way forward to encourage people to eat more fruits and vegetables and return to traditional Spanish food food?

I think the real obstacle is the labels and the absolute. When we frame eating habits as all-or-notting, people coordinate. But if we shift the focus to a single healthy, live meal at a time – one that is full of colorful fruits and vegetables that add texture, taste and joy – then feels more accessible and exciting. Traditional Spanish food is already celebrating the ingredients of plants such as roasts, tomatoes, squash, beans and corn. If we bring these food back to the center of the plate in a way that feels natural, not forced, people will reconnect with them. It is to show how beautiful and delicious these meals they can be, not to preach what they should “need” to eat.

What does the Spanish heritage national month mean to you?

For me, the National Month of Spanish heritage is the time to learn, grow and open our hearts to other cultures. It is a reminder that the Spanish community is not monolithic. We come from so many different countries, regions and traditions, each with its own stories, flavors and rhythms. This month is to recognize this wealth and embrace how much we can learn from each other. It is time to celebrate our common values ​​and differences and, finally, a moment to illuminate how much more we have in common than we often realize.

Tell us a little bit about your work and career.

I am a published writer of cooking books and food blogger passionate about creating healthy, vegetable flavors, some Mexican, who bring people together. My trip started 23 years ago when my son was diagnosed with dairy allergy. This experience has led me to explore cooking based on plants, gain certification and finally start my blog Piloncillo & Vainilla In 2013, followed by Parachute in English.

I live in Houston with my family, where I continue to cook, create and celebrate food as the heart of connection.

Hibiscus chamoy

Originally published here. Ingredients 2 cups hydrated hibiscus flowers 1 cup dried cherries or dried crankshaft 3 tablespoons of soil soup chile Ancho Subs or any other chili powder (or to taste) 1 Date Syrup or Date Sugar 1 cup of water or hibiscus water ¼ cup of lime juice (or to taste) Pressure of Tajin (optional)

Instructions

1. Make the ingredients: Start by adding the hibiscus flowers, dried fruits, breads and dates or dated sugar to a blender and then add 1 cup boiling water. (You can use a glass or bowl of stainless steel.)
2. Mixed to perfection: Mix until smooth. If necessary, add ¼ cup of water to adjust consistency.
3. Period and adjust: Finish with lime juice and add a tajin pinch if you want.
4. Store and serve: Pour in a clean jar, seal tightly and cool. It holds well for a month in the fridge, so you will have enough time to experiment with it on different dishes!

You can find ale on her blog alecooks.com and piloncilloyvainilla.com; Instagram; Facebook; Pinterest.