[CH] Re: History
The Geissmans (jgeissman@socal.rr.com)
Thu, 19 Jun 2008 19:07:47 -0700
In the 50s my mother, from Minnesota of English-German
stock, for some reason was pretty adventurous in the food
department. As a result I am accustomed to much broader
variety of foods than most people I know, and it shows in my
cooking -- when we have a pot-luck at work, few are interested
in what I bring, although the few like it; others shy away.
(And not always because the chiles are too hot.)
She got interested in Mexican food when that wasn't "ethnic",
but simply considered low class. Pal with cheese. The
family would go to Olvera St for the real authentic stuff, and
she would go from her middle class LA neighborhood (father
was UCLA prof) to real Mexican markets in search of the
ingredients mentioned in her simply published Mexican
cookbook, that she got at a cooking class. That was not long
after the zoot suit riots in East LA, before Mexican food had
entered the Anglo mainstream. So I got to like the taste(s)
of Mexican food, and over the years would encounter some
that was relatively hotter, and I didn't mind. When I was in
college, a favorite place was Zacatecas Cafe in Riverside CA,
where the plates, fresh from heating in the oven, like the slab
in a hot rolling mill, would bubble on the counter in front of you
for a while before cooling enough to be eaten. The salsa was
relatively hot. So I guess my taste for heat was acquired gradually
-- started with Olvera St food of the 50s that was authentic but not
hot, and gradually expanded to other flavors and more heat. And
thanks to my mother for exposing me to so many different foods.
Jim