Acquired Book By: I am a regular tour hostess for blog tours via Cedar Fort whereupon I am thankful to have such a diverse amount of novels and non-fiction titles to choose amongst to host. I received a complimentary copy of “Daily Tortilla” direct from the publisher Front Table Books (imprint of Cedar Fort, Inc) in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
Inspired to Read:
I have revealed bits and bobbles of insight of my adventures down in Mexico previously, as I recollected different aspects of my time exploring Mayan ruins, the Federal District (Mexico City), and the Yucatan; however, I am unsure if I ever clearly expressed how life-affirming and changing the journey of eight days with a sponsored trip for American teenagers truly proved to be for me. I was sixteen yet I was already a seasoned traveller who ended up helping her group with such a high frequency, I never considered myself ‘chaperoned’ because the roles were in reverse! I didn’t catch-on to learning Spanish in school (courtesy of being dyslexic with a syntax issue with a romantic language) yet what proved to be more efficient was knowing English, with an alert mind, and an eye for understanding the food, culture, and history of a country your visiting.
I had friends who took mission trips with their Lutheran churches who returnt not quite as wholly enthused as I had myself – to be honest, I did not stop dreaming of walking around the ruins of Uxmal for at least a few years, and even found my poetry igniting with ruminations of my time being ‘there’. I grew up in a multi-diverse (both culturally, religious, and ethnic) city where you have as many different denominations of faith and religion as you have cultural heritage inside restaurants and eateries. My favourite ‘big event’ was held at the convention center where you get to ‘walk around the world’ for a day, eating different foods (oh, yes even in elementary and middle school I was a ‘foodie’ at heart) whilst conversing with the people who were hosting the booths. I talked the most, enquired the most, and basically took getting my ‘passport’ stamped quite seriously! I didn’t just want to ‘walk through’ the moment, I wanted to live it, breathe it, and taste it too! I have a heap of fond memories from this faire but being in Mexico changed my life.
I didn’t take a mission trip (my churches had them, but honestly I wanted to do outreach in America which was unfortunately never an option) but what I did take was a solo journey of a teenage American who fell in love with Mexican food and cultural heritage! I loved visiting the Archaeological Museum where I learnt if I had had the ability to do this, it was only a ‘short hop and a skip’ in a chartered plane to visit a more rural ruin of the Mayans hidden within the folds of the Yucatan itself. I dreamt of taking that flight even after my time there ended and I was boarding the flight home. If only,… The flamingo dancers at the night club spoke to my dancer’s imagination — as I love performance art, theatre, and dance. The creativity and the colourful way in which stories are told through the motion and art of the music is a beautiful synchronism of eloquence.
What has withstood the most against all these years of time has been my memories — the heart memories of the foods I inhaled and consumed whilst I was living off my own moxie for staying ‘true to Mexico’ without taking any health risks like my classmate did when he picked up fruit from a roadside stand. Honestly, boys are silly sometimes to the determent of their well-being! I, meanwhile, elected to pick and choose off the menus of the different restaurants, opting for as authentically Mexican cuisine as I could afford to partake each time I ate whilst being given a crash-course in Mexican dining! I loved sorting out how to ‘order the food’ without speaking Spanish but rather sorting it out in this quasi-original way between the menu itself, my facial expressions and hand gesturing with English — personally I think it was my enthused curiosity to ‘try the foods’ which won over the chefs and wait staff!
Imagine then, my happy joy in finding “Daily Tortilla”!?
Daily Tortilla:
by Ricardo James
Source: Direct from Publisher
Sopes, Tamales, Pozole, Huevos Rancheros, you’ve never had Mexican food like this! Daily Tortilla starts with the basics of tortillas, beans, rice, and salsas, and then builds to an incredibly delicious repertoire of dishes found in any family dining room in Mexico. Say “adios” to Americanized Mexican food this is authentic, south-of-the-border flavor at its finest!
Genres: Cookery Places to find the book:
Borrow from a Public Library
Add to LibraryThing
Published by Front Table Books
on 10th June, 2014
Format: Paperback
Pages: 271
Published by: Front Table Books (@FrontTableBooks)
an imprint of Cedar Fort, Inc (@CedarFort)
Available Formats: Paperback & Ebook
Converse via: #DailyTortilla, #MexicanFood, and #MexicanCuisine
About Ricardo James
Ricardo M. James grew up in a rural town in Wyoming. He studied Spanish Pedagogy at Brigham Young University where he also taught Spanish and directed study abroad programs to Mexico. He currently owns a consulting firm that provides technology solutions to K-12 schools across the United States and South America. He lives in Springville, Utah with his wife and five kids.
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