Page:Face to Face With the Mexicans.djvu/506

500 one that is national and distinctive, being made and used only on Christmas night, and for that reason is known as

Esalada de la Noche Buena (Christmas Salad).—Wash and dry the lettuce, then chop fine. Put in a dish, oil, vinegar, sugar and a little salt; stir these well together; then add the lettuce, also beets sliced, with bananas, lemons and oranges, and some peanuts broken fine. Take pains that the fruit is placed on top.

Every day in the year a Mexican housekeeper can have some kind of delightful salad on her table. The lettuce is whiter and more crisp than we generally see; the cauliflower grows to immense size, and is correspondingly good, while tomatoes, equally fine in color and flavor, gratify at once both eye and taste, supplying at any moment a depleted larder. But while these are all of superior quality, the popular taste prefers them served up in omelettes, with pepper, eggs, and spices. Fortunately, eggs, which fill such an important place in the national dietary, are always excellent and bountiful.

A delicious omelette is made of green peas, string-beans, potatoes, carrots, parsley, onions, pepper, and tomatoes, cooked a little and then chopped into a fine mass. Beat five or six eggs, in proportion to the quantity of vegetables, mix thoroughly, and salt to taste; add a lump of butter, then bake in a pan until nicely browned on top.

Embueltos de Huevos.—Beat six or more eggs, as for a scramble; have some lard boiling, throw in the eggs; then when cooked sufficiently, put on these any amount of grated cheese according to taste. Make a sauce of onions and tomatoes, with a few peppers chopped very fine. After stirring as for an omelette, cut the eggs into short pieces, pin them with a straw, and then pour the sauce over them.

Chili y Huevos con Queso (Pepper and Eggs with Cheese).—Toast the peppers in the fire, remove the seeds and cut into small slices. Have some hot lard in a saucepan, into which throw a handful of chopped onions, the same of tomatoes. Pour in water, and when it is boiling, break in as many eggs as liked; put in the sliced peppers, and when on the dish, ready to serve, cover the whole with grated cheese. This is excellent.