Page:The Tourist's California by Wood, Ruth Kedzie.djvu/74

 52 THE TOURIST'S CALIFORNIA maize. For the mescal roasts of the Indians' fiestas they substituted the barbecue. At the mid-day meal the Fathers ate soup afloat with meat islands and corn cakes with sauce of onions and olives. From the monastery kitchens came stews of pork with chopped chiles and garlic, and red beans fried with cheese. Many of these dishes appear on the California table of to-day. Chile con came being interpreted means peppers with meat. The Spaniards and Mexicans dipped strips of beef in red pepper brine and laid them to dry in the sun before cooking. But the modern way is to brew the meat with the chopped chile. In the mountains venison is eaten to the accompaniment of red beans (frijoles) and tortillas, a kind of hoe-cake. At the Casa Verdugo they make a sandwich of boiled squash and cheese which, dipped in egg bat- ter and fried in hot fat, takes on a golden crisp- ness. " Chiles Piedad " signifies Mexican pep- pers, peeled and seeded, and thereafter stuffed with diced meat, onions, raisins, mushrooms and olives, and seasoned with garlic, sage and clove before being fried a pale amber. The blend of warring flavours is more successful than the recipe would indicate. The tamale is commanded after the theatre by the adventurous, or by him of the dreamless di- gestion. A peppery mush of corn meal and minced