OK, I confess! I love cooking and I'm a culinary criminal! And, I have
no remorse that I've absconded with recipes from the seven States and
four foreign countries I've resided in over my 30-year, nomadic career.
My victims in these culinary crimes have been willing, to say the least.
Like me, they're addicted to cooking, too. From Germany to Majorca to
Italy to Carrizo Springs, Texas, the loot from these kitchen shenanigans
has amassed, for me, a fortune in wonderful aromas, irreplaceable memories,
and an indelible after-affect on my palette.
Wait a minute!! Carrizo Springs??
Yes, Carrizo Springs! This little, 5,000+ hamlet lies between San Antonio
and the Mexican border town of Eagle Pass. The residents attend to life
in a slow-paced and predictable manner with little deference to the
organized chaos orchestrated in the larger, urban neighborhoods in far
off San Antonio. 'Rush Hour', if it exists, consists of occasional passing
pickup trucks, a scurrying Armadillo, or perhaps, a jaywalking Tarantula
as big as a Tupperware container. Walking down the streets, one hears
an occasional dichotomy of English and Spanish engaging in casual greetings,
discussion of current events (mostly local), and inquiries into the
state of affairs in family matters. The matters of family, indeed, not
only include impending marriages, the celebration of newborns, but the
verbal tradition of passing on Tex-Mex cooking recipes to the inquisitive
listener.
The art of Tex-Mex cooking is as
variable as it is delicious. The same recipe can be prepared in multiple
versions each as wonderful as the others. On a hot, sultry August day,
10 years ago while conducting some engineering work, I overheard one
such conversation that translated into indelible as wella s delectable.
Under a Dogwood tree on a park bench sat two elderly ladies of obvious
Mexican descent. One recounted to the other that her son, Eugenio, 'Gene'
in English, had served a bean dish at their latest 'Barbacoa Domingo' (Sunday
Barbeque for those of you above the Mason Dixon Line). As I listened,
I realized that the recipe was uncomplicated, yet, ingenious in concoction.
With my ever-present pocket notebook in hand, I wrote down every ingredient,
every measurement, and thanked my stars that this matronly-looking Senora
repeated herself continuously.
Returning to Dallas a few days later,
I adjourned to the kitchen and began to assemble my latest 'theft.'
The mixture of beans, beef, bacon, seasonings, and other simple ingredients
transformed into sheer, traditional Tex-Mex heaven. The only element
lacking was the presence of a Mariachi band with me in the kitchen.
Since then, 'Gene's Beans' have been shared with friends and family
in Florida, Georgia, the Dominican Republic, and as far away as Bogota,
Colombia. The result is always one of 'oohs and as aahs.' Muchas Gracias,
Gene, wherever you are.
About David
Adams: David is
a retired engineer living in Atlanta. Besides his love of cooking, he
enjoys fishing, the arts, sports and doting on his grandchildren. His
recent contribution is Ragu Neapolitan and he promises further contributions
to In Mama's Kitchen from his world travels.
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