Fresh Frijoles

Pinto beans are the most common type of beans used in our area of Mexico. Most often the beans are dried so they can be stored and used at a later time. The dry beans store well and are affordable, so you don’t often find canned beans. During harvest time, you can set aside some of the fresh beans for immediate use.

These are regular pinto beans, but instead of drying them, these were cooked soon after being picked from our aunt’s garden. They’re very similar in taste and texture to the dried version, but knowing how fresh they are adds to the experience and makes them taste great. Especially when served with avocado and fresh tomatillo salsa!

Fresh pintos, avocados and tomatillo salsa

Recipe for Limeade

We have two large lime trees in the backyard, which produce more than we can use. We have started drinking lots of limeade, made with the fresh squeezed juice. We also juice extra limes and freeze the juice in individual serving sizes.

  • 5 limes, picked from our backyard tree
  • A couple spoonfuls of sugar
  • 600 ml sparkling water
  • Mix and share in two large cups

Enjoy!

Ingredients for fresh limeade!

Corn

Corn is plentiful from September through December. Often a meal will include multiple versions of corn – in the form of corn tortillas, corn on the cob, tostadas (fried corn tortillas), many types of corn bread, even drinks made from corn (it’s called “atole” – it’s thick like oatmeal or grits).

We helped with harvesting for a little while this afternoon, and here I am carrying some home.

Bringing home a sack of corn