My first day back in Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca, after a six-week Durham, North Carolina hiatus. I had to drive La Tuga, my 2004 Honda Element to Tlacolula for clutch repair, so I handed 200 pesos (the equivalent of $11 USD) to Federico and asked him to pick up a few things for me at the village market. My cupboards (and refrigerator) were bare.
On the cook top, mango carrot orange chicken
I specified only a bit of chicken, some fruit and veggies. He returned with four carrots, four Ataulfo mangoes — now in season, two onions, one orange pepsicum, four red apples, four chayote squash and some limes. The key seemed to be the number four. Oh, yes, two chicken drumsticks and two thighs equal four.
So, I give you Sweet-Savory Orange Chicken with Mango and Carrots.
Utensils: four-quart, oven-proof clay baker or stainless steel pot, paring knife, utility knife, large spoon. You might want to use a slow cooker/crock pot. That would work, too.
Ingredients:
- 2 chicken thighs and 2 chicken drumsticks, skinned
- 2 teaspoons salt and fresh ground black pepper, or to taste
- 3 carrots, cleaned and peeled, sliced 1/4 inch thickness
- 1 white onion, large diced
- 2 Ataulfo mangoes, cut as shown in photo
- 2 red apples, skinned, sliced thin
- 1 orange pepsicum (sweet pepper), diced
- 1 very small mild red chili pepper, seeded and stemmed
- 4 cups water
Add salt (I prefer sea salt) and fresh ground pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients. Put pot on top of heat diffuser. Cook on slow simmer for two-to-three hours. Serve first course as a consomme/chicken broth. Serve second course of chicken with mango/carrot melange over steamed rice, accompanied by fresh steamed chayote or zucchini squash.
I bet you could make this in a crock pot, too.
How cut a mango: lengthwise to separate two halves from seed
Serves two to four, depending on appetites.
Some years ago, many, in fact, I owned a gourmet cooking school and cookware shop in South Bend, Indiana. It was called Clay Kitchen. I contracted with famous chefs from around the world to teach, and taught a few classes myself. My preference, still, is to see what ingredients I have at hand and make something up. This one, today, tastes pretty darn good and you should smell my kitchen!
A remaining pepper from my winter terrace garden, seeded, crumbled
Clay Kitchen, Inc. is a memory. We were in business for just under five years during one of the roughest financial downturns of the early 80’s when interest rates on inventory climbed to over 20 percent. Pre-internet, a Google search only comes up with our Indiana corporation registration and dissolution. There is no other documentation.
My business partner then remains an important friend now. We modeled ourselves after Dean & DeLuca in NYC and aspired to greatness. When we closed, we cried and moved on.
Mexican Anthropologist Marta Turok to Give Keynote at WARP Textile Conference
Marta Turok, the noted Mexican applied anthropologist and specialist in folk art and textiles, will give the keynote address at the WARP (Weaving a Real Peace) International Conference in Oaxaca, on Saturday, June 9, 2017.
I’ve been working with WARP and program chair Judy Newland for the better part of a year to help organize the conference. Marta just wrote this morning to summarize the remarks she will make.
Textiles from the village of Cancuc, Chiapas
“My talk will focus on how I learned that a project requires a methodology. It begins with a good assessment (diagnostic) in order to draw a master plan. There are many imponderables as the project continues and one has to be constantly evaluating to see how to make adjustments.
This diagnostic includes understanding the role of crafts production and marketing in the community/region, the number of craftspeople/families involved, the capacities that exist and those that need to be developed, how raw materials are acquired and distributed, what the means of production are, what markets one wants to target.
The approach should be integral, analyzing the environmental, cultural and socio-economic issues surrounding the community and the group. The clearer the goals, the more investment in capacity building and decision-making, the better chance the group will be able to appropriate the process.”
Applied anthropologist Marta Turok to speak in Oaxaca
Click Here to see the complete program and to register. It’s not too late!
Other conference speakers include Alfredo Harp Helu Foundation representative Lorena de la Piedra, Zapotec weaver Porfirio Gutierrez, designer and natual dye expert Rocio Mena Gutierrez, University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty member Carolyn Kallenborn, social entrepreneur Ana Paula Fuentes, and founder of Chamuchic project Claudia Muñoz Morales.
There will be an expoventa (exhibition and sale) of folk art and textiles on June 9 in the ex-convento San Pablo patio presented by Andares Arte Popular. On Saturday, June 10, conference-goers will travel to villages to meet textile artisans as part of their conference registration.
Here is the complete Program
Saturday, June 9, 2017
8:00 a.m. Breakfast
Morning Sessions –
9:30 Cindy Lair, WARP President – Welcome and Acknowledgments
9:45-10:30 Marta Turok, our keynote speaker from Mexico City, an applied anthropologist who focuses on socio-economic artisan development in Mexico; she is considered one of the foremost experts on Mexican Folk Art and will discuss her work and what it means for artisans in a global world market
10:30-11:15 Lorena De la Piedra will discuss the work of the Alfredo Harp Helu Foundation, it’s commitment to artisan development, bringing products to market and the natural dye culture of Oaxaca
11-30-12:15 Porfirio Gutierrez, Teotitlan del Valle master weaver, will present innovation and preservation in Zapotec Weaving – the evolution of design and the incorporation of innovative materials
LUNCH from 12:30 – 1:45pm
Afternoon sessions
2pm-3pm Panel Presentation followed by roundtables discussions with all attendees participating
Topic: Working with Indigenous Artisans to create fashion and design projects, bringing products to market, design influences, integrity of design, cultural impact, ethical issues and challenges.
3:00–3:30 Attendees will select discussion questions prior to meeting and break into small groups with leaders to talk about issues/ideas facing textile artisans around the world, including attribution, copyright, and working with foreign designers
3:45 Scholarship winners 5 minute presentations
1:00–7:00 ExpoVenta – a marketplace of regional artisans at San Pablo Cultural Center
6:00–7:30 Reception with visits to Museo Textil de Oaxaca which is next door
Saturday, June 10, 2017
8:00 a.m. Breakfast – we will have the WARP Annual Meeting during our Saturday breakfast
9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Natural Dye Weaving and Textile Tour, includes van transportation, lunch and visits to artisan studios with demonstrations and discussion of the natural dye tradition in Oaxaca, Mexico. Participants will meet weavers of rugs, home goods, handbags and clothing in their home studios. Tour will make four stops. You will see weavers working on the flying shuttle loom and tapestry loom. See traditional carding, spinning and dyeing methods using cochineal, indigo and other local plant sources. We offer honoraria to artisan-demonstrators on your behalf. Tour provider is Norma Schafer, Oaxaca Cultural Navigator LLC.
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Posted in Clothing Design, Cultural Commentary, Oaxaca Mexico art and culture, Textiles, Tapestries & Weaving, Travel & Tourism
Tagged conference, Marta Turok, meeting, Mexico, Oaxaca, program, textiles, WARP