Hello my Foodie Friends! 

Next week is Cinco de Mayo. Many of us foodies may be planning some type of festivity for this day. And what better way to celebrate than to eat delicious Mexican food. Our son lives in San Diego. The city is renowned for its wide selection of excellent Mexican restaurants and influence on the cuisine in that area. Mexican food is a major player on the San Diego food scene. Our son has also learned to add many Mexican flavors to his regular meals. One of his favorite things to do is to work with avocados and make guacamole or to get creative with salsas. To make the guacamole, the molcajete (a black volcanic rock) connects with making amazing and laborious Mexican dishes. One of those dishes is a salsa cruda, which is a red raw spicy salsa. The molcajete can be a very valuable object to assist when making your guacamole or salsa this Cinco de Mayo. The molcajete is among the world’s oldest culinary tools, volcanic rock mortars and pestles like these have been used by great cooks for thousands of years. Our molcajete (mortar) and tejolete (pestle) are hand carved from a single piece of basalt rock, so every piece is unique. In addition to being a great prep tool, the molcajete makes an impressive serving dish for guacamole and other party favorites. It is perfect for crushing whole spices and making spice blends, ideal for blending and serving guacamole—or for making pesto and other rustic sauces. You can line the molcajete with lettuce leaves to use as an all-purpose serving bowl. The rough interior texture of mortar helps crush and grind ingredients and it has a heavy pestle that does the work for you, ensuring efficient grinding, blending and mixing.

At Compliments to the Chef, your Neighborhood Kitchen and Cutlery store located at 33 Railroad Place, we offer various types of mortar and pestles including the beautiful molcajete. Stop by and view our many spices that can be used to help you with your Cinco de Mayo culinary creations. Have a festive Cinco de Mayo. Remember Foodie Friends, “Life Happens in the Kitchen.”

 Take Care,
John & Paula