[La Lydia]

I think the best Mexican food in the world is to be had in a corridor that begins in Ciudad Chihuahua and runs north to Cuidad Juarez, crosses the river to El Paso and continues up the Rio Grand Valley through Old Mesilla and Las Cruces (best fresh green chile, Hatch, actually) north to Albuquerque, and from there north to Santa Fe, Chimayo (best dried red chile) and Taos. And yes, lard is a blessed ingredient.

[JRandomFreeper]

I've lived for extended amounts of time at 2 places in that corridor. And I'd have to agree.

I also convinced some ancient wimmenfolk that didn't even speak Spanish to teach me some of the 'traditional' dishes.

I don't know what language they spoke, but it wasn't spanish, and it wasn't english. The best cooks were ancient crones that liked me a whole lot better after I lost my store bought teef and really paid attention to what they were trying to teach.

I am grateful to have learned from masters. And what the hell, I can actually cook on a wood cook-stove now. Doesn't take many switches with a green switch to get a point across about temperature control.

/johnny

[ansel12]

Here is a blog of a Texas woman living in New York.
http://homesicktexan.blogspot.com/2008/05/how-to-render-lard.html

In this recipe she shows how to make lard, and describes it as easy, with much better flavor.

Excerpt:
“But the best thing about lard is that it’s not bad for you. It has less saturated fat (the bad fat) than butter, while it also has more than twice as much monosaturated fat (the good fat) than butter. And it has none of those pesky trans fats—that is, if it hasn’t been hydrogenated to prolong its shelf life.

And that, my friends, is the problem. Most lard you find at the grocery store has been hydrogenated to make it shelf stable indefinitely, which robs it of its good qualities.”