05_558927_ch01.qxp 2/14/06 8:53 AM Page 30 CHAPTER ONE Beverages I remember the way my grandfather would prepare his water cooler for a long day of working cattle. The old, ribbed five-gallon canister was always trussed to the inner left corner of the pickup bed, right behind him as he bumped down the road. Of course, COPYRIGHTEDhis old green truck had no MATERIAL air-conditioning, so the windows were down, his khaki-covered elbow cocked outside. On the morning of the cattle drive, as he was preparing his vaccine kit, he would take a frozen cardboard milk carton that he had previously washed and filled with water, peel back the red-and-white checkered paper, and dump the 05_558927_ch01.qxp 2/14/06 8:53 AM Page 31 block of ice into his filled cooler. There it would float and bounce underneath the sealed lid of the cooler until the midday break. The cowboys would line upto take their turn pushing the small white tap that released the icy water into the wire-handled tin can that served as the community cup. I still remember drink- ing from it and tasting the raspy metallic feel on my lips. Sometimes someone would take off his cowboy hat, bend over, and let the stream douse his head— but, never too much, as the water was too precious to be wasted. The thought of a cool drink was what made the day bearable. 05_558927_ch01.qxp 2/14/06 8:53 AM Page 32 32 Everyone has habits and rituals regarding what he or she will drink. Rising early to fix morning coffee, brewing tea to be chilled and ready for lunch, freezing beer mugs for a perfectly chilled draught—these are routines that people follow to have the beverages ready when they want them. People will wait as dinner sim- mers, but everyone wants his or her drink right there, on hand. The traditional beverages of the Wild Horse Desert had everything to do with survival. Of course, we have our drinks for festive occasions, but the daily drinks hydrate, cool, and nourish. Commercial beverages on the market give us the conven- ience of not having to plan ahead what we’ll drink and offer us so many choices that the homemade beverages have fallen out of favor. Still, I think they are very much worth the effort. Drinks are not difficult to prepare, and they lend complete- ness to any meal. A little bit of extra planning and care can even make memorable a drink of water from an old tin cup. 05_558927_ch01.qxp 2/14/06 8:53 AM Page 33 33 Tea TO TALK ABOUT TEA IN SOUTH TEXAS is to delve into all that is curative and mys- terious in the early ranch kitchen. Of course, there is the simple delight of a tall, frosty glass of iced tea, and I will share a recipe for our local Sweetened Iced Tea. However, tea for many here goes beyond the mere cup. A hundred years ago, the brushy wilderness served as a vertiable variety store for the little ranches scattered across the Wild Horse Desert—it was their strongest ally for survival. The brush plants were what the ranchers had on hand to cure ailments, and the best way to extract their medicinal properties was by making a tea from them. Many homes today still have gardens dedicated to grow- ing curative herbs. Tea can be made two ways: either by infusion, which is pouring boiling water over the ingredients, steeping for a few minutes, then straining out the spent material; or by decoction, which is simply boiling the ingredients in water, then straining out the spent material. Infusions are generally made with leafy ingredients; decoctions are usually made of hard woody ingredients such as stems and bark. Loose tooth? Try a decoction of sangre de drago, which tightens the gums. Stomach problems? Boil comancha root for a curative tea. Puffy eyes? Try a com- press soaked in tea of mesquite leaves. Any ailment could be cured with the right plant and a little faith. Other teas were simply refreshing drinks. Store-bought coffee and oriental teas were scarce; instead, ranchers brewed refreshing teas, or tisanes (“healthy teas”), from cinnamon sticks, lemon or orange leaves, eucalyptus leaves, or other garden herbs. BEVERAGES 05_558927_ch01.qxp 2/14/06 8:53 AM Page 34 34 Te de Manzanilla CHAMOMILE TEA SERVES 4 Herbal remedies should be administered with caution, as the concentrated extracts of some plants can prove hazardous. However, there is one recipe that even doctors recommend for colic in babies: te de manzanilla, or chamomile tea. A good strong infusion, barely warm, quiets and soothes a child’s tummy and demeanor. Right next to the diapers in almost every South Texas supermarket are long cardboard displays hung with hanks of man- zanilla. My babies certainly got their share of te de manzanilla, and I still make it for my kids whenever they need a little extra care and comfort. 4 bags te de manzanilla (chamomile tea) PLACE the tea bags in a 4- to 6-cup teapot. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil, pour over the tea bags, and allow to steep for 5 minutes. Remove bags from the water and allow tea to cool to warm. DISHES FROM THE WILD HORSE DESERT 05_558927_ch01.qxp 2/14/06 8:53 AM Page 35 35 Sweetened Iced Tea SERVES 8 When brewing the tea, allow tea to cool to room temperature before chilling in the refrigerator, to avoid clouding. 2 quarts freshly brewed black tea, chilled 1 cup sugar 6 to 8 Mexican limes, cut in half (see page 36) STIR TOGETHER the tea and sugar. Squeeze in limes, and add the spent lime rinds. Stir well and serve over ice in tall glasses. LEMON ICED TEA: Lemons can be substituted for the Mexican limes, but discard the lemon rind after squeezing. When packed for shipping, most lemons are coated with wax, which will leave a film on the surface of the tea. Iced Tea AFTER DINNER AT MY GRANDMOTHER’S HOUSE, carrots and chile del monte (wild chile). One I would always head back to the kitchen to visit thing I always begged from her was a sip of her the housekeeper to see what she was having. sweetened iced tea. Loaded with freshly Of course, she would be eating basically the squeezed limes picked from the tree in the same meal as the rest of the family, but I always yard, the icy glasses always had long spoons in thought the way she fixed her plate was more them to stir up the settled sugar. Eating with my interesting. She always mixed Mexican and family, I never got to have my own glass. Tea American traditions: roast beef we were eating was for grown-ups. But that just made the with fresh salsa, barbecued ribs with pickled stolen sips taste all the better. BEVERAGES 05_558927_ch01.qxp 2/14/06 8:53 AM Page 36 36 Mexican Limes THERE ARE TWO SPECIES OF LIMES: the large Ping-Pong ball. They have a sweet, tart flavor fruited limes and the small fruited limes. and are terrifically aromatic. I prefer to use Mexican limes (Citrus aurantifolia), also known Mexican limes in place of lemons, especially as Key limes or West Indian limes, are small since we have a lime tree in our garden. fruited limes and are usually smaller than a 05_558927_ch01.qxp 2/14/06 8:53 AM Page 37 37 Aguas Frescas AN AGUA FRESCA IS JUST THAT: water that has been “freshened” with fruit flavor. The evolution of the agua fresca is similar to that of atole (see page 49). Seasonal fruits were ground into a pulp on a metate (stone mortar), combined with water, and sweetened with sugar. Nowadays, blenders do the same work in a fraction of the time. Making an agua fresca is a snap. Sugar plays an important role in making an agua fresca, although most recipes call for too much. Commercial aguas frescas are way too sweet to be refreshing. But imagine a cold glass of lemonade with half the sugar of a com- mercial agua fresca but plenty of lemon flavor, served over cracked ice; bracing, without a cloying aftertaste—the perfect agua fresca. Also, the fruit you use will dictate the amount of sugar you use. Many times I make agua de sandia (watermelon water) without adding any sugar; the fruit is sweet and ripe enough that I don’t want to mask its flavor. Other times, the fruit flavor may be improved with a small amount of sugar. It’s something you have to decide when you taste the fruit. And, similar to the adage about never cooking with bad wine, you can’t make a great agua fresca from old or flavorless fruit. Agua Fresca de Fruta SERVES 8 2 cups fresh fruit peeled, seeded, and chopped (pineapple, mango, watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew are most common—use whatever you like) 1 ⁄4 cup sugar, or to taste PLACE the fruit in the container of a blender or food processor. Add 2 cups of water or enough to make a smooth purée. Blend until smooth, then pour through a wire strainer to remove the pulp. Pour the strained “water” into a pitcher, and add about 6 cups more water and stir in the sugar. Serve chilled over ice. BEVERAGES 05_558927_ch01.qxp 2/14/06 8:53 AM Page 38 38 Tepache PINEAPPLE WINE SERVES 8 Tepache, a type of pineapple agua fresca, is still served on many ranches and sold on the streets out of large barrels in Border towns.