Cinco de Mayo (Spanish for fifth of May) is a Mexican celebration held on the 5th of May. It commemorates the Mexican army’s victory over French forces in the Mexican state of Puebla. Why is it a big celebration? Winning the battle helped Mexico develop a sense of national unity; their army won the battle although they had been outnumbered and ill equipped.
In most countries, national celebrations call for festive foods, and Mexico is no exception. It’s a great excuse to have a party with all your favourite Mexican fixings. And because there is not a specific dish associated with Cinco de Mayo, you’re free to be as creative or as adventurous as you’d like! Personally, I always stock cumin, cilantro, lime and avocados in my kitchen so coming up with a menu for my cinco de mayo was easy. The hard part was choosing only five. After much deliberation, and a lot experimenting with recipes, I came up with cinco suggestions –from appetizers to desserts– for you to try this Cinco de Mayo!
uno) Mole sauces come in various flavors, colours and ingredients, but chili peppers are always the feature. Most also include chocolate, and the combination of the two is a treat for your palette. Coincidentally, Puebla is one of the regions best known for their mole. It is generally a complicated sauce to make, but our Mole recipe breaks it down in three easy steps. It combines chile and cayenne peppers, bittersweet chocolate and an added ingredient –corn tortillas that go right into the sauce!
dos) I love this Cumin and Cilantro Bean Dip because it’s healthy and uses my favourite combination of flavours –cumin and cilantro. Serve with crackers, tortilla chips or veggies.
tres) I made a batch of this crunchy Mexican Coleslaw with Whole Wheat Tortilla Chips this weekend and will be making them again next weekend because it’s the perfect party food! Brushing the tortilla chips in the adobe sauce before baking them gives your taste buds a little something extra.
cuatro) You didn’t think I’d forget to include tacos in this list, did you? The recipe I chose includes a healthy dose of omega 3. Fish tacos have become very popular and can be found even in chain restaurants these days; none that compares with these Salmon Tacos from Mairlyn Smith‘s Healthy Starts Here cookbook. Better yet, we’ll let Mairlyn herself show you how it’s done and what inspired this recipe.
cinco) I chose a cake for a dessert because the taste and texture bring me memories of home (I’m not Mexican but I am from Central America). It is moist, sweet-but-not-too-sweet, fruity, and…refreshing? Yes, refreshing because the recipe calls for orange Fanta! For that reason, Fanta Slices takes the cake (pun intended) for my Cinco de Mayo dessert.
This recipe comes to us courtesy of Angelina Schwarz, a student in the Red River College Baking program. Her Fanta Slices came in second place in our Canola Bake-Off earlier this year.
I hope I’ve inspired you to try at least one of these, whether it’s just to have at home or for a Cinco de Mayo fiesta. Have a look at our Cinco de Mayo Pinterest board for even more ideas, and last year’s Cinco de Mayo post that includes the recipe for those delicious Bean Fritters with Salsa Verde and Spicy Mayo from Deseo Bistro!
Be Well…Wendy
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