Taste bud tango

It wasn't until 1876 that Heinz jumped on the bandwagon and launched their own version of the sauce.  After what must have been many sleepless nights, they came up with the thought-provoking slogan, 'Blessed relief for Mother and the other women in the household.'  You may not have guessed but I'm talking about tomato ketchup.
In the Canaries, we have our own sauce and my slogan would probably be along the lines of  'Blessed relief for taste fatigue - a veritable taste bud tango.'  I am of course talking about mojo sauce.
The essential ingredients are peppers, garlic and vinegar ... then you can make it up from there yourself.  Hot red peppers grow particularly well here not only providing a steady supply for the kitchen but also look extremely attractive in the garden hanging from little bushes.  Ours are still growing on the finca despite it being the middle of November - this photo was taken today as they bask in the sun.  

However, it is very common to see peppers literally hanging out to dry.  Providing they do not get damp at this stage, they will last for months and can be used for any number of dishes such as soups or casseroles but also rehydrate perfectly well in the mojo sauce.  We are up to three strings at the moment and I am starting to think they will make interesting Christmas decorations!

There are two main types of mojo, pronounced 'moho'  - red and green.  Green mojo is quite mild and goes well with goats' cheese or fish.  Red mojo can either be picante or picón (hot) or sauve (mild) and both the red and green mojos can accompany the papas arrugadas, the small salted potatoes.   There are also any number of other variations of mojo including those made with avocado, coriander and almond although these are less common.  
You will find some nice little booklets with recipes for mojo at the Sanlupe shops in the capital and Los Llanos plus the airport shop and other places of course.  Some of them have rather unseemly amounts of garlic and salt but you can of course alter to suit.  This is my recipe:
4 hot peppers
4 cloves of garlic
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon cumin
pinch of saffron
200 ml olive oil
100 ml white wine vinegar
Method:
Assuming your hot peppers are the 'seek and destroy variety,' pour boiling water over them and leave to soak for up to an hour, just to take the edge off.   And remember not to touch your face after you have handled the peppers!

Chop and then grind all of the ingredients except the oil either in a pestle and mortar or whizz up using a hand blender.  Bear in mind that you are not necessarily trying to achieve a smooth blend.  Once you are happy with the consistency, gradually add the oil, mixing it in as your pour.  If you like a smoother, thicker mix then add about 1/3 of a green pepper in with the initial ingredients.  
An extra ingredient is a little zest of orange which not only gives the mojo a bit of a surprise element - that's the tango part - but also helps refresh the taste buds and balance the garlic.  

Our neighbour has an aversion to oil and they make their's with water, so that would make a low calorie alternative, although you would need to refrigerate it or at least use it more quickly.
However, if you don't fancy making it yourself, it is also very easy to buy as all supermarkets stock it and usually gift shops too, often in a pack of two small jars in a presentation box.  You really are taking home a little bit of the Canaries.  If you don't relish the idea of a broken jar of mojo in your suitcase, you can also get the dried version in a small plastic box and you just add oil, vinegar and water when you are ready.  This is also substantially lighter and there is no risk of it getting broken. 

You won't find these quite as easy to find but you can buy them at the market in Santa Cruz and Los Llanos and the gift shop in Los Cancajos, among other places.  
So whether it is home made, straight from the jar or in a part-made form, mojo sauce is a must while you are in the Canaries.  This really is one variety Heinz missed out on. 


One last thing, talking about not missing out, we have a new addition to our family of blogs about La Palma.  This one aims at finding you good prices for flights, travel tips, the low down on maps and a fair bit more. 
Hope you like the new look design of this one by the way! 

A Day to Remember

If you live on La Palma, one thing you might want to arm yourself with - apart from sun cream - is a calendar of public holidays and fiestas.   With this useful aid, you will have some idea when the shops are likely to be closed, apart from weekends and siesta time.  Although, I have to admit, no list is definitive as you might find what I call 'flying fiestas' (local ones) which are not on any list or calendar.  

Whilst many of them are obvious, such as  Christmas Day, New Year's Day and Easter, some are less so although the 1st and 30th of May (pleasingly called 'Day of Work' and 'Canary Day') are still a good reason to down tools, as in the UK.  

There are also a few less well-known ones thrown in such as Constitution Day on 6th December and Epiphany on 6th January.  Some pass almost un-noticed to us here in the country, whilst others such as Epiphany are celebrated in style, as in Los Sauces where the Three Wise Men arrive on camels.  Real camels, that is.

However, whilst they are all important for different reasons, one that I particularly like to mark is All Saints' Day on the 1st November.  Way back when (835 AD), the Roman Catholic Church declared the 1st November a Church holiday to honour all the saints, known and unknown.  On this day it is also customary to pray for the all those who have passed away, although not necessarily with sorrow.  On La Palma, as in many other places, we say it with flowers.  

Whilst the rest of the shops on La Palma remain closed, the flower shops are a hive of activity, trying to provide flowers for what amounts to every single and solitary headstone or grave on the whole island.  And the lovely thing about it is that no-one is forgotten or left out - that is after all the whole point.  So, no matter that Don whoever's family moved away years ago and there is nobody left to lay flowers on his grave or to place them tenderly in the little flower holders on the headstone.  All are remembered.