Dear Pete,
When he should start, when you should harvest and how much to water depends on where you live.
You could contact your local agricultural extension agency for the most accurate info for his area. (each state has one, through their land grant college. U of I is ours in Champaign/Urbana)
Other than that, a good rule of thumb is to start seeds in the ground when night time temperatures are around 50 F, (in May for this area) and to water your garden about 1" a week all summer (equivelent to about 45 minutes to 1 hour of watering with an overhead sprinkler).
As far as harvesting goes,you should check your seed packages for "maturity dates when sown from seed". For example, if a chile package reads 60 days until ready for harvest , you will have an idea of about when to harvest his chiles by looking ahead on a calendar to the approximate date.
Also, you can test readyness by trying a vegetable off of one of his plants to see if it is ready to eat.
Lasty, buy a good gardening book like Rodale's Big Book of Organic Gardening so you can get some general information. good luck!


Sincerely,
Rick

Dear Matt,
Huitlacoche can be one of the greatest culinary experiences of your life ... or the worst. The best stuff has a sweet earthiness that's unusual but captivating. The worst stuff tastes like mud. During rainy season, when it floods into the markets in Central Mexico, you'll find huge ears of corn with the perfectly formed, light-grey lobs of huitlacoche growing directly out of them--no lobes that are broken, exposing the near-black interior. That huitlacoche is expensive and treated with great care.

Yes, you'll find canned huitlacoche, but opening that can probably won't be your first step to that incredible culinary experience. Most of it tastes muddy ... unless you find a can of vacuum-packed whole lobes. At our restaurant, we use huitlacoche that's grown by Tracey Vowel at Three Sisters Gardens. We use as a good amount of her harvest fresh, then freeze the rest for use in fillings later in the year. A number of years ago, I tasted vacuum-packed Adelita brand huitlacoche, and, though it didn't have all the sweetness of the fresh stuff, it was quite good.


Sincerely,
Rick

Dear Miriam:

When Deann and I lived in Mexico, it was mostly in Mexico City, though for a little while we lived in Oaxaca and in the state of Guerrero, up in the mountains in a small village (just to see what village life was like). But during the time we lived in Mexico, we travelled to every state in the Republic and learned from local cooks. I am constantly drawn to central and southern Mexico--I love the complexity of food you find in Puebla, western Veracruz, Oaxaca and Chiapas. The cultures are so vital, distinctive and varied there. Thanks for the question!


Sincerely,
Rick

If I had to chose one place in Mexico for people to go for the "whole enchilada," it would be Oaxaca. There's wonderful Colonial architecture, some of the most interesting food in the Republic, amazing ruins and a very thriving fine arts and folk arts scene. Click on "Home and Away" for a list of my favorite things to do in Oaxaca. And for beach ... you'll have to hop down to the coast to the newly developed Huatulco or to Puerto Escondido, the laid back old surfer hangout.

Now, about eating: first, cilantro is one of the most antibacterial foods known to man, so eat it early and often. Garlic, too, is antibacterial, while chiles, lime and salt are known to be effective preservatives. Put them all together and you pretty much have the recipe for salsa, which I do recommend you eating while in Mexico. That said, no one wants you to get sick on your trip ... which is what leads most guide book writers to be such fearmongers. Personally, I'd rather you "have lived and loved, than never to have loved at all," which means that I think a little risk is part of a full life experience. I draw the line at raw shellfish, raw salt water fish that swim in shallow waters and all raw fresh water fish. You can get more than just a little stomach discomfort from them.


Sincerely,
Rick

Dear Lourdes:

No I don't make dinner at home every night. Because I'm a restaurant chef, my wife and I eat at our restaurant most every day it's open--Tuesday through Saturday. On the weekends, we typically cook, since everyone in my family loves to cook (my wife, my daughter and I often each cook a dish for the meal). Sometimes it's Mexican, sometimes it's not. And occasionally we go out to eat--I love to see what other chefs are doing.


Sincerely,
Rick

Hi...all the recipes from Season 4 that aren't already on the website will be in the new book due out November 7...Mexican Everday. Thanks for watching!


Sincerely,
Rick

The pre-Columbian chocolate drink was sort of like our black coffee, as best I can figure out. There are virtually no mentions of adding anything sweet to it (that became the standard after the Europeans took chocolate back home). The Aztecs apparently thought chocolate went better with aromatic herbs, spices and flowers ... even chiles. For a fuller account of the Aztecs' passion for chocolate, check out Sophie Coe's America's First Cuisines.


Sincerely,
Rick

Dear Yolanda:

Thanks for your question, since I know a lot of people are probably wondering how you get that shell pattern on the conchas (the slightly sweet buns that are eaten all over Mexico, especially for breakfast). The cutters--which you described accurately--are not easy to find; I searched several web sites that usually have what I need and none of them had it. I've seen them in a number of Mexican grocery stores and at Chicago's Maxwell Street Market on Sundays. All that is hit-or-miss, however. If you're travelling to any large Mexican town, go to the main market and you'll find them with the kitchenwares. I've seen them recently at Mexico City's Merced Market and Guadalajara's Libertad Market.

Rick Bayless


Sincerely,
Rick

Dear rda:

That dish--which was inspired by one I ate in Guadalajara--is a type of queso fundido (a melted cheese dish that is used as a filling for soft tacos). This one had basic salsa ingredients sauteed first, then flamed with tequila and, finally, melted with cheese. You'll love it served with warm corn or flour tortillas. The full recipe is on our web site at http://www.fronterakitchens.com/cooking/recipes/fundido.html.


Sincerely,
Rick

Dear Maribel:

Everone knows and loves guacamole and some simple salsas, so start there. In my new book, Mexican Everyday, I offer the recipes for many everyday dishes that I think would be perfect for your situation. There are a lot of spice rubs and marinades that you can use for simple sauteed or grilled dishes, followed by complimentary salsas--most of them have a little chile in them (they wouldn't be salsas if they didn't!), but you can feel free to add as much or as little as you like. There is a great recipe on page 175 for Tikin Xik from Yucatan that involves a simple achiote marinade turning a simple fish dish into something heavily. Don't overlook the torta recipe on page 225--who doesn't like a crusty sandwich? The baked potato-and-fish dish with roasted tomatoes and green chile (page 239) is an easy favorite in lots of homes, as is the chipotle shrimp on page 251(though it's a little spicier). My guess is that the folks you cook for will love the chicken in escabeche that's on page 259 (it won't be hot at all if you only put in a few strips of pickled jalapeno). I hope these ideas help you out.



Sincerely,
Rick

My wife is a major player in the development of our shows and our books (as well as running our restaurants) ... but she's a little camera shy. That's all.


Sincerely,
Rick

Dear Janie:

Vanilla beans can be found in really well stocked grocery stores and in specialty food shops. I'd recommend places like Whole Foods or one of your top local groceries. If that doesn't work for you, you can order vanilla beans from www.vanilla.com. They even carry Mexican vanilla beans most of the time; their flavor is lighter and more flowery than, say, the Madagascar beans.


Sincerely,
Rick

Dear Manuel,

No, I am sorry, I have never cooked with Clamato...


Sincerely,
Rick

Crepe recipes are easy to find (mine just combines 1/2 cup milk with 2 eggs, 1 cup flour, a pinch of salt and 3 tablespoons melted butter--it's all spelled out in several of my books, from Authentic Mexican to Rick and Lanie's Excellent Kitchen Adventures). You can flavor the crepes with a little cinnamon if you like. Butter them, fold them in quarters and pour cajeta over them (you can buy it at any Mexican market and lots of well stocked grocery stores); bake until bubbly. I like to serve them with toasted nuts and some fruit sprinkled over the top.

Rick Bayless


Sincerely,
Rick

Dear Lovetoeat:

Practically everywhere in the world (except the United States), if you slaughter an animal you have to (or feel obliged to) eat every part of it. So in most cultures, eating the tripe (the collective name for all the cow's stomaches) is just a matter of course. Usually flavored quite highly, since, if not washed repeatedly and well, it can taste strong. The Chinese, taken with texture as they are, love tripe for its springy texture and complex flavor. I'd say the same goes for Mexican eaters. If you have menudo in central Mexico (it's a classic Sunday morning stew--purported to cure hangovers because of its high vitamin content), it's typically a simple, long-simmered red chile stew. In northern Mexico, it often has hominy corn (pozole) in it. And it's always served with plenty of chopped white onion, cilantro, extra chile and lime wedges to squeeze on. Hope this helps.

Sincerely,
Rick