Blasta || Mexican Food in Ireland || Lughnasa Update
I was delighted to find a small package in my mailbox this week that we’ve been anticipating for a while now–and on my birthday, no less! Tacos, by Lily Ramirez-Foran, is the first installment of a new cookbook series from the Irish publisher Blasta Books. “Blasta” is the Irish for delicious, and while I was expecting great things from both the featured chefs and publisher Kristin Jensen, I had no idea how beautiful this little book would be!
Blasta Books aims to change the way cookbooks are made in order to make more room at the table. Jensen, who is also the publisher of Nine Bean Rows Books, was inspired to curate the Blasta series because she wanted to change the way cookbooks are made. She recognized that the traditional publishing route for cookbooks tends to be prohibitively expensive. Very often chefs have to front the cost of ingredients and recipe testing, and food stylists and photographers are essential components to get noticed in a competitive market.
While immigrants are becoming a larger part of Ireland’s population, you wouldn’t necessarily know this from much of the food media. In practice, many voices do not get heard, and certain parts of Irish food culture are overlooked. And so the idea for the Blasta series was born! The idea is to provide a more inclusive snapshot of Ireland’s modern and diverse food culture. Each small format book is priced at €15, contains 30 recipes in 72 pages, and features illustrations by artist Nicky Hooper. Jensen uses the analogy of comparing street food to restaurants when explaining how Blasta Books measure up to traditional cookbooks: “they give people a fun, accessible and affordable way to eat exciting food.”
Tacos author Lily Ramirez-Foran
Lily Ramirez-Foran, the author of Tacos, is the founder of a boutique Mexican grocery and cooking school in Dublin called Picado Mexican Pantry. Originally from Monterrey, Ramirez-Foran met her Irish husband Alan during her first year of college and has lived in Dublin since 2000. Lily says she was immediately on board when Jensen approached her about the idea of a cookbook. “After chatting for only a few minutes, the idea of a small but mighty book on tacos came up and instead of shying away from the crazy idea of narrowing down almost four millennia of taco recipes into a baker’s dozen (like any other self-respecting Mexican would do), I relished the challenge,” she writes.
In addition to the recipes (I plan to cook my way right through the entire book), which provide adaptations for vegetarians and vegans, Ramirez-Foran also provides tips on how to properly heat up tortillas (hint: don’t ever eat them cold); how to master the art of holding a taco; and some tasty ways to use tajín (a seasoning from Jalisco, which you may have tasted on elote in the States).
Ramirez-Foran is also passionate about the idea that a recipe is nothing without its context–a thought which echoes Jensen’s own approach to publishing; namely, that food and stories connect everyone, and that more people need access to the platform to be able to share both. Ramirez-Foran shares a bit of her thoughts on context in Tacos:
I have always felt that it is my duty to showcase Mexican food in Ireland as it should be, with as much respect for the origins of the dishes that I make as possible. At Picado, I teach traditional Mexican food. We share stories, culture, and history around the table. People learn to cook Mexican food pretty much the same way every Mexican learns to cook it: by standing around the stove, watching someone experienced cooking and listening to the stories behind the dish, peppered with skilful instructions on how to make it.
The upcoming books in this Blasta series include: Hot Fat, by Russell Alford and Patrick Hanlon; The United Nations of Cookies, by Jess Murphy and Eoin Cluskey; and Wok, by Kwanghi Chan. We’re looking forward to them all!
Announcing our newly updated Lughnasa Tour!
We’ve gotten lots of exciting feedback and interest on this trip and we’ve recently updated the itinerary and price to make it even more irresistible. The trip is a 5 night food and wellness tour intended for nature lovers who are interested in learning more about Celtic spirituality, wisdom, and ritual. Organized around the Celtic harvest festival of Lughnasa, we will combine visits to restaurants, farms and artisans with an emphasis on feasting and reconnecting to the indigenous wisdom of Ireland. It concludes with an absolutely one-of-a-kind communal feast at the spectacular Irish heritage center Cnoc Suain, an enchanting hillside settlement nestled in Connemara, overlooking river, lake and Ireland’s wild Atlantic coast.
Priced at $5,850 per person; includes all meals, activities, lodging, and ground transportation.
What We're Reading
The Michelin Guide announced their Bib Gourmands and their stars in Ireland and the UK this week.
A beautiful write-up of the family pizza pop-up we created during the pandemic, Pizza Replicator, by the brand new frame stories, a digital food magazine that celebrates and honors culinary talent from Michigan and beyond.