Salsa! The Sauces of South America! A Travelogue of South America's Finest Sauces... made easy!

How was this collection put together? Really, it has been a journey of twenty years making my way into South American kitchens and speaking to chefs and cooks. I would ask, "What is the emblematic sauce, the representative sauce of your country?" Then, "Which sauce is your favorite?" Never wanting to miss a thing, I'd rush to scribble the recipe in my aide-mémoire (ever-present notebook) in the language it was given. Later in the hotel; I’d flesh out context, observations and details.

Eventually then I’d translate recipes into English from the Spanish and Portuguese. And with those notes in hand, I’d enter the kitchen with local ingredients to recreate sauces, always looking for the flavor I had enjoyed on the road. Most times the photographs were taken mid-conversation right there in the restaurant yet others were taken at home in La Paz, Bolivia. No special set-up or gear it was simply a matter of taking advantage of our large set of kitchen windows which daily afford ample unfiltered Andean sunshine, and that light lends a luminous quality to the images.

Most certainly these stories come alive when you cook, a face for every sauce. This is what I had wanted to share in the writing of this book; the living human side to culture and kitchen. To make a recipe from “SALSA!” read the cook's story before you begin. I believe it’ll change your end result. Somehow in the making you will open and enjoy a South American world of flavors, traditions and lifestyles. Now that is something to savor.

And finally here it is! And in all it's colorful glory!  

Salsa! The Sauces of South America!: A Travelogue of South America's Finest Sauces... made easy! 

Copyright © Mick Huerta 2014. All Rights Reserved. 
mickhuerta@gmail.com 
All Accordin' - Travel, Culture, Food, Wine! 

 

 

Almost there... Salsa! The Sauces of South America!

Really it's not so difficult. I write in the witching hours when fuss is at a minimum and well before the city comes to full din and babel. I find no burden in scribbling to the piercing spotlight of my lonely lamp, wrapped in darkness filled with Songs Without Words by Mendelssohn. Really any voiceless classical piece will do simply because I prefer to commune with my inner voices. It is from these that the writing comes.

I write on the road or at this desk where I share experiences from that endless rhythm of countryside, hotels and restaurants. At altitude, in low lying jungles or facing the sea the roads slip stream together connecting me with the world. I travel rough and fast for days on end and when weary I sleep in a dark room with nice linens and where hot water comes out of the showerhead. 

I've traveled by bus, taxi and sailboat from South America to Mexico. I´ve rattled through 9 of 10 time zones of Russia on the Trans-Siberian Railway and voyaged the reverse route (west to east) through the straits of Magellan holding onto the rail, wine glass in the other hand.  With no reservation, I arrive and make arrangements to store my gear. Directly, I move to the market with notebook and camera… it is there I take the pulse of a place. It is said there is no wealth in this world without food production. And in the market you readily see the health of a regions fields and orchards. The strength of commerce in fruit, grain and meats is measured in urgency of clients hungry to buy. It is from there I end up in kitchens. A conversation over ingredients turns into an invitation. It's with the cooks of the world, I feel most at ease. Tasting, discussing local cuisine and a technique or simple trick which makes all the difference; this is what gives me joy. I chronicle life from the kitchens and it's this spark that compels me to write. All of this I find easy.

It is the editing, ISBN numbers, reading copy write law and formatting a book for publishing that makes me anxious. The minutia best left to the professionals is what kills creativity in the self-publishing writer. Instead of working on book two, I am doing what makes me crazy. So sincerely, I believe it’s now time to look for dinner and a good glass of red.

Now available - "Salsa!The Sauces of South America" & "HotList South America" an essential addendum to your travel guide of choice. Both just $3.99 at Amazon.com! Meanwhile, writing continues on "Down East ~ Boston to St. John's" & "SnowBlind in the Andes ~ Sacred Leaf to Cocaine Tourism."

Copyright © Mick Huerta 2014. All Rights Reserved. 
mickhuerta@gmail.com 
All Accordin' - Travel, Culture, Food & Drink!