The One Where Cris Eats Mexican Food in Brazil

This is what I look like when I haven't had Mexican food in a while.


Ok, really, that's a lie. This is what I look like when I am in a cable car hanging over a ravine at night moving at a very rapid pace toward a giant cliff just to see a view of Rio de Janeiro from a mountain shaped like a loaf of sugar. Or is it a sugarloaf? Does anyone really know the answer to that question? I wasn't the only scared one. Look:


(Ok, so actually this is one my favorite pictures of all time, mostly because of my sister, and I will find any excuse to re-use it and publish it on my blog, like in this case, when we're talking about how I look when I haven't had Mexican food in a while.)

Imagine my INTENSE, INEXPLICABLE JOY, when I found these babies for sale in the supermarket.

(Some BIMBO tortillas. The name of the brand might be 15% of my joy. Those of you who have ever lived/cooked in Brazil with an appreciation for the cuisine from south of the Texas border, you know this is a big deal.)

And my continued joy when Samantha Jewell gave me this when she moved out of the country (and would have tasty Latin foods of all kinds at her fingertips living in Miami, FL)

H&H Brand 30 Second Salsa, Burns Your Buns Hot.

The instructions said to add a little scoop of the mix to a can of diced tomatoes. Problem is, we don't have canned, diced tomatoes. So I was going to follow Sam's advice and just "chop up some tomatoes and pour in a little tomato sauce." But that sounded an awful lot like "improvise" and I don't do well "improvising" in the kitchen. I do better with measuring cups and scales. So imagine my second round of joy when I found these babies at Sam's Club:

NAKED TOMATOES! (Translation: whole canned tomatoes.)

So I diced 'em up real nice and mixed in a little scoop of the salsa mix, and it made this. My mouth started watering.

But what am I gonna do, eat it with a spoon? (Don't tempt me.)

So then I cut up 3 tortillas into triangles and fried them in oil. Yes, I fried them in oil. GASP. Does frying them in SOY oil make it any healthier???? I'm considering disabling comments on this post just so you can't answer that question.

And they loved each other instantly.


As. Did. I. (Previous and following photos taken approximately 13 minutes apart.)

H&H Brand, I don't know who you are, but knowing that I have you in my cupboard will make me sleep better tonight.

Bliss.

(And yes, my buns are burning.)