You may recognize this dish from my urban fantasy series Maddy Madrigal Mysteries. Here’s the thing about Mexican stews and soups (caldos): Most Latinos eat them year round, summer included. I make my Chili Colorado with beef. Specifically, stew meat. This recipe is easier than beef stew (less chopping), but a little more ambitious than…
I’ve loved chorizo ever since I was a kid, but once I grew up and realized what some butchers put in theirs, I became very selective about buying the real thing. Fortunately, I discovered Soyrizo, which is a delicious alternative that has much less fat and no unsavory ingredients! If you want to substitute good…
One of my favorite authors is Ursula Le Guin. She wrote ground-breaking, gender-bending novels of fantasy and science fiction with some dark-skinned characters. I’m currently rereading The Lathe of Heaven, my favorite work besides The Left Hand of Darkness and her lesser known The Beginning Place. Recently, I came across a social media post lauding…
My next horror book, Tormenta, will be published by a new imprint of Aethon Books, a big deal publisher of science fiction, fantasy, and comics. The imprint has a familiar name, Wicked House, which Aethon has just acquired. You can read about that acquisition in Publisher’s Weekly here, which also contains the full list of…
They say, “write what you know.” But when I decided to set several of my stories in Chavez Ravine, I didn’t know the area in Los Angeles first-hand. The city had evicted the residents long before I was born. But my mother and her family talked about what it was like living in the hilltop…
Machaca (Shredded Beef) When it’s on the menu in a restaurant, I order it. There are different ways to prepare it. I’ve had it in a sauce and mixed with scrambled eggs. My favorite is how my Aunt Lily fixed it: dry, with the shredded beef a bit crispy from a fast fry on the…
There are many ways to make Mexican rice, but this is how I learned to make it. It’s savory and delicious. I usually make a double batch so I have leftovers for quick and easy burritos. Prep time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 30ish minutes Serving size: 4 Ingredients: (If you want to make a bigger…
(originally published May 2021) May 8, 1959 is a day that Rachel Cantu will never forget. It’s the day Los Angeles sheriff’s deputies forcibly evicted her family from their grandparents’ home in the Palo Verde neighborhood of Chavez Ravine. The media had turned out in force, so there are lots of photos from that day….
