Food/Nostalgia

Looking for a good recipe for fideos. And absolutely craving a dish I had in Mexico…

In a town in Morelos, sequestered inside the barbed wire compound, was a lovely oasis with a lemon and lime orchard, poinsetta trees, mangoes, and lovely red buildings. There were green swathes of lawn, and bunkhouses filled with quietly sleeping girls. There was a dining hall, filled with eager appetites and humble Mexican cooks who introduced us to things we had never considered. Shredded carrot salad with vinegar and spices that I have yet to replicate. Cactus, greygreen like a cafeteria nightmare and yet like nothing I’ve had since. On a trip to Tepotzlán, we tried flower ice cream. I wish for rose ice cream that clear and perfect. But nothing can compare to my yen for the creamy arroz con pollo in that dining hall. I know; traditional dish. Something well known. Something eaten and ignored times before in the States. But I tell you, I yearn for that chicken. It was bone-in chicken, something we never have at home, and the creamy sauce made that meal. I can’t begin to guess what made it different, but I swear I will never have a more comforting, satisfying dinner. Maybe it could never taste the same without bright Mexican skies and the voices of my new friends from around the globe, the day of work and sweat and adventuring, climbing pyramids and bargaining in street markets.