making do -- making better

Mexico has taught me to be thankful for what I have.

At least, this part of Mexico has.

When I first moved here, I would often ask why it was not possible to get certain food items. After all, NAFTA was designed to tear down trade barriers and open up the largesse of each country to the others.

It did not take me long Io change my tune. I was thankful to be able to buy what was available. And, each year, the variety of food on offer has increased. Not just canned and jarred goods, either. Also fresh fruits and vegetables. Leeks and lemons, for example. Or oyster mushrooms.

My restraunteur friend Gary put my thankfulness to the test earlier this week. He gave me a large handful of kumquats and dared me to come up with something new. I love cooking with kumquats, but it is a challenge to find foods that complement their bitter citrus taste.

My first thought was a Cuban sour orange pork. Almost any dish that calls for sour oranges is even better with kumquats. But that was a bit too ordinary. I wanted something a bit more exotic.

I had pretty much decided on using pork leg. The pork in this part of Mexico is the most flavorful I have ever tasted. It is even better than the chicken -- which is superb. But I needed an accompaniment.

When I was in Oregon, I had experimented with combining broccolini and Brussels sprouts. The bitter and the sweet blended well. But, I have never seen broccolini here, and Brussels sprouts tend to crop up only at Christmas time to titillate northern tastes.

Rather than resorting to culinary Stalinism by resorting to a recipe, I stopped at three of my favorite grocery stores in Melaque and San Patricio to see if there was anything fresh on offer that might work.

I scored at my first stop. Alex at Hawaii had a fresh carton of snow peas. Snow peas are not rare here, but, within a day, our tropical heat will drain them of their snap. But these were almost as fresh as if they had just been picked. And their sweet taste would balance the kumquats -- similar to broccolini.

A couple of shallots. Some gingerroot. A bok choy. A serrano and a habanero. Garlic. An oddly-shaped red bell pepper. I was ready to decide on a cooking method.

I had thought of a soup, but that was not really what I was after. Or braised pork cooked in the Instant Pot with the vegetables. One look at the prepared vegetables led me in one direction -- a quick stir fry. And that is what I did.

I browned the pork in sesame seed oil with a sprinkling of seeds -- black mustard, cumin, and anise. I then added each of the vegetables individually layering them into a rather simple dish with plenty of flavors.

Looking at that list, I would have been surprised twelve years ago if anyone had told me they were using black mustard seed, bok choy, snow peas, or even shallots in their daily cooking. And that the ingredients had been purchased locally.

The best thing, though, is that when I cannot find any of those ingredients, there are plenty of alternatives for cooks who have liberated themselves from the tyranny of recipes.

As a reward for his generosity in providing the kumquats for the dish, I am taking a bowl to Gary tonight. You will have to ask him for a review.