Calabacitas

I'm a little embarrassed to admit how late in life I came to know calabacitas—you know, because I'm from Tucson and am well-versed in northern Mexican food and am myself a self-respecting half-Mexican—but I don't remember ever eating them until after I had already started going to college.

There are a couple of things I could blame this tragedy on, but I'm just going to go ahead and blame one: my mom. She never made them! And then, all of a sudden, circa 2000, she started, and my eyes were opened to all the calabacitas in the world. Like the ones on my parents' dinner table. Or the calabacitas burrito at Micha's, enchildada style—if you go eat it on a Friday night when there's a deafening mariachi band you'll wonder why you ever left this fine city.

Since I doubt my mom wants to take all the blame for this—assuming she cares that I'm blaming her, which is unlikely—I'll also admit that I went through a period of my youth where I was under the impression that zucchini were bad. I was wrong.

You may notice that I can't cook anything without tequila these days. This is part of my campaign to accept my adulthood by identifying behavior that can be classified as "grown up." Example: I go to class even if I don't always like it because I'm a grown up. I wear a bicycle helmet even though it messes up my hair because I'm a grown up. Here: I cook with booze instead of drinking it because I'm a grown up. I learned this trick from my friends Natasha and Steve (the tequila, not the growing up), and it does add a subtle deliciousness to the vegetables.

Calabacitas

1 onion, chopped
4-6 medium zucchini, sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 ears corn, with kernels taken off the cob
2 anaheim or poblano chiles, roasted and sliced into strips
cumin, coriander, salt to taste
2 tbsp tequila (optional...but you know what the right choice is)
as much shredded cheese as you want

This recipe takes a little while because onions and zucchini aren't the quickest-cooking vegetables and, if you take the time to make them nice and brown, the end result will be fantastically gooey—in a good way.

First, in a large skillet over medium-high heat with a little bit of oil, cook the onion. Stir occasionally and cook until it's on the way to getting brown, about 10 minutes.

Then add zucchini and garlic. Covering the pan at this point is optional, but it'll go a lot faster. Use aluminum foil if you don't have a cover big enough. Stir occasionally, so nothing gets burnt to the bottom.

When the zucchini and onions are nice and brown, add corn and chiles. Also add the cumin, coriander, and salt. I use about 1 tsp coriander, 3/4 tsp cumin, and 1 tsp salt—but I prefer coriander to cumin and maybe you're not like me. (?)

Add the tequila and take the cover off for a bit, to let it cook off. Sprinkle cheese on top, re-cover, don't stir!, turn off heat, and let sit a few minutes until the cheese melts. ¡Buen provecho!