During the hot days of August—especially during these Covid-19 times—a cooling summer drink may shorten these long days, especially when accompanied by a morsel as tasty as Chile Peanuts, either Red or Green.  This recipe has been in my file for a long time, that is, the recipe for Red Chile Peanuts.  As I remade it, I thought “Why not Green?” and suggested, in my first draft, that my EnJoy readers experiment with this and let me know the results.  Daughter Lisa, visiting with me, suggested I experiment with Green, and so I did.  Here is my result along with the tried-and-true Red version.
Food Styling and Photography by Lisa M. Joy

We'd love to hear from locals.   Send your favorite family recipe to [email protected].  If you have a picture of the dish so much the better.

Our very American Fourth of July culinary celebration can be enhanced by reaching across our Southern border to our Mexican neighbors and borrowing one of their well-known street foods, Eliote, but adapting it to please several people.  After all, we corn-consuming Americans owe Mexico thanks for its agricultural gift of maize.  The word ‘Eliote’ derives from ‘Elote,’ a Nahuatl word meaning ‘corn on the cob’ or ‘tender cob.’
 
Having grown up in Chicago with its large Mexican population, I learned to appreciate Mexican food at an early age.  The first Mexican food I ate as a child was a tamale sold by a street vendor in our neighborhood.  This inauthentic treat, wrapped in paper rather than in a corn husk, acquainted me with masa and a spicy filling and gave me a life-long taste for Mexican food.  I did not know about Eliote until much later in life when I was strolling along one of Chicago’s beautiful Lake Michigan beachfronts and getting hungry.  I bought a cob of Eliote and fell in love with it and am still smitten by it.
 
You might not find an Elitero from whom you can buy a single cob on the street, but you can easily grill this dish in a quantity to feed your family and/or friends.
 
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