The Discovery Cinco De Mayo Challenge

Did you know that, as well as the passengers, made famous by a certain film, the Titanic was also carrying 20,000 jars of mayonnaise?  After her initial stop in New York, the liner was scheduled to carry on down the east coast of the US, and deliver the condiments to Vera Cruz in Mexico.  Now, as we all know, the Titanic never made it across the Atlantic, and sank, taking its human and egg-based passengers down to the bottom of the ocean.  The people of Mexico were crazy for mayonnaise, and were distraught at the loss of so many jars.  As a result, they declared a day of national mourning for their favourite foodstuff, which is still observed to this day.

The day of mourning happens on the 5th of May each year, and is, of course, known as Sinko De Mayo.

OK.  OK.  I'm sorry.  I can't resist a bad joke.  Not really anything to do with the Titanic, or mayonnaise.  Cinco de Mayo is a day celebrated in the US and Mexico, celebrating Mexican pride &
culture, and commemorating the battles of the early days of the American Civil War.

It's also got a touch of extra meaning for me, because our wedding anniversary was on 23rd April, and we spent the fortnight after our wedding in Mexico on our honeymoon, so it's a nice way for us to remember that as well.

Well, to celebrate Cinco De Mayo, the kind people at Discovery Foods sent me a little treat, and a challenge.  I received a bag full of inspiring ingredients, and they challenged me to my very own Cinco De Mayo celebration.  Well, I couldn't say no to that, could I?

Inside the bag I found a Fajita kit, Green Jalapeno Relish, Garlic & Herb Soured Cream, Salsa and Fajita seasoning.  I love Mexican food, but not too spicy, so I was really glad to find these were at the milder end of spicy (aside from the Jalapeno relish, but even that's good fun in small doses!)

I grabbed some chicken (thigh fillets, my latest discovery, Cheaper than breast fillets, tastier, but no bones to mess about with), onions & peppers & set to making fajitas.  Then I figured that wasn't really enough, and added some tinned tomatoes to some of my chicken & veg, rolled them up, put them in my beloved mini Le Creuset dishes sprinkled with cheese & bunged them in the oven for enchiladas. Perfect for a mini Mexican fiesta.

I even tried my hand (badly) at a bit of Mexican paper cutting.  Please don't laugh at me, I'm not an artistic kind of person.  At least I tried.  I remember seeing amazing cut paper decorations in the restaurant on our honeymoon, but I wouldn't know where to start making anything more complicated than the pattern below.  I felt like I was back in juniors doing this, mind you (and I messed up my first attempt by cutting through the wrong edges so it all fell apart. You won't tell, will you? It'll be our little secret!)

Well anyway. Rather than bad jokes, honeymoon memories & my complete lack of papercrafting talent, I'm sure you're more interested in the amazing Mexican feast I put together for Daddy & me.  Here, get your eyes, and tastebuds around this!  Enchiladas on the left, fajitas on the right.  Margaritas hidden until Squeaky went to bed!

We actually had more than enough fajita spiced chicken left, even after making the enchiladas as well.  So much so that I put it in a tupperware in the fridge, heated it up (thoroughly) the next day & served it up with chips & some more of the sour cream, salsa & jalapeno relish as dips.  Some meals are just too good to only eat once!

Squeaky decided to join in out fiesta feast with that traditional Mexican delicacy tostadas con espagueti.  Or spaghetti on toast to you, fussy child that she is.  She was very interested in the idea of having pancakes for tea, but a bit scared of the contents, even when I explained them to her.  We're getting there, slowly.

Discovery foods are stocked by most major supermarkets, though the full range may not be available in all stores.  They are also available to buy direct from Discovery through their website discoveryfoodsdirect.com.

Disclosure: I was provided with the above ingredients to create my Mexican feast free of charge for the purposes of this review. I was not told what to write, and all opinions are my own. Links are provided for convenience, I am not a member of any affiliate scheme & will not receive reward for their use.