Mely Martinez Books In Order

Publication Order of Cookbooks

Due to her passion for Mexican gastronomy, Mely Martinez writes traditional recipes familiar to most Mexicans.
Born and raised in Tampico, Mely began helping in the kitchen at a tender age since she was the eldest daughter. She spent her summers at her grandmother’s home, where grinding corn to make masa was part of the daily chores.

When she moved to the America and saw how the idea of food is not taken seriously there, she chose to begin a blog. In the blog, she collects excellent recipes for the sake of her teenage son so that he prepare the dishes for his own family one day.

She started her Blog, The Mexican Home Kitchen, to share some of the recipes and memories of her home.

The blog has been a place of comfort and familiarity for most Mexicans abroad over the years.
She has also written The Mexican Home Kitchen book, where she has a collection of recipes for Mexican food lovers to try.
People of different cultures and enthusiasts of Mexican food can learn a lot about the traditional recipes and their history.
The author provides a procedure for preparing dishes so that the readers can be able to prepare a Mexican meal at their own home.

The Mexican Home Kitchen
Mely Martinez describes the book as a traditional home recipe used in Mexico. The first pages are a warm and engaging introduction of herself, her life and how she loves preparing food as she explains how she wrote the book from her experiments of the recipes she got from friends and neighbors.
Her family’s cooking activities and her blog publication also helped her come up with the book. She introduces the reader to the Mexican pantry, appliances and tools as she vividly describes how to roast vegetables and produce corn and flour tortillas.

The Mexican pantry chapter covers things like chayotes – a member of the gourd family, masa harina flour, Nopales- different types of peppers, dairy products commonly used in Mexico and herbs such as epazote. If you don’t get those ingredients, you can use jalapeño peppers available in supermarkets to make dishes.
In the tools and appliance section, there are alternatives given for the rare options. The author states that if you get used to making Mexican dishes, it might be wise to have some traditional kitchen equipment. The contents in the book are in groups of main dishes, soup, veggie, desserts and drinks, salsas and sides.

For the reader to have an easy time, Mely Martinez has listed each dish in the contents section both in English and Mexican. Most of the recipes in the book are accompanied by photos and step-by-step pictures. They have a part with advice, alternatives, optional ingredients, substitutions, re-heating, timesavers, storage information and other helpful information.

Each photo is visible and well-styled with traditional Mexican crockery, glassware, cookware and fabrics. Additionally, each recipe title is written in English and Mexican with a short description, alternatives and additions. It’s advisable to read the background section first in each recipe before reading the recipe itself to help you know to buy or use from the pantry as you make the dish.

The measurements and weights are also provided both in American and European notations. The book also covers major ingredients like chicken and minor ones like carrots, lime wedges, cumin and lettuce. The unique thing is that it’s hard to get the dishes in a restaurant or Mexican cookbook.

If you have some time to try new recipes and dishes, this book will be helpful to you. There are also some a bit special drinks which include rice-milk based Horchata and chocolate-based Champurrado. You’ll also find good choices of hearty soups and evening meals, either quick or slow-cooked. Chicken Tostadas is an excellent choice on weeknights when there is not much time to cook.

Mely Martinez offers the reader a glimpse into her kitchen to explore and find out more amazing recipes. Most of the recipes are doable in an average home kitchen, so one should not be afraid to try some. While some of them need time and attention, others need very little time to get done.

The Mexican Home Kitchen is a cozy and exciting cookbook good for anyone with a cooking passion. Be sure to get some fantastic recipes to try during your free time in this beautifully crafted book by Mely Martinez.