Salvador and the Gazpacho

Hands down, the best place in town in the Paleteria Michoacana. If I had another set of hands to put down, I’d say, true dat, hands down for Eva and Salvador, the owners of this fine establishment. Tonight, on our way back from the town plaza, we stopped in for a chat and a paleta. I had the lime; the young lady had the guava. Everything perfectly in season, perfectly formed, no artificial flavors, sweeteners or colorings. Popsicles….just the way god intended them to be. Salvador was sleeping and Eva was minding the store.

Tony Soprano may believe that “remember when is the lowest form of conversation” and, truth to tell, he’s probably right, but I’m not sure that that goes equally for “back in the day” or “used to be” as conversational forms. Suffice to say, back in the day, Salvador gave me one of the nicest culinary gifts I’ve ever received. He mentioned it to me the other day as I was biting into a chili mango paleta, one of his most recent concoctions.

Long years ago, I spent a (second) summer here before beginning graduate school with the rationale firmly in mind that I was actually here working. Namely, reading the suggested summer reading list prior to beginning actual coursework in September. The summer reading list was actually just a single book from each of the 15 or so faculty members who went through the trouble to submit something. Dutifully, I went to Cody’s, Moe’s and Green Apple and found as many as I could, tossed them into a bag with a pair of shorts, a few t shirts and a pair of swim trunks and off I flew. I’d sit in the shade at Gabino’s during the day, eating shrimp ceviche, swimming and reading Freud, the neo Freudians, the post Freudians, Jung, Lacan and others. It was odd to have one’s head filled with these arcane psychological concepts while gazing out at the sea, contemplating the varieties of the color blue.

I was so taken by the summer bounty in the market and having no kitchen or any way to prepare food on my own, I had to rely on the kindness and patience of strangers to prepare a few choice items. One evening, sitting out with Salvador in front of his little paleta stand watching the lightning illuminate the sky, the conversation took a turn to our favorite foods. I mentioned that I was a big fan of the Spanish dish, gazpacho and wondered why, with all the ingredients plentiful and readily at hand, why no one was making any in town. As I mused a bit further, I wondered why no one had ever thought to create a gazpacho flavored paleta…This, I thought, would combine the best of all worlds, the cool icy portability of a popsicle with the healthful qualities of easily half one’s daily requirement of fresh fruits and vegetables. Amiably humoring me, I’m sure, Salvador agreed as I ordered up my 5th paleta of the day. I’ll admit it readily; I was an addict back then. I white knuckled it and quit on my own. I can handle just a few a day now and am not much the worse for wear. I’ve done it before, so I know I can quit anytime I want. I just don’t want to right now. Anyway, on my way out to the beach the next morning, Salvador beckoned me over to his freezer where he proudly displayed his wares…and his new creation, the gazpacho popsicle ! An entire flat of 42 of them, gleaming red in the freezer case. They were delicious and spicy, and as it turned out, not a very popular item at all. So unpopular, in fact, that Salvador had to take them out of the freezer case and put them in the back of the shop, for every time I ordered one, one of the townies would become incensed, practically wanting to punch me for ordering such a thing that has NO BUSINESS BEING IN A PALETA…DO YOU HEAR ME, AMIGO? It got so scary out there, that I had to order with just a nod of my head. I’m sure that Salvador never feared for his life the way I did, but he never did make a second batch, either. Today, I stick to the traditional flavors: guava, lime, cantaloupe and coconut. There isn’t anything better in town.