Meal in Dish From Puerto Vallarta : Emissary: Bea Bender’s arrival in the resort community benefited Mexican as well as American menus.

About 20 years ago, an American woman named Bea Bender moved to Puerto Vallarta and began to explore the local cuisine. As years passed, Bender became an expert in preparing traditional Mexican food and also in adapting the available ingredients to American favorites. The result was a weekly cookery column, “Out of Bea’s Kitchen . . . With Love,” that appeared in the English language newspaper, Vallarta Today, starting in November, 1982.

Bender’s recipes ranged from carne asada , nopales salad and guacamole to American-style tomato spice cake with cream cheese frosting. In between were such cross-cultural dishes as shark bisque, mango bread and tacos filled with chicken salad.

When Bender arrived in Vallarta, meals were based largely on seafood and on dishes that did not require refrigeration. Local meats were tough, and convenience foods were unknown. Not until the early 1980s was whipping cream available.

“Everything was made from scratch, like cakes, mayonnaise, yogurt, biscuits, or brought by northern friends and guests from a long-running want list of stateside goodies,” she said.

Born in New York City, Bender and her husband, Bernie, lived for many years in Van Nuys before moving to Mexico. In Puerto Vallarta, their son, Michael, opened the town’s first modern, air-conditioned meat market with refrigeration. This was the Super Carniceria “Chico’s,” a place where expatriates could get American cuts of beef, and turkeys for Thanksgiving. Bernie Bender, a retired dentist, helped out in the market, and Bea provided recipes for the customers and cooked batches of deli-style foods.

“My culinary reputation grew rapidly as I found myself preparing kilos of granola, sauerkraut, corned beef, mango chutney, sour dill pickles and yogurt to service the meat market,” she said.

The limited refrigeration, water and electric power shortages of early-day Vallarta led to the popularity there of a type of dish called tinga , which Bender defined as “a meal-in-a-dish stew.”

The following menu centers around Bender’s festive chicken tinga , Pollo de la Patria. Carrots, chayote, green beans and green pepper go into the pot along with the chicken. Almonds, raisins and capers add to the rich flavor, and the seasonings include orange juice, saffron, cinnamon and cloves. Baked Cumin Rice, a recipe from Bender’s column, goes with the chicken.

An appetizer plate, a chilled soup and a chutney show off the fruits and vegetables that are so well-liked in Mexico. The appetizer plate combines orange and cucumber slices, pickled onions and marinated poblano chiles. The soup contains cantaloupe and grapes, and the chutney is made with mangoes.

For dessert, Bender suggested a walnut torte drenched with a combination of melted butter and honey.

SOPA DE MELON

3 cups peeled, diced cantaloupe

1 cup diced cooked potato

1 3/4 cups half and half

2 cups orange juice

1/2 cup white wine or 1/4 cup dry Sherry

1 cup seedless green grapes, halved

Salt

Lemon or lime slices

Combine cantaloupe, potato and half and half in blender and blend to smooth puree. Stir in wine. Add orange juice, grapes and season to taste with salt. Chill. Serve garnished with lemon slices. Makes 8 servings.

POLLO DE LA PATRIA

(Chicken-Vegetable Stew)

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 frying chickens, cut into serving pieces

1/4 cup chicken fat or oil

1 onion, chopped

1 green pepper, sliced

2 cups sliced carrots, parboiled

2 cups chayote sticks, parboiled

2 cups fresh green beans, cut up and parboiled

1/2 cup raisins

2 tablespoons drained capers

2 tablespoons slivered almonds

1 cup strained orange juice

1 cup chicken broth

2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground saffron

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/3 cup water

1/2 cup dry white wine

2 tablespoons whole almonds

1 orange, sliced

Mix salt, pepper, cinnamon, cloves and garlic powder. Dust chicken pieces with seasoning mixture. Heat chicken fat in skillet. Add chicken pieces and saute until golden. Remove and set aside.

In drippings, saute onion, green pepper and slivered almonds.

Combine chicken pieces, sauteed onion mixture, carrots, chayote and green beans in heavy 4-quart casserole. Add raisins, capers, slivered almonds, orange juice, chicken broth, sugar and saffron. Cover and bake at 350 degrees 1 hour, or until chicken is done.

Just before serving, blend cornstarch with water and white wine and mix in saucepan with 2 cups liquid from chicken. Bring to boil and simmer until thickened. Add mixture to casserole and check for seasonings. Serve garnished with almonds and orange slices. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

BAKED CUMIN RICE WITH PEAS

1 cup rice

2 1/2 cups boiling water

1 chicken bouillon cube

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon margarine

Salt

1 (8 1/2-ounce can) green peas, drained

Combine rice, water, bouillon cube, cumin and margarine in 1 1/2-quart casserole. Season to taste with salt. Cover and bake at 350 degrees 35 to 45 minutes or until water is absorbed. Stir in peas. Makes 6 servings.

BEA’S APPETIZER PLATE

Orange slices

Cucumber slices

Marinated Poblano Chiles

Pickled Onions

Arrange in shallow serving dish orange slices, cucumber slices, marinated chiles and onions. Serve at room temperature.

MARINATED POBLANO CHILES

6 Poblano chiles, roasted, peeled and seeded

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup white vinegar

1/2 cup dry white wine

10 cloves garlic, diced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon oregano leaves

1 tablespoon basil leaves

Cut chiles into 1/2-inch strips.

In bowl, combine chiles, oil, vinegar, wine, garlic, salt, oregano and basil. Chill several hours. Makes about 1 quart.

Note: Seeded and trimmed green peppers can be substituted for chiles.

PICKLED ONIONS

2 large white onions, thinly sliced

Boiling water

1 cup white vinegar

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Cover onions with boiling water. Let stand 10 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup liquid. Cool onions.

Add reserved liquid, vinegar, cilantro, garlic, salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly. Refrigerate overnight before serving. Makes 1 quart.

MANGO CHUTNEY

4 cups sugar

1 cup vinegar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

4 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon curry powder

4 large ripe, firm mangoes (6 cups, cubed)

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped green pepper

1 cup raisins, optional

1/3 cup crystallized ginger

Combine sugar, vinegar, salt, garlic powder, ground ginger, cayenne, turmeric and curry powder in deep pot. Heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Add mangoes, onion, green pepper and raisins and simmer, stirring constantly, 1 1/2 hours or until fruit is tender and liquid is thickened. Add crystallized ginger. Pour into hot sterilized jars and seal. Makes about 1 quart.

Note: If desired, reduce raisins to 1/2 cup and add with crystallized ginger.

PASTEL DE NUEZ DE NOGAL

(Walnut Torte)

5 eggs, separated

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2/3 cup sugar

2/3 cup flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2/3 cup finely ground walnuts

Dash salt

1/2 cup honey

2 tablespoons butter

Walnut pieces

Lightly butter and flour 9-inch round cake pan. Beat egg yolks with butter and vanilla. Add sugar and beat until thick and creamy. Combine flour and baking powder. Stir flour mixture and nuts into egg mixture. Beat egg whites with salt until stiff. Fold small amount of egg whites into batter to lighten it, then fold in remaining egg whites. Turn into prepared pan.

Bake at 350 degrees 30 minutes. Cool cake in pan on rack 5 minutes, then turn out onto deep cake plate. Poke holes in top. Combine butter and honey in saucepan and bring to boil. Pour over cake and allow to drip over sides. Garnish with walnut pieces. Serve warm or cooled. Makes 1 (9-inch) cake.