365-1 Buñuelos!!

Buñuelos are a crispy, sweet, cinnamony treat that is served during Christmas and New Years in Mexico. Whenever we would go visit relatives in Mexico during Christmas time - we were served mountains of these along with tamales, hot punch, chocolate or coffee. This year i found an easier way to make the Buñuelos and thought i'd give it a try. Instead of mixing a dough and rolling out in nice perfect rounds (not easy to do), you can use a ready-made flour tortilla and whip these up in no time!

You'll need a package of ready-made flour tortillas, oil for frying (about 1/4 cup) and some cinnamon and sugar for sprinkling on top.

Add the oil to a fry pan and heat until very hot. Then gently slip in one tortilla. You can also cut the tortilla in strips and fry several strips at a time. These work great to serve with ice cream. This go around i made the nice big round ones. You'll need to flip the tortilla to get it browned on both sides. This is easiest with a pair of tongs. These cook really fast so you'll need to keep an eye on them so they don't burn.

Once browned on both sides, set on a paper towel to drain and while still hot sprinkle some sugar and cinnamon evenly over the top of the Buñuelo. Some stores will sell the cinnamon and sugar in one container already mixed. This can be found in the spice section of the store. Serve while still warm. Enjoy!

True Story (?) Tuesday

One of my many hobbies is genealogy and I’ve done pretty well on my mom’s side of the family thanks to my mom’s cousin. He is a writer and has written a couple of books about the history of the teeny, tiny town where my parents are from in Zacatecas, Mexico. In the books he includes details of some of the founding members of the town. Through these books I was able to fill in some of the blanks on mom’s side. My father’s side is a different story. The buck stops with my paternal grandfather and pretty much everyone is now deceased (including my father) that could help fill in some details.

A couple of years ago I was asking my Tio (Tio means uncle and he was one of the few remaining descendants on my father’s maternal side at that time), of the history of my dad’s family.  I first wrote of my Tio Nacho when he passed away a few months back. That whole side of the family can remember anything and everything. Unfortunately I did not inherent that gene. My sister did though, so unfair. Anyway when I asked him if he knew when the family might have come over from Spain he began to tell me about my great, great (I’m not sure how many greats back) grandfather who came over with his brother. They came upon this area of Mexico and decided they liked it. Both were single and still sowing their wild oats. One of them had what he thought was a great idea.

Now this is where you will see a typical macho-type behavior – he thought it would be ‘fun’ to see who could populate the town the most. Now since they of course both had the same last name (Martin del Campo – the whole thing is the last name), how would they distinguish between all these children and future descendants? Easy -  one of them would shorten the last name to Martinez. So all the descendants of Martinez would be from the line of one brother and all the descendants of Martin del Campo would be the line of the other brother.

How they kept track I don’t know. And horror of horrors did they go around impregnating every girl they came across? I surely hope not. Perhaps they just married and convinced their wives to have as many children as possible.  And then convinced their sons to do the same? It boggles the mind.

This totally makes no sense but what can you expect from a macho man? Tio Nacho could have totally been pulling my leg. However……It would kind of explain why there are so many families with these last names in that area.And the line has blurred on whether one is from the same line of family or not. So crazy.

As far as tracing my family history I think I’m doomed to failure.

No joke, that really happened!

I was reading Writing without period's blog and she had a post entitled ‘no sh*t that really happened!’ Well I have a few of those stories too, so here goes:

A long time ago in a tiny town in Mexico, my father decided he was deeply in love with my mother, could no longer live without her and wanted to marry. The custom back then (and still today) is the boyfriend must ask his girlfriends parents (really the father, because the woman has no say in anything over there, especially back then) for her hand in marriage. He would go with his parents or perhaps god parents if the parents are deceased or for some reason cannot go with him.

In this case my grandfather (my dad’s father) had passed away many years ago and for some reason my grandmother would not or could not go with him to ask for my mom’s hand. He must not have had any godparents in town either because he asked the village priest if he would go representing his parents. The priest agreed and off they went.

Well my maternal grandfather was a very gruff and serious man and he did not believe in his daughter’s going to school or marrying just anybody – and in this case I guess – most especially not marrying someone who did not have a house to offer his daughter, he wasn’t rich or anything. But my dad loved my mom sincerely and that is what he offered. Well it ticked my grandpa off, cause when my dad and the priest came knocking on his door – priest or no priest - Grandpa pulled out his shotgun and ran them both off! I guess he wasn’t worried about his soul going to hell for running off the priest. Many years later, grandpa pulled his shotgun out again when he ran to fetch his two youngest children who ran away from home for the big city – Mexico City, D.F. But that is another story.

Well that did not deter my mom and dad and since they couldn’t do things according to protocol, they eventually eloped and got married on a dark and stormy night [that’s another story too! I tell you we have a bunch of them in my family. I should probably write a book….]. Grandpa accepted the marriage after that and we visited many times. My parents remained married for almost 25 years until my dad’s untimely death in his early 40s. He was a great husband and wonderful father.

So what’s your ‘no joke that really happened’ story?

Cascarones!

All year long i've been gathering egg shells in preparation for making Cascarones for Easter Sunday. Cascarones are a Mexican tradtion and much more fun than just searching for and then eating boiled eggs. To make Cascarones you use hollowed out egg shells, Easter egg decorations, confetti and tisue paper. This process can be as easy or as complicated as you would like to make it. Around this time you can also find some already made for purchase in some Mexican super markets or bazaars. But what is the fun in that? If you keep it simple it can be a great project to do with the kids. My family has some great memories of making as well as breaking these.

Some people hollow out their egg shells by poking holes on either end of the egg (such as with a straight pin) and then blowing through one end so the raw egg comes out on the other. I just carefully crack around one end to make just a big enough hole for the egg to come out, about a half inch or so, then thoroughly rinse the inside of the egg and let dry. I do this basically every time i'm cooking something that involves eggs which is why it takes me all year to gather. As you can imagine sometimes my egg doesn't crack like i want it to so i can't save it for this project. But i end up getting quite a good amount. I save them in empty egg shell cartons until time to do final preparations for Easter Sunday.

Today i pulled out my stash ( I had about 4 1/2 dz this year). After last Easter i went to all the sales and bought some egg dye. Since i have all nieces (i have 2 girls and 1 son - all over 18), i'm using the Disney Princess egg dye set today, following the directions on the package for dying regular boiled eggs. If you don't want the dye to get under your finger nails you may want to use dish gloves or other thin plastic glove to handle the dyeing process.

i dyed all my eggs and set them out to dry on newspaper. Depending on the time and how creative you want to get with your eggs, you can decorate any way you like. Some people really go all out and do beautiful designs with strips of colored tape (such as masking tape), etc. Have fun with it!

Once dry i filled about 3/4 full of confetti. Some people use flour or glitter but that just makes a huge mess in your hair and when you have girls it can be murder to get it out, confetti is hard enough.

Once all my eggs had the confetti i cut out small circles of tissue paper (any color will do) big enough to glue around the hole to keep my confetti in. Done!

My sisters and mom also do this so come Easter Sunday we have lots of eggs to hide and break on each others heads. Adults get in on the fun too. It's said that if someone breaks one on your head you will have good luck. Don't know about that but depending on who broke it on your head you may have a headache. We've taught the kids to gently break it on each other's heads and especially mommy's. The older kids can get carried away with it sometimes and we remind them to be gentle.
We break the cascarones outside of course and if you also hide boiled easter eggs you'll want to let everyonje know to check before cracking on someone's head if its a boiled egg or a true Cascarone. Otherwise - ewwww. Once the eggs are broken its all organic so no damage to the environment since its just egg shells and paper (again this is another reason i don't like to use flour or glitter for my 'fillings').

Family Traits

Last night I learned my great Tío* Nacho passed on. He was the last of my grandmother’s family (my dad’s mama). He was also the last of my father’s family period. My father as well as his parents, his brothers, and sisters and all of his aunts and uncles are gone. We, the children are the oldest of this side of the family. My Tio was also the last of that generation (the greats) on both sides of my mother’s and father’s family. Tio was quite a character - they all were really. He had a great memory and was a great story teller (as was my grandmother and their other brother). I however did not inherent these traits, my younger sister did though and she remembers things and will tell stories from our childhood to our kids. All the while I’m thinking, really?! Are you sure it happened that way?

My tio Nacho (Nacho is the nickname for Ignacio) loved, LOVED to read and I’m told (by my sister who remembers everything) that he even had a large collection of books – a library in his home. This is a very RARE thing in the boonies of Mexico. I had never seen such a thing in this town where our parents are from, but it would explain my love of reading and why I hoard books. I can’t bear to get rid of any and although I no longer have the time I used to for reading, I will still buy a book I fancy for the day I do have the time to read it – like when I retire. I have a pretty good library too.

Tio Nacho also didn’t like people touching his things and I’m told when he would read if he had to go do something else and laid his book down, no one was to touch it. Just leave it where he left it (the room with the library of books) so that when he came back he could pick up his reading where he left off. I can be that way too. My husband’s family learned this on my first visit to their home. They live out in the boonies of Mexico too. We had gone to the city and I had bought a couple of magazines to pass the time. When we got back to the house, my husband’s younger brothers and sisters helped us unload our packages from the car. I went to our bedroom and looked for the magazines so I could relax before dinner. Not a one to be found, they had all taken them for themselves. Let’s say I wasn’t a happy camper.

I’m not sure of his age but he had to have been between 80-90 years old. He did not suffer and knew exactly when it was his time to go – he had been feeling poorly, not uncommon for his age. Tío had his wife call his children together, asked for a shot of tequila, said goodbye to everyone and then quietly passed away.

It was a no-nonsense ending for a no-nonsense man. Descanse en paz Tío.

*Tio is the Spanish word for uncle.

Girl Scouts & cookie booth sales!

It’s Girl Scout cookie time! As I no longer have any Girl Scouts in my family, I have to rely on co-workers or booth sales to get my fix of thin mints, trefoils, samoas, etc. Girl Scout cookies now even come in flavors like Dulce de Leche.
 I was a Girl Scout back in the day and I cherish the memories from those years – Father/Daughter Banquets, Camping (in large army-type, tents, small cabins, large communal cabins, etc.), bicycle field trips and other activities that without this organization I would never, NEVER have experienced. As strict as my parents were I’m surprised they even let me join a troop, but they did and I am forever grateful.

My two daughters were girl scouts and they stayed with it through high school. Much longer than I ever did (I was a sixth grade dropout as far as GS). Through GS they went to sleep away camp where they got to stay in a tree-house cabin (yes just as it sounds a cabin in a TREE!) and learned to ride horses, play with a college soccer team and rope a lamb or a goat or something (can’t remember, but I do remember how excited my daughter was when she told me she did it). They also traveled to World Girl Scout Centers and participated in community service activities with Girl Scouts from and in other countries. The oldest went to Mexico and the youngest went to England and camped out in the ‘backyard’ of a castle! The friends they made and the memories are ones they'll cherish forever -

It was sad not see more diversity in the Girl Scout troops, at least in our neighborhood, especially the lack of Latinas. So many of the parents think like mine did and are distrusting of people and because of their lack of understanding what the group does, fearful to let their girls join. They don’t understand how much their daughters can learn and how it can even change their lives.

This past weekend while grocery shopping, the girl scouts were in full force selling cookies at their booth. We bought a few boxes to help support the cause. My girls have a soft spot as they remember their days of having to sit all day trying to sell a box while getting the many excuses – I have no money, I’m trying to watch my weight, I’m diabetic, I’m allergic, etc. etc.

Please support the Girls Scouts and buy a box and if you can’t or don’t want to eat them – give them away or take them to the office and share. 

Click here  to find where to buy cookies. Or here for more locations and recipes. Support your local Girl Scout Troops!

Finding my passion

How does one find their passion when one is interested in so many things?! Focusing on just one thing to be “good” at is difficult when there are now so many more options open to women. The options are also now more available as I’ve moved out of my parents home – away from parent rules and restrictions - yet straight into the husband’s rules and restrictions. Once able to find my voice and the courage to express it in that relationship - there were still the restrictions of money and motherhood. When the children were born they were my passion. Through the years as they’ve grown and developed into adults I’ve slowly been able to explore more of what I like to do.
• Read – Books were my best friends during school years. It may sound corny but through books I could explore anything and everything. From the original “Super Nanny” Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, a series of books about a girl named Ginny from a town up north, learning about my Mexican heritage (Aztec Indians, Pancho Villa, Emiliano Zapata, Cesar Chavez, etc.) to the discovery of Rosemary Rogers and her passionate love stories. I LOVE to read! My dream job would be to get paid for reading books. Until about 3 years ago I got to read for a living at my current place of employment. It wasn’t books but it was close enough. I loved my job and then they had to go and do this reorg thing. Now my job is nothing at all of what I did then.
• Sewing – This is another fave hobby that I have done off and on every since learning to sew as a child. From early attempts at making Barbie clothes and pillows, a passable tank dress made in home –ec class during high school to most recently a finished quilt (with more in progress)!
• Scrapbooking – I’ve completed several for my children with still several more to go. Where to find the time (and the space) for this. This one also ties in with my interest in photography, genealogy and recording family history.

• Dancing – I’ve loved dancing since discovering the Mexican cumbias (a long time ago in my youth). My parents would take me to dancing clubs (no respectable girl – back then anyway – would go to a club without her parents – so I was told). Anyway I didn’t care as long as I got to dance – and dance I did. We would get there at 8 p.m. (way to early by today’s standards I know) so we could get a table and then would stay till we shut the place down at 2 a.m.! On my list is to do ballroom dancing.
• Traveling – After traveling every year since birth to my parents birth place in Mexico you would think that I would hate traveling. I guess traveling this much you are going to either learn to love it or hate. I LOVE it! I miss traveling with my dad as he always loved to explore new places (my husband does not) and we visited a different city in Mexico each time we went. Once driving all the way to Mexico City to visit an aunt. I try to squeeze in at least a short road trip every year to some place new. Also finding postcrossing helps me travel to exotic places one postcard at a time!

• Cooking – although many people might not thinks this since I do not get to cook a meal every day, I do love cooking. I once even had my own cake business. When it became too stressful (too many cake orders + 40 hour week job + family duties) I had to choose between cakes and job. Cakes were not yet profitable enough to support and the job was more secure so the cakes had to go.
How to pick the most favorite of them all. It’s a work in progress and i'm a work in progress.

Memories.....

I recently learned that the IHOP a couple of blocks from closed its doors for the last time. We went there often for Sunday brunch. We used to go to Denny’s until they closed it down. Denny’s has fond memories for us.

Growing up my family traveled every summer as most families do to visit grandparents and family. My parents had emigrated from Mexico in 1962 as newlyweds looking for better opportunities. They had both left parents and many siblings behind to embark on a new life together and each year made the pilgrimage back to visit and relate tales of life in the country they now called home. On the last stop before crossing the U.S. and Mexican border we always ate “our last meal” at Denny’s. Back in those days, once you crossed over into Mexico there were no casual restaurants to stop in for a quick bite and there were no fast food chains in Laredo, Texas. It was either stopping at a very fancy restaurant or taking our chances with a roadside taco stand and putting us at risk for Montezuma’s revenge.

We’d eat hearty because our next good meal would not be until we arrived at grandma’s house. All week long we’d have our fill of fresh, authentic Mexican food – quesadillas, enchiladas, chiles rellenos, tamales, rice, beans and lots and lots of tortillas.

Once our week long “vacation” was over we’d begin the long drive home and crossing back over into the states, we would stop at Denny’s again – we couldn’t wait to have a familiar meal of a coke, burger and fries! As children, a week felt like forever and by the end of it we longed for the comforts of home. A hot, juicy burger with melted cheese and the crisp crunch of pickles, lettuce and tomatoes tasted heavenly! It was torture waiting for the ketchup as it slowly poured out of the bottle onto the crisp, slightly greasy french fries – it was almost too much to bear. The meal was finished off with an icy cold coke.

This simplest and satisfying of meals was one we eagerly looked forward to and missed more than anything. Not the television shows, friends or toys. Although we would still have another eight hours of travel, a hamburger meal at Denny’s was all it took to make us feel at home again. It was not only a familiar landmark but a comforting ritual on our journey.

Today my family consists of my husband and three children. We continue to travel to México to visit our families and use the same route. The city of Laredo, Texas has grown extensively and now has many, MANY drive-through and quick stop restaurants. There are also many new casual restaurants on the Southern side of the border. That same Denny’s restaurant is still in Laredo in the same spot. Although there are now many options from which to eat a hamburger meal, it has become a family tradition to stop at Denny’s no matter what time of day it might be to make it our “last meal” and to stop there again first thing on our way back home. It just wouldn’t be the same anywhere else. My kids look forward to this just as much as my sisters and I did those many years ago.

16 de septiembre.....

Although celebretions have been going on all weekend for Mexican Independence Day, today Sept. 15, marks the eve of the start of the Mexican revolution against Spain in 1810. To commemorate the occasion, tonight at midnight Mexico's president, Felipe Calderon, will come out on the balcony of the Palacio de gobierno and address the crowd with the Grito de Independencia - Viva la Independencia, Viva Mexico, Viva la Virgen de Guadalupe! This same traditional celebration takes place simultaneously throughout Mexico and in many cities across the U.S. where there is a large Mexican population. These celebrations are huge with mariachis, bailables, speeches from local dignitaries and of course GREAT food! Upon gaining its independence from Spain, Mexico had a vast territory including a large part of the U.S. - Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, California and others. There is still much debate on how the U.S. acquired the territory from Mexico. But what is done is done and the past cannot be changed, we can only learn from it and try not to repeat its mistakes. It is great that we can now carry out and celebrate the traditions of our ancestors and past generations from Mexico so that we can remember and honor what they went through so we can be where we are today and move forward. Perhaps modifying some of these traditions to fit our lives today and making our own history for the generations to come. Click on http://www.inside-mexico.com/featureindep.htm to learn more. Viva Mexico, Viva America!