Slow Food and the Joy of Family

“Imagine wanting to take a whole afternoon to leisurely prepare supper–without a food processor, microwave oven, or cookbook. To live, after all, is to experience things, and every time we mince an onion, lower the flame under a simmering pot, shape the idea and substance of a meal, we actually gain rather than lose lived time. Such minutes are not only full and rich in themselves, but they brush a lasting patina of lived experience onto our memory” John Thorne

 Now don't get me wrong... I enjoy the handiness of a 30 minute meal on a busy weekday just like any other housewife.  But when I do have the time I am most content hovering over my giant cazuela slowly stirring a batch of jam.  Since we have had a bit more time on our hands lately waiting for the Food Truck to get up and running and really needing to work out some frustrations from a months worth of mechanical issues I decided to make some Achiote Paste... FROM SCRATCH.  Now this may sound silly as you can buy giant packages of the paste for a few pesos.  But I have made the paste from scratch before and the difference is vast... making it well worth the effort!

What`s it like Living in Mexico? - Introduction

If you have been following the blog for a while you will have noticed that I like to run a few different series.  There is the "Tastes Like...", and I also like to share about the various Holidays and Festivities, as well as host guest posts from Expats experiences in Mexico.  Now I am getting ready to introduce a new series, similar to the "Tastes Like..." where I add to it periodically.  For the most part I like to share with you what we are doing, what we are cooking, some of my silly experiments in the kitchen...  But the main goal of this blog is to share with you the REAL MEXICO.  The kind of things that you typically only discover by living here.

In this new section I want to share with you various products that you can find in Mexico, where to find them, how to use them...  This is less about food and more about the culture of the day to day.  You can expect to read about Beauty Products, Laundry, Tips on Shopping, Driving in Mexico...  The kind of things you would talk about with your girlfriends.  So pull up a kitchen chair, while I fold the kitchen towels, and lets talk about the daily life in Mexico.

And please remember, just like all good gossip this is solely my opinion about personal experiences!  I will do my best to provide the necessary information for you to be able to formulate your own opinions as well.

Dia de los Reyes / Three Kings Day

Rosca de Reyes /Round Bread for the Day of the Kings

This crown-shaped pastry is served on January 6, the Day of the Kings, or Twelfth Night.  A small doll representing the baby Jesus is randomly inserted when the bread is almost finished baking.  whoever gets the slice with the doll must then hold a party on February 2, the Feast of Candelaria where tamales are traditionally served.

New Years Eves Superstitions and Traditions in Mexico

Wither you believe in this stuff or not it certainly makes for a fun New Years Eve.  It makes for the busiest minute of my life and is much more entertaining than watching a ball drop and kissing a stranger.  There are MANY different things that you can do to bring good luck in the coming year and the superstitions vary around the World and from family to family.  These are some of the fun things that we do in our household come New Years Eve. 

Mexican Christmas Traditions

Cheesy family pictures in front of the Christmas tree are a must!

We were so excited to be closing up the shop for the week to head to Mexico City to spend the holidays with our family there.  One of our regular customers commented "I want to spend the holidays with YOUR family because I want to see what you DO."  It hadn't really occurred to me that Mexican traditions were so different.

Los Locos Parade in San Miguel de Allende

Today is the Los Locos Parade in honor of San Antonio.  A large portion of the town is shut down for most of the day while the parade meanders through the main streets of downtown and back to the San Antonio church.  This year there is said to be more than 52 floats with the groups of people that dance behind them.  It is loud and colorful, and so intense! 

Day of the Dead - Guest Post

Last night we took down the altar, marking the end of Dia de los Muertos.  My first Dia de los Muertos has been a wonderful one. I feel so much more connected to the people that we honored.  I find that even tonight I am missing them again, as if they just left us yesterday... It is so difficult to wrap up in words all the sights, sounds, feelings....  there is just so much that goes into and comes from these festivities.  One of our guests at the Cafe in the past month Fred and Diane are from Sonoma County, our wine country neighbors, shared with us their thoughts and feelings after their first Dia de los Muertos in San Miguel.  Fred is an incredible writer and has agreed to let me share with you his words.  One day I hope to write as well as he does ;)

Thank you Fred for sharing with us.

Day of the Dead - Artwork Around Town

There were so many instillation's of art work in honor of Dia de los Muertos around town that it took two newspapers just to map it all out- and even then they did not cover everything!  One of the major art instillation's this weekend were these gigantic skulls roughly 3.5 feet tall that was given to various artists and galleries around town.  They decorated the sculls and they are on display all over town.  At the end of the week the skulls will be auctioned off.  I was only able to see a few of the sculls so far but I will do my best to get out there this week and try to find the rest of them.  

Day of the Dead - Altars, Catrinas and Mojigangas in the Jardin

Downtown this weekend was a sight to see!  So much to see and do!  The Earth Harp was strung from the front of the Paroquia (the main Cathedral in town) to the front of the Jardin (the Central Park Plaza).  It was incredible.  I am still looking for a good video on youtube of it to share with you.  The one I found does not do justice to such an incredible instrument.  But I encourage you to Google it!  There are lots of pictures and videos in other towns shot during the day, so it is easier to see.