Hijo, I want to tell you a story. It's been part of the lore of our family. It's about a molcajete. This is a story I would have told you, along with many others about our family but, child, we simply ran out of time. … [Read more...]
Food is Bond
April 2, 2011 By 9 Comments
Food binds us to each other on an intimate level. This is undeniable. So-called “comfort foods” remind us of our childhoods when we felt safe, perhaps enveloped in a grandparent’s affection. Sometimes the dishes we prepare remind us of loved ones we’ve lost, their once palpable enthusiasm for a homemade meal now relegated to a bittersweet memory. When we spend the day kneading dough together or drawing a new family member closer by sharing an old family recipe. When we puzzle over a recipe and wonder how the art of cooking came so easily to those who came before us. Well, these are the ways in which we deepen our relationships to one another and uphold our traditions. Food lies at the heart of it all, as something we need for both physical and spiritual survival. Case in point. I’ve spent the entire day making empanadas. The recipe is simple but the … [Read more...]
Abuelita’s Alchemy
March 9, 2011 By 12 Comments
I spent some time last week in Laredo, Texas. My 90-year-old grandmother still lives there. When I arrived at her door and sat with her a while, she reminded me that I don’t visit often enough. Not by chiding me or layering our conversation with honey-dipped guilt. No. She simply did not recognize me. This was a first. I am her eldest grandchild and we’ve always been close, even into my adulthood when the geographical distance between us grew to a span of almost 2,000 miles. The more time I spent with her last week, the easier it was for her to recall who I was. Though, betrayed by her short term memory, she was repeatedly surprised to see the grown-up version of the child she so fondly remembers. Dementia has robbed my grandmother of the ability to remember whether she ate breakfast on a given day or that she spent the afternoon playing bingo with new … [Read more...]
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