Field Trip with the Dead!

A Dia de los Muertos Festival!!



GO GIANTS!!

My husband with some "dead" lady

Today we did something really fun and totally different.  November 1st and 2nd is when the Mexican culture celebrates Dia de los Muertos, a celebration of life and death when the spirit of the dearly departed return to Earth for a family fiesta.  The East Palo Alto Community Church was having a festival to celebrate the day so off we went for a field trip!  What fun!  There was lots of food- pupusas (stuffed pockets with meat and melted cheese), tacos, pozole (spicy soup with hominy and lots of toppings), nachos, tamales, cupcakes!! Yum. There were lots of people with their faces painted up as skulls and crafts for the kids to make - sugar skulls that they could decorate and drawing pages.  Mariachi bands and singers, an Aztec dance troupe and folk dancers (we left before them).  It was a great introduction for us to learn about a wonderful tradition.  Here are a few of the customs we learned about:

Ofrendas - While some people visit the graves of loved ones and celebrate there, others build an ofrenda, or altar, in their homes.


Pan de Muertos (middle) and some other sweets

It would have the photo of the one being honored and prayer candles in purple for pain, white for hope and pink for celebration.  There should be pan de muertos (bread of the dead), which is a sweet bread baked in round loaves to symbolize the circle of life and decorated with bone shapes. Sugar skulls, tissue paper decorations called papel picado, copal (incense to clear the path for the spirit to return), a glass of water and a bottle of beer or tequila would also be featured.



Calaveras- These are skulls and skeletons posed or dressed whimsically and used in artwork, toys, jewelry and many other forms.



Cempazuchitl- Also known as "the flower with 400 lives", marigolds were thought by the Aztecs to symbolize death.  It is believed that the scent of the petals forms a welcome path for the spirits to return to the altars or graves. 

Sugar Skulls- These are skulls molded from a sugar paste, then decorated with icing, glitter and foil.  Often placed on altars, the sugar represents the sweetness of life and the skull represents the sadness of death.


We came home from the festival having had more fun than we expected.  I was especially touched by the altars.  I had been reading up on Dia de los Muertos and so yesterday (Nov. 2), I took the kids to the cemetary to visit the grave of my Grandmother.  We cleaned her gravestone and put some flowers and candy on it.  But there were so many other people who had done huge flower arrangements and really put us to shame.  It made me sad that I don't visit more often and I was so moved by the altars that when we came home we made a little one that we'll keep up for a day or so.  It honors the parents and older sister of my husband and 3 of my grandparents who have died.  It doesn't have all the components of a traditional ofrenda but it has a few.  I hope they can all join us tonite for a little fiesta :)

 

Our ofrenda to honor those we have loved and lost

 

Olé and Molé

First some Olé  Your lesson in Spanish

The language of Mexico is Spanish, the native languages of the Aztecs and Mayans are pretty much gone.  But even though the language is "Spanish", Mexican Spanish has a few different words.

In Mexico     brown - café     In Spain - marron
                      snacks- botanas               - tapas
                      pen - pluma                     - boligrafo
                      bus - camion                   - autobus

But of course some of the words and phrases are the same:

1- uno 2- dos 3- tres 4- quattro 5- cinco 6- siete
8- ocho 9- nueve 10- dies
Hello - hola    How are you? - Como estas?    Goodbye - Adios
Thank you - gracias      Cheers - Salud       I Love You - te amo
                       Bon Appetit - Buen Apetito

and on that note we will move to our next section - FOOD!

The unique taste of Molé

I've seen and heard about Molé, it's a sauce used in Mexican dishes that has chocolate in it.  Now, I love chocolate but I just couldn't imagine what it would taste like in a meat dish so I've never ordered it or made it.  My friend Stephanie had a recipe in her cookbook that we could do in the crockpot, so we gave it a try.  It is really very tasty but different than any other Mexican sauce I've had before.  It's a little bitter from the chocolate but you get sweet every so often from the raisins.  The meat gets all tender and the nuts give it yet another texture.  It was really good with some rice and a little sour cream and we made homemade tortillas (read on for recipe) to go with them.  We finished off the meal with some Pan de Muerte, a sweet bread made in honor of Dia de los Muertos (I will post about that tomorrow after the festival).  It was a very tasty meal and here are the recipes if you would like to try something a little different.  Enjoy!

Molé

Recipe from Make it Fast, Cook it Slow
For the recipe you will need:

• 1/4 c raw sesame seeds
• 1/2 c raw slivered almonds
• 2 lbs beef ( I used stew meat)
• 1/4 t ground cloves
• 1 T chili powder
• 1/2 t ground coriander
• 1/4 t anise seeds
• 1 dry California chili pod (or more chili powder)
• 1 yellow onion chopped
• 1/3 c raisins
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 1 can of diced tomatoes in juice (14 oz)
• 1 can tomato paste (6 oz)
• 1/4 c tequila ( and a shot for yourself since your going to all this trouble)
• 1 - 2 oz unsweetened chocolate.  I used 2, might've preferred 1
• salt to taste

There are a lot of ingredients but it's really not a lot of work. 
1. In a small pan brown the seeds on the stove so they are golden brown and toasted.
2. Dump the toasted nuts/seeds and everything else into the crockpot.  Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.  Serve with some rice and some homemade tortillas.

Homemade Corn Tortillas

For the recipe you will need:

• Masa - ground corn flour.  I found this next to the flour in the baking section.  I was also informed that some Mexican markets sell it already made into dough.
• Water
• Salt
• Plastic wrap
• Tortilla press - totally optional but I saw it at the Mexican market and it was only $13 so I bought it.  A rolling pin or a heavy pan would work too.

1. Follow the directions on the masa for making the dough.  Ours used 2 cups flour and 1 1/4 cups water and some salt.

2. Make a little ball of dough and put on plastic wrap.  Cover with another piece of plastic wrap and squish flat with the tortilla press.  The kids had a ball doing this and were fighting over turns!!

3. This part I learned from experience - either cook them immediately after you take them off the press or use the plastic wrap to keep them separate.  Ours started out perfect but stuck together when we tried to take them off the pile! 
4.  Cook your tortilla on a hot griddle or frying pan. 
5.  Spread with a little butter and ENJOY!

 

Tomorrow we are going to a Dia de los Muertos festival so I will leave the dessert portion of our meal for that post.  Hope you have a great weekend!  Buenos Dias!

Chocolate!!!!!

Hip Hip Hooray for the Aztecs!!!

Aztec scupture of figure holding a cacao pod

So there are a quite a few foods that the Aztecs are responsible for introducing to Europe - potatoes, tomatoes, beans and maize to name a few.  In my opinion though, Chocolate is the most important!! The use of chocolate in the area has been traced back to 1900 BC and it had a special role in the Aztec and Mayan cultures.  The cocoa beans were used as a form of currency and also made into a drink given mostly to warriors and royals.  The Aztec recipe for cocoa goes something like this-
1. ground cocoa, other spices and dried corn to a fine powder 2. mix this powder with cold water until frothy  3. Drink.   No sugar in the recipe so it must've been very bitter!  In 1528, when the conquistadors returned to Spain after conquering the Aztecs, they brought back the cocoa beans.  The Europeans added sugar and milk and the drink became popular among the royals and wealthy.  By 1657, the first "chocolate houses" were opened and the public could now enjoy drinking chocolate.  One of these chocolate houses made the first chocolate cake in 1674 and, years later in the 19th century, John Cadbury developed the process to make the first candy bar!!  And tonight is Halloween, when the children of America go trick -or-treating and celebrate that most wonderful of confections - CHOCOLATE!!!  Yeah for the Aztecs and Happy Halloween!!    

Pinatas and Chupacabras?

What do you get when you mix a Chupacabra and a Pinata??

You will find out soon because that was our project for the day :)
But first a little history about both - starting with the pinata.  Pinatas are fun!  The paper-mache figures full of candy and toys that young kids armed with sticks beat to a pulp - but why and where did this become a tradition?  Mexico, right?  Well, actually no.  While pinatas are most associated with Mexico, it seems that pinatas actually originated in China.  The Chinese version was used during the New Year festivities and was in the shape of an ox or cow, filled with 5 different types of seeds and painted with symbols for a prosperous crop.  In the 14th century they came to Europe and were given religious significance and used to celebrate Lent (the period of fasting right before Easter for Catholics).  The word pinata came from the Italian word "pignatta", which means "fragile pot" because the pinatas were made from decorated clay pots.  The Europeans brought the tradition with them to Mexico where it was eventually meshed with the similar Aztec tradition used to celebrate the birthday of their god Huitzilopochtli.  Eventually it lost its religious significance and use of clay pots (too many shards flying everywhere) and now is the paper-mache Elmo or whatever that we have today.  To play the pinata is filled with small candy and toys and hung over a branch from a rope.  The "hitter" is blindfolded and given a stick which he blindly swings round trying to hit the pinata.  Hopefully, he hits the pinata (and not some bystander) and the after a few whacks the candy spills out, if not the next person is up.  Fun times.  Now to make the tradition a little scarier and combine it with the elusive, mythical beast of lore - the Chupacabra!!!!!

The Chupacabra-

What, you may ask, is the Chupacabra?  No one knows for sure.  The name means "goat-sucker" and it is a mythical (some say real) animal that has reportedly been spotted in Mexico, the southern U.S., Puerto Rico and even in Russia!!  It is supposed to kill small animals (sheep, goats, etc) by sucking the blood out of them.  Kinda like a vampire, I guess.  Some "witnesses" have said it looks like half-alien/half-dinosaur with spikes down it's back.  Some say it's more like a panther or coyote with a long,forked tongue and glowing eyes.  It has a sulfur smell and a loud screech - oh, and it hops like a kangaroo!!  So in tribute to this mish-mash monster we are making our own version of it and combining it with a pinata to create the scariest, most feared pinata that ever lived -

The Chupacabra/Pinata mash-up!!

For this project you will need:

• a pre-made pinata.  We bought ours but you can make one if you have the time and inclination.  
• paint
• red felt for eyes
• fangs and whatever other stuff you want to add.   We turned a caveman necklace into back spikes.

1. Make some greenish brownish color paint by mixing some colors.  Opposite colors like blue/orange, red/green, purple/yellow will make brownish.  Paint the pinata.
2. Add some red eyes, fangs, spikes down the back and whatever else a scary monster might have.

3. Let dry overnight and you are ready to fill with candy :)

Now that's a face only a mother could love!!

Happy Halloween :)

Week 15: Mexico

Buenos Dias from Mexico!!

I let my father, who is visiting from Wisconsin, choose the country this week.  I told him whatever country he chooses we have to eat some of the native food, and since good Mexican food is scarce in WI, well, here we are.  But the more I thought about it I got excited!  It's almost Halloween so there are some scary things to learn about, like the Chupacabre (and Montezuma's Revenge if you drink the untreated water from Mexico).  Also the day after Halloween is what's known in Mexico as Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead.  It sounds scary but it is really a day to celebrate all the people and ancestors who have died before you.  It's a day of celebration with altars honoring the ancestors and skeleton masks and figures.  Too cool.
San Francisco has a big procession on Friday and I am debating whether or not it would be too much for the kids - we'll see.  But first, on to Mexico!  There is a lot to do in Mexico - beaches, the culturally-rich capital of Mexico City, and the ancient ruins of the Aztecs, Mayans and other civilizations that lived here long ago.  Let's start with a little history first.

Around 1000 BC, around the areas of Veracruz and Tabasco (yes, the sauce comes from there), a tribe called the Olmecs lived in large cities worshipping their Jaguar god and carving huge stone heads. No one really knows what happened but sometime around 400 BC they all disappeared!! Wow, creepy huh?  Later came a few other groups, the most well-known were the Mayans and the Aztecs.  These groups were very advanced in mathematics, astronomy, architecture and art, but also very brutal.  They ritually sacrificed humans to make their gods happy - sooooo glad I didn't live in that era!  The Aztecs were the most successful civilization with a huge capital city named Tenochtitlan that was in a lake.  It had pyramids and floating roads, aquaducts and great marketplaces.  The emperor ruled a strong government and life was good (unless you got sacrificed)- until the Europeans came that is.

In 1519, Cortez landed in Mexico with the dream of gold and riches.  He found it.  With only 400 men, 16 horses, guns, ammunition and a lot of luck he defeated the most successful empire in Mexico.  It was all a misunderstanding on the Aztecs side.  They thought that the light-skinned Spaniards were the messengers of their god Quetzacuatl and so they welcomed them into the area.  Their hospitality got the Emperor Moctezuma II, taken hostage but still he told his warriors to stand down.  They did stand down for awhile until they figured out their error, but by then it was too late.  The area of Mexico became a rich treasure for Spain and the native Indians were turned into slaves for the wealthy settlers.  Many of the indigenous people died from the new diseases brought from Europe, but those who survived waited for their chance at independence.  In 1810, while Spain was under Napolean's rule, they started a rebellion, and eventually a war, that led to their freedom from Spain in 1821.

Mexico had a few wars left to fight - with the U.S. over land, with themselves over reforms and leadership.  Unfortunately, to this day, real peace has never lasted very long.  It's a tribute to the people that they have remained the friendly, inviting people they are.