Celebration of Love

          I am Mexican, and so a lot of the things that we do in our family, is traditional, especially when it comes to mealtime; the way that the food is prepared, the ingredients, or the love put into it, it’s all passed on from generation to generation.  I never once saw my father eat a meal without a jalapeño; that was his thing. And although my grandma is no longer here anymore, I can say that she is always in our hearts when we enjoy her recipes.

          There are the usual holidays where my family gets together and has a meal, such as Christmas or Thanksgiving, but there are also two other occasions where we actually prepare a meal together as a special tradition, and than enjoy it as a celebration of our heritage.  One is when we make Menudo and the other is when we make Tamales, the latter is a more timely process and involves a lot of manpower. Both meals can be eaten any time of the day, but usually the whole day is spent together preparing and/or catching up.

          Menudo is a definitely an acquired taste, and usually not a fan favorite for outsiders. Some people actually cringe when they are told they are eating the stomach of a pig, specifically the intestines. But if you are able to get past the heart of this dish, you will enjoy the rest of this flavorful “soup.” Menudo means “often” in Spanish, but I think I am probably fine just having it only once a year.

          The other dish we make together is Tamales. I could probably go on for hours about why I love them, but I will give my number one reason- they are delicious! Tamales are made by taking seasoned meat, than rolling the mixture in cornmeal, and wrapping it in corn husks. And than after they are steamed. Making tamales always takes a full day of preparation. Usually Mom makes the meat, my dad mixes the masa (cornmeal) and than us kids (plus significant others, and our kids) spread the masa onto the corn husks.

          I would have to say hands down, that making tamales is the one meal tradition that we all look forward to the most. We usually make around 6 dozen, so that there is plenty. They are just an amazing food that I have to yet to find anything that compares. I can’t help but wonder though, would they taste as good without all the love that was into them? Our family may live and breathe American culture everyday, respectively, but we are bound by our Mexican traditions that remind us of who we are and where came from.