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December 2016

Pozole Blanco

Pozole BlancoToday we are celebrating the day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, La Reina de México,  aka the patron saint of Mexico

In Mexico, there are tons of fiestas held on December 12th to celebrate the miracle of her apparitions because roughly about 82% of the population is Roman Catholic.

As kids we’d be dressed up in traditional native clothing, and taken to mass. Unfortunately, I lost the picture I had from when I was two, posing in front of the Virgen de Guadalupe. So you’ll just have to close your eyes and imagine me as a 2 year old looking v cute in my huarachitos, zarape and sombrero.

Pozole BlancoIt all started with Juan Diego, a native who was born under aztec rule who was traveling to the city. During his trip, the Virgen de Guadalupe appeared and told him she wanted a temple to be built on Tepeyac hill dedicated to her.

(A temple had been previously built on Tepeyac hill dedicated to Tonantzin, Aztec mother goddess, but it was destroyed by the Spaniards during the Conquest)

Juan Diego ran to to let fray Juan de Zumárraga know of the apparition, but the archbishop looked at him like he was crazy and asked him to let the Virgen de Guadalupe know to prove her identity so he knew it was real.

The following day, Juan Diego returned to speak to the archbishop, but he insisted he ask for a sign to prove her identity, so Juan Diego went back to Tepeyac hill and the Virgin appeared again and she agreed to prove her identity the next day.

Pozole BlancoWhile all this was happening, Juan Diego’s uncle was in his death bed. So that following day Juan Diego set out to find a priest who would take his uncles last words and went a different path to avoid seeing the Virgen de Guadalupe.

It didn’t work because she still appeared before him, scolded him, and told him to pick the Castilian roses that were randomly/mysteriously growing in the middle of the desert (that were also not native to Mexico) and take them to the archbishop. When Juan Diego arrived to see the archbishop, he unfolded his tilma with the roses, to reveal Our Lady of Guadalupe’s image imprinted on it and everyone was shook.

You can find Juan Diego’s tilma hung inside the Basilica de Guadalupe in Mexico City, which was built near the Tepeyac hill where she originally appeared.

Pozole BlancoIt’s a long story, I know. Pero, she’s an integral part of our culture. There’s still so much more to discuss but we’ll leave that for another day.

If you read my post on pozole rojo, you’d know that pozole is always around whenever there’s any big celebrations or birthdays, which is why we’re making it today.

I hope you learned a little today, and if you are itching to learn a  little more, do some googling! It gets a little more weird. Just wait till you find out what they’ve discovered in the image imprinted on the original tilma!

Enjoy.

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Chocomíl Cupcakes with a Whipped Chocolate Milk Topping

Mexican Chocolate Milk Cupcakes with a Whipped Chocolate Milk Topping

I lived for chocomíl as a kid, especially when my mom threw in a few fresas into the mix.

What is chocomíl, you ask?

Choco Milk is the OG Nesquik. It first launched as a nutritional milk supplement in Mexico in 1928 with Pancho Pantera as the face of Choco Milk.

Mexican Chocolate Milk Cupcakes with a Whipped Chocolate Milk Topping

Growing up, I used to spend my summers with mi abuelita Victoria in Colima… en paz descanse.

She always used to send me out to pick up tortillas in the morning and occasionally, I’d sneak by Chinta’s corner store for chocomíl on the way back.

It was always served warm in a plastic baggie, and it was topped with cinnamon but the fact that you were drinking it from the plastic bag just made it taste 10x better.

Next time you’re in Mexico, have your agua fresca or your agua de coco in a baggie, it’ll change your life.

Mexican Chocolate Milk Cupcakes with a Whipped Chocolate Milk Topping

Mi abuelita Victoria passed away last year, and a few days ago when I was walking around the super market, I was hit with a wall of memories when I saw the Choco Milk can.

I decided to add choco milk to the batter, as a little tribute to celebrate her and those summers I spent with her, and I was really happy with the outcome. You have a moist chocolate milk cake on the bottom, and a chocolate milk whipped topping that wraps it all together, and if you want to be a little extra–drizzle some chocolate sauce on these babies.

If you grew up on Choco Milk like I did, I hope these cupcakes bring out all the feels like it did with me.

Mexican Chocolate Milk Cupcakes with a Whipped Chocolate Milk Topping

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Clementine Hibiscus Margarita

Clementine Margarita with Hibiscus

The US Army Corps of Engineers rejected the current route for the oil pipeline crossing in North Dakota!

HOORAY!

We’re sending all the good vibes/hugs/support to everyone who is out there and partook in the peaceful protests, and will be heading out to Flint Michigan to focus on the water crisis.

Clementine Margarita with Hibiscus

Billy bought a bunch of clementines (like a lot, a lot), and I had a bunch of hibiscus that needed to be used so I figured, let’s make a drink out of them! It’s sweet, it’s tangy, and it’s perfect for those of us who like to have a little Vitamin C with their alcohol.

I’m keeping it super short today because it’s Monday and my body is still recovering from the Westworld finale, and from how extra Mariah Carey’s new show Mariah’s World was last night.

And maybe I’m a little salty that I can’t just lounge around all day dripping in diamonds. #QueenOfBeingExtra

Cheers to #NoDAPL, and have a great week!

Clementine Margarita with Hibiscus

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Atole de Mazapan

Atole de Mazapan

IT’S OFICIALLY ATOLE SEASON!

Which means it is also time to start sleeping with those cobijas your mom bought at the swapmeet with the lion/horse/bull/ zebra on it. 

Mine is burgundy with a lion on it and it’s comfy af. Don’t judge, you know you have one too.

For those poor unfortunate souls that aren’t familiar, Atole is a drink made with masa (corn flour) and we  typically have it during the holidays.

If you were like me though, you had it every Sunday after going to church.

I’m not religious, pero my heart was always ready to accept Jesus as our lord and savior if it meant I was gonna have atole, tamales, and one of those gelatinas de leche after mass.

Atole de Mazapan

Atole dates back to pre-Columbian times, and comes from the Nahuatl word ātōlli.

It was a very important part of Mexica culture as Hernán Cortes recounts in the Cartas de Relación, because they basically got most of their daily calories from it.

The Mexica would grind corn into a fine flour, boiled it until it thickened and would flavor it with spices, maguey or chocolate. I’m flavoring mine with Mazapanes because cacahuate and atole go hand in hand.

De la Rosa mazapan is a peanut marzipan candy, that we always tried to unwrap without breaking, but it was always mission impossible. As soon as it broke, it would crumble into a million pieces.

What will you folx be making this Christmas?

Share some of your favorite Holiday recipes with me!

Atole de Mazapan

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