Food Memories

Some of my favorite books have been books with recipes on them. It is fascinating the way an author uses food to reveal a character's personality, soul and history. Well, who has not been shaped up by food or the lack of it.

I was raised by my grandmother while my mother would work and her cooking was exceptional. Simple recipes with simple ingredients. Staples on the everyday menu were of course, beans and flour tortillas. The best flour tortillas I have ever had; freshly made for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. She would not make us eat a reheated tortilla. If for any reason, a couple were left from the previous meal, she would try to slip them on the stack of freshly made ones but we always could tell them apart. Reheated flour tortillas smell and taste different than fresh ones (a connoisseur is talking here). No food was ever wasted; her second attempt would be to fry them and put beans on top. We loved them like that. My grandmother would be cooking flour tortillas and bringing them to the table from the stove as we were eating. She never sat down with us to eat. She would eat at the kitchen, standing or at the table after all the family had eaten. I probably asked her once why wouldn't she sit with us and she probably brushed me off with a comment of how she preferred it that way. My mother now does it with her grandchildren but she sits with the adults after she is done cooking.

My grandmother could whip up a meal for 5 with one egg, a tomato and plenty of "chile piquin" (those tiny red hot peppers) from her chili plant. I remember that she would make a very hot sauce and add it to the scrambled egg. Now, I laugh of her resourcefulness. We would dip our tortilla on the "egg salsa" and spoon some beans with it. We would say "esta picoso, guelita" and kept eating. How I miss her cooking, specially those tortillas.

Some books with recipes I have read:

-Like water for chocolate. I have prepared the "Codornices en petalos de rosa"

-Afrodita by Isabel Allende. A collection of memories and recipes.

-Secrets of the Tsil Cafe. A novel about a boy growing up around his mother's and father's cooking; includes 26 recipes.

-Hallelujah! The Welcome Table. This is more of a recipe book with stories. Love the banana pudding, caramel cake, braised cabbage with ginger and the best one of all, smothered chicken.