Sometimes I forget to blog about really cool things. I tell so many people beforehand that it seems like I have blogged about it when I have not. This is one of those things.

A while ago, (forget the exact date) Jarritos was kind enough to send me a case of soda. When they emailed me to ask if I would do a review on my blog I just about died. Forget being a Gap or Nintendo ambassador. It is all about the Mexican soda over here, baby. I immediately responded that I would love to post about Jarritos and then ran around the house telling everyone.

It was as if I had won the lottery. And let’s face it, I did.

There was a little trouble getting the soda to me at first. Apparently the mail person dropped the box. Soda in glass bottles does not do well when you drop the box. Eventually I received my soda and I did happy dances all over the house. I took a million pictures of the soda for the blog and then decided which one to drink first.

See, they only sent me one of each flavor. In a house full of Jarritos lovers, this made choosing which one to drink very difficult. I decided on mango. It was delicious, as usual. Really, we drink so much Jarritos around here that they would have made the blog at some point anyway.

The soda is made with real sugar and the flavors include: Mandarina, Limón, Mango, Toronja, Tamarindo, Jamaica, Piña, Guayaba, Fresa, Tuttifruti and Cola.* There really is something for everyone.

If this is your first time hearing about Jarritos I need you to do me a favor. Get in your car/walk/take the bus/swim to your nearest Mexican grocery store (or regular one) and pick up some Jarritos. Seriously. Do. it. now.

Jarritos on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Jarritos

Jarritos on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/JarritosNation

*For my non-Spanish speaking friends: Orange, Lime, Mango, Grapefruit, Tamarind, Hibiscus, Pineapple, Guava, Strawberry, Fruit Punch, Mexican Cola. 

Jarritos sent me the soda free of charge but the views are 100% my own. 

Last weekend my mom and I attended the Latino Heritage Festival in Palm Springs. We attended in the afternoon to see the Mariachi Reyna de Los Angeles perform. Las Reinas are an all female mariachi group. I love mariachi. I get lost in the sound of the guitars and violin and then when they begin to sing…it’s like heaven.

As we waited for them to get settled on stage I began looking at the mountains, not paying attention anymore. Suddenly, a beautiful sound erupted. These women are phenomenal. I almost thought I was listening to a recording. My mom and I sat in awe. Almost every woman sang a solo at one point and each one is a master of their instrument.

If you are ever in Los Angeles you can check them out at Cielto Lindo restaurant. All of the details are on their website. I highly recommend attending. I am not a concert goer. Usually I feel like the cd is better and get bored but mariachi music is best listened to in person.

Here is short video of Las Reinas performing. It doesn’t do them justice, but you can at least get an idea of what it’s like.

My mom and I celebrated Mexico’s Bicentennial with a delicious meal of Tacos de Papa also known as potato tacos. It’s a favorite dish of ours and one of the easiest to make.

I wanted to show off my Mexican cooking to my mom so I made a big pot of frijoles de la olla to go with the tacos. Making a great pot of beans is the true test of your ability to make delicious Mexican food. My mom says my beans are good but I think I still need a bit of work to get them right every time. The amount of salt is always a bit tricky.

Tacos de Papa are delicious so make extras. You may think you’ll only eat two but you’ll be wrong. It’s more like four. The best thing about this recipe is I usually always have the ingredients. Potatoes, corn tortillas, monterey jack cheese. That’s it! We top them with cabbage and salsa but that’s optional.

Tacos de Papa
makes 12 tacos

Ingredients
4 small russet potatoes (less if they are big)
12 corn tortillas
1/2 cup of shredded monterey jack cheese
1 tbs salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil

1. Peel and chop the potatoes into medium sized pieces. Boil in a large pot of water with salt until tender. Drain the potatoes and mash. Add more salt if needed. Set aside.
2. Heat a comal or frying pan to medium high heat. Warm the tortillas over the comal until soft. Place the warmed tortillas in a dish towel to keep warm and moist.
3. Heat oil in a rimmed frying pan over medium high heat. While the oil heats up, prep tacos. Place about 2 tbs of potato on a tortilla, sprinkle shredded cheese on top and fold in half into a taco. Repeat with remaining tortillas.
4. Carefully put tacos (2-4 depending on the size of the pan) into the pan and fry until golden brown and crispy on both sides. About 1 minute per side.
5. Serve tacos hot with chopped cabbage tossed in lemon and the salsa of your choice as toppings. The tacos can be slowly opened to add the cabbage and salsa.

Chicharrón are pictured in the middle. My mom says this yummy Mexican snack was created by the indigenous people of Mexico. The Spanish would give the scraps from the pig to the indigenous workers and they created chicharrones from the skin. Unfortunately, I was not able to find a link to this story but for now I’ll go with what my mom says. She is usually right.

Today is Mexico’s bicentennial! 200 years ago the Mexican people defeated the Spanish army. Last night the celebrations began in El Zócolo in Mexico City. Hundreds of thousands of Mexicans filled El Zócolo. Univision aired the fiesta live. It was one of the most beautiful festivals I’ve ever seen.

Here are a couple pictures from the event. The BBC has a stunning collection of photos here.

“El Grito” was the cry for independence that began the war. Every year the President leads the country in “El Grito.” After each the following statements shout “¡Viva!”

¡Viva México!

¡Viva México!

¡Viva México!

A few years ago we had a lovely birthday (77) for my abuela. People come out in droves for Mama Maria. As it should be. At this particular birthday we thought it would be nice to have a chocolate fountain. Cool, right? It worked out quite well. Everyone was eating chocolate covered fruit and life was good. But then the chocolate ran out. hmm…

So we did what any good Mexicans would do. We improvised.

Behold, the Nacho Cheese Fountain.

It was way better than the chocolate fountain. Let me tell you, this is the future.

Happy Friday!

On Saturday we celebrated my abuela’s 80th birthday. My grandmother wanted pictures with as many of her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren as possible. Almost everyone was there and we had a great time.

In honor of her 80 years we decorated tables to represent significant birthdays in her life. 1, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 and 80. A few of my favorites: The first year included pictures of each of her eight children as babies since we do not have a photo of her as a baby. We figure she probably looked like one of them. For 50, two nopales (her favorite food) and her tortilla press that she has now used for 61 years. Year 40 included a cut out of the Sun Bus (local bus line) with my abuela as the driver and grandchildren as passengers. My abuela takes the bus everywhere! We even thought about posting her party invitation there.

Each table also had a cake or cupcakes and my grandmother went to each table to blow out a candle while we alternated singing happy birthday in English and Spanish. It was a joyous evening with delicious food made by my cousins, great music and a family slideshow. I loved seeing everyone together.

I made a banana caramel cake (pictured) for the nopales table that my mom decorated. The cake was a big hit but the most loved desserts were the cupcakes. The kids went crazy for them. Especially the giant ones my aunt brought.

Ma’ Maria (as we call her) loves roses and nopales. It felt like everyone brought roses or nopales for her. My cousin and nephew even made a beautiful nopal from foam and tissue paper.

This party is just another reminder of why I am back in California. My family is amazing and I can’t wait to spend more time with all of them. Especially my abuelita.

The photos above (from left to right, top to bottom) Ma’ Maria’s children, the grandchildren and great-grandchildren, nopales table, Ma’ Maria-24 years old, the food table, sun bus table, Ma’ Maria and banana caramel cake, Ma’ Maria’s children-1966 Mexico (including a cousin and the youngest is my Uncle Justin who died in 2002)

Reminder, Lilu is still competing to be MTV’s first TJ. Check out her page on how you can help. Thank you!

Today’s post disrupts the flow of this fiesta a bit. I gave you two appetizers/toppings and now BAM! dessert. I can’t help it though. I’m in the mood for cake. Plus, I have three more days in DC. Let’s leave things on a sweet note, yes?

Pastel de Tres Leches or “three milks” cake is my most requested dessert. At first I really didn’t like it but I would make it often for my friends. After a while though I developed a taste for it and now I can’t help but eat half the pan. My mom taught me how to make the cake in college. When I brought it to school it was devoured in less than 30 minutes. This recipe is awesome. If you want to impress someone make this cake.

Pastel de Tres Leches

serves 20 (but could easily serve 4)

1 yellow cake (of your choice, I use the box*)
1 can condensed milk
1 can evaporated milk
1 can coconut milk
2 tbs rum

1. Make the yellow cake as directed and bake in a sheet pan. Once the cake is baked let cool for about ten minutes.

2. While the cake is cooling whisk three milks and rum together in a large bowl.

3. Once cooled use a toothpick to poke holes all over the cake. Make sure you poke them to the bottom of the pan and really cover the cake with holes.

4. Slowly pour the milk mixture over the cake. Do not over pour. It will take some time for the milk to sink in to the cake. Excess milk that collects around the edges of the pan can be poured back into the bowl and then re-poured over the cake. You will be pouring milk over the cake about ten times. Take your time and pour slowly. You want every last bit to soak into the cake.

5. Once the milk mixture has been completely poured over the cake, cover the cake and put in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours but preferably over night.

6. To serve: Cut into squares and top with whipped cream! Enjoy!

*Usually I am all about baking from scratch but with this recipe I think it is best made with box cake. I have tried a few different yellow cake recipes and none seem to be very good with the milks.

Happy Friday!!

Last Saturday I had a Farewell Fiesta. I am moving back to California in mid-July and wanted to have one last hoora with all of my friends.

My mom gave me a hard time about throwing myself a goodbye party but actually, my bf already had plans in the works and then I said “you know what? I’d really like to make everyone Mexican food before I leave.” Because I talk about it far too often to not share it.

Thus, the Farewell Fiesta came to be. I decided to keep it simple. Tacos, beans, rice, salsa, guacamole, chips, tres leches cake and a variety of drinks. I also wanted everything to be traditional. Most Americans have had Tex-Mex and Americanized Mexican food, I wanted to share the real stuff. The food that I grew up with.

This caused a bit of a scuffle because I originally refused to serve soda. Finally I decided that Mexican soda would be ok.

I must say, the party was great. I had a blast and it looked like everyone else was having a good time too. The food was devoured by the end of the night with the exception of some rice and beans.

I made little name plates for all of the food. All in Spanish, of course. My friends seemed to appreciate that and asked questions about the food. It felt good to be sharing my culture with everyone.

The next day I called my mom and told her I had successfully thrown a fiesta. She said “Good. Now we can put you to work when you get home.” With as big of a family as mine, there is always cooking to do.

Many people asked for recipes so I will be posting them throughout the summer. By the end of July you can throw your own fiesta.

Come back tomorrow for my guacamole recipe!

On Wednesday I woke up and decided I needed to make Mexican food. It had been far too long since I had any worth talking about. Which is ridiculous considering I know how to make it. Minutes later I texted a few friends and it was set. At 19:00** they would come over for tacos de pollo, frijoles, arroz, guacamole and of course, margaritas.

Luckily I already had almost all of the ingredients for this Mexican feast. I put on some Latin jams and danced around the kitchen as I cooked. Everything was almost ready when my friends arrived. They made margaritas and dug into the guacamole as I finished the last few things. After a prayer with Shakira playing in the background we ate and talked and drank and laughed and ate some more. It was delicious, if I do say so myself.

A few substitutions were made but I was proud of myself for not freaking out when I realized I didn’t have exactly what I needed. I made due with what I had and it was still good. Now I can’t wait to do it again with more time to prepare.

I’m thinking of having a backyard Mexican bbq before I leave DC. It would give me no greater joy than to cook for my friends that have given me so much during my time here.

There isn’t a recipe this time. I learned to cook Mexican food from my mother, abuela and tias who learned from their mother, abuela and tias. Maybe I will record the recipe one of these days.

Happy Friday!

*Oliver! reference. It’s the last weekend of the show!
**Military time, another thing I learned from my Marine parents.

My parents are Marines. Have I mentioned that? I usually tell people in response to questions about me.  ”Grace, why do you use military time?” “Why is ironing such a big deal?” “You stand so straight!?” My parents are Marines.

A simple response but those four words have shaped who I am.

Many things I was taught growing up came from my parents experience in the Marine Corps. Some people think my parents were too strict with my brother and I. A 9:00pm bedtime (even in high school) is a bit much for a lot of people but the discipline and schedule we were kept on taught me how to succeed in life.

1. Always look your best. Iron your clothes and dress appropriately for the event. Did I mention iron? Do it even if you don’t want to.

2. Stand up straight. Not only is it good for you it also gives the appearance that you are taller and in control.

3. Do your very best. Work as hard as you can and do the best job possible no matter what you are doing. Every job is important.

4. Help others. Lend out your hand to those in need whether it is monetary or helping someone pick up a pile of papers they dropped.

5. Be respectful. Treat people with respect and kindness at all times. Even when you are upset control your anger and approach the situation in a positive way. This is by far the most difficult thing for me.

I think we would have been taught these things even if my parents were not Marines but the Marine upbringing made them very firm rules to life. There is no “sometimes” in following these rules.

The Marine Corps demands a lot from it’s members and my parents raised us to rise to people’s expectations and then surpass them. When I think of it this way I realize why I’ve been accused of being arrogant, too serious or uninterested. Sometimes my focus on working hard makes me forget to relax and lighten up a bit.

Despite that, I’m glad my parents raised me the way they did and as I learn and grow each day I try to keep their lessons in mind and add in a few more along the way.