How has a humble rice cake with three simple ingredients (rice, mung bean, and pork) come to symbolize Tet, the most celebrated of Vietnamese holidays? The gift of Banh Chung during the New Year has become the most important tradition of Vietnamese culture and was passed down from one generation to the next.  Always curious about the delicious foods that play such an important role in cultural traditions,  I’m looking forward to learning the legend behind Banh Chung, how it’s made and how it became a symbol of Tet from  Chef Haley Nguyen of Xanh Bistro this evening from 4:00 – 7:00 p.m.

Preparations for Chinese New Year, also known as Lunar New Year and Spring Festival,  and welcoming the Year of the Rabbit on February 3rd, have been underway for weeks in Asian households around the world. Although the Lunar New Year is observed in all of East Asia influenced by Chinese civilization, each country celebrates it in a way unique to that country. For the Vietnamese people, 2011 is the Year of the Cat, this difference from the Chinese animal is explained by this ancient legend. The cat symbolizes sensitivity, gentleness, and kindness; what animal are you?

New years banner greets shoppers at the fruit market.

Last year, my friend Monique and I met at the ABC Supermarket shopping center at Bolsa and Brookhurst in what’s known as Little Saigon in Westminster. I wanted to photograph and learn about the many symbols and customs associated with Tet and Monique acted as my translator and tour guide.

Only 10:30 a.m. and traffic was backed up on Brookhurst and the parking lot was swarming with erratic drivers looking for a spot. I parked way in the back.

The marketplace is humming with activity.

Flowers are an important part of decorating a home for Chinese New Year.  Plum blossom and water narcissus are the two flowers most associated with the New Year.

A vendor shows us her plum blossoms.

Water narcissus

In the midst of the crush of shoppers and staccato sounds of a foreign language, were two monks walking, eyes cast downward, moving silently amongst the crowd carrying a bamboo container tucked under their robes, discreetly revealed only when a passer-by offers a few dollars.

show deep respect

Tangerines, oranges and pomelos are frequently displayed in homes and stores. Tangerines are symbolic of good luck and oranges are symbolic of wealth. The first store we entered had a tangerine tree decorated with lai-see envelopes (also called hong-bao). Money is placed inside the red envelopes and given to children and young adults as gifts.

kumquat tree decorated with red envelopes

Traditional gifts given to families are rice cakes called banh chung made from white rice, marinated strips of pork and yellow mung beans. I had wanted to photograph Monique making a traditional New Years food but she said that everyone buys these in stores now because they are too labor intensive to make at home. I read a very touching article by Ky-Phong Tran in the Orange County Register recalling memories of his grandfather making the rice cakes every New Year – the only thing he ever made and how this tradition was his father’s way of reaching back 35 years and 8,000 miles to his childhood in the homeland.

Banh chung is a traditional gift

Piled high were colorful containers of candies and nuts that are given as gifts also.

Colorful candies and sweets for gifts

From here we went to the fruit market where Monique identified the exotic fruits for me and described their taste and how they’re eaten.  There was dragon fruit, an exotic lemon that looks like it has “fingers”,  gigantic jack fruit whose seeds are boiled and taste like chestnuts, prickly durian that’s called “stinky fruit” and has a custardy filling.  I bought a package of  mangostine which are cracked open and has white fruit segments similar to an orange.

exotic fruit and traditional Vietnamese desserts

Monique purchased some traditional Vietnamese desserts, made from rice and similar to what we know as tapioca or rice pudding, and bought plum blossoms for her home from a familiar vendor with a better price than the ones we priced earlier.

Monique with her plum blossoms

More commotion erupted when the police and zoning people arrived and  vendors were told that they couldn’t be spilling over into the fire lane and some were sent packing because they had no sellers license.

Eastern spirituality meets Western reality

The week ahead brings the parades and pageantry of Tet Festival followed by 10 days of celebrating the Year of the Cat with family and friends.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

© Priscilla for She's Cookin' | from the heart, 2011. | Permalink | 19 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: banh chung, Chinese New Year, Tet Festival

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

If you live in southern California you know that tamales are a Christmas tradition, and being of Hispanic origin is not a prerequisite. During the holidays, homemade tamales are highly coveted; you’ll find families ordering tamales from Mexican restaurants (we ordered ours from Las Barcas, a local neighborhood family-owned restaurant) or from some other inside connection established through a friend or co-worker who knows a family that makes tamales to sell during the holidays.

Naturally, including the art of tamale-making had to be part of my series on preserving traditions through cooking and thanks to Aracely, aka Daytripping Mom, I was able to experience it first-hand.

The tradition of tamales dates back to Meso-American times when, long before the Spaniards arrived, Mesoamericans believed that God crafted humans from corn. “Quite literally, corn was their substance of life.” An excerpt from a Seattle PI article states:

Because corn was so important, preciously wrapped tamales became a part of ritual offerings, a human stand-in, of sorts. “When the conquistadors came, and human sacrifice was no longer acceptable, they used tamales as a substitute, placing little bundles of corn as offerings,” says Alarcón.

To this day, the most sacred occasions in Mexico — baptisms, first communions, and special wedding anniversaries — are still marked with the ritual of tamale making.

Enter Josefina Vega, Aracely’s mom, who makes 200-300 tamales every Christmas. She carries on the tradition of beginning at midnight on Christmas eve and working until 4 or 5 a.m. making the masa, slow-cooking the meat, soaking the corn husks, and assembling the tamales. Aracely added that, besides making tamales, the other tradition is having a tired and cranky mother on Christmas Day Nonetheless, she is learning to make tamales and other Latin dishes so her family can appreciate the foods of their heritage.

The best tamales are made from fresh unprepared masa and corn husks purchased at Latin markets. Traditionally masa is mixed with lard, but Josefina uses soybean oil and olive oil rather than animal fat because its a healthier alternative and she is diabetic. The substitution can result in the masa being a little drier and less fluffy. Garlic, onion, and water from the cooked meat is added to the masa for flavor. Josefina doesn’t have a recipe but if you would like try your hand at making tamales, here is one. Perfecting a dough (masa) that will be fluffy, not leaden, when it is steamed is the trickiest part of tamale making and, just like anything else, takes practice.

Tamale fillings vary by region (as do the wrappers and masa); savory fillings from shrimp to a rich, dark mole to sweet fillings of fruit such as pineapple and raisins. Josefina is from Sinaloa in northern Mexico where they use more vegetables such as carrots and potatoes. Probably the most common filling is pork with pasilla chiles. Today, Josefina was making spicy pork tamales, with jalapeno peppers adding the heat – I don’t know about you, but I love spicy! Not hot, just a little kick that fills your mouth and is soothed by a gulp of icy cold beverage.

But I digress… The meat mixed with pasilla chiles, cumin, oregano, garlic and onion and is slow-cooked in the oven for several hours. While the meat is cooking, prepare the masa and soak the corn husks in water until they are soft.

Organization is the other key to tamale success. Before starting the actual assembly, the fillings should be ready to go, leaf wrappers and ties (if you use them) should be soaked and cleaned, and a steamer should be prepared. Steam the tamales for 30 – 45 minutes depending on size and thickness.

Enjoy them as they are or I like them topped with a mango salsa alongside a green salad for a fresh twist.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

© Priscilla for She's Cookin' | from the heart, 2010. | Permalink | 31 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: holiday traditions, how to make tamales, tamales

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

December 1st marks the beginning of Hanukkah and the eight-day Festival of Lights celebration.The Hanukkah ritual of lighting the menorah at sundown commemorates the Maccabees’ triumph over the oppressive Syrian king and how one day’s supply of oil miraculously burned for eight days and nights following their victory. One of the traditional foods of Hanukkah is latkes where the oil used for frying also symbolizes the oil that lasted eight days.

Here my friend Tina demonstrates how to make latkes and gives us a few tips to ensure perfect crispy latkes.

Last year I joined Tina, her mother-in-law Celia, and her daughter Diana and watched and learned as she prepared latkes for the second night of Hanukkah. Her son Jason helped peel the potatoes and Tina gave me some valuable tips on making the perfect latke:  crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.  She uses a recipe that she copied from a December 1999 L.A. Times article as a guideline, since she only makes latkes once a year it’s easy to forget the importance of certain details such as:

1. It’s OK to use a food processor to chop all the onions, but the potatoes must be grated by hand – using a food processor results in gummy potatoes.

2. Dry the grated potatoes on paper towels or a clean dish towel. Cover and press with paper towels also.

3. Only peanut oil imparts the desired flavor.

4. Don’t use a non-stick pan – you won’t get the desired crispiness.

Having lived in California for 28 years with no family at all to celebrate holidays with, I firmly believe in the importance of creating your own family traditions. But I also find comfort in the past and feel that, especially these days, with family members often scattered far and wide, sharing memories from your childhood and preserving time-worn rituals beyond gift giving can provide your children with a deeper understanding and appreciation for the meaning behind religious and non-religious holidays. Food is always a significant part of any celebration and simple experiences like baking cookies, preparing tamales, or helping mom make latkes are priceless.

Many cooks are experimenting with using different vegetables and oils in their search for a different or healthier latke, a recent Los Angeles Times article had some good suggestions.

I decided to make sweet potato latkes because I’ve been on a bit of sweet potato kick. They’re so nutritious, chock full of antioxidants and beta carotene, and can be prepared in as many ways as regular potatoes: fries, roasted, mashed, au gratin, hash, salad, etc. So why not latkes… or potato pancakes.

✯Happy Hanukkah✯

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

© Priscilla for She's Cookin' | from the heart, 2010. | Permalink | 18 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Hanukkah, holiday traditions, Jewish traditions, latkes, potato latkes, sweet potato latkes, sweet potatoes

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Turkey recipes abound and its officially countdown time to the big day! I’ve ordered my Mary’s Free Range organic turkey – all it takes is a phone call to Whole Foods – and I’ll pick it up next Monday so it has 2+ days to defrost in the refrigerator. So let’s talk turkey! Have you decided to try something new or do you have a tried and true recipe? Or maybe you’re relieved of turkey duty and travel to your mom’s or sister’s house or you could be one of the many who enjoy the holiday feast by making reservations Its all good!

These days its just not as simple as roasting a turkey – there are recipes for dry rubs, brining, glazing, deep-fried, smoked, and grilled turkeys! For the past 10 years I’ve made a Brown Sugar Cured Turkey recipe from Bon Appetit – its a rub of brown sugar and herbs that is slathered on the bird the day before and refrigerated uncovered for 24 hours. Doing this draws the moisture to the skin and infuses the meat with a subtle sweetness. My mouth is watering just describing it to you!

Even though my words of advice for the home chef usually is along the lines of “don’t try anything too radically new” for the big day, this year I took a huge leap of faith and brined the big bird! After the grand opening of Whole Foods in Huntington Beach, I was contacted about testing a brining recipe for Kikkoman and thought that might be kind of fun for a change. I mentioned that I only use low-sodium soy sauce and the box I received included it and several other popular Kikkoman sauces along with a gift card to purchase a turkey.

My kitchen is not equipped with gigantic stock pots, my largest one was not big enough for a 12-pound turkey submerged in two gallons of soy-laced water , so I used doubled turkey-sized oven bags suggested in another brining recipe that I had seen recently in Bon Appetit.  And actually the bag helps keep the brining liquid from sloshing out of the pot as you move it from the kitchen to your refrigerator that’s in the garage Anyway, it was quite comical and in the end resulted in a succulent, but not salty, turkey infused with a rich savory umami flavor. The brown rice syrup glaze gives the bird a crisp, burnished skin.  The Don raved about it and no mention was made of turkeys past, so that means it was REALLY gooood!

Savory Brined Turkey with Brown Rice Syrup Glaze

Savory Turkey Brine:

(by Kikkoman for a 16-24 pound turkey. Can be halved for a smaller turkey)

2 gallons cold water

10 ounce bottle of Low-Sodium Kikkoman Soy Sauce

½ cup kosher salt

½ cup sugar

2 tablespoons dried sage

2 tablespoons dried celery salt

1 tablespoon dried thyme

The night before roasting, remove giblets and turkey neck; rinse turkey inside and out. In a large stockpot* mix water with remaining ingredients. Stir well until all the salt is dissolved. Place turkey in pot, cover with lid and refrigerate overnight, or at least 8 hours. Remove turkey from brine, pat dry with paper towels

*You can use two turkey-sized oven bags (insert one oven bag into another) and placed into a dutch oven or stock pot to make it easier to move in and out of the refrigerator. Slide turkey into the bag, breast side down. Place the turkey in the bag and pour brine over, close the bag with a twist tie.

Brown Rice Syrup Glaze:

⅔ cup brown rice syrup*

¼ cup Trader Joe’s Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar or apple cider vinegar

4 fresh thyme sprigs

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

2 tablespoons butter

Combine brown rice syrup, vinegar, thyme, and black pepper in a small saucepan. Heat over med-high heat to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 4-5 minutes. Mix in butter. Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Rewarm before using.

*Brown rice syrup is lightly sweet, amber-colored and smooth, Lundberg Sweet Dreams® Brown Rice Syrup is a nutritive sweetener that is about half as sweet as sugar. It’s a tasty alternative for those who watch their sugar intake. Bake with it, pour it over ice cream or pancakes, or stir it into your morning coffee.

To Roast Turkey:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Set oven rack to the lowest position.

2 teaspoons pepper

2 celery stalks, cut into chunks

2 peeled onions, quartered

canola oil

Sprinkle main cavity of turkey with pepper, fill with celery and onion. Close cavity with turkey lacing pins. Tuck wing tips under turkey. Brush turkey with canola oil.

Place turkey in rack in roasting pan; add two cups water to pan.

Roast turkey for two hours. Brush with glaze; add water if pan is dry. Roast for 30 minutes; brush with glaze. Tent with foil if browning too quickly. Roast until thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 165 degrees, about 30 – 45 minutes more depending on weight. Generally, roasting time is calculated as 15 minutes per pound. Brush with more glaze. Transfer to platter; let rest for 30 minutes (temperature will rise 5 to 10 degrees).

Enjoy

Tips on carving your bird:

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

© Priscilla for She's Cookin' | from the heart, 2010. | Permalink | 21 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: brined turkey, brown rice syrup, Kikkoman, Lundberg's, Mary's Free-Range Turkeys, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving recipes, turkey recipes, Whole Foods

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Shari Bonnin is a talented jewelry and clothing designer from Orange, CA and our November Mom of the Month. I knew Shari from Twitter (@sbonnin) and much to our surprise we met in real life when I recognized her at a parents orientation at UC Santa Cruz this summer. As it turns out, both our daughters’ top choice for college was UCSC and, based on their interest in the arts, they had both selected the same residence hall! Shari shares this recipe for Coca Mallorquina, a splendid rustic pizza from the Majorca region of Spain. She wrote this post for her website, BonninDesigns, in 2008 and it perfectly expresses my mission of not only promoting cooking at home, but honoring our parents and preserving cultural traditions through the cooking that they so lovingly shared with us through the years.  Please take a moment to read Shari’s words and drool over the best pizza in the world

Three years ago my husband’s mother passed away. Prior to that we would go to their home many weekends and eat Cuban food prepared by both my mother-in-law and my father-in-law as they shared the kitchen. Since her passing, we really haven’t eaten much Cuban food and my father-in-law seemed not interested in cooking much, even for himself.

For several years, my husband has wanted his father to come to our home and teach us how to make one of the family’s favorite dishes, Coca Mallorcin. It’s a Spanish pizza but my father in law (Nestor) says that you can’t get his version anywhere, even if you spent $100. He says that in Spain, they don’t put enough stuff on the pizza and his version is the best. After eating his version last night, I would have to agree hands down that it is the greatest pizza ever eaten.

I believe one reason Nestor hasn’t made it sooner was because of the time the dough takes to make as well as just his loss of interest in cooking. I had a solution to get him over here and not worry about the dough this time. Thanks to Trader Joe’s and their refrigerated pizza dough, our first problem was solved. Next time we can make the dough from scratch. The next issue I hoped would resolve once he got started.

Our day started at 3 pm with slowly chopping and preparing the ingredients for the dough and at the same time listening to stories of Nestor’s younger years in Cuba as well him sharing his tricks and tips on how to make these cocas different and even venturing into the next time he comes over other dishes he will share with us. He was truly in his element and I hadn’t seen joy like that from him in a long time.

So, on to the recipe

Coco Mallorquina

Enough for 3 pizzas

2 bunches of swiss chard

3 prepared pizza doughs

Spanish chorizo sliced (or a hot dried sausage such as Boar’s Head Apprezzese)

1 lb uncooked, peeled shrimp

¼ cup capers

½ cup sliced green olives

1 onion sliced

3 tomatoes sliced

5 cloves garlic minced

Olive oil

Salt

Flour for rolling dough

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

1. roll out dough to fit onto cookie sheet or pizza pan

2. brush the dough lightly with olive oil

3. salt the dough (we added quite a bit)

4. start adding ingredients starting with ¾ of the swiss chard and end with the remaining swiss chard

5. drizzle olive oil on the pizza

6. bake until dough is cooked on edges. Swiss chard should be a bit crispy and shrimp should be pink (about 12-15 min)

And of course don’t forget a good bottle of Spanish Rioja. We drank Marques de Riscal Reserva 2003. Chin-chin.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

© Priscilla for She's Cookin' | from the heart, 2010. | Permalink | 11 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Coca Mallorquina, Cuban, pizza, recipe

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

This month’s Guest Blogger and Mom is Judy of Bebe Love Okazu : An Asian-American Journey of Cultural Traditions Through Food.  Just as the name implies, Judy leads you on an exploration of her favorite Japanese foods and the cultural traditions associated with them as well as new traditions that she’s creating as she cooks for her beloved Bebe E and Bebe dada, her Chinese-American husband.

My first visit to Judy’s website had me wondering what does Bebe Loves Okazu mean? I guessed that Bebe meant “baby” and, after reading further, found out that, while Judy was growing up, one of the Japanese phrases she heard her mom say on a daily basis was, “konban okazu nani shiyoue?” which literally translates to, “what should I make for dinner tonight?“. So okaszu refers to a side dish accompanying rice (which is considered the main dish, but Judy didn’t like rice when she was a child so that caused some frustration for her mother).

The post was about Obon – a Japanese Buddhist custom honoring the spirits of one’s ancestors, beginning in July and extending through August.   I learned that an Obon Festival favorite is Okinawan dango, also known as sata andagi which, in the Okinawan dialect, sataa means “sugar” and andaagi means “deep fried“, so basically its a deep fried doughnut hole dusted with sugar. Thankfully, Judy’s website includes a glossary of Japanese words that she links to from her blog posts.

Feeling that she should “integrate” more into Orange County since it’s likely that Bebe will grow up here , Judy decided her family should attend the OC Obon Festival, rather than the West LA Obon Festival where she went as a little girl with her mother (pictured above). She was delighted to find a dango booth at the festival. But the line was long and it was time for Bebe E’s bedtime so she vowed to make dango at home instead! Plus, that way she could add them to the cookbook she’s creating for Bebe E which was the basis for her becoming a food blogger. This totally resonated with me because, although I didn’t start until the Young Baker was in middle school, that’s one of the reasons behind my madness!

I’m learning about Japanese food and traditions through Bebe Loves Okazu . Even though my mother is third generation Japanese, born in Hawaii, she married an American meat & potatoes guy and cooked only a few Japanese dishes. As children, I don’t recall her telling us stories of Japanese festivals or traditional celebrations. She is now 83 years old and slips into memories from her childhood more readily,  and I know now that one reason why she didn’t talk much about her life on Kauai has to do with WW II and that her family was saved from the Japanese internment camps because her parents operated the grocery store that was vital to the sugar plantation where everyone in the community was employed.

After reading Judy’s  recent blog post about sunomono (Japanese salad) I’ve also been inspired to dust off the mandoline that’s been sactioned to the garage because I’m scared of it It’s still in the box, but I’m determined to put it to use for the first time!

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

© Priscilla for She's Cookin' | from the heart, 2010. | Permalink | 8 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Bebe Loves Okazu, Guest Blogger, Japanese food, Japanese traditions, Mom of the Month

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

That, of course, is “Happy New Year” in Vietnamese. (I was in Little Saigon – Westminster, CA)

This is Happy New Year in Chinese:  新年快乐

In Japanese: 新年あけましておめでとうございます

In Korean: 새해 복 많이 받으세요

Asians all over the world celebrated the first day of the lunar new year on Sunday, February 14th.  The Year of the Tiger was welcomed with great joy and hope for prosperity and happiness.  The tiger symbolizes such character traits as bravery, competitiveness and unpredictability; if you’re curious, you can find out what sign you were born under here and what 2010 may hold for you here.

Last week my friend Monique and I met at the ABC Supermarket shopping center at Bolsa and Brookhurst in what’s known as Little Saigon in Westminster. I wanted to photograph and learn about the many symbols and customs associated with Chinese New Year and Monique acted as my translator and tour guide.

New years banner greets shoppers at the fruit market.

Only 10:30 a.m. and traffic was backed up on Brookhurst and the parking lot was swarming with erratic drivers looking for a spot. I parked way in the back.

The marketplace is humming with activity.

Flowers are an important part of decorating a home for Chinese New Year.  Plum blossom and water narcissus are the two flowers most associated with the New Year.

A vendor shows us her plum blossoms.

Water narcissus

In the midst of the crush of shoppers and staccato sounds of a foreign language, were two monks walking, eyes cast downward, moving silently amongst the crowd carrying a bamboo container tucked under their robes, discreetly revealed only when a passer-by offers a few dollars.

show deep respect

Tangerines, oranges and pomelos are frequently displayed in homes and stores. Tangerines are symbolic of good luck and oranges are symbolic of wealth. The first store we entered had a tangerine tree decorated with lai-see envelopes (also called hong-bao). Money is placed inside the red envelopes and given to children and young adults as gifts.

tangerine tree decorated with red envelopes

Traditional gifts given to families are rice cakes called banh chung made from white rice, marinated strips of pork and yellow mung beans. I had wanted to photograph Monique making a traditional New Years food but she said that everyone buys these in stores now because they are too labor intensive to make at home. I read a very touching article by Ky-Phong Tran in the Orange County Register recalling memories of his grandfather making the rice cakes every New Year – the only thing he ever made and how this tradition was his father’s way of reaching back 35 years and 8,000 miles to his childhood in the homeland.

Banh chung is a traditional gift

Piled high were colorful containers of candies and nuts that are given as gifts also.

Colorful candies and sweets for gifts

From here we went to the fruit market where Monique identified the exotic fruits for me and described their taste and how they’re eaten.  There was dragon fruit, an exotic lemon that looks like it has “fingers”,  gigantic jack fruit whose seeds are boiled and taste like chestnuts, prickly durian that’s called “stinky fruit” and has a custardy filling.  I bought a package of  mangostine which are cracked open and has white fruit segments similar to an orange.

exotic fruit and traditional Vietnamese desserts

Monique purchased some traditional Vietnamese desserts, made from rice and similar to what we know as tapioca or rice pudding, and bought plum blossoms for her home from a familiar vendor with a better price than the ones we priced earlier.

Monique with her plum blossoms

More commotion erupted when the police and zoning people arrived and  vendors were told that they couldn’t be spilling over into the fire lane and some were sent packing because they had no sellers license.

Eastern spirituality meets Western reality

The weekend brought the parades and pageantry of Tet Festival followed by 10 days of celebrating the Year of the Tiger with family and friends.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

© Priscilla for She's Cookin' | from the heart, 2010. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Chinese New Year, Ky-Phong Tran, Little Saigon, symbols of Chinese New Year, Tet Festival, Westminster, Year of the Tiger

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

In southern California, with its widespread Latin cultural influences,  tamales are a Christmas tradition, even for those of non-Hispanic origins. You’ll find families ordering tamales from Mexican restaurants (we ordered ours from Las Barcas, a local neighborhood family-owned restaurant) or from some other inside connection established through a friend or co-worker who knows a family that makes tamales to sell during the holidays.

So naturally, including the art of tamale-making had to be part of my series on preserving traditions through cooking and I was lucky enough to be invited to the home of a friend and fellow Orange County blogger, Daytripping Mom, aka Aracely, to experience it first-hand.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

© Priscilla for She's Cookin' | from the heart, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Christmas traditions, tamales

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Having lived in California for 28 years with no family at all to celebrate holidays with, I firmly believe in the importance of creating your own family traditions. But I also find comfort in the past and feel that, especially these days, with family members often scattered far and wide, sharing memories from your childhood and preserving time-worn rituals beyond gift giving can provide your children with a deeper understanding and appreciation for the meaning behind religious and non-religious holidays. Food is always a significant part of any celebration and simple experiences like baking cookies, preparing tamales, or helping mom make latkes are priceless.

Friday, December 11th was the first night of Hanukkah, a Jewish holiday that is celebrated for eight days and nights. Among the traditions of Hanukkah are lighting the menorah and making latkes (potato pancakes).

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

© Priscilla for She's Cookin' | from the heart, 2009. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Hanukkah traditions, potato latkes

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh