When the makers of Abuelita Chocolate offered to send me a free gift package, plus another one to reward a special reader, I happily said sí. It is my way of saying muchisimas gracias for your encouragement and support over these past 4 years. This slow-cooked blog is still plugging away!
4.1.2012
You muchachas. YOU muchachas! You made me cry. Some of you made me laugh so hard I almost . . . well you know. But all of you made it so difficult, if not impossible, to choose who would win the Abuelita Chocolate Gift Package and my lovely molinillo.
So I wrote all of your names on little pieces of paper and chose the winner at random. And la ganadora [winner] is . . . Georgina and her story of the Mexican Hot Chocolate and the Cussing Parrot. Felicidades, Georgina!
Though I am unable to award this Abuelita Gift Package and molinillo to everyone who sent a story, I want to thank all of you de todo corazon for your touching, sometimes hilarious, but always beautiful stories.
Do yourself a favor, TAKE A READ by clicking the Comments link below, and sit back, and dream of someone you would love to share una taza de chocolate.
(Just a little note: I did not receive monetary compensation for this post, except for the gift package.)
17 comments:
I would love nothing more than to share a cup of Mexican hot chocolate and pan de dulce or semita de anis with my own Abuelita in Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico. She just turned 95 a few days ago. Because of the state of things in Sinaloa and the amount of money it costs to travel safely there these days, I have not been able to see her again.
If I was able to sit at her kitchen table in Mochis I'd ask her about the births of each of her six children. Then I would ask her to help me with a few knit stitches I am having trouble with. However, with my Abuelita the conversations can never be planned. These were both things I had hoped to speak to her about last time I was there.
Instead she told me of the old boyfriends she had before she met my Abuelito, how she loved to wear red nail polish and that would anger her great-aunts and her memories of her own mother. Whatever we'd talk about would be juicy and I'd have the best time.
I would love to share una taza de chocolate with my husband Ted, who is an advanced Alzheimer's patient.
I have wonderful memories of the six months we spent in Mexico each year. We had such a wonderful time there, enjoying all things Mexican.
Unfortunately my husband no longer has these memories which were so dear to us.
Now when he is lost to me, I would love to have una taza de chocolate with the "old" Ted who was my best friend and lover.
There is one person that I would love to sit at my table with a couple of candles burning, some pan dulce, and a Taza De Abuelita Chocolate, and that is my son. The chocolate would be steaming is beautiful Mexican cups, the pan dulce would be warm and the conversation soothing. Ah, but just one day with my son again. Viva La Abuelita Chocolate y Viva mi hijo!
Wow, I didn't know Abuelita made the granulated kind. I'm used to the little hard cake type.
When I was a child, I loved going over to my Machita's (my maternal grandmother) house in Cd. Juarez. It was a brightly painted house with cages of parrots, a couple of boxers, Zar and Isi, a wishing well in the side yard and always, lots and lots of beautiful flowers.
I hope you don't take offense to what I will say since I'm merely qoating a parrot, one that was stationed in the servent's quarters off the backyard. My grandmother knew how much I loved using the molina to make the hot choclate so I would take her small wooden red stool to stand over the stove top and mix then she taught me how to froth it up, and I became a major "frother!"
One Spring morning, I went outside to talk to Esperanza who was hanging the laundry and as I sipped my hot chocolate, the said bird, yelled out, "Dame chocolate, chinga!" Poor Esperanza turned red in the face and apologized for th foul mouthed bird. I was 8 years old and was an aware of such language, but again, being 8, I went inside and asked my mother and Machita what a "chinga" was?? My mother went pale and my grandmother rose up and cursed "!ese pajaro malhablado!" She then quietly gave me a new cinnamon stick for my cup and told me to play in the garden and stay away from that bird!
I have so many wonderful memories of my grandparents...I was so very lucky to have known them into my adult life. They were one of a kind. I used to love listening to my grandmother tell stories about events that happened in her little home town in Sonora, especially the ones about her youth spent in Mexico during the Revolution...wonderful stories and as usual, being my Machita, always infused with such humour.
I would share un tazo de chocolate con mi bisabuela, RIP. Often times it is her recipes I am trying to recreate in the kitchen. I go by smell and taste until I get it just right. Of course in my opinion it will never be perfect. Now more than ever, as I have un mijito to share this wonderful food with, I would love to sit with Abuela Victoria and really dig deep into her stories, cookbooks, and inspirations. Born of an Apache mother and Irish father, she was was raised in DF and only immigrated into Texas after her divorce from my great grandfather, a Spaniard living in Mex. A true working mother she was, starting from scratch, cooking for her children, buying her own home, car, and belongings, with the earnings from her jobs as a seamstress and maid. I would like to thank her for setting an example of hard work and filling my belly and memories with scrumptious food.
To sit with my maternal grandmother over a cup of hot chocolate would be a dream come true. I never met her, as she died well before I was born. I would love to get to the bottom of the family stories we have heard. "Is it true that Grandfather 'stole you away' when you were 18, or did you go voluntarily? What was it like to be married to a gentleman who was so much older than you? How did you cope with his absences? Were you happy? I yearn to know if my grandmother was as sad as she looks in the only picture I have of her. Maybe it was taken on a "bad day"? Maybe it was just the fashion of the day that pictures should reflect someone sombre and mature? Maybe underneath that serious face there was a happy woman? My mom was a happy woman-did she teach her to be happy? And how about those stories of her father? Is it true he burned marijuana around his country hut to clear out the bugs??
What was my mom like as a child? We would discuss so much family history and laugh and drink more chocolate.
My son, Ezequiel, is 19 years old. The younger kids and I moved from Florida to Ohio recently because of the economy. But, Zeke wanted to stay there. He has lived there all his life and his friends are there...
I miss my beautiful boy and even before I read the rules of the contest, I was looking at the pictures and thinking, "I wish I were making hot chocolate for Zeke."
It would be a treat to have hot chocolate with my niece and nephew that live over 1000 miles away. I recently moved away and would love to spend an afternoon drinking chocolate with the darling kids (ages 5 and 7). The kids have helped make chocolate with me and their grandma since they could walk. It would be a delight to drink hot chocolate and think of my wonderful little friends.
Thanks for the great giveaway!
It's good to see you blogging again, Clementina... or, I guess, giving things away in this case! I look forward to reading everyone's stories. The parrot story is hilarious!
I would love to share my taza de choclate with my brother Forrest,that was killed in Vietnam in 1967. I miss my brother so much. Every time that I talk and think about him I cry, just like I'm doing now.
Tuesday, March 27,2012
I would share a cup of chocolate and lovely conversation with my little sister. We are from Jordan and she stayed there when I came to Texas for college. I miss her dearly and she loves hot chocolate so it would be perfect. :)
MMMM, I grew up drinking chocolate Abuelita. I have some in my pantry right now. I share my chocolate the way my mom and my abue did. With the whole family. I take a tabla of chocolate and put it on the stove with half a gallon of milk. After it is hot I pour it into the blender. Sometimes with an egg for a ponche, sometimes not. Then, we sit down with our pan dulce...
I'd love to share a taza de chocolate with my grandpa Bartolo and grandma Juana. Both passed away over 10 years ago and I had plenty of time to get to know them, but I still have lots of questions and want to know more about their lives. I want to know how they met in Guanajuato, how my grandpa wooed my grandma. I'd like to know more about how my grandpa developed a talent as a sobador. So many strangers used to come by his home for healing and he was alway willing to help.
My fathers mother, my Grandma Esther is who I would like to share my taza de chocolate with. I remained the only Grandchild of hers who nicknamed her Mymie & I refer to her by this title even though I'm 50+. When I was small she and I were the best of friends and it was one of those kinships that only got more precious as I grew older. Her way she spoke with me was always con cariño, I was a little princess when I was in her house. There was nothing I could do wrong when I was with her, I pushed the boundaries (some times when I was very young I knew I was being a brat) but she never scolded me! It makes me happy today to know I am here thru her bloodline, I am her people. She taught me about love, that love will never die.
Awesomely delicious!!! This is the schedule in my kitchen this weekend - make this first thing in the morning :) thanks for giving detailed steps. I also have a website about indian food and food trivia. Please visit if wanna try some authentic indian cuisine. http://www.tasteandflavours.com
Thanks.
la vida esta llena de agradebles accidentes! No que que escribi en mi buscador y acabe en su blog! Que delicia tanto al paladar como a los ojos! Y lo mejor de todo es que al parecer las dos tenemos un Love Affair con el chocolate, como se podra dar cuenta con el nombre de mi blog. Soy su nueva seguidora y es un placer poder disfrutar de nuestra cocina no importa la distancia. Es lo que llamo compartir amor sin barreras. Gracias!
Lizy@http://justdipitinchocolate.blogspot.com/
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