piñata - part two!

Last week we learned the history of the piñata.

Well this week, we are learning how to make one. I’ve never made a piñata before, but did paper mache projects when I was younger.

Materials needed:

• Newspaper cut into either 2 or 3 inch strips
• 2 cups of flour (I used wheat flour)
• 3 cups of water
• 1 large mixing bowl
• 1 spoon
• 1 balloon
• 1 pair of scissors

Optional materials:

• Tempra Paint
• Paint brushes
• School Glue
• 1 roll of crate paper or tissue paper
• The all important piñata filler… Candy!

Prep time:

Approximately 10 to 15 minutes to gather all materials needed

How to:

1. Make sure you have a clean work area and place newspaper underneath to catch the excess
2. Cut newspaper into 2 to 3 inch strips
3. Blow up balloon until desired size
4. Measure 2 cups of flour and pour into bowl.
5. Measure 3 cups of water and pour into bowl.
6. Mix flour and water together until you have a soupy, runny concoction.
7. Dip newspaper strips into the soupy, runny concoction.
8. Apply newspaper strips to balloon until the strips cover the entire balloon.

* I placed the balloon in a extra bowl so I didn’t get the runny concoction all over the place
9. Let dry.
* I placed the balloon in the garage to speed up the drying process. 10. After the balloon was dry, I put more newspaper strips on the balloon and repeated set 9.
10. Let dry.
11. Pop the balloon, which will leave you with a cast like object.
12. Then cut a hole in the cast which you place the candy.
13. Paint or decorate the outside of the cast like object.
14. Let dry
15. Place the candy inside.
16. String it up and have fun.

Total time:

I started the project Friday afternoon and finished on Sunday.

Sit back. Relax and relax the slide show:

piñata - part one!

When we were younger and it came time to planning our birthday party a few elements were always required: cake, balloons, invitations, and a group of our closest friends and a piñata! But choosing the piñata was always the easy part it followed the theme of the party.

When I turned seven years old, the theme of my party was roller skating. The popular thing to do back in the day was go to Skate Country North (oh, how I miss that place) and then everyone went back to my house for some more fun and of course I had a piñata and it was in the shape of a roller skate!

According to Wendy Delvin, the history of the piñata is very rich.

An early form of the piñata can be traced all the way back to Marco Polo in China and then to Europe and finally reached North America in the 16th century.

An early version of the piñata was a clay pot which was called la olla. There were times when the pot was decorated with different types of feathers, colored paper and objects (fruit and trinkets) were placed inside and when the pot was broken and the objects fell to the ground it was considered an offering to the gods. Early versions of the piñata were used for religious ceremonies (Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent). Piñatas are really not used for religious purposes today, but they are used for fun and recreational use.

Today, if you walk into any grocery or party supply store you will be able to find a piñata in the form of your favorite superhero, action figure or of a princess.



This is the first in a two part series about piñatas!

So make sure you come back next week to find out how to make a piñata!

salsa!

A recent article in The Arizona Daily Star got me thinking about Salsa. What is so special about this sauce that goes with chips, on tacos and that is put inside of burritos? Is it the fact that it comes in different varieties: hot, medium and mild.

At my house, we always have some form of salsa. Either store bought (currently, we have Pace Picatne Salsa) or homemade salsa.


My Tata Hector makes a very hot version of salsa with Chiltepin , jalapeños, tomatoes and onions. Tata Hector will put salsa on just about everything from eggs to steak and even on salads. Sometimes he will put salsa in spaghetti sauce.

Salsa can be made out of many ingredients including fruit (my friends rave about the Mango salsa at La Salsa) tomato, black bean even corn salsa.

At Chiplote, they offer four different types of salsa: Fresh Tomato (mild), Roasted Chili-Corn (medium), Tomatillo-Green Chili (medium) and Tomatillo-Red Chili (hot).

At Guadalajara Grill, which is located at 1220 E Prince Rd, the salsa is made fresh at right at your table. According to their website, they use three different types of chili’s, baked red plum tomato's, fresh garlic, cilantro, onions and a dash of salt.

Part of my family lives in the Washington DC area and when they come to visit, we always try take them for an authentic Mexican dinner. My aunt and uncle love going to Guadalajara Grill to experience the salsa that is made right at your table.

During my internship last spring at the Arizona Legislature, I came home for a weekend and wanted to do something special for my fellow interns, since we were working extremely hard: I made salsa!

I made a small dish of mild salsa. Fresh tomatoes, garlic, onion and Fire Roasted Hatch, New Mexico Green Chili's, which we buy at Safeway (we keep them in the freezer, so that they stay fresh longer) and a pinch of salt. It was nothing special but it was a hit. One of my fellow interns was from the Pacific Northwest and he just graduated from our neighbor to the north: ASU and he thinks that nothing good ever comes from Tucson expect for Eegees. He was impressed.

The recipe that I used has been in my family for years. My grandmother says this recipe is very simple and easy to change.


Ingredients:

Fire Roasted Hatch, New Mexico Green Chili
One large Tomato
One large white onion
Two garlic cloves
Salt to taste


Materials needed:

One sharp kitchen knife
One cutting board
One small mixing bowl

Prep time:

Less than 5 minutes

No cook time:

About 10 minutes to chop all of the ingredients.

Chop, mix together and add salt to taste.

a traditional Mexican wedding

With growing up in the Catholic church and attending numerous weddings, I wanted to find out about the different traditions that are involved.

The following are elements that help to make a traditional Mexican wedding a success.

Clothing:

• The groom and groomsmen will often wear tight black pants with an embroidered bolero jacket. If you are having a hard time picturing this think of what a bullfighter wears.
• The bride will stitch three ribbons (yellow, blue and red) into her lingerie for good luck. The colored ribbons will make sure that there is the availability of food, money and passion for many years to come.
• Some brides will not carry a bouquet of flowers instead she will carry a colorful fan.
• It is believed that if a bride wears a strand of pearls on her wedding day, it is considered to be bad luck. The pearls will symbolize tears that the bride will shed while the couple is married.
• The bride will wear a mantilla veil. Her dress may be inspired by a dress that a flamenco dancer may wear. The dress will have lots of ruffles and possibly colorful embroidery.
• The bride will wear white a dress and most likely that bridesmaid’s will wear red or another color that will stand out.
  

Those involved:

• The Padrinos (or Godparents): Will not only provide emotional and financial support for the couple. They will be involved during the ceremony, whether they are doing a reading or presenting the couple with a bible or rosary and they also will be recognized in the program.
  

During the ceremony:

• Most weddings will include a full mass. Catholic weddings are never held outside.
• After the bride and groom have exchanged their vows, a cord, white ribbon or a string with rosary beads will be placed around the necks of the bride and groom. This is a symbol of unity and is a traditional aspect of a Catholic ceremony.
• Towards the end of the ceremony, the bride will either offer her bouquet or the bouquet that the flower girl to the Virgin Mary. During the offering of the flowers, the bride will ask the Virgin Mary to bless her marriage. Then the bride will return to the altar, the priest will give one final blessing which will indicate that the ceremony is over.
• During the ceremony, the groom will give his bride thirteen gold coins. These thirteen gold coins are a representation of the groom’s commitment to the marriage and support his wife. With the bride accepting the coins, it symbolizes her commitment to take care of him.
  

After the ceremony:

• During the first dance, friends and family will form a heart around the couple.
• Friends and family will sing La Vibora de la Mar to the couple while going underneath a bridge formed by the bride and groom. At the end of this song, the bride and groom will toss the bouquet and the garter.
• The cake which some people think is the most important part of the wedding will be a rum cake with either pineapple, pecans and coconut filling.
• Dinner will consist of shredded chicken or beef, rice, beans, tortillas. Instead of wine or champagne, sangria will be served.
• There may be a piñata (made out of paper mache) either in the shape of a heart or the couple’s favorite animal will be filled with candy for the children at the reception.