I have very fond memories of long weekends spent in Guatemala City, a five-hour drive from San Salvador where I grew up. Perhaps my favorite part of going to Guatemala was stopping by the local market and buying bags of canillitas de leche to take back home with me. This traditional candy from Guatemala is made with condensed milk that hardens into a stick, or canillita, and then just melts in your mouth. So simple, sweet and delicious. I stillRead More ...
Funny thing that I grew up in El Salvador where seafood and fish have always been abundant–and insanely delicious–but I didn´t appreciate that until I moved away. As a kid I detested shrimp, oysters and would only eat fish in ceviche. Now, on a hot summer day, all I crave are some ostras frescas, a fish ceviche, coctel de camarón or even a mojarra frita with an ice-cold drink. Since I only get to feast on Salvadoran seafood once aRead More ...
El Salvador, where I grew up, is a very Catholic country where all religious traditions are observed as part of the culture. One of those is Cuaresma, or Lent. We didn’t really have the tradition of giving something up during the 40 days of Lent, other than meat on Fridays. Those days, I knew some form of fish and veggies would be served at my house. Growing up I was never a fan of fish or seafood, so I wouldRead More ...
You’ve already been reading on our Facebook page, Twitter stream and on Tuesday’s post that last week Roxana and I spent four days together in NYC during the BlogHer annual convention. To be able to continue to grow SpanglishBaby into an organic community with real and loud voices, we need to branch out where people are paying attention. Let me tell you, SpanglishBaby was getting lots of attention at BlogHer and it’s all yours! Part of that attention was aRead More ...
I think one of the treats I took the most for granted when I lived in El Salvador and, later, in Mexico was the paleta, the ultimate frozen treat. They are everywhere and anywhere. I grew up with the ding, ding of the bell hanging from the paletero’s cart as he walked in front of my house at the same time every afternoon. My favorites were the paletas de coco, de fresa, pistachio and horchata. I still remember the timeRead More ...
Like so many Latin foods, words, and traditions, the incarnations of what we usually call “salsa” are innumerable. As a Salvadoran, I grew up with Chirimol, which is kind of similar to what you find at mexican restaurants as “pico de gallo.” It’s easy to make, and delicious. Cebollas, Limon, y Sal–these are a few of the strong sabores in chirimol, and they all work to balance eachother perfectly. No matter what the occasion, every family celebration I remember fromRead More ...
I remember traveling from El Salvador every summer to my Dad’s house in Houston and being in awe every time we would pass by a random pupusería in the middle of Texas. Back then, you had to be very Salvi to even know what that word meant without putting on a grossed-out snarl on your face and going: “pupu…what?!” Now, I’m happy to report, that I’m no longer pupusa-deprived when I travel to Texas or anywhere in California. Pupusas, that mouth-wateringRead More ...
