Eat Your Heart Out

I'm finally onto a new book, Like Water For Chocolate, and only one chapter in I could tell that I will be able to relate to it. The household of Tita and the rest of the De La Garza family basically revolves around food because it is such a big part of their culture. It is most definitely the laaarge percentage of Italian in me and my family, for food and dining is a major part of our lives as well. Unlike some families, it is anything but unusual for my family to sit down together for dinner. We try to either sit down or go out together as often as possible because it is finally a time where everyone can unwind, relax, and be stress-free. Throughout my life I have seen and heard of the true Italian blood running through the family. My dad and his family used to go to my great-grandma's house every Sunday for "dinner" at around 2 or 3 in the afternoon! And we even do it now every so often at my grandma and grandpa's house, just not habitually.
I love cooking with and learning from my dad because it is a chance to bond over something that has been passed down over the generations, such as that "secret" recipe of the dish that you have always wondered how it tasted so good. In my family, Tita's, and millions of others in the world, food serves as a comfort; it is the connection between families, a cooking experience, a collection of centuries-old yellowed and stained recipes, a candle-lit dinner oozing with romance and good conversation, a picnic on a clear, sunny day, a celebration with special friends and family. In many ways, food is the basis of much of our lives. Not only do we need it to survive, but it is a part of actually living and enjoying. The De La Garza expresses the importance of food and how no matter what curveballs life throws, there will always be something, perhaps even a "Christmas Roll" to make it all a little better as it always seems to do for Tita.

CHRISTMAS ROLLS
Source: Like Water for Chocolate: A Novel in Monthly Installments with Recipes, Romances, and Home Remedies by Laura Esquivel

1 can sardines
1/2 chorizo sausage
1 onion
oregano
1 can chiles serranos
10 hard rolls

Chop onions fine. Fry the sausage over low heat so that it cooks thoroughly without getting too brown. When done, remove from heat and add the sardines, which have been deboned ahead of time. Any black spots on the skins must be scraped off with a knife. Combine the onions, chopped chiles and the ground oregano with the sardines. Let the mixture stand before filling the hard rolls.


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