Calaveritas!

By this time of the year you can find in all Mexican bakeries, hot from the oven, the very traditional "bread of the dead". Right now, the smell of my kitchen reminds me of that time of year when this celebration is just a few steps away and everyone back home is preparing for it.

I don't know if it's because I am so far from My sweet Mexico, but I have really come to appreciate it's vast culture and ancestral traditions. That is why, this year, I want to celebrate it the traditional way. I've already put together an altar honoring the dead which includes the basics: Tissue paper that represents Wind, Fruits that represent Earth, Glasses of Water to relief the souls from thirst, knowing they have been traveling so much to come back on Nov 1st and 2nd to join the living world, and Fire, which comes from the candles lightened for each of the souls remembered and forgotten as well as to light their way back from the grave. We also use incense to guide them through the smell. I know this all sounds a little crazy but it is a fantastic celebration to honour our departed and in a way, it also makes fun of Death in order to help us remember not to be afraid of it and to enjoy life as much as we can, so that when death comes, you can leave this world with no regrets. People also have fun that day writing "calaveritas" a poem written to make fun of friends and family with funny stories that pretend to tell the way they died, always focusing on their flaws as part of why "Catrina" (Lady Death) chose them.

This is the second time I made bread of the dead, which is a sweet laborious bread that is eaten by everyone in Mexico. This bread represents the bones of the dead and is at it's best with hot chocolate, atole or just milk!..

I'll keep you posted as I cook my way through my day of the death menu, inspired by 2 of the most amazing cook books I've ever owned "My Sweet Mexico" and "The Essential Cuisines of Mexico". I am very excited to cook (some for the first time and others for the second time) all these familiar flavours that I haven't had for a long time.