Happy Holidays!

Happy Easter...and belated Passover wishes, to all.

Today, we're off to my Aunt's house in the OC for a fine Easter lunch tradition. Unusually, we're actually having this family get together on THE day. For a long while we've been hosting the family party the week before so there's no clashing with the myriad in-laws.

I think of my mother today. I miss a special Mexican dish she used to make called, capirotada. I encourage you to look at the link - great pictures - an almost identical view of how my mother made it except my mother used cheese in her recipe. Here's another good article about it. The dish consisted of dried fruits, fried bread, cinnamon, and the best brown sugar syrup. For us kids, the making of the dessert was much better than the actual dish itself because we loved to just dip the fried bread into the syrup. That was the best part. I'm laughing as I write this because in fact I don't think I ate more than a few bites of the completed capirotada in my entire life. Of course, the dipping and eating and hanging out in the kitchen took place the day before Easter. We'd wait patiently while she cut the bread, fried the bread, and then made the syrup. Then...eating just enough so as to leave enough for my mother. She was never sober while making the dish, but that was okay because her tipsy-ness was always a happy sort. The making of the food always brought her such joy.

Anyway, I miss her today, but in a good way. Memories that "warm the cockles of the heart." As they say.

Happy Easter, everyone...happy, happy, happy.