Poco-Cocoa

I somehow knew I should have stayed in bed this morning. I woke up a little late, which meant no time for breakfast. So off I went, hungry and sleepy, to cook breakfast at the B&B. I put the quiche and the raspberry almond strata in the oven, then the sheet pan full of bacon. Not long afterward, I came back from the dining room to find the kitchen filled with smoke. One piece of bacon had burned, but you would think I had set fire to the whole place, there was so much smoke. So I opened a window and took out the bacon, and went about preparing the rest of breakfast.

I noticed that the quiche was cooking very slowly, and was a little nervous that it wouldn’t be done in time (several of our guests needed breakfast a little early–7:00). I pulled out the strata and increased the temperature a bit to encourage the quiche to finish cooking. The strata was a new recipe, one I had created on the fly, and it didn’t look all that great. I was disappointed.

I served all of the breakfast except the quiche, which was slowly, slowly firming up. I finally decided to pull it out, 10 minutes late, and check it for doneness. I grabbed the quiche with one hand, I guess a little too forcefully, and the whole thing flipped over and spilled all over the inside of the oven and the floor. My first thought was, “Great! Now what am I supposed to serve these people?!” My second thought was, “Great! Now I have to clean the oven, and the quiche bits are already burning and making more smoke!” My third thought, and the thought that stays with me even now, was “Ouch!”

I hadn’t even noticed, but the quiche flipped onto my forearms, and the quiche pan landed on my wrist. So here I was, quicheless, with fairly large burns on both arms, in pain, and trying not to freak out. I grabbed a bag of frozen raspberries and tried to apply it to the burns as I cleaned up the major part of the mess and started making scrambled eggs. At this point, my boss came in to help me…she was more worried about the burns than the breakfast, but of course I was just upset that I had ruined a quiche.

The rest of the morning was filled with several fumblings, dropping forks and stumbling into things. I also happened to write “Blueberry-Almond Strata” on the blackboard, when it was actually a Raspberry-Almond Strata. I failed miserably at being a capable cook today, and it was no fun at all. Near the end of my shift, Myles, the cutest dog ever (belonging to my boss), started shaking uncontrollably and having some sort of seizure. So my boss took him to the vet while I finished up. No news yet on how he’s doing or what went wrong.

I went straight to my neighborhood pharmacy when I got off work, and the pharmacist helped me find some burn ointment and second-skin patches to put over my arms (just have to say that I LOVE my neighborhood pharmacy!). I was dreading taking a shower, because I knew the hot water would seriously hurt the burns, but I HATE cold showers. Let me just say it was a quick one. I’m not even sure if I got all the conditioner out of my hair. I jumped out of the shower and immediately dressed my wounds and attempted to take a picture. It’s not easy to do left-handed, so it’s not really clear, but there it is. And yes, my other arm is bandaged identically.

But, after that horrible morning, things couldn’t get much worse, so I’m anticipating a wonderful, happy day. I watched A Midsummer Night’s Dream on television, I’m excited that my niece is coming to stay with us tomorrow, it’s beautiful and cloudy outside, the cidadas are singing, I have two fudgy brownies waiting for me (courtesy of my friend Lindsay), and it’s almost the weekend. It’s going to be a lovely day.

This is my niece, Kourtney, who just celebrated her quinceanera on Saturday. Unfortunately, I was having so much fun that I forgot to take pictures, so this is the only one that I have (and Justin took it!).

Kourtney’s quinceanera started with a mass at the Catholic church. The mass was much like any other mass, except that the church was beautifully decorated with white roses. Kourtney and her court of honor (much like bridesmaids in a wedding) entered the church in a procession, with Kourtney being escorted by her mom (my sister) and dad. The girls’ dresses were so pretty; some girls wore pink, others lilac, and others yellow. During the mass, the priest gave a homily about the possible origins of the quinceanera. Apparently there were ancient Aztec traditions for coming of age ceremonies for young girls, and the priest also linked the celebration to the Jewish bat mitzvah.

Kourtney received lots of gifts for this celebration; not just wrapped presents and birthday cards, but also traditional gifts specially chosen for the ceremony. During the mass, relatives and friends came forward to present the gifts to her and have them blessed by the priest. Justin and I gave her the necklace, and others (including my parents, my brother, and various aunts and uncles) presented a ring, a rosary, earrings, a bracelet, a crown, a pillow, a bible, and several other gifts. All of these are symbols of Kourtney’s entrance into womanhood, and the affirmation of her faith.

After the mass, everyone gathered for the reception. Unlike many weddings, in which the reception might include dancing, in the Mexican tradition, these events are separate. So the reception began in the late afternoon, and everyone was treated to homemade dishes and music chosen by the DJ. My parents and family made a lot of the food, and it was delicious. The main dish was asado, traditional for weddings and quinceaneras, which is pork simmered in a red chile sauce. There were also pinto beans and Spanish rice, potato salad, and bread. The tables were decorated with flower topiaries and candles (all made by my family), as well as little bowls of bizcochos, crumbly anise-flavored cookies that are rolled in cinnamon sugar. These cookies make an appearance at all our family celebrations.

After the reception, we had a little break before the dance started. To start the dance, Kourtney and her court (10 girls with their escorts) are introduced and take part in La Marcha (which guests are also welcome to take part in). La Marcha is a traditional dance that leads the dancers across the floor in different formations, including one where couples form a canopy by clasping hands above their heads, allowing other dancers to duck under a tunnel of arms. It’s difficult to explain, but fun to do. After that, Kourtney danced with her father, her grandfathers, her godfather, and her little brother. I was doing pretty well until her little brother, Gary, came out to dance with her. After that I just cried and cried.

From then on it was a free for all, dancing and gettin’ jiggy. There was a cake-cutting ceremony and a “champagne” toast (it was actually pear cider), and we had so much fun.

So I apologize for the lack of pictures, but hopefully my other family members will share their own photos with us soon, so that I can share them with you. Happy birthday, Kourtney!

We’re back! I’ve decided to post our trip in a few different segments, and this is Part One: The Road Trip.

We left Austin around 11:00 on Thursday morning, in our stylin’ rented mini-van. Our first stop was Fredericksburg, a historic, mostly-German town about an hour West of Austin. The main street is lined with shops and bakeries, and the outskirts are dotted with wineries. We stopped at the Fredericksburg Herb Farm to have a wonderful lunch, which I’ll post more on later. I stopped to take a photo of this gorgeous flower after a short rain shower.

Chad found a rope swing in the herb gardens, and played with that for a bit.

After Fredericksburg, we kept on chugging down highway 87, heading West. I had a little scare when I looked up to see this truck in our lane. It was being towed by another truck.

We stopped at Baker Street Coffee Shop in San Angelo for some sandwiches and coffee. I’m not a coffee drinker, but I have to say that their Snicker Bar coffee was so good! I had a bit of a caffeine overload afterward, though, which is not a great thing when you’re stuck in a van.

The road was long and tiring, and once we were out of the hill country, it was plains and farmland as far as the eye could see. As we moved further West, we saw more and more pump jacks and oil rigs, the signature landmarks of that area.

Justin drove the whole way up and back. I don’t know how he did it, but we were so appreciative! Leti came along for the ride, and kept me sane during times of stress and boredom. Chad and Lindsay brought up the rear, making us laugh and happily experiencing all that West Texas life has to offer.

We finally reached my parents’ house at around 10:00 p.m. The few stops we made along the way slowed us down quite a bit, as it usually only takes about 7 hours for the trip.

Friday we had breakfast and headed to Lubbock to visit Justin’s parents. We had lunch at Saigon Cafe, where Justin had a lemongrass tofu dish that he is still pining for. We stopped for gelato afterward, then headed back to my parents’ house for a hamburger cookout. Our little group opted for Boca Smoked Sausages on a bun, and let me just say for the record that those things are delicious. A lot of my family had arrived by this time, so it was a whole lot of talking and hugging and telling stories with people I haven’t seen in years.

Saturday was all about the quinceanera, which I’ll post more on later. I will just say that it was so much fun!

Sunday we were on the road again after a home-cooked breakfast at my parents’ house. My mom made French toast, which we eat plain, with salt. I can’t seem to replicate her recipe, simple though it may be – mine always seems more like something you’d want to eat with syrup and butter. Hers is almost savory. My dad cooked sunny-side up eggs for me, and yes, I am spoiled rotten.

The road home was much quieter, and much longer. We were all exhausted, but we fit in a stop at Becker Vineyards outside Fredericksburg.

We tasted a few wines (I liked the Reisling, and Justin enjoyed the Viogner), then went outside to visit with a very friendly horse on the property.

We didn’t kill each other, and we seem to all still be friends, so I’d say the trip went well. I had a blast spending time with my family, and was so glad that my friends were able to meet aunts and uncles and cousins and such.

Stay tuned for the next chapter: the Quinceanera!

Tomorrow we’ll be driving off into the sunset…literally. We’re heading West, to a little town in West Texas for my niece’s quinceanera. We’re renting a minivan (we’re so stylin’), and Justin, Leti, Lindsay, Chad, and I are driving 7 hours to visit my family and party, party, party.

We plan on having lunch in Fredericksburg, visiting a winery or two, and making various other stops along the way, so the 7-hour trip will probably end up being a 10-hour trip. I wonder if we’ll still like each other by the time we get there…

Highlights of the trip will include taking in the West Texas sunsets, dreaming under starry skies with no smog or city lights to obstruct our view, and attempting to feed a group of usually healthy mostly vegetarians on West Texas fried foods. Justin says that there’s supposed to be a meteor shower while we’re there, and Mars will be in a prime viewing position.

Our plans are to arrive late on Thursday, then Friday morning go bug my parents and beg for breakfast. Friday afternoon my parents are hosting a cookout for the many family members who will be arriving. Saturday is all about the party, and Sunday will be the drive home. Those are the plans, anyway…we’ll see what actually happens.

While we’re gone, our kitty, Roux, will be home alone, with unlimited amounts of food and water. This is not a good thing: Roux is on a diet, Science Diet Light, to be exact, precisely 3/4 cup per day, due to his, um, weight issues. The vet doesn’t want him to gain any more weight, since he’s borderline overweight. Poor kitty. Anyway, while we’re gone, we’ll have his food and water in one of those feeders that just keeps on pouring, so he won’t run out. The problem is that Roux, innocent and small as he seems, will eat and eat and eat. He will eat until he vomits. I am not looking forward to returning on Sunday to an obese cat and a house full of hidden vomit puddles.

Anyway, I may try to post from my parents’ house, but I’m not making any promises. When I get back, I plan on updating you all (because I know how curious you are about this quinceanera thing) with photos and anecdotes from our West Texas road trip. Until then, have a great weekend, eat some veggies for me, and send thoughts of love (and restraint) to my little kitty.