Fiesta de Cumpleaños (Birthday Party)
Hola mis amigos y amigas! Yesterday we were invited across the street to our Mexican neighbors for their daughter's birthday party (6 years old). They are lovely people, and I'm always admiring their beautiful garden (and attempting to practice my meager Spanish on them). lol Before we left the house I gave my hubby & daughter (19), a quick lesson on how to say, "Happy Birthday" and, "Please" and "Thank You" in Spanish.
We were escorted to the back garden, where they had a bouncy castle & swing set, which were being utilized by a load of cute kids (all bi-lingual), and a handful of teenagers (also bi-lingual), along with adults. There was a big barbecue on which preparations were being made for fragrant carne asada, and a table loaded with beautiful home-made Mexican foods. Here, let me just show you, since words cannot describe as well:
First, there were the icy fresh juices, one of cantaloupe and one of watermelon. Let me tell you, in the 104F/40C desert heat, these were very refreshing. Every so often there would be a little chunk of fruit. Mmmm!
I was so pleased to see this, since I've read about it in my beautifully illustrated Spanish/English childrens' book (In My Family/En Mi Familia, by Carmen Lomas Garza). One of the relatives was busily shaving the thorns from freshly-cut cactus pads - and these were from the gorgeous cacti growing along the back wall of their garden. They were so fresh a bright green, unlike the slightly wilted, commercially grown ones from the Mexican market around the corner from us. I'd been curious how these would be prepared, and even more curious at how they would taste. We were not disappointed!!
...aaaand here is what those cacti were made into: Nopalitos (or is that just the name of the cactus?). This was a sort of salsa (with cilantro, onions & tomatoes), and they also grilled some whole pads on the barbecue. Back in the old days, before refrigeration, many Mexicans turned to these because they lasted through the winter, which could be fried with chile and eggs for breakfast. In the big pot behind was Chicken Mole (browned chicken pieces simmered in a spicy tomato and chocolate sauce). The chicken was so tender it was falling off the bones. Everything tasted absolutely scrumptious!
Next to add to the already heaving plates was rice (el arroz) and refried beans (frijoles refritos) - home made and nothing from a Mexican restaurant comes close!
Here's the chef of the day, cooking up the carne asada (grilled meat), a piquant marinated beef to eat as-is or to fill up a warmed corn tortilla with a little bit of mole sauce and nopalitos. You can see the gent in the background, still working away with the cactus pads.
After filling up on loads of awesome food, they started putting together nachos and soft tacos with the carne asada. An extra stomach would have come in handy right around then, because I just couldn't fit in any more.
Here's my plate. I ate as much as I could, but goodness they piled on so much!!
I managed to practice Spanish with a few people there, introducing myself, asking them their names with plenty of mucho gusto-ing all around. The lady of the house doesn't speak much English so we had lots of fun practicing on each other. I know I made mistakes, and mostly my Spanish was peppered with English (or the other way around). I have no grand delusions of speaking fluently yet - not until I've been using Spanish every day (mostly on SD for right now) for a couple of years, but it's something fun to strive towards.
Thanks for reading!!
1 Answer
Lucky you. The word barbacoa does not however refer to BBQ like a US style backyard BBQ. This is Asada or Parrillada. Barbacoa is a method of cooking in a in the ground pit with like a hawaiian luau. At least that is the usage here in Baja.
