Well before school, students poured into my classroom to leave huge trays of homemade delicacies: enchiladas, tamales, caldo, quesadillas, empanadas, gorditas, pupusas, arroz con leche, churros, and chocoflan. Wow, holy heck, and goodness me. My students impress me [almost] daily, but this display was beyond belief.
One chica waltzed into class well into first period, a basket of empanadas slung over her wrist like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. She reported that her mother had started the meat at midnight, and that the two of them had risen at 4am to begin the assemblage. How could I give her a tardy when she brought us -- hands down -- the best empanadas I’ve ever tasted, hot out of the oven? With homemade hot sauce and a gorgeous writing selection to boot. [Swoon]
Pastes, I learned, are savory wheat pastries filled with meat and potatoes, native to the state of Hidalgo, Mexico. Another student gracefully wrote about her early childhood in Ixmiquilpan, where she and her mom stopped at a tiny pastes shop every Monday after buying groceries. She may be lightyears away from her home state now, but her family’s pastes recipe always gives her a warm and memory-filled taste of her far away youth.
From Gabriel and his caldo to Tamale Brenda to Jose and his first experience making gorditas with mom, each student had a story to gush. I only hope that they “get” the embedded memory, language, and cultural significance of food when we virtually travel to India during out next unit. Onward!