Luna Feeding My Soul

This is my first blog post. I had it all planned out. I'd been thinking all day as I cooked my way from 8am to 10:30pm. I took photos and thought I'd write about these cute little cupcake bites I'd made inspired by Bakerella.com It was a whimsical start, and I had some good quips. Then, I ended my day making tamales. It had been a process, roasting meats, making the red and green gravies, using my great grandmother's recipes. The more tamales I made, the more I thought about my Great Grandmother Luna.

I barely knew her in life, she died when I was very young. I know she was indigenous to New Mexico, that she lived there her entire life on the soil of her ancestors, worked hard, and was a good Christian woman. She wore turquoise jewelery. I know that she once killed a boy in her car, she could not have helped it, he ran directly in front of her, but she could never sit behind the wheel again. I know that she made tamales, and that she taught my mother how to make tamales and red chili gravy, who then taught me, and that I make and share today.

Every year, when I begin my own process of making tamales, I think of this woman who I barely knew, but who lives on in my roasting of chilies, onions, garlic and pork shoulder. I pay homage to her as I float test my masa dough and spread it on the moist corn husk. As the aroma from the steam fills the kitchen, it seems as though her spirit is dancing around me. Immersed in these thoughts, It became clear to me that in writing this blog, I wanted to explore the relationship between people and their food, how the cooking and sharing of it connects us to the earth and one another. How food can bind a family in tradition, revisit a long gone childhood, make people fall in love, heal physically and emotionally, help to teach culture, tolerance, and cultivate communities. Because this is what is important about food to me.