Today in some parts of the world, it’s Valentine’s Day. But in Mexico, it’s called Día del Amor y la Amistad. While Valentine’s Day is mostly a celebration of romantic love, Día del Amor y la Amistad encompasses love and friendship.
We don’t really celebrate Valentine’s Day in our house, and in fact, this past weekend we sort of forgot about the fact that all the restaurants were going to be full of people celebrating Valentine’s Day when we called to see if we could get last-minute reservations at one of our favorite places. Of course, we couldn’t get a table, so instead we cooked dinner together at home. If you ask me, as much as I love eating at restaurants, there’s something special about cooking together that makes a meal truly enjoyable.
And as any of my friends and family will tell you: a home-cooked meal is how I show my love best. Whether it’s rajas con crema for José, salsa de tres chiles (video recipe coming soon!) for my mom or Crock-Pot cochinita pibil for my best girlfriends, I love cooking for the special people in my life.
Take a few minutes today to remind your friends and family how much you love them. Whether it’s a hug in person, a phone call, an email or a big ol’ batch of Mexican comfort food like papas gratinadas to go with dinner, there’s no better feeling than to know how much others care about you, so don’t forget to spread the love as liberally as you’d add queso to those papas!
If you’ve got escuincles, check out these adorable print-and-color valentine cards from our friends at Spanglish Baby and Viva Greetings.
And head over to our Facebook fan page if you have a chance – today we’ll be talking about the foods we love – including non-Mexican foods, just for one day – including linky love to recipes from some of our favorite food blogs.
From our home to yours, ¡Feliz Día del Amor y la Amistad a todos! We’ll be celebrating by reminiscing about our recent trip to the beach in Oaxaca (pictured above) over a home-cooked meal.
- I’d love if you’d leave a comment below to let me know which recipe from The Other Side of The Tortilla you’ve served to your family to show them how much you love them or what your favorite recipe is that you’ve seen here and why.
Ana L. Flores says
February 14, 2011 at 11:38 AMThanks for sharing the Valentine´s cards that Viva Greetings made for our SpanglishBaby readers! they´ve been a hit!
I really, really want to make your Garibaldis. I know they would totally impress my husband, especially since we never got to eat any during our trip to México in December!
Maura Hernandez says
February 26, 2011 at 8:47 PMAna, it was my pleasure to share the Valentine’s cards! They were adorable. As you know, I love Viva Greetings. I shared the link also with some friends with Spanish-speaking niños and they loved it! I really hope you make the garibaldi… I bet your husband would be super impressed you could make a treat from El Globo. The only hazard is once he knows you can make them, he will ask you to make them all the time! 😉
valentinavitols says
February 14, 2011 at 8:58 PMRT @MauraHernandez: ¡Feliz día del amor y la amistad! Learn how we celebrate this Mexican-version of Valentine’s Day on #TOSOTT ›› http: …
Julie Vargas says
February 19, 2011 at 12:08 PMI just recently came across your blog and I love it! I think I must have been searching for some recipe and somehow stumbled across your recipe for Albondigas. What struck me was how exact your recipe is to the Albondigas recipe my Mother-in-Law gave me a few years ago. My husband was born in raised in Mexico City and one of the best things I ever did was have my Suegra, who is an excellent cook, give me a bunch of her tried and true recipes. So I knew that if you were making Albondigas like my Suegra then I was surely going to love all your other recipes too! And guess what? So far everything I have made from your recipes has turned out FABULOUS! Thank you so much.
The first recipe I made was the Frijoles Charros and that finally gave me the excuse I was looking for to buy a pressure cooker. I found one for a really great price at Marshalls and the beans turned out delicious. The other 2 recipes I made were the Chilaquiles and the Enchiladas Verdes. My husband said that they tasted like they came right out of this Mother’s kitchen. Seriously, there could not have been a higher compliment. So I thank you for your wonderful recipes and I look forward to making many more.
One recipe that I don’t see on your blog that I would love to make is Pozole Rojo. I am on the lookout for a great recipe that uses ingredients that are readily available here in the States like the canned hominy. And also which cut of pork to use since I am not sure I see myself finding a whole pig’s head which is what I have seen mentioned in some other recipes I have searched. A little intimidating to say the least!
So this comment is a bit long, but I really just stopped by to say, “I love your blog!”
—Julie
Maura Hernandez says
February 26, 2011 at 8:52 PMJulie, thank you so much for this lovely comment! I think it might be one of the best comments I’ve ever received on the site and it totally made my day. I’m so happy to hear that you’ve been making lots of recipes! And even more, that they’re so similar to your suegra’s recipes. I take that as the highest compliment that your husband felt like he was eating in his mom’s kitchen. THAT is why I write this blog.
I have been working to perfect my pozole recipes (regular, green and red). I don’t think I have it quite right just yet, but as soon as I do, I promise I will post it for you.
Thank you from the bottom of my little corazón for your kind words – I am so happy to hear that I’ve helped bring a little México lindo y querido into your kitchen. 🙂
Un abrazo fuerte, Maura
AutismWonderland says
February 14, 2012 at 8:14 PMWhat a beautiful post! I didn’t grow up celebrating Valentine’s either. I remember asking my mom about it and she would say stuff like ~ don’t be nice to be just on one day, be nice every day. As a kid, I didn’t get it. Now, I do. And I like the idea of celebrating the love of our family and friends.