The Other Side of the Tortilla

Day of The Dead

Atole de calabaza

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How to make Mexican atole de calabaza. A gluten-free hot beverage perfect for fall and winter! Recipe via theothersideofthetortilla.com.

This post is part of a compensated campaign with Maseca, but all opinions and the recipe here are my own.

Atole de calabaza is a masa-based beverage made with milk, thickened with Maseca corn flour, and served hot. This pumpkin-flavored version tastes similar to pumpkin pie and is perfect for serving around Thanksgiving.

Although vanilla, chocolate (called champurrado) and strawberry are the most common atole flavors, there are many other common flavors such as pumpkin, or modern, non-traditional flavors such as blueberry cardamom atole. I love to serve this pumpkin atole with conchas (a type of pan dulce, pictured above).

RELATED RECIPE: Atole de vainilla

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and pumpkin pie is always a staple in my house at this time of year. As a kid, I always used to want to drink the leftover pumpkin pie filling, which my mom would warn me against doing since it contains raw eggs. I’d manage to drink some anyway and usually everything was fine, but occasionally, I’d end up with a stomachache. This atole tastes very similar to pumpkin pie filling thanks to the creaminess from the evaporated milk and has no risk from the eggs like pumpkin pie filling. What more could I ask for? It’s the perfect breakfast or dessert when served with some pan dulce!…

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Baked panela cheese and membrillo ‘pan de muerto’ for Day of the Dead

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Baked panela and membrillo in puff pastry to look like pan de muerto for a fun Day of the Dead appetizer. Recipe via @MauraHernandez on The Other Side of The Tortilla.

This post is part of a compensated campaign in collaboration with Cacique and Latina Bloggers Connect. All opinions and the recipe are my own.

This recipe is a fun spin on pan de muerto, a sweet bread typically served during Day of the Dead celebrations.

Traditionally, pan de muerto is perfumed with orange blossom water, has dough adornments on top that represent bones, and then is baked and dusted in sugar. Similar to a baked brie, this dish envelopes panela cheese and something sweet into a flaky puff pastry crust that, when finished, resembles pan de muerto but has a tasty, sweet and savory surprise inside!

I’ve used quince paste in this recipe, known as membrillo in Spanish; you can also substitute guava paste if you prefer….

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Atole de vainilla

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How to make Mexican atole de vainilla. Recipe via @MauraHernandez on The Other Side of The Tortilla.

This post is part of a compensated campaign with Maseca, but all opinions and the recipe here are my own.

Atole de vainilla is a traditional masa-based beverage, often made with milk, and served hot. This hot beverage goes great with tamales, pastries or pan dulce and is also most popular around Day of the Dead and the holidays. 

Atoles date back to pre-Columbian times in Mexico and are well-documented as a form of sustenance amongst the Aztec and Mayan cultures. Historical texts tell us the drink was often flavored with fruits, spices or chiles. 

Vanilla, strawberry and chocolate are the most common flavors of atole nowadays, but you can sometimes also find mora (blackberry; one of my favorites), nuez (pecan), pineapple, elote (sweet corn), piñon (pine nut), and many other flavors. In some areas of Mexico, you can even find savory atoles—one made with with green chile is called chileatole.

RELATED RECIPE: Champurrado…

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How to make sugar skulls for Day of The Dead

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One of the most common decorations on altars for Day of the Dead is the sugar skull. You might not know how easy they are to make; they just require a little time (drying overnight) and patience (decorating with royal icing). I’ve put together a detailed tutorial with photos so you can see how easy it is!

You can even do this project with the kids—but be sure to use a drop cloth in case they make a mess with the sugar.

Ingredients to make sugar skulls for Day of the Dead

Tutorial how to make sugar skulls for Day of the Dead

You can see my full step-by-step photo tutorial of how to make sugar skulls for Day of the Dead on latinamom.me….

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Who celebrates Día de los Muertos in the United States?

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Though Día de los Muertos is a holiday celebrated in Mexico, the changing landscape of the United States means that a lot more people are celebrating Day of the Dead on this side of the border.

Day of the Dead altar

According to a study released in 2012 by the Pew Hispanic Center about Hispanic origin profiles of those living in the United States (whether U.S. born or foreign born), people with Mexican ancestry or who are Mexican by birth make up nearly 65 percent of all Hispanics in the U.S.

In 2013, a third of Mexicans in the United States were foreign-born, while 42 percent of immigrants from Mexico have been in the U.S. for more than 20 years. About 26 percent of Mexican immigrants were U.S. citizens.

Of course, this makes me happy because it means there are a lot of people like us who are looking to stay connected to their heritage whether by food, culture or traveling to Mexico (or at least reading about it). Here’s a guide with information on who celebrates this holiday in the United States, and how they celebrate it.

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How to make pepitorias

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pepitorias

In the days of the Aztecs, Día de Los Muertos was a festival celebrated the entire ninth month of the Aztec calendar, but when the Spaniards arrived in the New World and attempted to convert the indigenous people to Catholicism, the holiday was moved to a single day to coincide with the Catholic All Souls’ Day on November 2.

The Spaniards disliked the indigenous traditions and may have labeled them as barbaric and pagan, but Día de Los Muertos is not as scary – or sad ­– of a holiday as some think. This holiday actually has very sentimental roots. It’s all about celebrating life and honoring the dead.

In some places in Mexico there are parades, people decorate the gravesites of their deceased loved ones and construct altars in their homes with offerings, called ofrendas, for the souls of the dearly departed. Altars often include items like photographs of the deceased, items they may have owned, foods and beverages they may have liked, flowers and even sometimes a pillow and blankets for the souls to rest after their long journey.

Día de Los Muertos is one of the most beautiful and unique holidays in Mexican culture because everyone, young and old, shows their love and respect for the family members and friends that have passed away over the years. Celebrating their lives is also a reminder to the living to cherish their time on earth.

One of my favorite things to do in Mexico City is go to the tianguis, or open-air market. Part of the reason I love them so much is because they’re a vibrant reminder of what it means to truly be alive. I love everything about it: the arts and crafts for sale; the tinkling strains of melodies being played by street musicians; the food stalls with everything from jamoncillo (milk fudge) and dulce de calabaza cristalizada (dried candied pumpkin) to tacos de canasta (tacos in a basket).

pepitorias

On my first visit to the Bazar Sábado in Mexico City’s San Angel neighborhood several years ago I was delighted by all the makeshift stalls selling artisan crafts and every kind of sugary homemade treat I could imagine. Many of the stall owners off the Plaza Jacinto were offering generous samples to entice potential customers to buy a medio-kilo of this or a medio-kilo of that. One of the things that caught my eye at several of the stalls, though, was a hanging treat bag with brightly colored half-moon wafers that had pepitas sticking out of them and some kind of sticky miel holding them together. I was entranced.

“They’re pepitorias,” my suegra told me. She handed the stall owner a few coins with a smile and gently pulled a bag down from the clip from which it was hanging. As I took my first bite, it was both sweet and salty and I was definitely in love. Suddenly, I noticed the vibrant-colored obleas everywhere I went and I seem to have developed an internal radar for finding them ever since.

Earlier this year, I discovered one of my favorite Mexican grocers began carrying obleas in three different sizes and all the colors of the rainbow so of course I bought a package of each size. As candies and other treats are often given as ofrendas for Día de Los Muertos, I’ll be including pepitorias on my altar this year.

obleas

RECETA

PEPITORIAS

METHOD

pepitas y semillas de calabaza

Fold the wafer in half so that you have two half moons. They may crack completely and that’s just fine. It’s okay if they don’t crack evenly or if you have a few jagged edges.

Using your finger, the back of a very small spoon or a miniature pastry brush, dip your chosen tool into the molasses and lightly spread along the inner edge of one side of the wafer. I prefer to use my finger to feel the molasses and avoid using too much. If you use too much, your pepitorias will be drippy with molasses and will bleed through the wafer, making them very sticky. The key is to use just enough molasses so the seeds will stick but not so much that the seeds are able to shift easily. Once you’ve finished, place the pepitas or pumpkin seeds onto the molasses so they are stuck to the wafer and protruding halfway out.

Gently spread molasses on the inner edge of the other half of the wafer as well as a little in the center so the two pieces of wafer will stick together. Align the wafers so the molasses strip on the second half of the wafer fits snugly against the seeds and press gently in the middle to make sure the wafers are stuck together.