HAPPY CINCO DE MAYO!!!

In keeping with the Mexican theme of today's post, I thought I'd show you some of the authentic Mexican food we enjoyed for most of last week. I only had to cook a couple of nights due to the generosity of two Mexican gals who work for my hubby at the restaurant. Its a huge demonstration of love and respect for Latinos to share their food. Isabella and Sophia send something home with Agustin often. He enjoys their kindness and its a perk for me as well! (The NO COOKING THAT NIGHT perk!)

Monday Night - Agustin brought this home after work. Mole (pronounced molay)and Mexican Rice.


Unwrapping the goods! Chicken/Turkey in Mole sauce is a traditional Mexican FIESTA dish!

The best way we've found to heat up tortillas here in the states is in a cast iron skillet.

Place them in a tortilla keeper to stay warm. I bought mine in Queretaro, Mexico.

The meal is plated and ready to serve!

One happy 'Mexicano' digs in!

Tuesday Night - Agustin brought home tamales. This signature Mexican dish is another which is normally reserved to be made for big fiestas such as weddings, birthdays, Christmas, etc. due to all the work one must put into making these. My hubby's mom is known as the QUEEN OF TAMALES in her circle. I like to add a dollop of sour cream on mine. You can add salsa or whatever you're in the mood for. These tamales were loaded with chicken and green salsa inside, so the sour cream was all they needed.

One needs an extra plate on which to discard the corn shucks after unwrapping the tamales.

One lone tamal is left on MY plate!

Wednesday Night - Ground beef with spices, onions, and cactus! Yes, you read that right, cactus! They are quite tangy and good for you. Also pictured are refried beans and more Mexican Rice. I prepared this meal myself.

These are the cactus we purchase in the grocery store.




CINCO DE MAYO is a pretty big deal around our house due to my hubby being from Mexico! He is quite proud of his heritage and of the resilience of the Mexican people. It seems everyone wanted to claim the land which is called Mexico. Spain, France, the United States as well all had a go at it, but por fin, the Mexican's prevailed. Cinco de Mayo is an important day in history as it is the day that 4,000 Mexican soldiers defeated 8,000 French and traitor Mexican soldiers in the town of Puebla, Mexico in 1862. This was all going on while the United States was fighting our Civil War.


Here are a few facts about the origin of this celebration which I took from THIS SITE.

The 5th of May is not Mexican Independence Day, but it should be! And Cinco de Mayo is not an American holiday, but it should be. Mexico declared its independence from mother Spain on midnight, the 15th of September, 1810. And it took 11 years before the first Spanish soldiers were told and forced to leave Mexico.

So, why Cinco de Mayo? And why should Americans savor this day as well? Because 4,000 Mexican soldiers smashed the French and traitor Mexican army of 8,000 at Puebla, Mexico, 100 miles east of Mexico City on the morning of May 5, 1862.

The French had landed in Mexico (along with Spanish and English troops) five months earlier on the pretext of collecting Mexican debts from the newly elected government of democratic President (and Indian) Benito Juarez. The English and Spanish quickly made deals and left. The French, however, had different ideas.

Under Emperor Napoleon III, who detested the United States, the French came to stay. They brought a Hapsburg prince with them to rule the new Mexican empire. His name was Maximilian; his wife, Carolota. Napoleon's French Army had not been defeated in 50 years, and it invaded Mexico with the finest modern equipment and with a newly reconstituted Foreign Legion. The French were not afraid of anyone, especially since the United States was embroiled in its own Civil War.

The French Army left the port of Vera Cruz to attack Mexico City to the west, as the French assumed that the Mexicans would give up should their capital fall to the enemy -- as European countries traditionally did.

Under the command of Texas-born General Zaragosa, (and the cavalry under the command of Colonel Porfirio Diaz, later to be Mexico's president and dictator), the Mexicans awaited. Brightly dressed French Dragoons led the enemy columns. The Mexican Army was less stylish.
General Zaragosa ordered Colonel Diaz to take his cavalry, the best in the world, out to the French flanks. In response, the French did a most stupid thing; they sent their cavalry off to chase Diaz and his men, who proceeded to butcher them. The remaining French infantrymen charged the Mexican defenders through sloppy mud from a thunderstorm and through hundreds of head of stampeding cattle stirred up by Indians armed only with machetes.

When the battle was over, many French were killed or wounded and their cavalry was being chased by Diaz' superb horsemen miles away. The Mexicans had won a great victory that kept Napoleon III from supplying the confederate rebels for another year, allowing the United States to build the greatest army the world had ever seen. This grand army smashed the Confederates at Gettysburg just 14 months after the battle of Puebla, essentially ending the Civil War.

Union forces were then rushed to the Texas/Mexican border under General Phil Sheridan, who made sure that the Mexicans got all the weapons and ammunition they needed to expel the French. American soldiers were discharged with their uniforms and rifles if they promised to join the Mexican Army to fight the French. The American Legion of Honor marched in the Victory Parade in Mexico, City.

It might be a historical stretch to credit the survival of the United States to those brave 4,000 Mexicans who faced an army twice as large in 1862. But who knows?

In gratitude, thousands of Mexicans crossed the border after Pearl Harbor to join the U.S. Armed Forces. As recently as the Persian Gulf War, Mexicans flooded American consulates with phone calls, trying to join up and fight another war for America.



Mexicans, you see, never forget who their friends are, and neither do Americans. That's why Cinco de Mayo is such a party -- A party that celebrates freedom and liberty. There are two ideals which Mexicans and Americans have fought shoulder to shoulder to protect, ever since the 5th of May, 1862. VIVA! el CINCO DE MAYO!!





Here are some GREAT CINCO DE MAYO CRAFTS for the kiddos.


For the adults, some yummy MEXICAN RECIPES.


Tonight, (trusting I'll feel well enough-I had a rough weekend) we'll be going to one of our favorite Mexican restaurants for supper and to listen to LIVE MARIACHIS!!!