Guests arriving soon! What to do?

Canadian friends from the province of Quebec emailed recently with the good news that they will be visiting us for a few days at the end of February.  My mind went into high gear.  Are our guest rooms comfortable?  Will spring cleaning of the yard be completed?  Will the weather cooperate?  (Late winter and spring are notorious in the Desert Southwest for gale force winds.) But, most important of all, how can we entertain our guests with new and exciting experiences?

My home town of El Paso, Texas is a mid-size town located on the United States-Mexico border. 

We are a family oriented town where life proceeds at a leisurely pace. If we lived in Los Angeles like our son, any number of great restaurants, shows, museums, and sports would be available. The entertainment problem would not be what to do, but how to choose among many great possibilities.

I made a mental list of what El Paso experiences we had offered our friends on previous visits. A picnic among the boulders at Hueco Tanks State Park came to mind. We also toured the Magoffin Home State Historical Site followed by afternoon coffee and pastries at Kinley's Coffee House.  A drive up Highway 28 to Mesilla and Las Cruces, stopping at La Viña Winery, gave our guests a taste of New Mexico.  And how could I forget the plate of shared nachos at Rosa's Cantina with Marty Robbins' "El Paso" playing in the background? Yes, that about "does" El Paso!

Maybe we can capitalize on the slogan of El Paso as the "Mexican Food Capital."  Not that I am biased as a native-born El Pasoan, but our local Mexican food is really, really good.  It is so tasty that my husband, Wayne, and I do not dare order Mexican food in any other locale because we know we will complain throughout dinner.

With these thoughts in mind, I can start listing which Mexican food restaurants to invite our friends to.  For a true El Paso experience, the L&J Cafe is tops.  Known as the "Old Place by the Graveyard" because of its proximity to a historic cemetery, the L&J has been serving authentic border food since 1927. This iconic cafe is a place where you can experience the heart of El Paso.  The large bar is often filled with patrons conversing loudly over the music.

And the food.....ahhh.. My favorite plate is Huevos Rancheros, a fried corn tortilla topped with a fried egg, topped with red chile sauce, served with sides of rice, beans, and warm flour tortillas. Service is swift and efficient.   

Another of our Mexican food haunts is Julio's Cafe Corona, which has two locations in town.  We like it because it reminds us of days of our youth spent in the original Julio's across the border in Ciudad Juárez.  The atmosphere here is quieter without being stuffy.  Service is impeccable.  My favorite dishes are nachos, made the authentic way with beans and shredded cheese, and Flautas Oaxaqueñas, an attractive dish of bite-sized flautas topped with guacamole, salsa, and lettuce and tomato. 

If everyone is not stuffed to the gills with Mexican food at this point, we have two favorite Mexican food restaurants located five minutes from our house.  Barrigas Restaurant is about as close as you can come to a true Mexican experience without crossing the border.  Beautiful Mexican music classics, friendly waiters, and an extensive menu with offerings from the interior of Mexico.  And Carnitas Querétaro, another favorite restaurant, we frequent so often that we have our favorite table, our favorite waiters, and our favorite lunch dishes (caldo de res chico for me and pozole for Wayne). We love to be seated with a view of the tortilla makers, patting out authentic corn tortillas by hand.

With all of this eating out planned, perhaps I should also be thinking about outdoor exercise for the group?  A hike in the Franklin Mountains?  A Sunday walk up Scenic Drive?  More realistic, I suppose, is a group collapsed in front of Netflix, vowing never to eat again.

Candlemas - a good reason for a celebration!

If you are looking to chase away the winter blues, look no further than Candlemas, celebrated on February 2nd of each year.  Candlemas is known by many names, Festival of Lights in English and Día de la Candelaria in Spanish. Living in the Southwestern United States with its multiple cultures, I have always wanted to plan a Candlemas celebration.  This year may be the year!

My idea began on January 6th in my home city of El Paso, Texas, where Three Kings Day is celebrated with a special sweet bread, called Rosca de Reyes. 

A small plastic figurine, representing the Baby Jesus, is baked into the bread.  Tradition has it that the person whose slice of bread contains the figurine must host the next get together on Candlemas Day.  In actual practice, bakers usually place several figurines in the bread, I suppose so that more people can join in the fun. My husband, Wayne, and I ate our way through most of a medium-sized rosca without finding the figurine, but I still wanted to plan another winter celebration.

Candlemas was a pagan festival adopted by the Catholic church and given special religious meanings.  What intrigues me about this holiday is that it occurs midway between the December solstice (Do you remember that short, dark day?) and the March equinox, which some consider the beginning of springtime.  Once Christmas and New Year's Day are over, I can barely wait for springtime and gardening season.  Candlemas will remind me that I have made it halfway through the winter.  If I can just hold on a little longer...

Candlemas has several important associations.  For those of use who missed making New Year's resolutions, it is a time for new beginnings. It can be the impetus for spring cleaning or preparing the ground for spring planting.  Candlemas is also traditionally a predictor of future weather, much like Groundhog Day. ""If Candlemas be fair and bright, Winter has another flight.  If Candlemas brings cloud and rain, Winter will not come again." 

Now for celebration plans.  First, I will turn the electric lights off and light as many candles as I can locate around the house.  Next, the menu.  Tamales are typically served in Mexico.

We still have tamales in the freezer left over from the Christmas season, but we may buy fresh ones from a waiter friend at a local restaurant whose wife is a caterer.  Fresh, warm tamales are a special treat.  My favorites are the green chile and cheese.

If our weather turns cold, I may attempt a Mexican drink known as champurrado that has yummy ingredients like milk, chocolate, brown sugar, corn flour (masa harina) cinnamon and anise. I'm also considering the idea of serving a dessert crepe, because crepes and pancakes, which have the color and shape of the sun, are a European tradition.

  


I am intrigued by the thought of observing Candlemas,  a holiday that has been celebrated for centuries and continues to evolve, acquiring new connections to daily life.  And I have great hopes that planning a party will help keep me entertained during those long, dreary days until March 20, the First Day of Spring finally arrives.