The Great Taco Experiment-RESULTS! #30TacoTrucks30Days #TacoTrucksOnEveryCorner

Hello dear ones!

btw-If you haven't seen the "Soy Yo" video just stop reading this and go watch it HERE

How are we all holding up? We're in the election home stretch and, as promised, I'm here to share the results of my Great Taco  Experiment! Yes, I did it, I ate a meal at a taco truck every day for 30 consecutive days. Those of you who follow me on Instagram and Twitter got to come along for the ride, but for brevity's sake, here's a quick slide show of the entire experience:

So what were my takeaways (pun intended) from this little project? Here's 10 things I learned.

1. I had no idea how many people (by which I mean anyone) would view my eating tacos as a political act targeted against them personally instead of targeted at the narrative that is being churned out by a particular political figure. Really? I'm just eating tacos and poking fun at a demagogue's racist rhetoric. I thought that was something we could all get behind, right? Wrong.

2. Turns out people don't like even the suggestion that they might be racist by association. Even if by "suggestion" you mean "eating tacos". I quickly realized how naive I had been going into this. I mean, if people are this offended by my eating tacos and posting it on social media, then they must really agree with this guy, no?

3. You know what really helps when you realize people you've known for years and years may be racist and may harbor racist feelings about you specifically? Eating more tacos.  I'm totally not kidding, it really helped.

4. Tacos trucks  provide delicious, actually rather nutritious food to the masses at unbelievably low prices. The best fish taco in town (at Kiko's Place) will run you an entire $1.75. And two tacos make more than a meal.

5. Taco trucks are a meeting place for every social and economic class to gather over their love of tacos, learn about each other and create a sense of community. Not once did I hear anyone getting into a political argument or putting down their fellow man while standing around a taco truck. Which is not something I can say about my local post office, frozen yogurt store or home improvement mega-store.

6. Free soup while you wait. DELICIOUS. HOMEMADE. FREE. SOUP.

7. There are nowhere near enough taco trucks in San Diego, let alone the USA. In fact the only downside to my taco truck odyssey was the amount of time I had to spend looking for taco trucks.

8. Taco tucks provide valuable income for surrounding businesses. A great taco truck is a boon to anyone's brick-and-mortar biz, no matter what it is.

9. Taco Trucks are as American as Apple Pie and Marshmallow Fluff. Especially in the West, also known as "used to be Mexico".

10. While not all the taco trucks I visited were operated by immigrants (some were Latino Americans born in the USA), many were. Like most immigrants from anywhere in any field, they worked tirelessly to provide quality service, even during a week-long extreme heatwave in which hundreds of other businesses closed. Workers who had the day off of course didn't want to spend the hot day cooking at home, so guess where they went?

Then there was this day:

This is the taco that had me sobbing in the parking lot.

If there's one main takeaway from this whole experience, it was this: FOOD IS POWERFUL. As a necessity of life, it has the power to bring us together and it's absence means the end of all civilization. Nothing evokes memories, good or bad, as effectively as food. As I mowed my way through 38 tacos, I remembered the first time I had a fish taco (made for me by a childhood friend's dad who was a fisherman). I remembered my high school years when I ate the "California Taco"- like the "California Burrito", which made it's debut during my adolescence, it contained carne asada and french fries. No wonder I gained two pounds.

I was completely caught off guard, however, by the taco in the photo above. It was at a taco truck I'd driven by countless times during the last couple of years, but had never visited. When I finally pulled into the parking lot I was astonished to discover that Tacos El Ranchero (at the Telegraph Canyon Road on-ramp to the 805) served, pretty much exclusively, exactly the dishes I grew up eating and almost never find in restaurants. Tacos made from cabeza (yep, head) and lengua (tongue) were never my favorite as a kid (though my late dad adored them), so I chose tripa (tripe).

I took the tiny taco (only about 4 inches wide) to my car and couldn't resist sneaking a bite. Immediately, tears flooded my eyes and before I knew it, I was sobbing into my tripa right there in the parking lot at Tacos El Ranchero. I couldn't figure out why at first, but eventually the memories of childhood barbecues started surfacing. All my cousins (I have 18 first cousins alone) and aunts and uncles singing and talking loudly and running and even fighting while my grandfather happily grilled tripa on the barbecue he'd built himself in the backyard. When my grandfather got too old to stand over the grill, my Uncle Chuy took over tripa duty-and his recipe was even better. Like my dad, both my grandfather and my Uncle Chuy are long gone. I never realized until that moment in the parking lot just how deeply I missed them, that I never thought I'd ever taste tripa again, and how grateful I am to have grown up in this country, at this time, in this family, eating this food.

My grandfather (standing) and my dad (the kid in the foreground)  at Thanksgiving-
the only holiday where we didn't eat tacos.

They would have gotten such a kick out of this whole taco truck thing. My dad and his brother were the first members of the family to attend college-for their generation just finishing high school was a huge accomplishment. My grandfather was a cowboy and in many ways a very traditional, macho, Latino man, but he was also the biggest champion of diversity I've ever known. All three men faced a great deal of discrimination during their lives, but they never let it stop them from pursuing their dreams and setting an example for the rest of us.

My Uncle Chuy (center, with saxophone) in his ground-breaking, multi-racial band, The Mixtures.
He later became a professor at San Diego State University.

When you encounter folks with an "us against them" view of their fellow citizens, for whatever reason, I hope you'll respond as my dad, grandfather and uncle always did, with patience and compassion and the offer of a taco.

Wishing you love with extra cheese,
Nacho Mama

The Great Taco Experiment! #30TacoTrucks30Days #TacoTrucksOnEveryCorner

Wow, has it really been that long?

How is everyone? Tired of the election cycle yet? Yeah, me too. And despite my last post, I've never been a person who goes all political on social media. I try not to push the candidate I'm voting for down anyone's throats and I really respect the people in my life who have different political views than mine.

This time, though, it's been a little...different. Though I have friends and family that span the political spectrum, one thing is very clear: no one I know personally, not one single person, no matter what their party affiliation, is planning to vote for the GOP candidate. 

Most of my Republican friends* have even reached out to me and others about the rhetoric coming from the GOP candidate, assuring us that they absolutely do not support the vitriol and hate speech we've all seen on the 24-hour news cycle. They are standing up to their own party and holding them accountable, because they feel it's for the good of their party. And you know what? That actually helps. 

*This is where I interject that I, personally, do not belong to any political party. I like to really research everyone's position before casting my vote, regardless of which party my vote represents. It's time-consuming but it helps me sleep at night.

Anyhoo-as most of you are aware, this happened a couple of days ago:

Like many of you, my first thoughts were:

1. "Dominant Culture? WTF is that supposed to mean?"

and 

2. "Great. Now I want tacos."

and

3. "OMG, every corner? How can I make sure this happens?"

As many of you know, I live in San Diego. Which means I am acutely aware, perhaps more than most, of what this glorious, Trump-free, taco-filled future would look and feel like for all of us. And it is FREAKING DELICIOUS.

Upon further reflection, I realized how long it had been since I had actually purchased a taco from a taco truck. Waaay too long! And what if, heaven forbid, the unthinkable happens and THEY ALL DISAPPEAR? I would have been complicit, and I'd never be able to forgive myself. Also, to be honest, the "Latinos For Trump" guy's remarks really, really offended and hurt me. So I decided to deal with those feelings the best way I know how, by:

1. Poking fun.

and

2. Eating. Tacos.

I'd like to do what I can to keep a cheery attitude while also keeping the local taco truck industry humming. I decided to try and eat at least one meal a day, for 30 days, from a local taco truck. My friend Jen suggested the hashtag #30TacoTrucks30Days - and the Great Taco Experiment was launched!

Day 2: VERY convenient location!

Follow me on Instagram or Twitter (@shesnachomama on both) to see all the amazing tacos (and more) I will be eating! 

And stay tuned here on the blog to see what a month of Taco Truck Cuisine does to my waistline. Kind of like "Supersize Me" only more delicious, less dangerous (I think?) to my health and with better makeup. That's right, I will be posting RESULTS of The Great Taco Experiment on October 2! Until then...

Have you ever enjoyed taco truck tacos? They taste like freedom.

Wishing you love with extra cheese-

Nacho Mama

If you are reading this anywhere but on www.nachomamasblog.com, then this content has been stolen. Please do not support thieving cochinos and click away!

Youtube "VLOG EVERY DAY IN APRIL"! #VEDA

Hi everyone!
I've decided it would be fun to participate in Youtube's "Vlog Every Day in April" (#VEDA) campaign. If you don't subscribe to my Youtube Channel you can do that RIGHT HERE-check me out every now and again for a wee glimpse into my day as I try to make Lifetime status with Weight Watchers while having life at the same time.  I promise not to make the videos too long!
Just to give you an idea-here's the first 2:

Are you participating in #VEDA? If so please share your Youtube channel and I'll be sure and check YOU out!

Wishing you love with extra cheese- 
Nacho Mama

Nacho Mama's 4-point Orange Creamsicle Pie! #Smuckers

Something you may not know about me is-I absolutely adore jam! Where most folks enjoy their pancakes, waffles and french toast smothered in maple syrup? I'll always reach for the marmalade or boysenberry jam.

So when Smuckers sent me an assortment of their jams to review as part of their Spreading Smucker’s® Traditions Recipe and Essay Contest, I was delighted to try and come up with an original recipe using one of my favorite ingredients!

Ok, it's not *entirely* original! One of my favorite recipes is this blackberry pie by Paula Deen (you KNOW how I love her!). When I tried the Sweet Orange marmalade, it kind of reminded me of a creamsicle and I thought, "Why not make an ORANGE version of Paula's recipe?" Also, I wanted to make it as friendly to my Weight Watchers plan a possible. After a little fiddling, I came up with a pie that my whole family LOVES! You won't believe how EASY it is to make too!

Nacho Mama's Orange Creamsicle Pie (NO BAKE!)

serves 8

1 Lite pre-made Graham Cracker Crust

10z canned mandarin orange slices, drained

3T Smucker's Sweet Orange Marmalade

1 eight ounce tub of Fat Free whipped topping

1. Combine orange slices with marmalade and spread evenly over the crust.

2. Top with whipped topping and SERVE!!! That's it! (NOTE: the topping in the photo is not very fluffy because I was too impatient to completely defrost it before spreading on the pie. This made it even more like a creamsicle, but not as pretty looking as if I had let it completely thaw first.)

This is seriously yummy folks. I even made a "Peaches and Cream Pie" with 10 oz of drained canned *peaches* and Smucker's "Orchard's Finest" peach preserves. This was super yummy and, I thought, a fitting tribute to my favorite Georgia peach, Miss Paula Deen!

After plugging in all the ingredients on the WW website, the pointsplus for this recipe came out at only FOUR pointsplus per serving! That was almost as sweet as the pie itself. :) This is a great recipe for any time of year, but now (right before Thanksgiving) is when baking items like those pie crusts and the whipped topping go on sale, so it's a great time to stock up!

I had so much fun experimenting with these Smucker's products! For more info on their Spreading Smucker’s® Traditions Recipe and Essay Contest, please visit the Smucker’s website where you can find the competition, in English and Spanish: www.smuckers.com or www.smuckersenespanol.com.

I'll definitely be preparing one of these pies for the holidays-please let me know if you give my creamsicle pie a try!

Wishing you love with extra cheese-

Nacho Mama

Disclosure: I was sent these products for review by Smucker's. The above is my honest opinion-and my own recipe!

Nacho Mama's Original Recipe: QUESADILLA-DE-LOS-MUERTOS! #DayoftheDead

Here's a secret-my husband has the BEST ideas! He was the one who came up for the name of this blog and he also came up with the idea for this recipe. Read on and you'll see why I love this gringo so much!


We eat a LOT of quesadillas in our house. It's probably the only food that ALL 4 of us enjoy, even my picky kids. My 2-year-old refers to them as "Dia-Dias" - which prompted my husband to say, "You should make a Quesadilla De Los Muertos!" 


Now, you KNOW I can't ignore a challenge like that! It took me a minute to figure out the best way to do it and, since I was making myself a quesadilla for dinner tonight anyway, I decided to give it a try. It was so easy!


First of all, I'd like you to know that I like to make quesadillas that are complete meals. Tonight's quesadilla was filled with cheddar-jack cheese, ground turkey, spinach and arugula. YUM! 


After cooking the quesadilla on the comal (you could use a skillet), I took out my pizza cutter and sliced 2 curved slivers out of each side, making a perfect calavera!


Then, in a sealed sandwich baggie, I mixed 2 tablespoons of light sour cream with LOADS of chili powder, to give it color and flavor. You could also mix the sour cream with adobo or mole sauce, but I was out of both! After snipping a tiny corner off the bag, I piped the face and decorations onto the quesadilla. Yes, I could have written my name but I was in a hurry because I was so HUNGRY after a long day of coupon shopping!


The result? NACHO MAMA'S QUESADILLA-DE-LOS-MUERTOS!

It was SO TASTY!


I hope you'll consider cooking up a Quesadilla-de-los-Muertos yourself over these next few days. Do YOU  have anything special that you make for the Day of the Dead? Please share! I'd love more traditions to share with my family.


Wishing you love with extra cheese on YOUR quesadilla!
Nacho Mama

PLEASE Vote for Me!!!

It's been quite a whirlwind week! I just found out that I'm going to be visiting CHICAGO for the very first time for a very special assignment (more on that in my next post) and now I've just learned that I've been nominated for a BLOGS BY LATINAS AWARD!!

I'm very proud to have had this blog listed in the prestigious Blogs By Latinas directory since it's creation and have avidly followed these awards in the past. I have some pretty steep competition, I'm up against some of my favorite lifestyle blogs!

Please take a moment and click HERE to vote for me in the FAVORITE LIFE BLOG category! Alas, there was no "Favorite Life with Extra Cheese" category....but I'm deeply honored nonetheless!

What's in it for you? If I win, I will finally divulge my much-coveted SUPER SECRET SANGRIA RECIPE!!!! That's right, I'm playing to win, people!

Please vote for Nacho Mama's Blog! Trust me, you want this recipe.


THANKING YOU FOR YOUR VOTE with extra cheese-
Nacho Mama

DIY Publicity Workshop at Crafty Chica's Site

Image by Kathy Cano-Murillo via TheCraftyChica.blogspot.com

 

As some of you may be aware, I've spent the last 4 weeks taking an absolutely fabulous online class with Kathy Cano-Murillo (aka Crafty Chica!) and 38 wonderfully creative ladies. The lessons and their feedback have truly enriched my whole approach to my work and this blog (most visibly in my full bio and my new Facebook page). Something about having the class environment really gave me the push to take care of many loose ends that I'd been putting off and helped me see what I was doing from a new perspective. If you ever have the opportunity to take a course with Kathy, I hope you DO, you won't be sorry!

You can read more about the course and meet my awesome classmates HERE.

Best. Summer school. Ever.

What are you hoping to learn this summer?

Wishing you love with extra cheese-

Nacho Mama

Making a short story long: My Story

My Mama Lola opening the Christmas tablecloth I made for her when I was 6 years old (with help from my mom of course!) Making her smile was one of my favorite things.

I’ve had a flair for decor and style for as long as I can remember. I was always re-arranging my room as a child (I even remember hiding my clock radio so I could have “background music") and I loved drawing and writing.  But I never knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. My dad was a very well-known interior designer and it never crossed my mind that I could do what he did, even though he was my biggest cheerleader. You see, in the culture of my family there is a unwritten law that you’re a failure if you do what your parents did. I can understand why, my grandparents were farmworkers who wanted their kids to finish school and have careers, but it really got in my way! I struggled to find my purpose and my place.

The Met-I was always RACING up those steps to get to work on time! (photo via Wikipedia)

Because I loved art, I got my BA in Art History and landed a job at the Metropolitan Museum in New York, far from my home in San Diego. I was married to the love of my life and had a very stable job, but I had no creative outlet whatsoever.  I devoured design books and magazines like Doritos. Soon my friends at work started asking for decorating advice. Then they started asking me to actually design things for them. Finally they kindly said, “Why are you working HERE when you could BE A DESIGNER?”

Somehow hearing it from someone outside my family helped all the pieces to fall into place. I applied to a heap of graduate programs, telling everyone I was “just doing it on a lark.” In my heart I secretly wished to get into the exclusive and famously tough program at the Pratt Institute. One by one, the rejection letters came in. I began to tell myself that I’d been a fool to believe that I had any talent, that my dad was the designer, not me and I just had to accept that it was never meant to be. My hands trembled as I opened the letter from Pratt, the last to arrive, and I could scarcely believe it when I read that I’d been accepted! I knew immediately that my life would change forever.

Pratt Institute-you have no idea how much I miss Brooklyn! (photo via Wikipedia)

It was tough, but I loved every minute of it! During my second year one of my designs was featured in The New York Times, a tremendous honor for any designer, let alone a student. That summer my husband and I took a trip home. On the last day of our visit, we sat on my parents’ sunny back porch with my dad and planned out the next 5 years. I’d finish school, apprentice at a firm in New York, then move back to San Diego where I’d join Dad’s firm, taking it over when he retired. Then my husband and I would start our family. After that conversation, I felt like I finally had a purpose and a place.

The very next day, back in New York, I threw myself into my schoolwork with more enthusiasm than I’d ever felt before. My phone seemed to be ringing off the hook that day, but I was not going to be interrupted! When I got home that evening I finally checked my phone and saw it was my mom who’d been calling. I figured she just wanted to know how my first day back had been. I was wrong. She was calling to tell me that my dad had just been diagnosed with Stage 4 prostate cancer.

I was too paralyzed with panic to know what to do. My wonderful husband, who knows me better than I know myself, said, “We have to go back. Now.” We packed our bags and took the first available flight back to San Diego. We were told that Dad could go at anytime and that he should never, in fact, have lived long enough to be diagnosed. Then, a few days after we arrived, I became pregnant. Even though it was 9 years ago, I still refer to it as “the week my life was hit by a truck.” After that my husband and I spent our time helping my parents, fighting to save my father’s design firm, selling our home back east and nurturing our daughter.

Dad with my daughter on the steps of the tiny house where he was born, in the Colonia of Oxnard, Ca. The calla lilies were planted by my Mama Lola over 60 years ago.

It was extremely difficult to uproot our lives and leave our friends but I would have done anything to help my father. For as long as I could remember he'd done everything in his power to make me, my sister and my mom, feel how special we were to him. He delighted in celebrating every seemingly insignificant occasion in our lives with parties, gifts and love. He marked every moment of my pregnancy with fanfare, as though I were a queen, and lavished his unborn granddaughter with presents. Remarkably, Dad lived long enough to be present at my daughter’s birth and for her to remember him. He passed away just before her 2nd birthday. He was 57 years old. The years that followed were a blur of sorrow and work that I would never have survived without my husband and my kid. Through all the grief and the enormous workload I'd taken on (helping to finish the projects Dad had started before he'd passed) my husband always had the right thing to say when I needed to hear it, even if I needed to hear it at 3am. Even our baby daughter helped by lightening my spirits during those very dark times when I just couldn't face what had been lost.

It’s been a painful journey but now, years later and after the birth of our 2nd child, my husband and I honor my dad’s memory by living his philosophy, “Celebrate life. Celebrate all the good things and keep celebrating them, no matter how small.”  I know now that celebration is the only way through grief and loss, two things that every human must experience. I also know that it's important to surround yourself with beauty, with things that are meaningful to you and with people who love you for who you are. I feel so blessed to have been able to make my living bringing beauty into people's homes, businesses and lives.

Me with the editorial staff of San Diego Home and Garden, shooting a spread on a home in La Jolla.

I’ve made it my mission to show people how they can celebrate all the good moments in their lives, no matter how small, as much as possible, until joy and gratitude become a reflex. I call it “Life, with extra cheese.”  Because cheese is good, but extra cheese is better. Beauty is good, but more beauty is better. The same goes for friends, laughter and glitter. And love? You can’t ever have too much, you can’t ever give too much and you can always make more.

Wishing you love with extra cheese,
Margo (aka Nacho Mama)

VIDEO POST 'cause it's big news: I finally have a FACEBOOK PAGE!

Please excuse the shaky camerawork! My kids were being extra noisy so I had to escape to my bedroom balcony. Believe me, I know, it's SUPER shaky! :)

I mean it-THANK YOU all so much for your support, your kind words and especially all the wonderful things you share here! And extra gracias to Kathy, The Crafty Chica, for helping me see why I needed a facebook page. I'm taking her online publicity course (click HERE for details) which I believe you can still get in on if you're interested!

You can click the "Like" button at the top of my sidebar or visit my NEW FACEBOOK PAGE by clicking HERE!

Wishing you love with extra cheese-
Nacho Mama

VIDEO POST! Do YOU have a "Tweeting Face"?

Save me from myself-PLEASE!

Wishing you love with extra cheese-
Nacho Mama

Are Blog Years Like Dog Years?

Ahh-the life of a blogger. I'm very, very grateful that you all stop by to check in with me here and at Rock On Mommies and San Diego Momfia.  My favorite thing, though, is learning about all of your blogs! Blogs have truly enriched my life and I love hearing everyone's point of view.  

* 

One of the best "Bloggy" events I've gotten to attend recently was "Spa Social"-an evening at La Costa Spa with 199 other lady bloggers.  First of all, I ADORE La Costa Spa. The spa amenities there are second to none. And the food!

Me & Joey (@joey_hendrix, my partner in mediamonarkey.com) enjoying our champagne and Kobe beef sliders-Ahhhh!

But the best part by far was hanging out with my bloggy besties and meeting new fabulous ladies and their blogs.  The first question we all asked each other was "How long have you been blogging?" Some had only been live about a week-others, like me, have been at it for quite while. I noticed that an answer of 2 years or more garnered a respectful "Oooooooh..." I also noticed that I had trouble remembering just how long I have been blogging. My stock answer that night was 3 years. A venerable number, to be sure. But was it accurate?

* 

Turns out, I was waaay off!

* 

As I mentioned before, I've had several blogs over the years. As I tried to remember exactly when it all started, it seemed like everytime I came up with a "first"blog? There was one before it I'd forgotten about. After a little excavating I have finally determined that I have been blogging for at least FIVE YEARS. Which in blog years? Means I'm eligible for the Early Bird Special at Sprinkles.

* 

I had TOTALLY forgotten that my first foray into the blogosphere was on <cough> myspace. And, if I remember, it was only after relentless coaxing from my friends that I tried it at all. My first post is no longer there (though my profile has not yet died from neglect) but it was something along the lines of "Ok, fine. HERE'S my blog. Happy now?"

* 

 Ok, so the joke was totally on me. 

* 

I know at least one of my favorite bloggers, Bitchcakes, started out on myspace too. What about YOU? Did you have some bloggy-babysteps before plunging into the brave, new blogosphere of today? Care to share the link? Hmmmmm???

* 

Just to jog your memory-here's one my myspace posts from way back in 2006!!! It's an oldie and a moldie-enjoy!

Wishing you love with extra cheese-

Nacho Mama

Form versus Function....This time it's personal.

Today I present an object whose claim to design fame leaves me deeply conflicted.

Yes, it is a brilliant, irrefutably practical design. From the humblest bedside table to the set of the Oprah Winfrey show, this object is there for you when life throws you a curve ball. It relieves you of germs, tears and...other things.

Such an object should be exalted in every home, no? And yet, this noble servant of man is often the first thing hidden from view when the camera snaps or when company calls.
Why? The reason is simple: Like a beautiful woman with no dress sense, it's form is simple and elegant, but it's appearance is hopelessly frumpy.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you
The Kleenex Box.

Your home's Glamour "DON'T".

Taking Time to Celebrate: NATIONAL TORTILLA CHIP DAY!!

That's right! I know, you can't believe it's here again already :) As you might have guessed, I eat an obscene quantity of tortilla chips. In so many ways, I wouldn't be the woman I am today without them :)

Ahhhh....

Now I am more motivated than ever to perfect my nacho recipe! I've been tinkering with it for years, and the time has come to nail it down already. Stay tuned! In the meantime, I hope you live somewhere that has fresh, homemade tortilla chips available so you can enjoy a delicious plate of nachos tonight!

Wishing you love with extra cheese-

Nacho Mama

Tired of Burning Your Hands Getting Nachos Out of the Oven?

One of my life's ambitions is to be the actor in the "don't let this happen to you" part of commercials.
You know, they're always shot in black and white? People who are completely baffled and overwhelmed by the simple task of slicing an onion or wiping up grape juice from the counter. They try in vain for seconds before giving up, shaking their heads and appealing to an invisible god in a wordless gesture that says, "Why me?" I'm not kidding at all-it's totally on my bucket list.

If only I had a tv-worthy, time-saving, problem-solving product to sell! Oh well, until then...I can offer you my handmade POTHOLDERS!

"That's right, Nacho Mama's Handcrafted Potholders!! Made with love and extra cheese from the finest designer fabrics!!! Tired of burning your hands getting nachos out of your hot oven??!! Those days are OVER! Get Nacho Mama's Handcrafted Potholders on Etsy TODAY!!"


Ok, maybe that's a bit much? But you can get my potholders in my itsy bitsy Etsy shop. I have them in lots of colors and I'm pretty sure they'd make a wonderful companion to your EZ Pour, Jupiter Jack or Swivel Sweeper.

Plus? I'd love to get your feedback :) You can check out my potholder shop HERE!! I mean, here. 

Even if you don't use my potholders, please use extreme caution when removing your nachos from a hot oven. It's hot!


Wishing you love with extra cheese,
Nacho Mama

Everything I know about child-proofing, I learned from my dad.

Seems like everyone in the blogosphere is sharing their New Year's Resolutions! This year, my husband and I have some pretty simple goals: to take better care of ourselves and to get the house organized. We believe that if we take care of these 2 things, pretty much everything else that currently challenges us will fall into place.

In that spirit, I wanted to share this post-my "audition" post that got me my coveted contributor spot over at Rock On Mommies. Hope you enjoy and please don't be shy with your questions and comments!

***

As a professional interior designer, I’m always surprised how shy people sometimes are with their questions. I always tell them, “I’m your decorator, not your pastor!” No matter what kind of design challenge you may be facing, I’m here to tell you that there are many people out there in the same boat. In the decorating world at least, you are never alone!

For instance, one of my most common queries has to do with an issue I have grappled with myself:

How do you child-proof your home without completely turning it over to your kids?

You don’t want the kind of house where the kids aren’t allowed to touch anything ever, but you don’t want a Lord of the Flies situation either. And what if you work from home? What if you’d actually like to have a friend over for a margarita? What’s a modern mom to do?

Unfortunately this issue was not covered at my fancy-shmancy design school (cue ironic trombone).  So when I became a mom, I had to follow the example of the only interior designer I knew who had faced and conquered this challenge head-on: my dad.

My mom worked as a teacher, but my dad ran his budding design business from home.  And like so many of us moms today, he did it with two noisy, messy kids and a dog in the background. And he did it successfully. Even though it was almost 30 years ago, many of the tricks he used can be adapted for today’s mommy. Here’s a shortlist of the tips my dad used to keep us kids from destroying our home, his business and my both my parents’ sanity:

1.     Get help. When dad decided to start his business, it was clear he would have to work from home. So my parents closely examined the family budget (remember we were essentially living on a teacher’s salary) and made some serious cuts. That way they could afford to get a sitter for a few hours a day, enough to get phone calls and client meetings done. If you simply do not have the resources to hire, please consider trading with other moms or anyone you trust with your kids.

2.     You can’t childproof all of the house all of the time. As a designer, Dad knew that you can only control your environment up to a point. So he designated the front of the house as a “kid-free” zone. Which is not to say we weren’t allowed in there at all, but our stuff (toys, books, shoes, crumbs) was forbidden. If we brought it into the room, we had to take it out. That way he could schedule meetings anytime we had a babysitter without having to clean up first. Also? Dad knew that you could (and should!) furnish a home in a manner that is stylish and durable. All the furniture in entire house was sturdy and easy to clean.

A kid-friendly living space? Yep!

3.     Don’t break the sound barrier. Back in Dad’s day, that meant a separate phone line just for the business (which he kept on a shelf too high for us to reach). Today, with mobile phones and caller ID, things are much easier! I like to use a free service called YouMail, www.youmail.com, which lets me customize my outgoing message. Business clients get a “businessy” message and the family gets a cute message from my kids. Be sure you only answer calls when you are ready to do so. Even though people say they understand, they really hate having to talk over the sound of “Mom? Mom?”

4.     Nothing is more precious than your kids. I still wince when I remember how many pricey objet my sister and I broke over the years. Let’s just say it could have paid for a year of college and keep it at that. Even though my parents would get upset at first, they would never dwell on broken stuff, which really helped us kids to feel like it was our home, too.

I realize this isn’t child-proofing in the “corner guards and toilet locks” sense, but growing up in a designer’s home helped me see that there really is no such thing as “child-proof.” Like everything else in life, living harmoniously with your kids requires patience, balance, and a sense of humor. I guess the goal is to have a home (and a life, for that matter) that is not so much child-proof as child-friendly.

Wishing you a Happy New Year with extra cheese,

Nacho Mama

Nacho Mama's "Empanadas"

If you’re anything like me, this time of year brings a flood of childhood memories.  Many of them are food-related. The holidays meant a long drive from San Diego to Oxnard. And Oxnard? Meant La Central.

La Central was the bakery where both sides of the family would go for pan dulce (which, for some reason, we called pan mexicano). We’d always stop at La Central on our way home from church on Sundays. It’s still there, where it’s always been. I can still hear the rickety screen door that would always slam behind us-we were so distracted by the delicious smells that we always let it slam.  I can’t possibly conjure the intoxicating aroma of fresh pan dulce, but I can show you what we saw-and believe me, it looked almost as good as it smelled:

And by the way-La Central has the BEST glazed doughnuts in the whole world. Better than Krispy Kreme, better than Dean and Deluca,  better than in your dreams.

But my favorite thing to get at La Central was always the pumpkin empanadas. Because I, Nacho Mama, am a pumpkin whore. You may as well know.  And today my craving for pumpkin empanadas was all-consuming. I just had to do something about it. Even though my baking skills are rather, um, lacking. Oh, I can cook ropa vieja that’d inspire you to write a poem about me-but a cupcake? (cue ironic trombone here)

So? I improvised:

I had some leftover pumpkin from the pumpkin chili I made earlier this week (told you)  and some other stuff in the fridge I thought would be good. Here’s how it all shook out:

-2/3 cup pure pumpkin

-5 oz honey-vanilla greek yogurt (I used Voskos, from Fresh and Easy-my favorite!)

-1/2c light brown sugar

-1 tube light crescent-roll dough

I mixed the pumpkin, yogurt and sugar together. Then I rolled out the crescent dough, and put a spoonful of the pumpkin mixture in the middle of each triangle, sealed it and crimped it with a fork. Ok, they looked kind of weird:

But after baking in my pre-heated 375 degree oven for 15 minutes, they looked awesome!

Not satisfied, I made a glaze with powdered sugar and lemon juice, and then sprinkled them with EDIBLE GLITTER STARS. 

Yeah, you read right! Edible glitter. I thought I’d dreamt it, but I asked the Crafty Chica if it actually existed and she told me yes! I raced to my local cake supply place and bought some. You should know that I am also a glitter whore. As far as I’m concerned, there’s not a thing or person on earth that couldn’t use a little glitter. Glitter helps me think. But I digress, the point is: they were YUMMY. And they are now gone. Were they as good as La Central? No. But they were a delicious and distant second. Plus? They had glitter.

Wishing you love with extra cheese,

Nacho Mama

Nacho Mama is a Rock On Mommy!

lWell it's up! You can check out my post about Thanksgiving, My Big, Fat, American Thanksgivings at Rock On Mommies.

It's about the way my family put the American in Mexican-American!

We lived in San Diego, but my parents were both born and raised in Oxnard, California. We made the 10-hour roundtrip drive every other weekend to visit my grandparents, aunts, uncles and my many, many cousins.

Whenever any of my friends has occasion to visit Oxnard, they always ask me where they can get "the Good" Mexican food. And I'm always at a loss. Because we never went out for Mexican food, why would we? We were eating it every day at home! My grandfather's homemade salsa and nopales(cactus) sat in mason jars on the table at every meal.  But if you want to know where to get a fabulous burger or Japanese food in Oxnard? I'm your gal.

Like many of you, we put our own spin and flavor on the holidays. What were your famly traditions when you were a child? Do you keep them up in your family now?

If you're wondering what mine were, you'll have to head over to Rock On Mommies to find out!


Wishing you love with extra cheese,
Nacho Mama