what i'm getting myself into...

If I hadn't realized by now - my first (early) wedding gift made me get it through my head. I am marrying a Mexican. This is a mortar & pestle made out of bona fide Mexican rock, an essential for every salsa-making household.Maybe that sounds really weird - how would I not be conscious of my being a bit...different? What with Jaime's cafe-au-lait look and that oh-so-luscious Spanish he speaks. But even international or bilingual life becomes just your normal everyday life. However - I do have those moments where I look around and think to myself..."waaaaait a minute - you live in Mexico!! you speak Spanish really well and are the only gringa in the restaurant!" And I guess I've realized that there's a lot to share - starting with the simplest salsa recipe Mama Yadi could offer: 

The Mexican standard would be 10 serrano chiles per plum tomato - but let's bring it down to 2 (unless you like to sweat while you eat like Jaime's dad seems to be fond of). Boil 2 tomatoes and 4 destemmed serrano chiles in about an inch of water (covered) for 10 minutes. Crush the chile peppers first - do you dare leave the seeds? - with a pinch of salt in your mortar (or maybe a good alternative could be in a bowl with a potato masher). Add the tomatoes and crush to a rustic consistency. Add a little of the water to thin it out if you like. This is the perfect salsa to put on your tostadas, alongside your eggs, basically on anything you can imagine. This is just a starter recipe - so try it out and we'll see if we can graduate up to enchiladas & chiles rellenos!     

I can see myself loving this already - can't wait to break it in!