What aspects of your cultural heritage are you most proud of or interested in?

What I learned from my abuela was to garden. Unfortunately, she was hiding her heritage, so I had to learn odd things here and there.

I had an idea she was Mexican (coffee ice cream, and banana popsicles gave her away) but I wish she would have said more. She had a recipe box full of passed down recipes that my mom could never get the hang of.

It’s in my DNA, so when I make Mexican food, it tastes like actual Mexican food! And yes, the mighty chancla rules the day. It is my choice of weapon 😂

But back to the gardening. She grew corn, butternut squash, pumpkin, strawberries, mint, artichokes, sunflowers, zinnias and Spanish roses just to name a few.

While some keep a garden to add value to their property, my grandmother did this to be independent. She taught me how to cook certain things, she showed me how to care for the plants. She explained the importance of her agriculture. And I took everything in.

What I would like most, that isn’t listed above…are peonies. I would dedicated my life to a peony plant. Eventually, I’ll get the bulbs and get around to it. But her plant was massive, it was gorgeous. The flowers were beautiful pale pink…they were almost surreal. I’ll never forget her plant or her fascination in it. Out of all the things she owned that were nearly customary to our heritage, she chose peonies because she could.

At any rate, I will continue gardening. It has done great wonders for my life. Here are a couple things I’ve been able to grow.