From January 4 to 7, the bakers in the village turn their attention to creating roscas de reyes, a traditional sweet bread adorned with conchas, candied figs, nopal cactus and red pepper strips. For three or four days, there will be no other bread to buy. We get our fill of this luscious cake-like treat.
Eloisa's rich, yeasty Rosca de Reyes
We are lucky. Tenemos muchos milagros. At Las Granadas Bed & Breakfast, Eloisa bakes Rosca de Reyes in her outdoor traditional orno or adobe oven. The oval or round loaves are sweetened, yeasty egg bread.
We see them piled high in the backs of flatbed trucks on their way to the village market. For three or four days there will be no other type of bread for sale. We get our fill of this luscious treat.
Find the tiny white plastic baby Jesus stuffed inside (each baker determines how many s/he will put in each loaf), and you will have the honor of providing tamales and atolé for your entire family on Dia de la Candelaria on February 2, 40 days after the birth of Jesus. [My observation: In Mexico, the magic number seems to be 40. Forty is the gestation time in weeks for women to have a “normal” birth. Traditionally, women stay sequestered for 40 days after birth. Moses and his people wandered the desert for 40 years.]
Recipe for Rosca de Reyes from Inside Mexico! or try any egg bread recipe but only let it rise once. Form the loaf into a circle or oblong shape. Decorate with candied fruits and the concha (the little sugar buns that sit atop the rosca). Don’t forget to stuff it with the little plastic Jesus figure. If you can’t get that, then the fava bean used traditionally before plastic figures were available, will definitely suffice.
Buen Provecho!
We had ours with fresh steamed vegetables: green beans, choyote squash, carrots, along with quesadillas and toasted garbanzo bean soup, washed down with our favorite beer.
Christmas in Oaxaca: Three Wise Men and Rosca de Reyes
It feels like springtime here in Oaxaca, although we are still celebrating Christmas. Yesterday was downright warm, with temperatures rising to the low 80’s, though nights can be a chilly 45 or 50 degrees. Christmas here is an elaborate and lengthy celebration, starting on December 12 to celebrate the Virgin of Guadalupe and officially ending with Dia de la Candelaria on February 2. The Three Magi, or Wise Men, arrive on January 6, for Day of the Three Kings or Dia de los Tres Reyes.
Celebrated and tasty Rosca de Reyes
You have probably figured out that food motivates me almost as much as textiles. So, this morning I was off again to the wondrous, expansive Sunday tianguis — portable street market — in Tlacolula de Matamoros, ten minutes from where I live. I wanted to see what was in store for food preparations.
Front and center is Rosca de Reyes, a round or oval fruit-studded sweet bread, a traditional delight. Most Oaxaca celebrations are home and family centric, with a children’s gift exchange and a spin the top gambling game with whole nuts. When you go visiting, it is customary to bring a small gift for children and one of these bread loaves.
Tucked inside the loaves are one or several little plastic dolls that symbolize the baby Jesus. Whomever gets one of these dolls embedded in their slice of Rosca is obliged to host a tamale party on Candlemas. Corn and tamales, symbols of sustenance, are interwoven into this and other Mexican celebrations.
Today in the Tlacolula market the bread section was piled high with pan de yema, a sweet egg bread, shaped in the round. The vendors were doing a brisk business. This year, bakers added decoration of sliced, canned peaches to accompany the candied dates, prunes, pineapple bits and cherries.
Live poultry, like guajolotes and chickens, are a big item, too. Add to that roses ($1 USD a dozen), huge papaya (10 cents each), mangoes, melon, strawberries, watermelon, avocado (5 cents each USD), and any number of types of other fresh fruits and vegetables at everyday bargain prices. For those who forget to bring their shopping baskets or buy more than they planned, there are specialty vendors who sell these, too.
Chicken meatballs in spicy broth at Comedor Mary
Lunch is a special treat at Comedor Mary, located on the opposite side of the church on the street that borders the permanent market. Today’s special was albondigas con pollo — a picante broth with fresh ground and spiced chicken meatballs. Amazingly delicious.
This is the season to come to Oaxaca and stay a while. It is a feast for all your senses. And it is senseless to stay wrapped up in frigid northern weather if you don’t have to! Feliz Año Nuevo.
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Posted in Cultural Commentary, Photography
Tagged Candlemas, Christmas, cost, Day of the Three Kings, Dia de la Candelaria, fruit, Mexico, Oaxaca, Rosca de Reyes, Three Wise Men, tianguis, Tlacolula market, vegetables