Baby Tiger

This is why I welcomed Tiger into my life.

Baby Sofia

This is Sofia at about 7 weeks. The first few nights were kinda rough, but she only cried when she had to take a trip outside. Her house training days were easy. She went through a phase of biting toes and chewing on the table cloth. She soon moved outside.

Tiger

This is Tiger, the unplanned puppy. After spending a month or so with Sofia, my chocolate lab, my husband called me at work one day and asked if I wanted a little puppy who, along with his litter mates, had been abandoned in a co-worker's neighborhood. Some days I think he might be part beagle, but I'm pretty sure he's got some German shepherd in there somewhere. I'm positive that Tiger is the sweetest dog ever.

Sofia

Sofia is my chocolate lab. I brought her home from the breeder on my lap when she was 6 weeks old. She thinks she's a little person. She's now almost 9 months old. I think she's the smartest dog ever. Well, she might be the 2nd smartest dog ever behind my dad's black lab, Mr. T.

Guacamole

This is one of the easiest salsas to make! It is especially good in the summertime with tortilla chips or shrimp.

Ingredients:
2 Haas avocados (these are the regular, small black ones)
1/4 small onion
1 garlic clove (optional)
4-5 medium sized tomatillos

Remove the tomatillos from the husk and wash well. Food will have a bitter taste if sticky film isn't removed. Place 1 and 1/2 avocados in blender with other ingredients. This can be tough on some blenders, so add a tiny bit of water if necessary. Pour into bowl. Cut remaining half of avocado into tiny pieces and stir into bowl.

Comida Mexicana: Some Basics

A few years ago one of my Mexican friends gave me cooking lessons once a week. We practiced the staples, rice and tortillas, each week and she taught me a new main dish. The recipes I'll share here are more authentic than the food served in Mexican restaurants. Mexican recipes can also vary depending on what part of Mexico the cook is from.

Some common ingredients in Mexican food many seem strange or confusing to Americans. How manyt different types of chiles or quesos (cheeses) can you name? There are probably a few more than you would think. For most recipes, the chiles needed are not interchangable.

There is also a big difference between tomatoes and tomatillos. Tomatillos are from the berry family and have a papery, husk-like covering. Most grocery stores stock these in the same area as tomatoes. These are used in green salsas and guacamole. To prepare them, you peel away the husk and wash them well in warm water to get rid of the sticky residue. (The sticky residue will give the food a bitter taste.)

Knoxville News Sentinel Blog and Articles

Here are links to some of my articles and blog at KNS where I write primarily on Latino topics.

Links to articles that have appeared in the Knoxville New Sentinel:
June 2008 The American Dream: the Latino Version
August 2008 The Importance of Foreign Languages
October 2008 Latinos and Southerners: More in Common that You Might Think

Crossing the Line

My short story "Crossing the Line: Texas" appears in the Knoxville Writer's Guild's latest anthology Outscape: Writings on Fences and Frontiers. "Crossing the Line: Texas" was inspired by a five year old girl from Hidalgo, Mexico, that I met several years ago. There are so many children who have experienced things I can't even imagine. I hope that by writing this story I will give a voice, albeit fictional, to the millions of undocumented immigrants in this country who have no voice.