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Dolores Wiarco Dweck, known by her nearest and dearest as Lola, has a great appreciation for Mexican cuisine and culture. Lola's culinary mentors include her relatives and friends as well as some of Mexico’s great chefs and home cooks. She preserves and shares her favorite recipes through Lola’s Cocina.
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There’s a full moon tonight and here’s what I do to re-energize and prepare for the month ahead. Hopefully some part of my ritual inspires you to connect with the feminine energy of la luna.
SET INTENTIONS: Write down what you desire most. An intention is a goal, or vision, that guides your activities, thoughts, attitudes, and choices. You can set an intention in any area of your life - physical, mental, emotional or spiritual. I type these up in my phone and write them down in my gratitude journal. Yes, I’m one of THOSE people.
PURGE NEGATIVITY: Think through what’s weighing you down and make a plan to change this. Free yourself of toxic relationships, negative thoughts, and bad habits. Write down what you’re releasing. This has been especially helpful for me when reacting to negative situations, people, and comments. Amado and I said what we were releasing out loud and symbolically “burned” the negativity over a candle flame.
CLEANSE: Cleanse your home of malas vibras. Amado and I light sage and palo santo and walk through each room in our house saying, “que salgan las malas vibras.” We leave the front door open throughout this ritual. Crystals, sage, and palo santo aren’t necessary - but we like to be a little extra from time to time, por si no se dieron cuenta.
REPEAT A POSITIVE AFFIRMATION: Repeat a positive affirmation to yourself. Affirmations are positive statements that can help you to challenge and overcome self-sabotaging and negative thoughts. When you repeat them often, and believe in them, you can start to make positive changes. I like to pull a card from my @thesalvagedsawhorse Afirmaciones Positivas deck. Tonight I pulled the “YO SOY ILIMITADA” card. ¡Eso que ni qué!
You can take all of this with a grain of salt, but I was in somewhat of a funk a few months ago. I was experiencing a major creative block and felt somewhat anti-social. Since going through my rituals during the full and new moons, the creative juices haven’t stopped flowing and I’ve been connecting and re-connecting with so many important and inspiring people!
So many of you ask about all of the beautiful places I stay while I’m in Oaxaca.
If you’ve never been, it’s important to note that Oaxaca’s bed and breakfasts offer a unique and more intimate cultural experience than you’d get at most hotels. I’ve compiled a list of some of my faves — one is a historic (possibly haunted) hotel that’s centrally located, one is a furnished apartment where I stayed for several months while conducting my thesis research, and the others are incredible bed and breakfasts that I highly recommend. You’re welcome!
NEW POST: Lola’s Guide to Oaxaca: Hotels, Bed and Breakfasts, and Apartments: lolascocina.com (direct link in profile)
Absolutely thrilled to be featured on @thrillist’s list of salsas recommended by Mexican food experts from across the country! "I’ll eat this right out of a jar with a spoon and I am here to say, y’all need to get on the salsa macha train because it’s the best." - @adrianavelez, Thrillist Senior Food Editor
Check out who made up this team of Mexican food experts and see which other salsas made the cut - link to full article in profile.
I’m back in the office, working, writing, and filling @lolasmercadito orders. I returned rejuvenated from Valle de Guadalupe with beautiful memories and a henna tattoo.
TRAVEL TIP: For anyone who’s worried about the long lines at the border, I highly recommend applying for Global Entry or SENTRI, the trusted traveler program for land travelers entering the United States from Mexico. It took us a whopping five minutes to cross by car and the two people who didn’t have SENTRI walked across in the same amount of time.
This gave us the full day yesterday to enjoy San Diego, my old stomping grounds.
Henna art by @gopihenna
What a weekend! I’m still processing all of the magic that took place at the Valle de Guadalupe food and wine festival.
The food, the music, the chefs, the landscapes, the people . . . it was sensory overload (in the best way possible) and the fact that all of this went down in Mexico made it even more beautiful. Sharing this experience with a few of my favorite people was just the cherry on top.
If you haven’t been, add it to your bucket list. #buildingbridges
Decided to skip town this weekend and head to the @vallefoodandwinefest. Travel has always been a great source of inspiration for me. It’s what inspires recipes and many other aspects of my life. AND it rejuvenates my soul.
So happy to be in this beautiful place with some of my nearest and dearest while the kids are at home being spoiled by their safta.
I’m so honored to be featured in @oprahmagazine alongside eleven other inspiring Latinas.
When I went to college, I was oftentimes one of the only Latinas in the classroom. When I went on to grad school, I was THE only Latina to complete the dual MBA/MA in Latin American Studies program (two separate master’s degrees in three years). Even now, I’m the only Latina in my yoga classes, the only mom speaking Spanish to my children at the library, and quite frankly, the only Latina I know in our neighborhood.
It’s so refreshing to be on this list, virtually surrounded by beautiful Latinas, who share their culture and creativity with the world.
Our work IS important and we deserve to take up space in the classroom, at the library, in Latino AND non-Latino neighborhoods, in corporate America, online, and in this country.
Mil gracias to all of you for joining me on this journey and a special thank you to @prisblossom for your work celebrating our Latinidad!
XO - Lola 💋
{NEW RECIPE} Safta’s Cinnamon Rugelach - Today is the first day of fall and I’m sharing one of my favorite recipes. I learned this one from my suegra and you’re going to want to make a double batch because these sweet little treats are addicting!
I’m also sharing five #funfacts about Rosh Hashanah - that’s the Jewish New Year for anyone who’s never heard of it and it starts this Sunday at sundown. Head on over to lolascocina.com (direct link in profile) for the #recipe and to learn more about #RoshHashanah.
For more delicious #firstdayoffall recipe inspiration, check out @themotheroverload, @freutcake, @heather.happykidskitchen, @joanna.anastasia_, @ready_set_nosh, and @lunchesandlittles and be sure to follow them on Instagram. They’ll all be sharing fun fall recipes today!
SIMPLE SANGRITA RECIPE:
3 oz. spicy Bloody Mary mix
1/2 oz. fresh orange juice
1/2 oz. fresh lime juice
Today, let’s raise our glasses to Mexico’s independence from Spain with this fun trio. ¡Salud!
FUN FACTS: On the night of September 15, 1810 Father Dolores Hidalgo kicked off the Mexican Revolution by ringing his church bell and rallying the townspeople to rise up and fight for their independence from Spain. This is known as “El Grito de Dolores.” “El Grito” is still heard in Mexico, every September 15th at 11:00 p.m. when the president of Mexico recites his own battle cry of independence, ending it with “¡Viva México!” #LosAltosAmigos #CazadoresAmbassador #MexicanIndependenceDay #VivaMexico
Photo: @cmcreavy
