Thursday, April 8, 2010

What's a tostada?

Yesterday was simply amazing.

I leaped out of bed at 11:30 a.m. which is incredibly early for me, especially once you consider I didn't go to sleep until 5 a.m.

I was so excited I couldn't sleep. All I could think was: "Today, I'm making a Tex-Mex feast."

I received a package full of Tex-Mex essentials from my mother the other day: A 30-count package of corn tortillas which I've been whining for since I got here; a block of Velveeta (I won't even attempt to call it cheese now that it made the 7-day journey from Texas without harm.); and six cans of El Pato sauce — the best jalapeno sauce ever and the base ingredient to my dad's enchilada sauce.

Since it was my week to cook, I decided it was Tex-Mex time.

All from scratch, I made refried beans, Spanish fried rice, salsa, and tostadas. I also made queso, but you can't really call that from scratch. Although I did make the "rotel" to put in the velveeta from scratch.


All I could think about all day was that it was Tex-Mex day and by the end of the day I would be eating some of my favorite foods that I grew up with my whole life.


In my class, I was super bored because my kids were taking forever to do anything and I was just thinking, "I want to go home and eat my food."

It's 12:30 p.m. the next day and I'm still full.

Of course the Girl Scout cookies didn't hurt.

My friend Terena sent me four boxes of girl scout cookies — two Thin Mints and two Samoas, my favorites! Now I just have to savor them.

Even if my supply is limited, having all these foods back in my life is probably less of a blessing than I would like it to be. Last week one of my classes asked me if I was pregnant.

Well, first they asked if I had a boyfriend. Then they asked if I had a husband. Then they asked if I was pregnant.

Now in my defense, I can still fit into every piece of clothing that I brought with me. Everything fits me just fine. And I am perfectly content with these sizes.

I honestly think it was just the dress I was wearing last week, but the whole experience has left me a little body conscious.

I mean, I'm used to my kids saying I'm fat (even the pudgy one's call me fat), but I honestly can't blame them. The average Taiwanese woman is a size 2 and a size 2 in Taiwan is equivalent to a girls' size 16 in the States. It's programmed into them to believe that all women are stick thin.

My curves seriously throw them off.

Either way, though, pregnant is a whole new level of insult and I'm not quite shaking it off the way I normally would.

I had better get into a better routine before it gets hot outside otherwise I'll just have one more excuse to add to the pile of reasons not to exercise.

In the meantime, I love Tex-Mex far too much and having it back in my life — even temporarily — has put me in the best mood ever. I don't think I'm capable of any level of restraint here.

3 comments:

  1. They're not used to seeing women with breasts nor butts over here. So foreign women, for the most part, throw them for a loop. I used to get asked if I was pregnant too. Now I just get told my butt is big or get asked WHY it's so big. Sometimes my kids call me fat to be mean...but I just ignore them. I get back at them in other ways ;).
    Most of the Taiwanese women here would be borderline anorexic back in North America. I think their BMIs are less than 18. Seriously...the average weight here I think is 50 kg.

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  2. i don't have boobs or a butt and i constantly got asked if i was pregnant. i dooo have a thing for empire waist shirts though. little jerks!

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  3. I love the smell of the whole house when El Pato sauce is simmering. Kinda get's you in the mood for what's coming next.

    GOOD EATS!!!

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