Chocolate and Toast

I have been fortunate enough in this lifetime to have been raised by not only my parents, but also by both sets of my grandparents and numerous extended family.  This is just one story about my mother's parents.

The town I hail from is so small, that as children, we could walk a half mile to the store and pick up groceries (beer and cigarettes included) for our grandparents with only a handwritten note.  I remember peeking over the counter and handing the clerk my grandmother's list which always included an ice cream for me and my brother.  We never had to pay.  It was magically collected for us and put on their "tab".

Even though as young children we felt pretty special going into that tiny market and always leaving with an ice cream, we were completely in the dark on how poverty stricken the family was.  In fact, not until I was much older, did I understand the depth.

Most, if not all, family gatherings center around food.  It is like this in so many cultures, but I think even more so in the Mexican culture.  So naturally, being poor was never in our parameter of thought, given the healthy abundance of food that was readily available to us.  And boy did we have thee best, most flavorful foods.  Or so we believed as kids...  but even now as I reminisce, what I wouldn't give for some of that flavor!

The most memorable breakfasts that my grandmother made us in that time of poverty were avena (oatmeal) or cream of wheat with toast, and once in a while we'd get chorizo con huevos (eggs with chorizo sausage) and tortillas.  Once when we were very young, we saw a cereal commercial and begged our grandmother for some.  "Why do you want that?" she'd ask in Spanish (She didn't have a command of the English language and felt most comfortable with her native language.  In fact, Spanish was the first language that my brother and I learned, as my grandparents cared for us before we started school, while our parents worked.)  "The cereal I make for you is much better.  It's warm."  We were raised to ALWAYS respect our elders, so we never questioned or pressed the issue.  But, we always got excited to watch those cereal commercials and darned if we didn't know all the jingles!

Other "creative" poor foods that originated in Mexico that we relished, included:  beans, rice, and nopales (cactus).  My Grandfather was well known for his garden--a natural green thumb and genius grafter.  And anyone who visited ALWAYS got a complementary tour of it (whether or not they wanted it).  He had rows of corn, several varieties of tomatoes, squash and melons.  And the trees!  It was a garden of eden with trees of olives, guava, cumquat, pomegranate, pear, lime, orange, tangerine, grapefruit, lemon and avocado.  And his entire garden was edged with nopales with the coveted tunas (prickly pears).  No lies, my grandfather even grafted a tree that produced 7 citrus fruits!  Grapefruit, pink grapefruit, oranges, blood oranges, lemons, limes, and tangerines.  It still stands today.  He even made his own compost, cured his own olives and irrigated with a system he created that used stored up rainwater.  My grandmother made some of the tastiest aquas frescas with these ingredients!  Aguas frescas are water sweetened with sugar, fruits and vegetables.  (My favorite included cucumber, orange and lettuce.)

What kid in their right mind would think they were poor with this abundance in front of them?  So when my grandmother introduced chocolate and toast one morning, at first glance, it was breakfast without the avena or cream of wheat.  But Grandma showed us how we could 'dip' our toast into our cup to soak up the chocolate!  It seemed exotic--something different; new.  We (my brother and I), fell for it instantly.   It was served so often that even when times took a turn for the better and we were given a choice of eggs or avena, we still craved chocolate and toast.  It became a childhood favorite.

Once we 'grew up', we stopped requesting it and just as suddenly as it appeared, it became obsolete.  Years passed before it made a reappearance...  I was taking care of my nephews one day a few summers ago.  They really wanted avena and toast, but we were all out of the oats.  In fact, the pantry and fridge were bare, except for about a 1/2 gallon of milk and a loaf of bread in the freezer.  I had almost resigned to the fact I'd have to get them dressed and take them to IHOP or McDonalds for something, when it hit me...  "chocolate & toast!"  "Huh?" said the older of my two nephews.  "How about some chocolate and toast?!"  "But what are we gonna have with our toast?"  he asked.  I said, "No.  You dip the toast in your hot chocolate.  It's yummy!"  "Sounds gross..." and "Ewww..." were their responses.  "Well, there's nothing else to eat as you can see, so that's what I'm gonna have.  You guys can wait till I go to the store, or you can eat with me."  Still reluctant, they watched me warm the milk for my chocolate and toast the bread.  Then, I dipped my toast.  The memories flooded back, as I took that much anticipated bite, and the huge smile on my face was enough to warrant curiosity from both boys.  They asked, almost in unison if they could try.  "Sure!" I said.  And once again, just like that, Chocolate & Toast became a childhood 'favorite' for a new generation.