As my presentation I chose Albondigas which is the Spanish version of the meatballs and has been one of my favorite childhood dishes my mom made.  This dish originated from Spain in the 16^th century and introduced to Mexico when the Spain conquered Mexico.  As time passed the origin of this dish has changed.  This dish along with all the soups my mom made was and still are a Mexican soul food.  This is a Mexican dish and depending on what city in Mexico you reside in the recipe becomes uniquely different.  This soup to me is more like a comfort food especially during the cold or rainy weather.  As I was growing up, I was very fortunate to come home to fresh home cooked meals because my mom was a stay at home mom.  I always looked forward to whatever my mom made especially this delicious soup on a cold rainy day and it was the best.  We often ate this with a tortilla with some mayonnaise smothered in it and little squirt of lemon, it was the perfect combination.  I have also tasted my mother in laws albondigas and it just didn’t compare to my mothers’ recipe as it has been by far the best as it is quite unique.  The distinctiveness of my moms’ dish is the mint, it adds a little kick to the meat balls. The chayote which is an edible plant in this soup to me doesn’t have any taste to it but the texture of this squash is actually good.  It is low in calories but has lots of fiber, antioxidants and is good for any diet.

ingredients:

1 tomato cut in slices                                                                            1 half white onion sliced                                                                         1 can of tomato sauce
1 sliced potato
1 sliced chayote
baby carrots
sliced celery
1 pd of ground beef
bundle of mint diced
tomatillos diced
onion diced
1 egg

Also, the veggies in the albondigas have vitamins and the ground beef is good protein.  This soup is so flavorful that I always wanted seconds.  I learned to make this recipe now that I have kids and I am happy to say that I mastered my mom’s recipe because I am not a fan of cooking.  My sister also has told me that I happen to make this dish better then her and that it taste just like my mothers.  My connection to this food now is that albondigas represents our culture and family connections.  Whenever I make the family recipe my siblings get excited and ask if they can come over for dinner. This dish happens to brings my family together and that makes me happy that I am able to do this by mastering my mom’s Albondigas.  This project has helped me appreciate my mom’s recipe(s) and by taking pictures of this specific recipe it inspired me to make a recipe book.  My mom is getting older and I find that the recipes are getting lost as no one is really making them anymore. When my mom cooked she always made enough that her house was all of our stopping point after work.  However, as I was making this recipe and taking the pictures of my dish it truly inspired me to make a family cookbook and share with my family so that her dishes will always remain.