Dia de los Muertos Austin

I spent most of the day at the Dia de los Muertos Celebration in Austin. Skeletons were hanging around, music was energizing the scene, and a parade moved through the streets. Below are some pictures of the celebration.

The Dance between Cranberries and Oranges

Cranberries: red morsels of tartness that were most likely introduced to the Pilgrims by the Indians. We have no solid evidence that they were at the first Thanksgiving but they could have been. The Indians had been using cranberries for many years before the Pilgrims arrived.

I had a large bag of cranberries that I needed to use, so I made cranberry nut bread. The flavor of cranberries dancing with notes of orange and walnuts is one of my favorites. This recipe uses all three flavors and is given below.

Cranberry Nut Bread
2 cups of flour
1 cup of sugar
1/1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons shortening
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
1 egg, well beaten
1 1/2 cups chopped cranberries
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan. Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl. Stir in orange juice, shortening, orange peel and egg. Mix until well blended. Stir in cranberries and nuts. Spread evenly in  loaf pan. Bake for 55 minutes or until wooded toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on rack  for 15 minutes. Remove from pan, cool completely. Wrap and store overnight. Makes one loaf.

This is quite easy to make, and people will be coming from all directions when they smell the aroma! I made a double recipe and my results are shown below. One loaf has nuts sprinkled on top.

Dia de los Muertos

People in Austin are getting ready for the Day of the Dead. Tomorrow we will have a grand procession downtown. People will be dressed as skeletons or other dead figures...some people dress as zombies and others just have a lot of fake blood all over their face and clothes. This celebration is a mixture of Aztec and Spanish Catholic traditions. Other indigenous people of Mexico have also added touches to the celebration that is thought to have been celebrated 3000 years before the Spanish conquest. The Spanish did not really want the indigenous Mexicans to continue celebrating the dead, so they tried to squelch the tradition. This did not work, so they moved the celebration to November first and second to correspond with All Saints Day.

The Aztecs viewed death as a continuation of the life of the soul. Octavio Paz says "The Mexican is familiar with death, jokes about it, caresses it, sleeps with it, and celebrates it. It is one of his favorite playthings and his most steadfast love." The viewpoint is that death is just part of the circle of life. So on the Day of the Dead, the spirits of loved ones come around and altars must be set up for them, with pictures, strongly smelling spices, food, candles, and flowers. I made this altar for my grandmother.

It is not totally traditional, but it has some traditional parts. There is a lot of symbolism in these altars. Colors have the following meanings:

• purple means pain, suffering, grief, and mourning,
• pink means celebration,
• white means purity and hope,
• orange means the sun,
• red means the blood of life, and
• yellow cempazuchitl are marigolds that symbolize death. Petals make a trail to lead the dead to their altar.

Skulls symbolize death and rebirth.
Pan de Muerto (bread) symbolizes the soul of the dead.
Incense symbolizes the physical changing to the spiritual.
Salt and water symbolize ongoing life.

Here is a closer view of some of the components of my altar. When I was a little girl my grandmother always seemed so glamorous, so I selected the lady on the left in the back to represent glamour. The skeleton in the red box has a tree behind him that might represent the tree of life. The ducks beside the skeleton also must be symbols, but I'm not sure what they mean.

The skull with the rollers in her hair represent my grandmother making herself beautiful. It is a sugar skull. Part of the preparation for the Day of the Dead is making sugar skulls for the altars because it is believed that the dead love sugar. The flower is a chrysanthemum and is the closest I could get to a marigold. The blue plate contains cinnamon sticks, a mint sprig, cilantro sprigs, and epazote (a Mexican herb with a strong aroma).

Behind the blue dish is a disk of chocolate. Mexican chocolate is quite different to what we are used to in the United States. It has a rougher texture and has hints of other tastes such as nutmeg or cinnamon. The chocolate and the items in the blue dish are thought to attract the spirit  to her altar.

This view shows the picture of my grandmother. In front of her are three small sugar skulls. The lady on the left is also made out of sugar. The creature with the gold hat is a dog skeleton with a starfish in his mouth.

On the far right you can see a mother in a coffin with a baby and the words "soy tuyo" which in Spanish means "I am yours."

Tomorrow I will attend the procession and will let you know all about it. I will also make pan de muerto and write a post about it.

9 Plant Substances That Can be Dangerous to Eat

Some plants that we eat contain harmful substances if the wrong parts are eaten, or the right parts are eaten at the wrong time in their life cycle. This post will contain an overview of these substances and future posts will contain more details.

1. Alkaloids
 Alkaloids are bitter tasting substances that evolved in plants about the same time that mammals emerged. For this reason, alkaloids are thought to be part of a plant's protective mechanism against being eaten by a mammal.Commonly eaten plants of the nightshade family, such as potatoes and tomatoes, contain alkaloids. Green potatoes and potato sprouts contain dangerously high levels of alkaloids and should not be eaten. Alkaloids in large doses are poisonous

and in small doses alter the metabolism of mammals.The metabolism alteration may be the reason that nicotine and caffeine are so compelling for people.

2. Cyanogens 

These molecules also warn animals of their dangers through a bitter taste. However, they produce hydrogen cyanide which damages the enzymes that animals use to generate energy. Foods containing cyanogens can be made safe by open boiling, leaching in water, and fermentation. These foods include manioc, bamboo shoots, and some kinds of lima beans. The seeds of citrus, pome fruits, and stone fruits also generate cyanide.

3. Oxalates

These are salts of oxalic acid and waste products of plant metabolism. Soluble oxalates can combine with calcium to form painful kidney stones. In very large amounts, oxalic acid is corrosive and can be fatal. Oxalates are found in small amounts in spinach, chard, beets, amaranth, and rhubarb. 

4. Hydrazines 

These are compounds found in fairly large quantities in white mushrooms that we eat. They have been found to cause liver problems and cancer in mice, but not rats, and it is still unknown whether they cause problems in humans. It is probably wise to avoid eating large amounts of mushrooms.

5. Psoralens

These compounds can damage DNA and cause skin inflammations. They occur in some vegetables that have been handled poorly. They are found in celery, celery root, parsley, and parsnips that have become stressed by near-freezing temperatures, intense lights, or mold infections. The best precaution to take against these compounds is to buy these vegetables only when they appear to be very fresh.

6. Protease Inhibitors and Lectins

These compounds interfere with digestion. Protease inhibitors block the actions of protein digesting enzymes. Lectins bind to intestinal cells so that the cells cannot absorb nutrients. Lectins can also enter the bloodstream and bind red blood cells together. These compounds are found mostly in soy, kidney, and lima beans, however they can be inactivated by boiling for a long time. To avoid these compounds, do not eat raw or undercooked beans. Symptoms of exposure are similar to food poisoning symptoms.

7. Flavor Chemicals

These are generally eaten in small quantities, but can cause problems when eaten in large quantities. They include Safrole, an ingredient that was used in traditional root beers, but is no longer used. It causes DNA damage and was banned in 1960. Ingestion of large amounts of Mtyristicin, the major flavor compound in nutmeg, can cause intoxication and hallucinations when ingested in large amounts. Glycyrrhizin, a component of true licorice root can induce high blood pressure. Licorice candy today is made from artificial flavoring, not true licorice root. Coumarin is found in sweet clover, lavendar and tonka beans (a vanilla-like flavoring), and interferes with blood clotting.

8. Bracken-Fern Toxins

Bracken ferns contain toxins that can cause blood disorders and cancer in animals that graze on them. It is best to eat fiddleheads of other types of ferns such as ostrich ferns (Matteuccia species). Safety of eating ferns has not been the subject of extensive research, so it is not known for sure whether it is harmful in humans. The best approach may be to eat fiddleheads of bracken ferns in small quantities.

9. Toxic Amino Acids

Alfalfa sprouts and jack beans contain large amounts of Canavanine, a protein that interferes with some cell functions and has been associated with Lupus. Fava beans contain vicine and convicine which cause an blood cell destroying anemia in susceptible people.

Banh Ich Nhung Dua

I found these lovely delicacies at the Asian food market and I had to find out what was wrapped inside the banana leaves. They are Vietnamese delights called banh ich nhung dua, made from sweet rice and coconut. Their name means velvet cake or velvet ball according to an online language translator, but if you know a better translation, please let me know.

When I opened the banana leaf packet, I found something that looked almost translucent. I think the outer coating is rice noodle and inside is coconut. They are quite delicious, so I would highly recommend them if you come across them in an Asian supermarket. I would like to find out how to make them, but I was unsuccessful finding an English version of the recipe on the Web.

16 Food Dangers for Doggies

 These are my two dogs, Duncan (top) and Casey (bottom). They have brought incredible joy into my life! I knew that chocolate was harmful for them...but I was unaware that many other foods could be harmful also. When they use their charms to request samples of what we are eating at the table, I'm likely to relent. But I could have easily given them some of the foods on this list. So I'm going to pass the information on to you.

1. Avocado contains a substance called persin, a highly toxic substance for dogs and other animals. It can cause vomiting and diarrhea. Person can be found in the leaves, seeds, and bark of the avocado.
2. Alcohol has the same effects on dogs as humans, however smaller amounts can be harmful.
3. Onions can destroy dog's red blood cells causing anemia. It can also make them vomit, lethargic, and restless and have diarrhea.
4. Coffee, Tea, and Caffeine can be fatal to dogs in large quantities. Symptoms include restlessness, heart palpitations, muscle tremors, fits, and bleeding.
5. Grapes and Raisins can cause kidney failure and small quantities can make dogs lethargic, depressed, or hyperactive.
6. Milk and other Dairy Products can give dogs digestive upsets.
7. Nuts and food with nuts can be fatal. As few as 6 raw or cooked Macadamia Nuts can be fatal. Nuts can cause muscle tremors, rapid heartbeat, weakness, paralysis, and fever.
8. Candy, gum, toothpaste, baked goods and diet foods baked with Xylitol can cause extreme imbalance in blood sugar level and can cause vomiting, lethargy, loss of coordination, and liver failure.
9. Chocolate contains a toxic substance called theobromine that can cause vomiting, diarrhea, thirst, abnormal heart rhythm, tremors, seizures, and even death.
10. Fat trimmings and bones can cause pancreatitis.
11. Persimmon seeds can cause inflammation of the small intestines resulting in obstruction.
12. Peach and plum pits can cause cyanide poisoning.
13. Raw meat and fish can cause food poisoning. Also, fish sometimes contain a parasite that can kill a dog within two weeks.
14. Salt in high quantities can cause excessive thirst and urination that could lead to sodium ion poisoning.
15. Raw eggs contain an enzyme that interferes with absorption of a B-vitamin and can also contain salmonella and E. coli.
16. Yeast dough swells in a dog's belly and causes pain. Also when fermentation occurs alcohol is produced that can cause alcohol poisoning.

There is an ASPCA animal poison control center that you can reach at 888-426-4435 if you suspect your dog has eaten anything dangerous.

Durian: Manna for Tigers and Elephants?

Which fruit either is loved or hated, has a putrid smell like rotting onions or meat, and is forbidden within certain enclosed spaces in Southeast Asia? Some people love this fruit so much that they consider themselves addicted to the taste. 


These are the durians, natives to Borneo and Malysia but now found widely throughout Southeast Asia. They have an outer thorny covering that can really hurt when it falls on people! They grow on relatively primitive trees and the seeds may be among the earliest dispersed by animals in geological history.


Since the fruits and seeds are large, the only animals capable of dispersing them are large, such as elephants, tigers, and rhinoceros. The thorny covering cracks open when the fruit is ripe and falls from the trees. This exposes the smelly, nutritious fruit that attracts the animals. The animals eat the fruit which surrounds the seeds, then wanders around, eats other fruits, and deposits the seed surrounded by fertilizer far from the original tree.

This picture shows the fruit surrounding the seeds. The ovoid fruit, almost round in shape, can be up to about 5 to 6 inches wide and 12 inches long. A single durian can weigh up to 18 pounds. 


I was curious about this fascinating fruit, so I tried some pudding made with durian cubes. It was memorable! The flavor is somewhat almond-like and actually pleasant. However, it leaves a strong after-taste. I could not get rid of that after-taste until I brushed my teeth. 


Some durians were for sale in the Asian Grocery Store here in Austin. I examined them, and noticed that they did not have a strong smell, but the fruit was fully encased in the thorny covering so they did not have a strong odor. Each durian was sold in a net bag for people to carry without getting injured by the thorns.


The durian gets its name from the Malay word duri,which means thorn.
Inside are 5 seeds, each about 2 in in diameter. The seed is surrounded by a custard-like aril which has the strong odor. An aril is part the seed's own fleshy outer covering. Arils are rare in rainforest plants. The seeds are tough enough not to be damaged by chewing or digestive juices. Smaller animals, like monkeys, gibbons, fruit doves, tapirs, orangutans and humans sometimes enjoy the fruit of the durian.


The flower also has a strong odor, which attracts a small nocturnal bat that must pollinate the flowers for the durian fruit to form. Many people in Southeast Asia consider the durian the "King of Fruits." The flower is shown below.