I have been absent from blogging world for a while . . . more about that in another post (it is exciting–cannot wait to tell you)! But now I am back and so happy to share with you another cooking post! Cooking probably tops the list of my favorite ways to incorporate learning Spanish into my kiddos’ day.
For this installment, we made my great-grandmother’s (bisabuela) banana bread. This is one of those recipes that I have made so many times I can find it by looking for that wrinkled page that bubbles up from spills and tons of use. I love the feeling of passing down something in the family to my boys, the next generation. My great-grandmother lived in many different places growing up, and settled in South Texas near the Mexico border with her husband. They farmed onions for a living, and this is the closest I have to “Spanish roots.” Their son, my grandpa, spoke Spanish with his friends growing up and although he does not use it now, he can still understand it. As I learned Spanish in college it was neat to see that he was proud of me for keeping Spanish in the family. He and my grandma still visit South Texas every winter and every now-and-then he calls me to ask questions about Spanish words or phrases. I love my familia.
To get started, check out this chart for some common cooking commands. (*Note: There are two ways to give commands in Spanish–formally and informally. I use the informal commands here since we will be cooking with kids.)
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Useful Cooking Words in Spanish
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Spanish
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Pronunciation
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English
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mezcla
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(MESS-claw)
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mix
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bate
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(BAH-teh)
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beat
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añade
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(ahn-YAH-deh)
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add
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revuelve
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(reh-VWELL-veh)
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stir
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haz puré/
mole
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(OSS poo-REH/
moh-LEH)
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mash
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Here are the ingredients (los ingredientes) you will need:
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| 3 bananas |
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| 1/2 cup butter |
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| 1 cup sugar |
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| 2 eggs beaten |
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| 2 tablepoons sour milk (This can be buttermilk, or regular milk with a smidge of vinegar.) |
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| 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt |
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| 2 cups whole wheat flour |
And now for the recipe // la receta:
*Preheat oven to 350 degrees // Precalenta el horno a 350 grados Fahrenheit
*Grease loaf pan // Engrasa el molde para pan
*Mash bananas // Mole los plátanos
*Blend with margarine, sugar and eggs // Combina con mantequilla, azúcar y huevos
*Add baking soda to milk; add to banana mixture // Añade el bicarbonato a la leche; añade esa a la mezcla de plátanos
*Combine salt and flour; add dry ingredients; mix well by hand // Combina la sal y la harina; añade los ingredientes secos; mezcla bien por mano
*Pour into loaf pan // Pónla en el molde para pan
*Bake 1 hour // Cose por 1 hora
