The History of Cinco de Mayo

According to Britannica, "Cinco de Mayo, holiday celebrated on May 5 in parts of Mexico and the United States in honor of a military victory over the French forces of Napoleon III in 1862, known as the Battle of Puebla. Cinco de Mayo is not to be confused with Mexican Independence Day, which falls on September 16. The latter holiday was established in 1810, some 50 years before the Battle of Puebla occurred."

"The day is celebrated in the state of Puebla with parades, speeches, and reenactments of the 1862 battle, though it is not much noticed in most of the rest of the country. In the mid-20th-century United States, the celebration of Cinco de Mayo became among Mexican immigrants and those of Mexican descent, a way of encouraging pride in their Mexican heritage. U.S. cities with notable Cinco de Mayo festivities include Los Angeles, Denver, and Washington, D.C."

Throughout the United States, on May 5th, many people enjoy the same traditions for Cinco de Mayo as in Puebla, parades, dancing, mariachi bands, floats and traditional mexican foods are enjoyed as well.  

I was born and raised in California so I grew up LOVING traditional mexican food!  I love it all!  Tacos, enchiladas, taquitos, quesadillas, tostadas, chimichangas, salsa, guacamole, rice and beans.  I will never forget when we moved to Pennsylvania there were no Mexican restaurants there, it was devastating!  When we found Taco Bell, we were at least relieved to have this option, even though it wasn't the same.  As I have gotten older, I have experimented and I feel like I have perfected my version of salsa.  I'd love to share my "recipe" with you.  If you have read my previous blog you will know that I am not always the biggest fan of using recipes.  Sometimes good, sometimes bad..  but here it is:

Salsa Recipe

6 ripened tomatoes

1 jalapeno, use some of the seeds (to start with, you may want to add more for your likeness)

2-3 pieces fresh garlic

1-2 tablespoons fresh or bottled lime juice (to your liking)

1 bunch fresh cilantro

1 large sweet onion

Salt (to your liking)

In a food processor, pulse the garlic, onion, jalapeno, cilantro, lime juice and salt until fine.  Quarter the tomatoes and add to food processor until the tomatoes are chopped.  Make sure to have your husbands (or wives) near by with tortilla chips so they can be your taste testers!  This is my husband's favorite job.  Mine has become a bit of a salsa snob these days.

When I was rooting through my mom's recipe box in hopes of finding some of my Mur's recipes (unfortunately that was a bust), I came across this recipe that I absolutely loved as a snack when I was a kid.  I thought it might be fitting for this blog too.  Enjoy!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!  Thanks for reading.

JK