Happy Day Of The Dead!

Or Feliz Dia De Los Muertos! We Are honoring the many relatives we have lost. We actually lost 8 family members on my mom's side and 5 on my dad's side. Then there was 4 on my ex's side so it has been pretty constant. The hardest was my mom. She was sick for a long time and we had a hard relationship for a long time but at the same time she was a devoted mom who tried so hard that it drove her to the thing's she didn't want to be. She was a beautiful kind hearted woman that had a hard life. I got a better relationship with her when I was older and was her caregiver for years. 

I love how The Day Of The Dead celebrates the life of the people and you honor that life. We are blessed to have a very multicultural family. We have everything from Irish and Filipino to my daughter who also has Creole. The great thing about that is we can explore the many different traditions and beliefs of the various cultures. 

We got to go to the Dia De Los Muertos Festival in Mesa and it was nice even though it wasn't on the actual day. Today my daughter and I are going to make Skull Cookies. Next year we are building an alter. 

Here are the pictures from the festival.

Pan de Muerto 

(Bread of the Dead)

Ingredients:

•             1/4 cup milk

•             1/4 cup (half a stick) margarine or butter, cut into 8 pieces

•             1/4 cup sugar

•             1/2 teaspoon salt

•             1 package active dry yeast

•             1/4 cup very warm water

•             2 eggs

•             3 cups all-purpose flour, unsifted

•             1/2 teaspoon anise seed

•             1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

•             2 teaspoons sugar

Instructions: Bring milk to boil and remove from heat. Stir in margarine or butter, 1/4 cup sugar and salt.

In large bowl, mix yeast with warm water until dissolved and let stand 5 minutes. Add the milk mixture.

Separate the yolk and white of one egg. Add the yolk to the yeast mixture, but save the white for later. Now add flour to the yeast and egg. Blend well until dough ball is formed.

Flour a pastry board or work surface very well and place the dough in center. Knead until smooth. Return to large bowl and cover with dish towel. Let rise in warm place for 90 minutes. Meanwhile, grease a baking sheet and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Knead dough again on floured surface. Now divide the dough into fourths and set one fourth aside. Roll the remaining 3 pieces into "ropes."

On greased baking sheet, pinch 3 rope ends together and braid. Finish by pinching ends together on opposite side. Divide the remaining dough in half and form 2 "bones." Cross and lay them atop braided loaf.

Cover bread with dish towel and let rise for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, in a bowl, mix anise seed, cinnamon and 2 teaspoons sugar together. In another bowl, beat egg white lightly.

When 30 minutes are up, brush top of bread with egg white and sprinkle with sugar mixture, except on cross bones. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

Makes 8 to 10 servings.