You Are What You Eat

If there is one cliche that is completely overused, it has to be, "You are what you eat." And, if it's true, well then, my friends, I am a gordita. Not just any gordita. I am mole dulce, frijoles con queso, rajas con queso, and winnie. For my American friends, let me explain what that is. Let's start with my favorite. Mole dulce is a mildly spicy, sweet sauce that is dark brown in color and has about a million ingredients in it, mostly known for its chocolate content. That's right. Chocolate. Not Hershey's chocolate per se, but chocolate none the less. And, to make it even more intriguing, it is always served over chicken. I do not know what I was doing with my life before mole dulce stepped into it. I can't believe I didn't invent it myself. I mean, let's be honest. If you cut me, I'd bleed chocolate. Well, chocolate and gravy. Gravy is to a Hillbilly, what salsa is to a Mexican. But, that is another blog.
Although I could talk about chocolate forever and a day, I realize I may need to move on before someone starts thinking I'm a chocolate addict or something. So, let me define what a gordita is. It is a small, flat disk, made from flour or corn (basically a thicker tortilla), that is split open so that it can be filled. It is usually around 4 inches or so in diameter, stuffed with refried beans, and then a filling of your choice. Those fillings vary from region to region, and depends on where you order your gordita. The place that we frequent here in Juarez has a wide range to choose from. Beans with cheese, mole dulce, pork skins in spicy green salsa (chicharron en salsa verde), or spicy red salsa, pork in red salsa (asado de puerco), hot dogs in a red salsa that isn't the least bit spicy (winnie), poblano peppers and onions with cheese (rajas con queso), thin, diced steak with tomato, onion, and spicy peppers (pulpa), among others. Those just happen to be our favorites.
The term "gordita" actually translates as "chubby." You can stop snickering now. I know I'm chubby. But what is funny about this word, is that it is interchangeable. My husband, two weeks before we were married, when we were with some of our Mexican-American friends, called me gordita. I was told by one of those female "friends" of ours at that time that the word means fat, and she clearly stated that he was calling me fat. She was Hispanic, and spoke perfect Spanish, so of course I trusted what she was telling me. I was mortified. I left him there at their house, I was so upset about it. Not because I wasn't fat, but because my future husband had the audacity to point it out to me so point blank. I did end up coming back to pick him up, but not until I drove around for a while trying to rationalize the situation. He tried explaining to me in his broken English that it was a term of endearment, not an insult. It wasn't until some research, and arguing, and asking other Mexican people we knew, that I came to find out that he wasn't pointing out or criticizing my body size, necessarily, he was appreciating my body. He was embracing my body type, shape, size, and actually enjoying that it belonged to him. "Mi gordita" is a term of affection, when used in the context he was using it in. I, unfortunately, failed to see that our female "friend" was just jealous, because, as it turns out, she actually wanted to be much more than just friends with my future husband. I didn't see that one coming, because I am not a jealous type person myself. I just assumed she would have been happy for us. Nope. I chalk that one up to Life Lesson number 4,337.
So, in conclusion, I guess I am what I eat. I am a gordita. But, I have made peace with that. At least, I am Ruben's gordita.