Like Water For Chocolate

Many years ago, I read this book. It is a love story of a life long love between Pedro and Tita, set in Mexico. Each chapter begins with a recipe and as Tita cooks it, the food takes on her mood. Like if she is weeping when cooking because her heart is breaking for Pedro, when the guests eat the food, they all start crying inconsolably too!! I loved that book when I read it and am going to go and buy 5 copies tomorrow to give to the ladies who are coming to the Karma Pies Chocolate Lovers Morning!


So, today, at 2:30 am, while I was making Karma Pies first batch of chocolates, dark chocolate, some plain and some with walnut centers, I was weeping. Just weeping for possibilities, choices, and also for gratitude for the abundance in my life.

I wonder if the people who eat them tomorrow will also weep like the people who ate Tita's desserts?!!

Love,
Jhilmil

Editorial Reviews (from Amazon)

From Publishers Weekly
Each chapter of screenwriter Esquivel's utterly charming interpretation of life in turn-of-the-century Mexico begins with a recipe--not surprisingly, since so much of the action of this exquisite first novel (a bestseller in Mexico) centers around the kitchen, the heart and soul of a traditional Mexican family. The youngest daughter of a well-born rancher, Tita has always known her destiny: to remain single and care for her aging mother. When she falls in love, her mother quickly scotches the liaison and tyrannically dictates that Tita's sister Rosaura must marry the luckless suitor, Pedro, in her place. But Tita has one weapon left--her cooking. Esquivel mischievously appropriates the techniques of magical realism to make Tita's contact with food sensual, instinctual and often explosive. Forced to make the cake for her sister's wedding, Tita pours her emotions into the task; each guest who samples a piece bursts into tears. Esquivel does a splendid job of describing the frustration, love and hope expressed through the most domestic and feminine of arts, family cooking, suggesting by implication the limited options available to Mexican women of this period. Tita's unrequited love for Pedro survives the Mexican Revolution the births of Rosaura and Pedro's children, even a proposal of marriage from an eligible doctor. In a poignant conclusion, Tita manages to break the bonds of tradition, if not for herself, then for future generations.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.