Día de los Muertos 2007

Let me start by saying that for Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead in English), which is celebrated each year on November 1-2, I had all sorts of grandiose plans. My intention was to go to the Mexican market, pick up an armload of fresh groceries, and then make the best dang Mexican dinner I could (kind of like we did for Day of the Dead last year).


Our Día de los Muertos offering table. (11/01/07)

But things didn't exactly go to plan. As it turned out, when I left the office, I found that my car wouldn't start. I had a Day of the Dead Battery it seems. Long story short, it wasn't something a simple jump start would solve, so we ended up calling AAA who towed it to the dealership. By the time Tim picked me up and we got back home, it was almost 9:00 p.m. — way too late to start cooking.

So I did the next best thing. I dug through the pantry, found a box of cake mix and some unopened frosting from when Tim made cookies last year (it still hadn't expired, if you can believe it). So I made Día de los Muertos skull cupcakes!

It wasn't as elaborate as the full Day of the Dead meal that Tom and Christine cooked. But as I like to imagine it, the spirits went to their house for dinner, and then came to our house for dessert.


Our last-minute Day of the Dead cupcakes. (11/01/07)

Sorry Farmer's Daughter Bean (aka Christine). I didn't make the cupcakes from scratch like you do. And they weren't nearly as good as yours. But given the circumstances, they weren't half bad. Besides, it's not like any of our departed loved ones were the Rockefellers or anything. Not a single one of them would have balked at eating cupcakes made from mix.

We also put together a little shrine to honor some of the departed loved ones who continue to live on in our hearts. They included my Mom, Tim's best friend Judi, my Grandma, my aunt Eva, my uncle Raul, and our most recent and still painfull loss, our beloved Simon. We lit some candles and then enjoyed a cupcake while reminiscing about the impact each of them made on our lives. It was a befitting tribute.