We're adventurous eaters in my house, and I'm definitely a fan of savory international street food, a la Anthony Bourdain. But the less I know about where it really came from, the better. Maybe that's the problem with me and certain Latino home-cooked foods. I know exactly where it came from. In particular, I'm talking about lengua de res, or tacos de lengua, or pretty much anything neck-up from a cow, or anything that flows as part of the gastrointestinal tract. I grew up in South Texas, so I've seen lots of live cows licking their chomps, munching on grass. I mean, people keep livestock pens in their backyards in my hometown. So when you go from that, to a taco filled with a spongy meat, well, I just cannot stomach it. 

So among the food I don't like: cachete (cheek), sesos (beef brains), mollejitas (gizzards) or tripa (tripe). And while I like a good, spicy bowl of menudo every now and again, I've always cleaned out my bowl and left every single piece of panza in tact. The texture is a big part of why I don't like these foods. Chewy and gummy is okay for little bears, but not meat. I've made menudo a few times at home and I've always given my husband fair warning because he says the smell of the boiling meat makes him want to puke. He's not Mexican.

And I don't even care if beef tongue becomes trendy amongst chefs, either. I'm not touching it. Nope. Keep that lengua away from me!

New-Generation Latino Foods

So here's my issue: My parents loved all of the above food. My grandparents loved all of the above. So the other day when I was in the one of the few Latino grocery stores in my area, and caught sight of a foot-long tongue in a meat case, I wondered: If I don't eat these foods that my family enjoyed so much, will my daughter ever know them? Or will they get lost across the generations, just like so many other things? Language is one thing many of us work hard at holding on to. And music is as easy as downloading a song and listening on-demand. But food also plays a central role in defining one's culture. So what happens when you and your kids start trading up for a red velvet cupcake instead of a marranito, or their idea of good Mexican food is Rosa Mexicano, instead of the simple food my grandmother made and ate.

I think part of what's happened is that we don't live in a place where these foods are regularly served up, even though we do live in a much more global and connected world than even 15 years ago. My parents and grandparents ate these foods, but I don't remember them cooking them on a regular basis, or ever (aside from menudo and mollejitas, on occasion). So I never got the chance to learn to cook them. What I do and can cook are other things, like enchiladas, tacos and chalupas -- which is essentially the holy trinity known as 'The Mexican Plate' in South Texas. Really, it should be called the Texican Plate. 

The other thing is simple economics. These meats are cheap, and we're better off than our parents and our parents were better off than their parents, so of course, we eat can afford better cuts of meat. We also eat out more. There are no lack of options, and we love to try foods from other countries. I'll always pick a taqueria first, but second I'll go for Vietnamese, hands down.

And finally, my husband is Latino, but he's not Mexican-American like me. So while other folks might think Latinos all eat the same foods, we don't. Not even close. I mean, we all like rice and beans and a version of tortillas and some sort of chile (sometimes), but that's about it. Over the years as an adult I have come to know and love and crave Peruvian, Venezuelan, Nicaraguan, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Salvadoran, Brazilian and Colombian food, among others. I've even learned to cook some of these foods, which are Latino foods, but not foods I grew up with or food the older folks in my family would recognize. Even though they're not "my foods," I still feel a connection to them. Maybe it's the language I read them in on the menu. Whatever it is, I kind of like having a pan-Latino palette. And that, I'm assuming, is what my daughter will have, too. 

There are several foods I always equate with the holidays. Tamales are one. And pan de polvo, or Mexican wedding cookies coated in a cinammon sugar mix, are another. Yes, they're eaten at weddings, but also during Christmas-time.

I decided to make a few dozen this year, and I used Eva Longoria's recipe because I couldn't find my grandmother's. In my head, I can see it clearly written on a paper plate (which is where she seemed to jot down all her recetas). But since Eva Longoria is from South Texas, and so am I, originally, I figured her recipe had to be close to the real thing.

EL's version turned out pretty good, but the only thing I might tweak is not adding the baking powder, or using less of it, because that made them a bit more cookie-ish than crumbly, which is how I'm used to having them. Of course, I had to use my favorite vanilla in the world, La Vencedora. This bottle will last for years! I got this one in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.

I even let my little girl shape a few galletitas. And she happilly taste-tested. Or at least, she did a good job of licking off all the sugar/cinammon and leaving the rest of the galleta.

If you have little ones and want to expose them to a little bit of Latino culture, here's a few ways to Latinofy the holidays.

5. Abuelita Hot Chocolate: 

These cinnamon-infused chocolate tablets make the best hot chocolate during Christmas time. I just break up the big piece of chocolate -- which is not easy to do -- and then I put the smaller pieces in the blender to really grind them. Then I pour some regular milk and evaporated milk into a large pot on the stovetop, stir in the chocolate, and let it dissolve. The final touch: I add more cinnamon flavor by throwing a few cinnamon sticks in the simmering milk and letting the flavor seep through. One word: delish.

4. Acostar y Arrullar the Big Baby Jesus: 

Typically, you wait until Noche Buena to do this, but we've already put our Baby Jesus (like a BIG ONE) under the tree, much to our toddler's delight. She loves this over-sized baby and is always putting her little Kai-Lan and Olivia dolls next to him to sleep, too.

3. Virgen de Guadalupe Celebration: 

It's not a Christmas holiday, but the wonderful Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe happens during the holiday season. It's the day that the blessed Virgen appeared to the peasant indigena Juan Diego in 1531 in Tepeyac, Mexico. I think it's just in my DNA to love this celebration, especially when there are mariachis who play Las Mañanitas. Last year, we visited the Basilica here in Washington, DC, and I dressed my toddler up as Juan Dieguita so that she could pay homage and leave roses at OLG's shrine.

2. Las Posadas: 

This re-enactment of Mary and Joseph's trek to Bethlehem, and their search for an inn, or posada, runs from Dec. 16 through the 24th. Growing up we would celebrate these in my hometown. I especially like the call and response song: Eeeen el nombre del cieeeeeelo, ooooos pido posaaaada/ Pues, no puede andaaaaaaar, mi querida espooooooosa. I really wish we could do this here, but in a city it can be a challenge.

1. Tamales: 

Mexican tamalitos are synonymous with the holiday season to me. In my hometown, they are often made with venison, as the winter is deer-hunting season. Now that I'm older and I have to really watch the calories, I try to only have them for a special occasion, like a holiday party! My mom brought up a suitcase full from Texas (literally, she had to rearrange her suitcases at the airport because it weighed a whopping 65 lbs.). This weekend, we shared about five dozen tamales -- chicken, pork, and jalapeno and cream cheese -- with friends and family who came over to our home (see pic, toddler had a blast). As I like to say: Los tamales compartidos son mas ricos y divertos.

For years I've undulated between being vegetarian and, er, regular? I do care about the animals, but the truth of the matter about me and meat is that I just don't like cooking it. I don't like taking it out of packages, handling it, marinating, none of that. But beans, beans ARE like a main dish. And in our house, we are serious about our frijoles, and these three above -- pinto, small red beans (the Central American type) and black beans -- are staples in my cupboard and have been for a while now. Sometimes I take the time to cook beans from the bag. Nowadays, that's not too often. 

I grew up just knowing pinto beans, as that's what we ate in South Texas. We'd eat them a la charra, borracho, de olla (or de la school cafeteria), or refried and topped with yellow cheese and inside a warm, homemade flour tortilla. To this day, pinto beans are still my favorites. But the thing is, we're a split household. My husband's family is from Central America, and to them, everyday beans are the small red ones. I've grown to love this bean, too, especially when it's made into gallo pinto, which is a red beans and rice mix. No, doesn't have gallo in it. It's called that because of it's coloring, like a painted rooster. For the love of my husband, I've learned to make gallo pinto, or at least an okay version of it. And well, both my husband and I eat frijoles negros because they're just plain good. He grew up in Miami and is also Cuban by default, so it's like his adopted bean. I like to pair them with ropa vieja (one of the few, on-occasion meat dishes I cook). 

The toddler K isn't much of a meat eater so far. I think she's just hard-wired to love her frijoles. But the question is, which will be her favorite? Which is your favorite -- take the survey below.

Move over Christmas with your holiday colors. La bandera mexicana is also red, white and green, and so are the staples of our cooking. I'd say about half of what I cook has these three in it: tomato, onion and cilantro. I use it in a ton of different ways, including to make pico de gallo, to add to avocado to make guacamole, or just add to a can of Goya pinto beans para componerlos, as my mom says. Buen provecho!