Morning Thoughts ---The Molcajete

Here is my new molcajete. I bought it at my favorite health food store in Ajijic across the street from the Hospital Ajijic. I was assured that it was handmade out of lava rock. She even showed me a photo of the man who made it. I bought the most expensive one she had, 150 pesos.  It must have taken him several hours to make it. 150 pesos is a little less than 12 American dollars.   I spent part of the afternoon grinding white rice into it to cure it. This morning I used it for grinding some different twigs that I use for tea...  It feels like it belongs here and is an essential part of my so called kitchen. What a treat for me.

This morning I am going to the spa again. I hope to make it there twice a week. Several friends are going to meet me there. I am looking forward to soaking in the hot mineral water. It helps my constant backache. I am getting old and breaking down. I wonder who will end up with my molcajete after I pass away. I can't see my son carrying it back across the border. It is very heavy.

 I am thinking this because on the web sites they stressed the fact that Mexican women hand down their molcajetes from generation to generation. The older it gets, the better. Not like our bodies that get worse. The various spices and flavors stay in the pores of the stone and whenever you make something in it, those flavors come out.   I had better not grind my Epazote in it. That is a nasty smelling and tasting herb that does wonders for the health. Why can't chocolate cake be healthy instead of epazote?

My new diet calls for lots of beans and the epazote deactivates whatever is in beans that causes people to have gas. A real wonder herb.  Mexicans use it often in their cooking. It is hard to find in stores where expats do most of the shopping. I am off to the spa now.