About Gabriela
As my grandfather always said, Como te vas a casar si no sabes cocinar? (“Who will marry you if you don’t know how to cook?”)
My profound love for food, family and domesticity was unavoidable. Three generations of women in my family each approached the kitchen their own way and I picked up tricks and traditions from each.
My grandma was a homemaker. She made fresh tortillas de harina seven days a week, fulfilled breakfast requests from each one of her nine children every morning and stretched her husband’s roofer salary to keep 9 bellies full.
My Madrina (that’s spanish for godmother) is a well traveled woman. She used to live in the Mexican border city of El Paso, Texas for most my childhood. She’s a true Mexican food aficionado – cooking meals of Frijoles Charros and roast beef sandwiches with avocado and fresh asadero cheese. Her home is filled with Folk Art, the energy of pet parrots and a Chihuahua and the aroma of coffee and antique furniture.
My mother was a housewife until I was ten years old. She cooked sit-down dinners for her 2.5 kids and her high school sweetheart five nights a week, plus homemade waffles on Saturday. And these are just three of the women in my life; my Aunt Patty makes the best chile rojo and fresh flour tortillas and Aunt Maryann’s New Mexican Torta and tamales are the best to be had.
So it’s no small wonder I’m the kind of girl a (Chicano) boy takes home to mom, the kind of girl he wants to marry. The put-in-your-pocket-save-for-when-I’m-ready-to-settle make and model. Do I have a sister? No. Tried and true: the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.*
*Okay, not always but it sure helps.
Questions or Comments? gabrielaskitchen (at) gmail (dot) com
I saw your video on Working Class Foodies and loved it! Thanks for sharing on how to make beautiful tamales… delicious!
Como te vas a casar si no sabes cocinar?
jaja, me gusta.
La verdad es que no tanta gente sabe cocinar hoy dia.
Me gusta tu blog.
Gracias.
Beautiful! Though I am a vegetarian (100%), I have not had to sacrifice losing my tradition, but turning recipes around healthier buy using alternative methods. I look forward to becoming more familiar with your site. God bless, amiga!
Thank you, Gloria. I look forward to reading about how you adapt traditional recipes to a vegan diet. xogabriela
Hey Gabriela!
So lucky I heard about you! Me llamo Gabriela! Born and raised in Taos, New Mexico and I’m obsessed with New Mexican home cooking like Posole, Frito Pies, and Biscochitos! Reply please!
~Gabby
Hi Gabby, My parents just arrived in NYC from NM with a suitcase-full of green chile, posole and Frontier tortillas. There are certain things that you can only get from New Mexico! Did you make biscochitos this year? I’m making a batch of them and Mexican Wedding Cookies tonight.xogabriela
Hola gabriela!!
I just found your site by coincidence i was looking for something to eat and since i have access to a large Garden… Well i thought your quesadilla was great. I have ye to look at the rest of the things available here. I wish you luck.
Hola Israel, I am so glad you enjoyed the quesadillas. Thanks for the best wishes, same to you and your garden!
Hi Gabriella,
Beautiful site!!!! I was wondering if you ever review other blogs or recipes? I’d love your opinion on some of my Mexican recipes!
Hi Gabriela,
I posted a comment but not sure it went through??? Anyway, LOVE your blog! I just started a blog too with recipes from my Mexican grandmother and mother and was wondering if you ever test or review recipes?
Salud!
Yvette
http://muybuenocookbook.wordpress.com/
Hi Gabriela,
Found your site through Latina Lista! I’m from El Paso and just started a blog. Hooray for us Latinas!!! Your blog is very nice!!!
Hi Gaby, i am looking forward to trying your recipes once I get my kitchen set up in Atlanta.
Thanks! I hope you enjoy them. xogaby
Hola Gabriela,
I’ve only just stumbled across your website, and I must say I love it – you’re a superstar. I run a Latino bar/restaurant in London, and may have a proposition for you. Would you be so kind as to email me so I can let you know what’s on my mind.
Hope to hear from you soon.
Hola, Gabriela! Yes, the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. My husband LOVES Mexican food, and I can’t wait to try some of your recipes!
Thanks for the RT, girlie! I love your blog!! I’ve been dying for inspiration on squash blossoms!
Besos 🙂
xo de nada! Hope you get your hands on some blossoms soon.
I think your smile and charm are doing just fine :o)
Hola Gabriela,
Recien he descubierto tu blog gracias al tweet de Maura. Me ha parecido un hermoso descubrimiento. Wait. do you speak Spanish?…I better switch to Spanglish! 😉
Well, as I was telling you I’m so glad I found your blog, I’m adding it to my links of Mexican food blogs.
I will be coming back for more.
¡Hola Heidi! Hablo español pero….¡vale! I speak Spanglish much better;) So glad you enjoy my site that Maura shared (I love her “Tortilla” and your “Aromas y Sabores” – reading your site helps me practice my Spanish!) xogabriela
Feliz Cumpliano Gabriela! Espero que este dia sea muy espcial. Que Dios te bendiga ye que sigas con much exito “en la concina”–la mejor concina en todo el internet. Esta manana estaba pensado en el dia que tu naciste. There we were in the hospital room, the television was blaring the March Madness–oh such madness about basketball. We toasted to your arrival y era un dia muy muy bello, bello como la nina, Gabriela. Te amo, Siempre Feliz, Your Nina
Hi Gaby,
Another alum suggested I become a fan of Gabriela’s Kitchen. What a surprise! Should have known it was yours because of the beautiful artwork! It’s gorgeous and so warm and inviting. Am looking forward to trying some of your recipes. Love, Ernie
Thanks Ernie! xoxox say hello to everyone in the office for me.
ciao gabriela, it is a pleasure to have found your blog through Amanda and Merrill’s Food52. complimenti. best wishes, shayma
Love your website, its great to see a blog on mexican food, its my favourite kind!
I love how simple your recipes are, glad I stumbled upon this one 🙂
Charlotte
Gabrielle,
You are amazing and talented! Wish we’d seen Alex while he was here in Albuquerque. Hope to see ya’ll when you visit. Would love having you and Alex and your parents over to our new house and to meet our wonderful, beautiful new 4-legged family member, Jack. Photos to come.
Peggy forwarded your link to me. I’ve sent around everywhere! Expect to hear from Alejandra. I believe she has some recipe questions for you.
Anyway, you’ve put something together that is amazing! Keep it up!
Ken
Thanks Ken! And ah! Can’t wait to se pictures of Jack…
Thanks for visiting the site. Right now Alex and I are working on re-formating the layout, it’s a great adventure in cooking and computer skills! Say hello to Sandra from Alex and me.
-Gabrielle
Gabriela,
I just stumbled onto your site and I love it. Finally, someone who gets being of the latin persuasion with the food and the women in our lives. My grandma, still alive, thank God, made us flour tortillas every morning to go along with our papas con huevo y frijoles. It’s still the go-to breakfast how I am transplanted back to those times whenever I’m at her house and she makes me that breakfast.
Anyhow, I look forward to reading your blog and all the great meals that I know I can relate too.
And yes, the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. 🙂
Margie in Houston, Texas
Hi Gabriela! I found your blog through a RT on twitter. Small world – I just moved to VA from El Paso. I love your blog – the pictures and food bring me back to El Paso. There is NO Mexican food like that in El Paso!
There are nooks and crannies of great Mexican food on the East Coast, you just have to hunt a little. And if all else fails there’s always your kitchen!
Thank you for this blog! Wonderful, simple recipes! I live in rural northern Michigan, and my husband is a chef. We do a great deal of experimental cooking at home, and are putting together a sort of pan-Central/South American dinner for guests tonight. (We are grilling an entire slab of adobo marinated bacon and making our own salted beef for taquitos for our main course). Anyway, I had some marvelous locally grown fresh beets and wanted to find a recipe to incorporate them into our meal tonight, googled “Mexican recipes+beets,” and your blog came up. I am a devoted foodie and am my DH’s recipe research consultant (well, no one else applied for the job, so I got it by default, LOL). As a former Detroiter who truly misses instant access to wonderful Mexican food, especially homemade tamales, I greatly appreciate having your blog at my fingertips. I guarantee I will be visiting this site often!
Julie, sounds like you’ve planned a wonderful meal! I’m glad you’re using the beet recipe, it’s quite surprising to me that a beet recipe is getting such a positive response (I had no idea others love beets as much as I!). I hope you continue to enjoy my site. xogabriela
What a fabulous site! You’re not just a great cook – you write beautifully too.
Looking forward to sharing lots of recipes.
Candice
Thanks Candice and me too!
Hey there Gabi!
I came across your site through myspace…I’m Tyler’s girlfriend (the Tyler that lives across the street from the Shelley’s) anyways…just wanted to say that I love your blog 🙂 I would also love to start one when I have more time to cook. I totally agree with your philosphy and you have inspired me to tap into my Chicana roots (I tend to stick to Spanish/Italian cooking as I learned it while I lived in Spain).
Just wanted to stop in and say hello 🙂
P.S. I’m visiting NYC for the first time in a few weeks and am definately looking forward to it!
P.S.S. I just made some ricotta stuffed zucchini blossoms for dinner the other night…very yummy.
Hi Erin, I remember you! Thanks for looking! I would totally encourage you to start a cooking blog, please make sure to let me know when you do, I’d love to read it and learn some Spanish/Italian techniques.
I hope you enjoy NYC.
And it’s all about the squash blossoms lately, I need to get on that!
One can find squash flowers at the greenmarket in union square in nyc.
Thank you thank you thank you! I will be heading downtown this weekend for blossoms!
Hi Gabriela,
I enjoy your site!!!
I am also wondering where i can buy squash flowers in NYC and was wondering if you have found any leads?
Please let me know.
Thanks,
Rick
When I find ’em I’ll make sure to post it on the site. Hopefully soon. gabriela