Atole

I've been trying to finish up some posts but it's been really hard. Mostly, because ever since I started, all I wanna do is listen to Fantasía Pop or watch weird videos with Melissa. Now, Melissa is home for her sister's wedding and I am all alone. I've spent my time crying and writing letters to Korean popstars that sound something like: Dear Big Bang & 2NE1, Please come to the US. Come play a show near Philly so that I can charm you, become best friends with you/marry one of you... just kidding guys! I don't write letters like that! I just proofread the ones Melissa writes and make sure she uses at least 3 of the 10(?) Korean words we know.


ANYWAY, the weather hasn't been so nice lately. It's rainy and gross and I don't like it. Mostly because I don't own the right clothes/shoes for this weather and because I also no longer have an umbrella. I also don't like rain because I hate when it gets on my glasses. Life is hard. What I do like about the weather is that it's been getting a little colder. That makes me happy because I love cold weather! When it starts to get colder I always begin to crave things like soup and one of my favorite things ever: ATOLE.


I really just love Atole. It's basically this drink made from cornstarch and a bunch of good stuff. You can make different flavors on your own or just buy packages that you just add milk and sugar too. Now, I'm not gonna lie, I kinda love the Maizena Strawberry atole. It is totally not as good as homemade stuff but it's pink and I've loved it since I was teeny tiny and I can't help liking it. I even noticed that they changed the shade of pink this summer when I made it at home. Seriously, it's different. Other than that though, I have real favorites. One of them is my mother's guayaba atole. It is perfect. I am not joking, it is really that good. Everyone in my house loves it and this summer we kept asking her to make more. Sadly, my mom has other things to do besides make atole, so sometimes she'd say no. Once I tried to make it and it really just didn't turn out as delicious. Sad.


My other favorite kind of atole is champurrado. It is all cinnamon-y and chocolate-y and full of all this really great stuff. It's delicious. And it goes so well with tamales! I am sad that I haven't found a good place for tamales in Philadelphia. In Chicago, or in Mexico, there is always someone selling tamales and atole on the street, and that's usually the best champurrado ever. Seriously. Sipping champurrado from styrofoam cups and devouring warm tamales on the street is on my list of favorite things.

Some of my other favorite flavors are tamarindo and nuez. There are tons of flavors though and you can basically make atole out of anything you think might be good. I've also heard tons of really funny/cute Mexican proverbs with atole in them. Oh, atole, I miss you! Okay, now I am just sad that I don't have any atole or tamales. I am going to go back to reading my paper for the 900th time.

Love, María