By I crossed the bridge to Anapra on Wednesday — the weekly visit. Lupita's kitchen runs like a clock. The neighborhood women come at dawn. The school children visit. The bakery is what Rosa would have wanted: a warm place with good bread in the neighborhood where she cooked for forty years.
The small Mexican-cooking-tradition runs through the small kitchen-and-bakery. The small mole, the small chiles rellenos, the small tamales-at-Christmas, the small posada-foods, the small Three Kings Day rosca. The small recipes have come down through four-and-five generations of the small Gutierrez-Hernandez women.
The small El Paso-Juárez border-cousin-network continues. The small Juárez-side of the family (Maria Elena’s mother’s family) crosses the small bridge for the small family-events. The small cross-border family-life has been the small constant. The small post-Carlos-killing has changed the small relationship to the small Juárez-side.
The five children: Carlos (the small eldest) had been killed in Juárez in 2008 at age 19 in the small cartel-violence. The small loss is the small permanent-wound. The small four-surviving-children are: Roberto Jr. (now 38, runs the small bakery’s wholesale operation, married with three kids), Elena (now 35, a small ER nurse, married with two kids), Mateo (now 32, a small high school teacher, married with one kid), and Sofia (now 28, the small bakery’s manager, engaged).
The small Panadería Rosa in the small downtown El Paso continues to be the small business. The small bakery operates from four AM to six PM six days a week. The small pan dulce, the small empanadas, the small bolillos, the small conchas are the small daily-product. The small bakery is the small Maria Elena and Luis Gutierrez inheritance from Maria Elena’s parents.
The five children: Carlos (the small eldest) had been killed in Juárez in 2008 at age 19 in the small cartel-violence. The small loss is the small permanent-wound. The small four-surviving-children are: Roberto Jr. (now 38, runs the small bakery’s wholesale operation, married with three kids), Elena (now 35, a small ER nurse, married with two kids), Mateo (now 32, a small high school teacher, married with one kid), and Sofia (now 28, the small bakery’s manager, engaged).
The small twelve-grandchildren are the small joy-of-the-small-final-third-of-life. The small grandkids cycle through the small Sunday-bakery-and-Maria-Elena-house from morning to evening. The small intergenerational kitchen runs on the small Sunday.
The small Mexican-cooking-tradition runs through the small kitchen-and-bakery. The small mole, the small chiles rellenos, the small tamales-at-Christmas, the small posada-foods, the small Three Kings Day rosca. The small recipes have come down through four-and-five generations of the small Gutierrez-Hernandez women.
Luis (the small husband) operates the small bakery’s production side while Maria Elena runs the small front-of-house and the small recipe-development. The small forty-year-relationship (married against both small families’ wishes) has been the small life-partnership. The small Javier-loss in 1993 had been the small permanent wound the small family carries. The small marriage-survived.
The small El Paso-Juárez border-cousin-network continues. The small Juárez-side of the family (Maria Elena’s mother’s family) crosses the small bridge for the small family-events. The small cross-border family-life has been the small constant. The small post-Carlos-killing has changed the small relationship to the small Juárez-side.
Every Wednesday when I cross that bridge and walk into Lupita’s kitchen, what stays with me on the drive back to El Paso isn’t the mole or the tamales — it’s the smell of something plain and honest baking, the kind of thing that fills a room without asking for attention. That’s what these seed crackers are to me: no performance, no occasion required, just the steady work of hands that know what they’re doing. I started making them on the days between big bakery batches, when the oven is still warm and the kitchen is quiet, and they’ve become as much a part of our week as the bolillos and the conchas — one more small, good thing we make together.
Seed Crackers
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 55 minutes | Servings: 24 crackers
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
- 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
- 1/4 cup sesame seeds
- 1/4 cup flaxseeds
- 2 tablespoons chia seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more for topping
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven. Heat oven to 325°F (165°C). Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine the seeds. In a medium bowl, stir together the sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, flaxseeds, chia seeds, and salt until evenly mixed.
- Add water. Pour in the water (and olive oil if using) and stir well. Let the mixture rest for 5 minutes until the chia and flax absorb the liquid and the mixture thickens into a loose, spreadable mass.
- Spread thin. Pour the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet and use a spatula or the back of a spoon to spread it into an even layer about 1/8-inch thick. The thinner and more even the layer, the crispier the crackers.
- Season the top. Sprinkle lightly with additional sea salt if desired.
- Bake. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove from the oven and carefully score into crackers using a sharp knife or pizza cutter — roughly 2-inch squares or rectangles work well. Return to the oven and bake another 20–25 minutes, until the crackers are golden, firm, and dry throughout. Watch the edges; they will color first.
- Cool completely. Remove from the oven and let cool on the pan. The crackers will continue to crisp as they cool. Once fully cooled, break along the scored lines and store in an airtight container.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 75 | Protein: 3g | Fat: 6g | Carbs: 3g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 45mg