I'll be right back!

And nope, I’m not talking to you, Brian, or to you, Agnes, or Peggy, or Alex, or Denise, or Carol, or Gary... This time I'm not talking about going to the bathroom at the market...again…and again… I’m talking about going to Chile!!! My beloved long skinny country! But wait - I’ll be right back!

Pedro, Matias, and I are leaving this week. And as long as that swine flu does not kill us, we’ll get to visit our families, our friends, our language, our food… oh yes…our food!!! We can’t wait to have some marraquetas (the best bread ever), empanadas (meat pies), reineta (my favorite fish), quesillo (fresh cheese), and Super8 (chocolate bars).

I will visit my grandmother’s countryside house, and I will bring pictures of the outdoor space where we used to make our summer supply of Dulce de Leche.

I’ll try to go see the coast, too; Viña del Mar and Valparaiso are some of my favorite places to go. They're just beautiful! The same with the mountains... if I’m lucky, my 70 year old father will do what he’s been doing since I can remember -- get a good cane, a hut, and take Pedro and I for an excursion to the mountains.

And last but not least, while in Santiago I’ll make sure to get more ideas and provisions in order to improve and develop an even better alfajor. I’m excited and looking forward to it. When we come back, I’ll be bringing a good taste of my Chile to you.

See you at the Market on the 23^rd of May!

Good People

I’ve told some of my friends that my brain is usually dead after 7 pm… and truly there’s no way to revive it! After 7 my ideas, my thoughts, all my good intentions go to some other place and I’m a real 'asleep person walking'. No kidding! And yes, poor Pedro, I have to blame him for this one.. he has so much energy and so many ideas and so many adventures to conquer, and so many teeth to break…. From 7am to 7pm, he pretty much consumes all my energy! Good thing that my adorable husband Matias takes over before that 7 time… if not…. well… that ‘if not’ is not really an option…. for now… thanks MiRey!

All this, to explain that for miraculous reasons, Maitelates has its own energy and is really growing!!!! Thanks to my friend Lisa, Mary -the owner of Everyday Wines- has been selling my alfajores at her store since February. After that, Jim –the owner of the recently opened Comet Coffee- contacted me and he’s been selling not only my alfajores but also a killer coffee named “Leche Dulce” made out of my own dulce de leche!!!! Then, not content with those two great serendipitous opportunities, Susie, the manager of Foodzie.com, created a “Maitelates Store” on her amazing online marketplace for food artisans. What about that!!!!

I went to visit Lisa & Jeph at Selma Café on Friday and my friend Kim asked me if I could think of good advice for people that want to start 'their thing’ too. Right away a few words came out of my mouth and I said “People!! Good people!! This is all about team work!” If you really want to take a new exciting step in your life, just surround yourself with all the good people that are there –your family and friends-, or out there, willing to help, willing to support you, willing and happy to be a part of transforming your dreams into reality…

A hard day...

For the first time, I had a very hard day at the market.
There were flowers all over the place and the sun was shining. Also, Sheryl started my morning with the best raspberry muffin and Brian did an amazing job selling many, many alfajores, Despite all this, though, there was a sadness hanging over the market...

Richard, the old smiley farmer sitting in Carol's car, wasn't there. His eyes were closed, his hands were tired, and his smile was gone. Carol, trying to be strong, said that there's not much to do; I fell to pieces...

We are not ready to let him go. I am not ready to let him leave!!! It's Richard! The lovely old man always sitting in Carol's car, smiling and waving at everyone. For the first time while working, I cried and cried and couldn't stop crying.

This market is way more than just the place where I sell my products. This market and these farmers are my family, Pedro's family! And it is just awfully hard and sad to see Richard shutting his smile down... I wish all the best to him and I hope with all my heart to see him next Saturday sitting there... If not, I will always be thankful for his smile and I'll never forget his strong, loving hands.

Special thanks to you, Carol, for all these years of caring and taking care of him.... you've been amazing!!!!!