Like Water for Chocolate: Chapter 1 Part 2
NOTE:  All the procedures in cooking or home remedies are copied directly 
from the book because I've never cooked any of those recipes before.  The 
copied parts have an asterik at the front.
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When it came to games, Kasumi and Akane made animals out of the chorizo 
sausage.  She and Akane had bushels of fun.  Making pigs, cows, chickens, 
and all kinds of animals they could think of.  Making them was fun, but 
when Kasumi had to use them to cook a meal, it was usually painful and 
hard because Akane refused to let her "animals" to be broken apart.  The 
only time she would let Kasumi to take them apart was when the chorizo 
was used to fill Christmas rolls.
   *The chorizo for the rolls must fried over very low heat, so that it 
cooks thoroughly without getting too brown.  When done, remove from the 
heat and add the sardines, which have been deboned ahead of time.  Any 
black spots also had been scraped off with a knife.  Combine the onions, 
chopped chiles, and the ground oregano with the sardines.  Let the 
mixture sit before filling the rolls.
   Akane loved to sit there and just inhale the aroma of the mixture.  
She loved Christmas rolls.  The aroma always brought her memories of the 
past, but the only thing that Akane couldn't remember was when she first 
smelled the Christmas rolls.  Akane was convinced that it was even before 
she was born.  
   In Mama Tendo's ranch, the chorizo making was a ritual.  All women in 
the ranch had to participate.  They sat early in the morning choping 
onions, chiles, peeling garlic, and grounding oregano and the meat.  They 
will sit together and then talk and joke until Mama Tendo said:
   "Okay, this all for today.  Now lets get some rest."
   When Mama Tendo said this, everyone-Nabiki, Akane, Kasumi, Ukyou, and 
Akari, the Maid,-went into action.  They cleaned up the kitchen, washed 
utensils, put away the chorizo.  After that, the kitchen was like new, 
then they all went to sleep.
   One afternoon, before Mama Tendo told them they could leave the table 
and go to their bedrooms, Akane, who was fifteen, announced that Ranma 
Saotome would like to come and speak with her.....
   Silence filled the room.  Minutes later, Mama Tendo broke the ice by 
asking:
   "And why does he want to talk to me?" 
   "I don't know" was Akane's reply.  She was so nervous that her answer 
was barely audiable.
   Mama Tendo looked at Akane and guessed her feelings.  
   "Tell him not to bother.  You know very well that being the youngest, 
you have to take care of me till I die, and that you can not marry until 
then,"  Mama Tendo got up slowly and then said "That is for today."
   "But my opion-"
   "You don't have an opinion.  This rule was in the family for 
generations and I'm not going to let you break it!"  Mama Tendo said.  
Akane then began to cry, her tears falling on top of the table just like 
when she was born.  But she wasn't about to give up.
   One day, when they were sewing, Mama Tendo saw that Akene's creation 
was the best, but she forgot to baste it.  Mama Tendo ordered her to rip 
it of and baste it a sew it again.  Tita was about to protest, but 
instead she said:
   "Yes, mami."
   Mama Tendo was happy.  Akane was the only daughter of hers who never 
said the word mami with the respect she wanted.  Now, she was happy 
because she thought she finally got Akane to obey her.
   Her happiness was short lived unfortunatelly because the very next 
day, Ranma Saotome and his father, Genma Saotome, appeared in the De la 
Graza's doorsteps.

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This is for now.  Part 3 will be comming soon!

Send anything you want, but if you are going to send vegetables, please 
don't send rotten ones.
GiGi