(Cascarones by Carmen Lomas Garza)
Easter will be here in little more than a week. Once again I'm working Good Friday through Easter Monday, but there will still be some celebrating. There has to be ham, chocolate eggs, bunnies, chicks (softies, not real ones) and time for reflection.
What I'm looking forward to most is smashing an egg over bugalugs' head. I have in my kitchen some carefully guarded Cascarones.
What are Cascarone? They may have originated in Mexico, they may have originated elsewhere, but they are now popular in Mexico and that's where I discovered them, so I say they're Mexican.
Cascarones are egg shells filled with confetti, that are meant to be cracked (gently) over someone's head, showering them in confetti. Having a Cascrone cracked over your head is supposed to bring good luck. They are traditionally used at Carnaval and Easter time.
I first heard of them when I was living in Mexico (back in '99) and we went to Tepoztlan around Carnaval one year. One of the market sellers had a big tarp spread out on the ground and it was covered in brightly covered cascarones. We bought quite a few to use that day, and quite a few more to take home.
Or maybe I won't use them at all and I'll just keep them. They are easy enough to make, so I'm not sure why I want to keep them. Or I could buy more from Mahar Dry Goods.