Hello friends,
We made merch, our Niño de Maíz t shirt. Erica, my incredible partner, came up with the design and drew it by hand. We got it printed in super comfortable LA Apparel 6.5 oz shirts, and Ape Do Good did the 2 color screen printing in San Francisco. We made a very limited run and you, newsletter readers, get first dibs. Consider buying one of these t’s or gifting one to a Bolita fan in your life.
Pop-Up / Market Dates
THU 10/27 - Dia de Los Muertos Pop-Up, Foodwise Mission Market, 84 Bartlett St. 3:00-7:00pm
We will have TAMALES and MERCH!!!! And, we will most likely sell out of tamales. Please Pre-order. 10/27 happens to be Bolita’s 2 year anniversary and it seems appropriate that we are releasing our first run of merch 2 years after my first sale.
Pre-orders are open HERE. Add to Your Calendar
FRI 10/28 - Oakland Pop-Up, 272 14th Street. 5:30-7:00pm
We will have MASA, SALSAS and MERCH!!!! Please Pre-order. We can ship shirts, but will not ship salsas or masa.
Pre-orders are open HERE. Add to Your Calendar
Coconut & Passionfruit Nicuatole
Adapted from Dora’s Table recipe
Makes twelve 4 oz. portions
Ingredients
1 lb masa (white or yellow)
8 oz coconut puree
4 oz passion fruit puree
4 oz piloncillo sugar (more to taste)
1 stick of cinnamon
2 star anise pods
32 oz water
To Prepare
In a blender, blend masa, coconut puree, sugar, and 32 oz of water until everything is incorporated and homogenous. Strain through a sieve to get a very smooth texture. Reserve 1/2 of the mixture.
For the coconut nicuatole: In a small sauce pan, at medium heat, heat up 1/2 of the blended mixture with 1/2 stick cinnamon and star anise.
For the passionfruit nicuatole: In a small sauce pan, at medium heat, heat up 1/2 of the blended mixture with passion fruit puree.
Bring both mixtures up to a boil, reduce heat to low, and continue cook both for another 8 minutes until the liquid has thickened and covers the back of a spoon. Remove the spices from the coconut nicuatole.
Pour the passion fruit mixture into your preferred mold, let it set for a few minutes and then top with the coconut mixture. Place in fridge and let cool overnight.
You can add coconut flakes or cacao nibs to the nicuatole if you want more texture.
We used these cute corn molds, served it with coconut flakes, cacao nibs, salted coconut cream, and corn miso & plantain caramel.
MERCH?
It took us 6 months to finally get theses made. Not because any one part of it took that long. Once came up with the design, it was only a few weeks of tweaking and drawing. Ape Do Good printed them quickly. LA Apparel mailed the shirts in no time too.
I own a lot of merch. Odds are, if you spotted me in public, I’ve been wearing a Valley or Bar Par Time hat. A Mish Mish, Grand Coffee or Yo Tambien Cantina shirt. I love merch.
It took me a long time to finally create something I would be happy wearing any day, all day. I wanted a high quality comfy tee made in the US. I wanted a textured, high quality local screen print. I wanted colors and images that told a story.
We are offering two colors. Bolita Belatove (Pink/Mauve, with black and goldenrod inks) and Cónico Negro (Vintage Black, with blue & white inks). The fabric looks like two of the masas we make. The colors are also reflective masa hues: blues, blacks, yellows, whites.
The design itself is called “Niño de Maíz,” or roughly translated to “Child of Maíz.” I was raised on corn, though most of it was low quality commercial stuff. The little guy on the shirt is holding a Bolita Masa tortilla and is hanging out with their dog, Rosie, next to a corn stalk. The sun is bright and large, the corn stalk is producing a cob, and pup is enjoying the sun and the fresh air. I grew up on a vineyard, surrounded by neat rows of vines, with no neighbors, so much time was spent causing a ruckus in nature.
I realize, in retrospect, that my childhood was idyllic in many ways. And, I wanted to share some of those idyllic memories and feelings with this shirt. So, maybe you’re having a hard day, staring at your computer screen all day or shaking cocktails all night, and life feels less than idyllic. Bolita’s got you.
*A note on pricing. These aren’t cheap. $40 covers our costs and puts a little bit of money in the bank. We wanted to make sure we did these ethically and responsibly, so just know that I truly stand behind these t’s. And we didn’t make too many. I’ll be wearing one most days.
For more visual content, you can follow my Instagram @bolitamasa