The magic of grandmothers' cooking was not love but work, says writer. María and Juanita were abrupt women, hard, cold, tailored to the size of a work uniform called an apron or a lady's gown.
They, like the vast majority of women of their generation, were tired of having to cook every holy day, she writes. The division of labor that occurred by default in the type of commercial company that is the classic marriage, she says. The laurels of cooking are not those of dedication, devotion or the amount of affection, but rather those of the great craftsman.