Chilies for Nina

By Sarah Rutzen
8th Grade, Los Angeles County
San Gabriel Christian - Jessica Shunkey, Teacher
Illustrated by Inderkum High School

It was a busy day in Abuela Bernice's kitchen. The smell of sizzling ground turkey and onions filled the air. You could hear the oil leaping off the pan in tiny bubbles as the tortillas lay on the comal. But today wasn't just any day. No, today was Nina's birthday and Abuela, her grandmother, was making her famous enchiladas. Nina was so excited! She was turning five, and her family was going to have a celebration at one of her favorite places, Abuela's dining room. La familia was coming and that meant a lot of hungry bellies. So Nina and Abuela had to get cooking! They already had made the meat filling for the enchiladas and heated the tortillas; all they had to do was pour Abuela's special chili verde sauce over.

Nina went over to get a fresh chili she had grown from her backyard garden, but there weren't any left! Nina felt heartbroken. She ran to her Abuela to tell her the grave news. But Nina's grandma smiled and knew exactly what to do. "What?" Nina replied when Abuela told her idea.

"We should go to the farmers market," announced Abuela. "Every week local farmers from all parts of California come to sell their fresh produce. Then people from the neighborhood can come and buy whatever fruits and vegetables are provided."

Nina had a funny look on her face. She had never heard of a farmers market and was interested to see what it was like. Abuela put on her sun hat, grabbed her rolling basket, and they were off. Off to find chilies for Nina's birthday enchiladas.

They walked down the blocks until they arrived at the hectic marketplace. It was even busier than Abuela's kitchen! Bright, colorful fruit lined the walkway. Some in shades of colors Nina had never seen before. And the vegetables—they were in so many different shapes, it gave Nina a headache trying to count them. People stood in line looking at produce, talking to farmers, and trying to find the ripest fruit in the crates. Since there were lots of people, Nina held Abuela's hand as they navigated through the congested market. Abuela walked right over to the farmer with the vegetable stand and asked him for eight chilies. Then she introduced herself and her lovely five-year-old granddaughter, Nina. Abuela explained how Nina grows a garden in her backyard and asked if he could tell her how his farm works.

"Nice to meet you, Abuela Bernice, and happy birthday, Nina. My name is Mr. Arroyo and I am a vegetable farmer from the Napa Valley. Napa Valley has very fertile soil and an excellent climate, which is great for growing big, healthy chilies. Farmers usually grow their vegetables in rows, which is like one huge garden—kind of like yours, Nina. First, we use a tractor to dig up the soil and make rows in the dirt so the farmers know where to plant the seeds in an enormous piece of land. Next, we lay the seeds and plant our vegetables. Then we water our seeds and wait for our produce to grow, And after a couple of months, we can pick our naturally grown, California vegetables.

Mr. Arroyo ventured over to the box containing what Abuela and Nina needed to make their enchiladas complete—the dark green chilies.

Nina and her grandma walked down the street until they arrived at Abuela's casa, or house. When Abuela opened the door, a big "Surprise!" rang from inside of the house. Nina was shocked! There was Tio Robert, Tio Thomas, and Tia Anne, and all her cousins.

Mama and Papa ran to give her a hug. "Happy birthday, Nina! Did you have a good day with Abuela? You are becoming such a beautiful young lady." Nina was speechless. Abuela quickly made her special chile verde sauce with Nina. The hungry familia ate the enchiladas Nina and Abuela had made together. "Es muy rico!" the family exclaimed.

As Nina sat looking at her hot plate, she remembered what a great day she had: cooking with Abuela, going to new places, meeting new people, and learning new things about California farming. And now enjoying a meal with her relatives in Abuela's dining room. This was truly the best birthday ever.