How Two Kids and a Deployed Military Husband Led to a Tex-Mex ‘Sweet Life’
Vianney Rodriguez rolls dough for empanadas. Photos courtesy of Sweet Life
Growing up in the South Texas town of Corpus Christi, Sweet Life blogger Vianney Rodriguez never opened her lunchbox to find a classic American bologna sandwich. Instead, her Mexican parents had often packed smoky barbacoa, a meaty dish made with baked or steamed rump roast. At home, foods from her mother’s hometown in northern Mexico reigned supreme: stewed pinto beans, all manner of empanadas, and spicy enchiladas en salsa roja. It wasn’t until age 12 that Rodriguez ate her first slice of pizza. But at 18, her palate experienced a cosmic shift.
“When I took off for college, I moved to San Antonio, and this whole new world opened up to me,” Rodriguez told Yahoo Food. “I thought: ‘There’s brisket! There’s pizza!’ I started really loving barbecue flavors, and Tex-Mex was completely new to me.”
Years later, Rodriguez’s U.S. military husband was deployed to Iraq and she found herself at home with two young daughters and no creative outlet. She became determined to blend her culinary influences, and in 2009, Sweet Life was born. Now back in Corpus Christi, Rodriguez posts recipes for Mexican, Texan, and Tex-Mex dishes, which she’ll often give a modern twist. If the vibrant recipes don’t draw you in, the beautiful photography certainly will.
Since its founding, Sweet Life has resonated with American and Latino audiences alike, earning mentions in publications like Cooking Light, Parade, NBC Latino, and Latina. In many ways, she considers herself a bridge between the two worlds. Her first cookbook, Latin Twist, all about Latin-inspired cocktails, will go on sale April 20.
“I’m like a blend of Mexico and Texas,” Rodriguez explained. “I’m Mexicana, but I’m also Tejana — I’m a first generation Mexican American, first generation Texan. The blog is a blend of my life.”
Here’s everything else you should know about Vianney Rodriguez:
Rodriguez’s baked chicken nachos.
1. Her mother’s family were migrant workers.
“They would take off to California for six months in the summer. It would be my grandmother, my mom, and her two older brothers. They would move from farm to farm — that was their income for the year — and they would pick melons and grapefruit. My mom said it was the hardest, but happiest time in her life. She met a lot of interesting people.”
2. That agricultural experience translated to a family tradition of seasonal eating.
“Whatever they picked that day, they would eat for dinner. So when [my mother] came to Texas, she would go to the fruit and vegetable stands. We would eat by the seasons: We knew in the summer, we’d have lots of berries, grapefruit, and watermelon. She would make watermelon salsa. She was always good about having fresh food everyday, and she would always draw on her Mexican heritage in her food.”
Strawberry whiskey sour, anyone?
3. She’s super knowledgable about the differences between north and south Texan cuisine.
“North Texas is a lot of barbecue, and then you have Hill Country, which is a totally different world. They’re their own community: It’s a lot of cowboys. We have our own cowboys here, but they’re Mexican cowboys: the caballeros. It’s different, but the same … but different!
We have so many influences of Mexico here in South Texas. You walk into a store, and sometimes they ask you, ‘Cash or pesos?’ Even our barbecue has Mexican flavors. People will ask, do you want ‘American tacos or Tex-Mex tacos or Mexican tacos?’ We’re so intertwined with Mexico.”
4. Speaking of tacos…
“There are huge differences! American tacos are like the ones at Taco Bell, which are crispy tacos. The Tex-Mex version is puffy; you make your own masa, you put it in oil, and the masa puffs up. The Mexican version is a corn tortilla lightly fried in oil. Tex-Mex tacos will also always have shredded Cheddar cheese, and Mexican tacos will have queso. Get it?”
Rodriguez’s tamales, stuffed with refried beans, a blend of cheeses, and a creamy roasted poblano salsa.
5. She first honed her cooking skills at a Tex-Mex chain restaurant.
“I was going to school, and I was working two jobs: I worked during the day at a grocery store — I was a floor manager — then I would go home, change and shower, and then go work overnight at Taco Cabana. It’s a Texas-run Tex-Mex restaurant, and I think that is where the Tex-Mex was instilled in me. I was making quesadillas and flautas and things like that. It’s funny, because it was hard, but I learned so much. Texans love their queso!”
6. She home-schools her kids … and still finds time to run a successful blog.
“I have a 15-year-old and 10-year-old daughter, and they’re really great kids. They’ll sit at the kitchen table and we’ll do their school stuff — luckily, they’re quick learners — then at 2 or 3 p.m., I’ll pick what we we’re eating that night. I’ll cook it, make it pretty for the blog, take pictures, then reheat it later for dinner. I think it was instilled into us by my parents: If you want something you’re going to have to work for it.”
More bloggers that should be on your radar:
Why “What’s Cooking Good Looking” gave up being a strict vegan for “eating clean”
How Laura Wright of “The First Mess” dropped meat and went vegan “cold-turkey”
How a stroke at 25 inspired a life change for “The Domestic Man”
Who’s your favorite food blogger? Tell us below!
