The recipes at the beginning of each chapter are interesting because they apply directly to what is happening in the story. Sometimes the food or the way it is prepared is symbolic. When Tita is castrating the turkeys to make them fat she thinks that it would be more appropriate for her to be the one being neutered since she is forbidden to marry and have children . The roses obviously represent her love/lust for Pedro which inhabits Gertrudes. On a more simple level the recipes also give insight into their lifestyle. The traditional recipe calls for pheasants but they don't have pheasants so Tita uses quail etc.
Although Rosaura is an unappealing character, I feel some sympathy toward her. She must live with the knowledge that her husband loves her sister and will never care for her. She will never have a romantic relationship with him. Also everyone is aware of this situation and it makes her look like a fool. She is reminiscent of one of the ugly stepsisters in Cinderella.
The scene with Gertrudes running of with one of Pancho Villa's men is interesting not only for the fact that they are riding off having sex on a horse, but because it gives the story more historical background. It tells the reader how the revolution is happening around them in Mexico and how Tita is blissfully ignorant of it. Or rather too wrapped up in her own life to worry about the state of the country.
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