A few years back, as part of an advertisement campaign, a certain local company had a funny commercial in which a newlywed husband called his wife on his way home to ask what she was cooking for supper. We never see the wife, but the husband gleefully repeats what she says:
- “Pastelón de arroz?!”
The following day the same scene repeats itself, with the husband slightly less enthusiastically repeating what his wife says on the phone:
- “Pastelón de arroz!”
If nostalgia were a disease, I would be immune to it. I have yet to remember any time in which the past seemed like a place I wanted to go back to. I live by the philosophy that if we spend our lives yearning for the times gone we won’t find the energy to make our present the best possible.
But this doesn’t mean that I have no appreciation for all the moments that filled me with joy before, for the people and places that made me happy. Quite the opposite…
It’s the day after Christmas Eve.
The house looks like a battlefield, it’s a mess everywhere. People in various states of undress pass us by scratching assorted body parts. Lots of yawning. We’re still dizzy from a night of happiness, laughter, lots of food and the occasional argument over something that will be forgotten the next morning.
And there are tons of leftovers. Some will go in the freezer: the tomb of the forgotten food.
I have long had this idea on my mind of writing a post about the process of writing a post for our blog: “How the sausage is made”, metaphorically speaking. From the outside it may seem like a simple process, but it is not. From concept to publishing it may be a few days, it may be weeks to months.
Sure I can come up with something simple on a short notice (short notice being a few days), but there are posts that I started a year ago and have yet to finish. And it’s not just procrastination.
Ever since this site was started I have been posting vegetarian and vegan recipes, including a pretty decent vegan version of our sancocho (which was lost in the moving process but I am planning to revisit it).
There is a reason for this recipe for avocado vegan mayo being here: For more of half my life I have been either a vegan or a vegetarian, although I am currently neither (I eat fish). My travails and misadventures inspired me to give my fellow veggie-lovers more options in the kitchen. And if my recipes help a host make a vegan guest feel welcome, my work will have been done.
But it hasn’t been a smooth ride… not at all.
Aunt Clara's Kitchen is a collection of traditional Dominican and Dominican-inspired recipes, home ideas, crafts, and the chronicles of Aunt Clara and Aunt Ilana's adventures.
