Recetas de la abuela
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La felicidad cocinada en casa HOME-COOKED HAPPY
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A native of Puerto Rico, Valerie M. Rodríguez always looked forward to Wednesdays. That’s the day her grandmother had off from work and would be at her house when she got home from school. “I’d eat dinner twice that day!” Valerie says. “She’d always have food ready for me when I walked in the door, and then at dinnertime, our extended family would have dinner at my house together. She was the best cook!” The rest of the week (save Fridays, that was pizza night!), her mother Katherine Erazo would cook delicious dinners for the family of five to enjoy together. “We would eat rice and beans four or five times a week,” Valerie remembers. “Puerto Ricans eat beans or red beans, or sometimes she’d do pink beans. Food reminds me of my childhood. Dinnertime was the moment we would all sit together and eat and talk about our day.” Katherine cherishes these memories, too. “I was studying and working, but I came home to cook with my kids and eat with my kids, and if I had to then go back to work I would.” One family favorite that has spanned generations is guineitos en escabeche, amarillos (what Puerto Ricans call sweet plantains) en almíbar, and bistec. “I am not this great cook, but I do have my specialties!” Katherine said. “My mother used to make this meal, but it has changed from generation to generation. I added bacon and the envelope of French onion soup mix because it gives it a lot of flavor!” “For me, it’s important that even though we have tried new foods, we always try to maintain the food that is part of the tradition and our culture.” These days, Valerie fits in family meals with entrepreneur husband Elías Sánchez and sons Fernando Elías, 7, and Charles Alexander, 6, when time permits. They
alerie M. Rodríguez, oriunda Puerto Rico, siempre esperaba que llegara el miércoles. Ese día, su abuela no tenía que ir a trabajar y estaba en su casa cuando ella llegaba de la escuela. «¡Ese día comía doble!”», asegura Valerie. «Siempre tenía la comida lista para mí cuando yo llegaba, y después para la cena, cenábamos juntos con el resto de la familia en mi casa. ¡Era la mejor cocinera!». El resto de la semana (menos los viernes, que era ¡noche de pizza!), su madre Katherine Erazo preparaba deliciosas cenas para disfrutar juntos entre los cinco integrantes de la familia. «Comíamos arroz con habichuelas cuatro de cinco veces a la semana», comenta Valerie. «Los puertorriqueños comen habichuelas o frijoles rojos, o a veces ella preparaba frijoles rosados. La comida me recuerda a mi infancia. La cena era el
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La familia Rodríguez-Erazo trae consigo el sabor de Puerto Rico a Miami. Por / by Lauren Comander Fotos de / Photography by Nick Garcia
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The Rodríguez-Erazo family brings a taste of Puerto Rico with them to Miami.
