Random post #1

When I was a kid one of my favorite things was watching my great-grandmother Tatica cook. If I had to rank my favorite cooks it would be Mami Tacia, mami Oly, and Papi Junior. Growing up I didn’t like cooking, I felt like it was an expectation so I rarely did it. In a typical Hispanic household, it was expected for the girls to learn how to cook while the boys did nothing. I always heard stories about how my mom used to cook for all of her cousins because she was a girl and the oldest. However, my view changed as I grew up and I had evidence to back up my claims. Papi Junior grew up knowing how to cook, clean, and care for himself. These qualities that I rarely saw from a man growing up. He was born in a family of seven where he had four brothers. His mom and dad made it their priority to teach their kids how to take care of themselves regardless of gender. This made me realize that I was treated unfairly by others. My mom personally never forced me to do things I didn’t want to do. But I did see the pressure she received from other family members.

As I grew older I just things like learning how to cook and clean as a life skill everyone should know. Coming to college made me realize that many people lack survival skills. In college I realized that living with people that lack organizational skills was not it. This made grateful for knowing how to do basic things. Furthermore, moving from NYC to California I have noticed the lack of Caribbean food. This made me feel homesick. The first time I went to the supermarket here I didn’t see a lot of the things I use to cook at home. Therefore, the first break I had I went home and brought a bunch of things with me. This allowed me to cook things I like to eat while being in school. At first, this was just for survival, but after a while, I realized that I love cooking. I felt conflicted about this because growing up some people told me that I needed to learn how to cook because I was a girl. However, I have realized that liking to cook has nothing to do with them. I like cooking because that’s what I like not what I’m expected to know or do.

My favorite thing to cook is a typical Dominican meal. This consists of white rice, beans, stew chicken, and some yellow plantains on the side with a salad. I have always been a picky eater but as I learn how to cook more I realize that some things aren’t that bad. For example, I used to hate eating onions, mushrooms, carrots, avocados, and a lot of other things. Now I’m able to eat most of the things I used to dislike. Furthermore, I have found an interest in making food from other cultures. I mostly cook for myself or just use my family as my test subjects. I remember the first time I made dumplings at home I wanted to do everything from scratch. It took me forever to make the dumpling wrappers and my folding skills are horrible. Even though they didn’t look great my family still ate them. This summer I was making some Mediterranean food and made some pita bread from scratch. It was honestly a bit dry and my family still ate it and said it was good. Having people who support my cooking experiments makes things fun. Now at days every time I feel too overwhelmed cooking helps me calm down. I know do it for fun and a relaxing thing to do.