The Joy of Food Preparation

At the moment my family and I have been playing host to another relative from Ecuador who is in California visiting us. Our latest visitor is my godmother Nancy Ratto. This is her third visit to Los Angeles in the last 10 years. And she has now become the 8th visiting relative we have recieved from Ecuador since the year began. At the moment, she is in Vegas with my mother and my great-aunt. This weekend we will be barbequing at my house. And Nancy has promised to teach me a few more Ecuadorian dishes to prepare. My mother and aunt never really learned how to cook in Ecuador.

My mother got married really young and emigrated to the States soon after. Most of the dishes she can prepare, she learned in California. My aunt, on the other hand, was always in school and was a big social animal when she was young. She always came home to meals prepared by my late grandmother and the family's assistant (maid...) She moved to the United States in her early thirties, and like my mother she learned just a few dishes from her mother.

Growing up in L.A. my mother (and my my aunt sometimes) usually prepared my sisters and I three Ecuadorian dishes. They were the following:
1. Chaulafån, which is a Chinese-Ecuadorean type of arroz con pollo.
2. Tallarin de Pollo o Rés, which is like spaghetti with either chicken or beef.
3. Seco de Pollo or Seco de Chivo, this dish which can be prepared with either chicken or goat meat is familar to the Mexican birria.

My mother and aunt also brought with them from the Ecuadorian coast (not to be confused with the Sierra or Andean region) their love for plantains. Many meals were usually accompanied with either the sweet (maduros) or the green (verdes) platains. They would often improvise and make some kind of carne asada, fried fish, or stew, which can be easy to prepare, and would serve that to us with rice and plantains. Here in L.A. my mother also learned from friends or neighbors how to prepare dishes such as enchiladas, meatloafs, casseroles, and stews.

Yesterday in my mother's house, Nancy made some delicious dishes. She prepared this soup called sancocho, using chunks of meat, carrots, yucca, corn, and green plantains. She also made this rich barbecue pork, and served thant with rice, potatoes, and a spicy chopped salad. This woman enjoys cooking! As a teenager, she lived with my grandparents and according to her, my grandmother was an amazing cook. She learned a lot from my grandmother. My mother and aunt couldn't be less interested to be in the kitchen, Nancy says. Eventually, we all need to learn to prepare our meals, she added.

The last few years, I have been more adventurous in the kitchen. I have enjoyed cooking a lot with different friends, especially with Ms. Serene Ford. Whenever I am with Nancy (during my visits to Ecuador, or her visits here to L.A.) I have watched her cook. When the year began I hesitated to make a New Year's resolution. There are obvious resolutions that involve "life decisions" I could've made, but didn't. I opted instead for something more fun. The resolution I eventually made was to become a better cook and to cook using recipes more often. So far, for the most part, I have been meeting this goal. I love getting recipes from the Food Network, Emeril, Sunset Magazine, and Cooks.com. It is fun to cook! I love the art of preparing a meal. And I love the presentation. Just as fun is watching others eat what you've made. There are few greater pleasures in life! I am eager to learn new dishes from Nancy. And even more eager to prepare these new dishes for my friends.

Tales From the City (Griffith Park)

This was taken on the day of the fire from my house in Echo Park at 3 p.m.



This was taken the same day at 8:15 p.m.


The fire in Griffith Park that started two days ago was quite scary and saddening. I have the fondest memories of outings in that park from my childhood. I recall the many family picnics and barbecues my sisters and I experienced there growig up. I remember the visits to the zoo and the L.A. Observatory we used to take with our mom and other relatives. Last year, some twenty-plus years later, I frequented Griffth Park at least half a dozen times with my now adult sisters and the new additions to our family --my niece and my nephew. We enjoyed the children's train ride, watch Victoria go on the pony rides, and rode the historic merry-go-round (which my friend Julio runs) many times. We also had new picnics, and revisited the zoo to see the little ones marvel at the animals.

There are so many more memories from my 27 years as an Angeleno: Hikes, birthday parties and barbecues, drives, playing Hide-n-Seek in Travel Town and in the old zoo, bike riding, getting drunk and high with friends as a teenager in the park, concerts at the Greek and the Gene Autry Museum. Endless memories... Also the park is practically in the backyard of the Atwater Village school I teach in. I see the park's hillside everyday! As I write this, I hear that the fire is almost 100% extinguished. Let's hope that the city and its citizens can easily restore that 1/5 of the park that was destroyed.